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| Finished! 1,000+ miles in 17 days and a beautiful, relaxing ending. You can't beat the Grand Tetons...
This trip has been a true delight for me. I am really fortunate to be able to be able to travel this way and find an America that is truly appealing and fun. The people have been the great, the scenery wonderful, and challenge immense. Setting out, I wanted to try and do this on my own to challenge me socially and mentally. In the end, I don't know if I want to do such a big adventure again on my own. There is something about being able to experience these things in the moment with another person. And when things are tough, it is truly nice to be able to lean on someone else. I feel stronger because of this and want to do more tours, but hopefully George, or others, will be able to join me!
Anyhow, here are some more great pictures...
Typical view once I got up in elevation. The further south I traveled, the less altitude variations I experienced. By the end, it was actually becoming fairly flat (comparatively), but at a higher elevation. My highest point was around 8000 feet, but if I had gone one more day east, versus dropping to Jackson Hole, I would have gotten above 10,000. Growing up and living below 1000 ft, I thought I would feel the elevation more, but it truly never really seemed to effect me noticeably.
You can't tell in this picture, but this was the most severe hill of the entire trip etched with lots of warnings on the map. As I was cresting the hill, I kept screaming "crap" louder and louder as it literally fell off. At one point, my bike hit some sage brush, I went over the handlebars bounding another 20 yards until I landed in some sage brush to stop my momentum, otherwise the bike and I would have gone all the way to the bottom. They said to zig zag your bike through the brush, but I still went straight down the track, brakes fully locked, heels dug in, skidding the entire 1/4 mile down. Afterwards, someone told me it is over a 40% grade!!! and that there are lots of broken shocks and bike components here!
My personal cabin for a night! It is used by the Forest Service as a warming place in the winter, but anyone is welcome to stay here. It was so nice to have a roof over my head for one night.
Once you get to southern Montana, the landscape changes to lots of brush exposing you to the immense winds and afternoon sun. You can see my lips got sun burnt. The funny thing is that there is still snow a few thousand feet up from this elevation.
Old grave site for Bannack, MT, the first territorial capitol of the MT. Classic Old West...
I loved walking through looking at the grave stones, and some grave boards, wondering what life was like 140 years ago for these people...
The town started to get preserved in the 1940s when it was almost a complete ghost town and a local college started buying the property which they eventually donated to the government. This is the old Mason house and school house, open into the 1950s. The last residents left or died in the 1970s.
Most of the buildings were open so that you could walk through them.
Over the hill were the gallows. Times sure are different!
If you can't tell, this was truly a highlight for me along the trail. I wish I could travel back when this was a roaring town of 3000 souls, primarily searching for gold.
At the higher elevations, the landscape gives way to the beautiful sky. Dry air meant you could see for miles. George would be proud of me, the day before I took this picture, I was eating lunch in a small town bar and came outside to be staring at a massive, black sky. I debated waiting it out, but thought, "you bought these rain clothes for a reason!" So I bundled up, and headed straight into the blustering winds and driving rain. I loved every second of it, and when it was over, I was the only one on the highway 10 miles further down the road. There is something about weathering a storm that makes you feel good...
I have no clue what these are but found them on many ranches. Any guesses? I figured it has something to do with lifting hey?! Sorry for the sideways pictures, without my computer, I am dependent on library systems that many times don't have a program that I can rotate the pictures with, or at least access to the program...
See the sharp peak straight in front of the road? That was my pass at over 8000 ft. Just over it I fell into a huge meadow surrounded by mountain tops, and probably 20 miles from anyone. This road was established in the 1860s as the supply route for Bannack (the ghost town from earlier).
I had to camp here. I'm guessing this was built in the 1870s. Walking through the sage there were signs of fences, wells, outhouses... I loved trying to guess what the wrought iron pieces I found were meant for. Can you imagine riding into this meadow 130 years ago, trying to beat a snow storm with the horses tired and feisty only to get stopped and knocking on the door asking for shelter for the night. It really made me think of Robert Frost poems and short stories. More exactly, it made me think of Winteriesse which is a Frost poem put to music by Schubert about a man and child riding through a snow storm and... I won't spoil it for you.
Sunblock is a God-send. I definitely have nice glove tan lines. The funniest place I would burn is the half inch righ above my sock line. Talk about irritating! They make this great stuff called Sun & Bug that has an SPF 15 and 20% Deet to help with the bugs too. Unfortunately, it didn't do anything to distract the black flies which I found to be worse than the mosquitoes at times! At one point, I stopped at a stream for water and if you drove by at the moment, you would have seen a grown man in 90 degree weather fully covered in rain gear with a small mouth slit and eye slit bent over a stream trying to filter water while madly flaying his arms around and seemingly nothing... Would "crazy" come to mind?
The Grand Tetons. I have wanted to visit this park for many year now and it doesn't disappoint. Pictures don't do justice; these peaks are magnificent. My route brought me from the back side of the mountains, then right in between Yellowstone and the Tetons, before coming down the east side of the Tetons. The first time I caught a glimpse of the peaks from 25 miles to the west, a smile instantly creased my lips. Then they would disappear behind some trees. I would be craning to catch another 10 second glance and the smile would come right back. It was so flirtatious. And one of the truly great moments was riding through the rich valley the runs right up to them on the east side. It is like someone took a piece of Iowa and plopped it down right next to some of the most gorgeous mountains in the US. Somehow, the contrast made the experience so much more powerful.
My last day of riding I bumped into these great guys cycling (and fly fishing) the Trans-America route, the original route published by my map company and route that runs through my home Kansas town where I met people cycling all through my formal years. These guys were a blast! I found them sitting at an outdoor "chuckwagon" restaurant drinking gallons of free pop all morning and early afternoon while they took an easy day. The guy on the left was on a true road bike (not a touring bike) with a setup that weighed around 30 pounds total! He slept in a tarp on the ground :) A true lightweight. They told me they were meeting 2-3 cyclist groups everyday going in all directions. Great guys. Shortly after I left hanging out with them, I achieved one of my final goals, I saw a moose! They are HUGE! And apparently they swim down to depths of 18ft for over a minute to feed on vegetation. Who knew?!
I had to leave this picture for last. One of my last nights I camped right on a wetland preserve and when the sun set, it defined awe.
I would highly recommend to anyone trying bicycle touring. It is amazing. As I tell people, it is a 10-year-old's dream come true; you get to ride your bike everyday never having to go back the same way you came, you camp every night, and you get to eat whatever you want!
For those interested in statistics, I averaged just shy of 60 miles per day, almost twice the recommended amount (since I lost 10 days at the beginning). My longest day was 90 miles, with only 8 of it being paved. It took me 3 days to recoup. Some days I climbed between 7000-10,000ft with my 100+lb load. In the end, I cycled 17 days, 200 miles in Canada, 800 in Montana, 70 in Idaho, and 80 in Wyoming. Good stuff!
Until my net adventure, good bye. Thanks for following along! (there is so much I have forgotten to tell, I may have to post once more)
Thanks to my Syracuse house mate Jessie and her boyfriend for letting me camp in his backyard here in Jackson Hole. The demolition derby was amazing last night a a fun end to me trip!
-james
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| A library! I haven't been in a town bigger than 240 people since Butte and only had phone service once... I am coming close to the end of my trip. Jackson, WY is only several days away and it will be nice to have a couple days to relax before heading to Kansas for a family reunion. My body is definitely getting into shape as I am riding two suggested days' worth of travel each day. Wednesday I rode 76 miles, and yesterday I rode 90 miles, primarily over extremely rough gravel. Today my legs feel like rubber :) Oh yeah, the last 5 miles of that 90 mile ride, I was trying to outrace a thunderstorm - made it by seconds! 
I crossed into Idaho today. Get this, I was in Montana and crossed into Idaho going east (ID is generally thought to sit west of MT) and at the same time crossed into the west side of the continental divide. Get it? I had to think about it for a bit. So looking at the map, I am just getting ready to turn south towards ashton. Being a Friday (and Pioneer weekend for all the LDS folks), there is tons of traffic. I guess being right next to Yellowstone doesn't help either. I maybe be camping illegally tonight! I wish I could upload some pictures right now. This MT/ID border is isolated! I was able to camp at 8000ft next to some 150 y/o ruins with no one probably within a 15 or 20 mile radius, at least! Last night I camped near a wetland refuge for honking swans, and apparently mosquitoes. I literally had to douse myself in bug spray every 10 minutes. If you sat quietly, all you could hear was their humming. And forget a view, it was a wall of mosquitoes! I was thinking of George because I know how much he loves them... I always think of so much that I can write, but when it comes time, I must get stage fright and forget it all. I'm pretty tired of the endless gravel roads. If they lie somewhere that is unique, I don't mind, but they are a real beating for miles on end. Sometimes they are so jarring you can't even see if you are going over 7-8 mph. MT is the worst! And I remember that from riding here 2 years ago. The instant I crossed into ID (or ND), they improved. It must be their lack of sales tax?! I thought it might be interesting to list a random day's list of food. Here is yesterday's during my 90 mile day: Snickers Bar, Fruit Bar, Energy Goo, Salad, Chicken Sandwich, 3 Pepsi's, Twinkies, Doritoes, 3 quarts of Gatorade, 3 Airheads, Baby Ruth, some other chocolate bar, mac & chees bowl, stewed tomatoes and spaghetti, 22oz beer (cooled in a spring), half can of Pringles, Orange, and I am sure a few other things. It's kind of nice being able to eat anything you want! Well, until Jackson (hopefully Monday), I will think of some fun things to write. And I will get a set of pictures up! -james | | |
| Finally, a computer with internet access! Butte is the largest town I will pass through on the entire trip, and as you can guess, I am way out of civilization most of the time.
A lot of exciting things have happened since Whitefish! I went through Lincoln, MT that was home Ted Kaczynski (aka Unabomber), spent close to 2 hours climbing one incredibly tough 2.5 mile stretch, and yesterday I was in the saddle for 9 hours over 65 miles. Probably the most exciting is that my legs are really beginning to build in strength and endurance.
I also came up with a Thereom: 2V(.9t)+C=X I know I am going to be famous. Here's how it works. Take any stretch of highway where traffic is fairly light. If a cyclist (C) is pedaling along the shoulder with no traffic and a vehicle (V) begins to approach from behind, another vehicle will surely be ahead coming around the bend. In 9 out of 10 cases, one of them will have a trailer or be a semi (t). You guessed it, all three meet at the same spot on the highway. Never fails...
Oh yeah, I was dive bombed by black birds who seem to also always act as early morning alarm clocks all in one. I guess there is a reason they always represent death (The Raven by Poe)... Anyhow, enough of the ramblings and onto the pictures!
Self Portrait in my Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon jersey.
Father and son I met at a campsite. Two days later and 80 miles away, I bumped into them again in a Hardware store. We made plans to camp together again 40 miles down the road. I think the son may be a touring cyclist one day. He loved hearing my stories in between bites of cheesy bacon fries, mushroom burger, and milkshake. Gotta love the diet!
Looking back over my rig. Notice the road. It can be a very difficult surface to ride on, sometimes keeping my speed right around 8 mph, but I wouldn't know that because my speedometer has been broken for the last 250 miles...
Big Sky in Montana!
Here's a typical campsite for me. It is best to have a table that I can lean by bike against and then you start unloading. Just as I was pulling up to this spot, I met a guy who shared some chips and beer with me...
It was amazing to wake up here!
One of my few paved stretches.
Some kids who came to swim in the creek next to where I was eating lunch. The grandparents were very interested in my trip and said they wished they had done something like this when they were my age. It really made me feel good as that is one of the primary reasons I am doing this.
A couple of people I met in the national forest. He, Rory, works for the Forest Service, packing several days up a river and then floating back down checking all of the outfitters he comes across. Rory also taught me the greatness of Steak-on-a-Stick.
I'm trying to cut down on the bold tan lines by switching it up to sleeveless every once in a while. It is really starting to get hot in the mid-days (upper 80s).
I spent the night by the lake way down the valley and came up the road you see in the middle of the picture. At the top I was greeted by my absolute most favorite part of the ride so far...
THIS! It was awesome. The drop offs were almost vertical at certain spots, and sometimes a log was blocking the way too. I was definitely very aware of the trailer! At one point, I went between two logs and the trailer didn't quite fit stopping the entire rig almost instantly. I almost went over the handlebars.
This was a welcomed creek as I was out of water. You can see my filter and bottle on the rock. Supposedly the streams are ok to drink out of at this height, as long as the water is moving. I just want to be cautious so I don't end up sick in a tent halfway up a mountain.
Another paved stretch. These are a few Germans I met who were visiting America for their first time and were doing so by biking across the country. They had been on the road for 8 weeks and were cutting their 90 day Visa close...
Another self-portrait. This may be a good time to mention that I have a map and a book that breaks the map into daily sections while giving a little history about the area. It generally suggests 30-40 miles per day, whereas I am pushing 55 a day because I lost those 10 days waiting for my bike. I get a little tired of the gravel roads for hours on end, but because I am doing a little more mileage, I am usually able to make it to at least one town or cluster of houses at some point in the day. I almost never eat or camp alone though as there are usually people around who approach me pretty quickly. I guess being just one person, you are more approachable.
So, I had a long day of riding and was looking for a campsite. I met someone at the base of this mountain who told me about a spot 2 miles up. I really didn't want to climb at that time of night and was tired, but decided to do so anyway. On my way up, I kept thinking that I was either an idiot (the site wouldn't be there), or a genius as I would have a good start to the next day's ride. As soon as I arrived there, I happened upon these kind folks who invited another 2 miles up to their cabin. They were great, feeding me, giving me somewhere to camp, and just fun people. Grandma was up there and we instantly hit it off as she has children in Wichita and Fort Worth, both places where I have lived! She also gave me some awesome pain relief cream for any tight muscles I have. They only asked for 3 years' worth of Christmas cards in return. I thought it was a great deal!
Old abandoned mine. These mountains were hopping with miners in the 1860s-1890s.
You can't tell, but this is over a 15% grade, and not even close to some of the worst stuff I have climbed/pushed up. When the map says "very steep", they mean "extremely steep, seriously!" If the rocks don't get you, then the sand does. And then when you try to remount, the pedal spins, at the same instant the handlebars go sideways to counterbalance, which causes your other foot to miss the pedal, and down you go!
Cool old tunnel I passed through that is now by passed by the interstate.
Another typical campsite. I actually lit a fire for the first time, partially to ward off any animals since I was camping at about 6000ft.
Eating some microwave popcorn I make over my cooker.
Butte! Notice the large mine. Interesting town. But awesome bike shop! Eric drove me around the city, fixed my bike for free, and gave me lots of advice. The owner is Levi Leipheimer's brother, one of, if not, the best American cyclist right now!!
I don't know when I will have access again, but until the next time, pass all cyclist with lots of room!
-james
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| Wow, I am definitely moving. The roads are extremely rough, but I am feeling good and getting back into physical shape (and eating shape). I have been out of cell reception the past couple of days, but am spending a few hours in the wonderful town of Whitefish right now. It sits at the base of a gorgeous lake with mountains ringing all the way around it.
While I was eating my second breakfast today (if I am able, this usually takes place at a diner), I sat next to a dog musher. He owns 98 dogs and gives professional rides - 730 this past winter. What is the alure of these mountain people that I love so much? Big beard, rough voice, intelligent, current on world events... Am I missing my calling?
Last night I was heading up a valley and heard a helicopter overhead. Then I came across 6 forest trucks parked along the road. The copter kept going up and down the valley, and when I reach the peak of the mountain, I found a lake and several other service people. They were picking up water from the lake and carrying it down the valley to a fire started by lightening a few days before. The amazing thing is that all throughout the day, I had been going through burnt forests from 1988, 2001, 2003... Apparently we are getting better and actually implementing controlled burns, but when fire gets to an area that hasn't burned in 100 years, everything goes. Fire is a natural, and needed, thing to maintain healthy forests. Why did it take 100 years for our forest services to realize this? That's why we are having such bad fires across the West...
Last night I camped 2 feet from a mountain lake. I wish I could upload the picture because it truly was serenity.
Well, I feel that I am rambling. I am trying to get another 40 miles south to Big Fork tonight where I may meet up with a man and his son that I camped with 2 nights ago. Funny how I bumped into them today at a hardware store 80 miles from the remote campsite where I met them. The trail is a small world...
-james
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| George, remember Eureka and Cafe Jax? We had just spent the night next to Lake Koocanusa and rode through the rain, got into town, threw our clothes into a dryer, and walked down the street for lunch... Memories. Well, I am back in town, crossing our old route one of a few times, the other being Whitefish. If you didn't know, George and I rode basically from Seattle to Maine two years ago and I really miss having him on the trip. It really is nice to have someone to share the experience with, especially since we worked well together. Anyhow, here are some pictures... finally! 
Here is the overall route. It is suggested that you take over 100 days jsut to complete the US oprtion if you are riding border to border. 
Here is the Canadian portion that I just completed. The first stretch from Banff to Elkford was killer. I have no shame walking my bike anymore... 
I'm currently just south of Roosville. Today has been almost all highway miles which has really served to restore my confidence. After the first few brutalizing days, I was wondering if I had not trained as well, or just not as strong. Today I will do about 70 miles into a head wind which tells me I am just fine, this is just a tough ride. 
I initially arrived on July 1, Canada Day!!! 
Why don't we get so dressed up on the 4th? 
The famous Clarmount Hotel outside of Banff, built in the 1880s to draw tourists. 
I took a walk on my first day in Banff and this was a valley opening I stumbled into. 
While waiting for my bike to arrive, I took a 4 day trip to Jasper, about 180 miles to the north. It was through a tourist bus where I met some of the monay Japanese who flood to this area. You can kind of see the glacier behind Lake Louise... 
Can you believe that I took a quick 2 second dip in a slower portion of a river like this? How cold? About 40... 
Black Bear eating a little road kill. While hiking in Jasper, I came around a corner to see a young black bear about 20 yards away. We looked at each other for a bit before he took off. Good thing too, my bear mace was in my bag... 
Columbia Ice Fields. Markers are set out to show its recession over the past 100 years. 
Godo thing there weren't any crevices where I was walking around... 
When I was in Banff for a week and found out I was going to have to wait another week, I headed out to the woods to camp on the cheap. As I get to a camp site, I meet these guys who live there in the summers. They were the emobodiment of every good Canadian stereotype I know! It really cheered me up and got my mind off the bike. When I came back, I headed back into the woods and brought 3 steaks with me. Afterall, they taught me a lot about camping in bear country! 
Here's my rig! I was having tremendous derailleur problems and foudn out it was because I was parking my bike like this whcih bends the lead-out. Ooops... I think all-in-all it weighs around 110 pounds. I also wear a backpack (thank you roomie Mike) 
A trail bridge I crossed my second day. You can drink the water straight from these fast moving creeks... 
WOW! 
Some kind people who shared lunch with me. 
More kind people who gave me 4 hot dogs, potatoes, steak, beer, moose steak, and a lot of laughs. So, things are going well. I won't be in a town for a few more days, but I am really liking all the emails. Thanks everyone. Until Whitefish, MT... -james | | |
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