Day 46

Telluride, CO to Dolores, CO, about 63 miles.  I've now finished riding through the Rocky Mountains.  They were truly spectacular.  I started this morning with a cold rainy hike on the Jud Wiebe trail in Telluride.  After I finished that I had some breakfast and took off on my bike up the rest of Lizard Head Pass, my final Rocky Mountain pass.  At the top I met two cyclists from France, one going from LA to Seattle in a roundabout way to see the West, and his father who joined just for part of the trip from Cortez, CO to Denver.  The descent from the pass was very cold and rainy.  I shivered the whole way down to Rico, the first town after the pass.  After getting lunch there I kept on going, with a gentle descent from the Rockies all the way to Dolores with some on-and-off rain.  I met a guy named Mike on the road who has been living off his bike for the past 7.5 years.  He was on his way to the Grand Canyon.

Day 45

Ridgeway, CO to Telluride, CO, about 46 miles.  I had to ascend 1.5 mountain passes to get to Telluride, Dallas Divide and the first half of Lizard Head Pass, but it was well worth it.  Telluride is an incredibly beautiful town nestled in a small canyon surrounded on three sides by mountains.  When I got there it started raining, and I soon found out that the campsite was full.  I opted to stay in a hotel.  When the rain let up a bit I rode around town with my bike and then took a free gondola ride over one of the mountains to Mountain Village, the ski resort area next to Telluride.  There was a free concert there that drew a big crowd.  On the gondola ride back I met with a cool family from Fort Collins staying in Placerville back down the mountain, and they invited me to stay with them although I had already gotten a hotel room.  A rainbow had started to form and when I got off the gondola I discovered that it was a triple rainbow!  It was exceptionally beautiful.

Day 44

Gunnison, CO to Ridgeway, CO, about 86 miles.  Got an early start out of Gunnison and the day began riding alongside a beautiful resevoir at the Curecanti National Recreation Area.  On the other side of the dam from the reservoir is a huge canyon called the Black Canyon, which the Gunnison River flows through.  I met another group of cyclists coming from San Francisco and heading up to New England over a five month trip.  Stopped for lunch in Montrose.  When I was leaving, the sky looked dark and I was concerned about rain, but after waiting some time and no rain came I kept riding.  The ride to Ridgeway brought me closer to the San Juan Mountains, a huge subrange of the Rockies in southwest Colorado.  As I was riding, I could see rain over some mountains to my right, and over some mountains to my left, but the clouds formed a dome over me and brought no rain.  I ended the day at Ridgeway State Park just a few miles north of the town of Ridgeway.  The campsite has a beautiful view of a lake and the San Juan Mountains.  Alex and Ashley, a couple camping at the next tent site invited me for dinner, and we had a great conversation over some food cooked over a campfire.

Day 43

Gunnison, CO (Crested Butte), 0 miles.  I planned to ride out to Montrose this morning, but over breakfast the owner of the hostel Amy told me about awesome hiking up in Crested Butte.  I'd heard about Crested Butte and how beautiful it is, but it being 25 miles off route I didn't think I would make it.  Then Amy told me about the free bus and I was sold.  I left my bike in Gunnison and took a bus up to Crested Butte.  It's an amazing resort town surrounded by mountains.  I took a shuttle up to the main mountain, Mt. Crested Butte, and hiked back down into town, a short and easy but beautiful hike.  Took the bus back to Gunnison at the end of the day.  Overall it was an incredible day.

Day 42

Salida, CO to Gunnison, CO, about 64 miles.  Started the morning by climbing Monarch Pass.  Monarch Pass is where Highway 50 crosses the Continental Divide.  The Continental Divide is where water collecting on either side will flow in the opposite direction.  This is the highest elevation that I will climb to in the entire trip, at 11,312 feet.  The climb itself was long, with over 4,000 feet of elevation gain from Salida, but not too steep.  At the top, I met another cyclist doing an alternating supported tour of some national parks (she rides one day while her husband drives, and then her husband rides the next day while she drives). 

On the way down, I was met with some very strong winds which made the descent tricky, since I had to adjust my balance at every turn in the road, so I couldn't go too fast.  I did meet a group of three going up the other side, one couple from the UK going from San Francisco to New York, and a guy going solo from San Francisco to Pueblo.  At the bottom, I met two more cyclists, one doing his own week-long loop from Salida, and one doing a mountain bike race down the Continental Divide.  The rest of the day after the mountain was mostly flat, but a strong headwind made it long and slow.  Ended the night at the Wanderlust Hostel in Gunnison.

Day 41

Westcliffe, CO to Salida, CO, about 48 miles.  The scenery just keeps getting better.  Going through the Rockies really is spectacular.  Everything up until Pueblo just doesn't compare.  Day 41 had me riding through the Wet Mountain Valley between the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Wet Mountains, and later through a canyon carved by the Arkansas River.  The descent from the valley to the Arkansas River canyon was the single best piece of riding that I've ever had.  My jaw was open the entire time in wonder that land could look like that.

I ended the day in Salida, a medium sized mountain town that has an awesome downtown.  It's their Art Walk weekend, which draws a lot of tourists and means that downtown is filled with cool art stuff.  Salida is the type of town that I'd say definitely visit if you want to see the Rockies.

Salida also lies at the eastern base of Monarch Pass, the highest mountain pass that I will climb to cross the Continental Divide.  That will be my goal for the morning.

Day 40

Pueblo, CO to Westcliffe, CO, about 58 miles.  I began climbing into the Rockies.  At around 28 miles I reached Wetmore, a small town at the base of the Wet Mountains where I began my climb over a pass through the mountains.  The pass had me climb over 4500 feet to over 9000 feet of elevation, by far the longest single climb I've done on a bike.  The climb was challenging, and the worst part is that I was surrounded by a swarm of flies who bothered me throughout the ascent.  Nonetheless, the scenery in the Rockies is breathtaking.  Arriving at the top of the Wet Mountains, a more distant range and one far more beautiful comes into view, called the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.  Descending into Westcliffe, I got an awesome view of this the Sangre de Cristo range.  Luckily, I won't have to climb these mountains.  Rather, I will spend a day riding north through the Wet Mountain Valley to the next range north, where I will climb over a pass through that range.

In Westcliffe, I saw a Shakespeare in the Park performance of King Lear.  It was my first time seeing this play, and doing so while surrounded by the mountains made it very fun to watch.

 

Day 39

Pueblo, CO, 0 miles.  Took a rest day in Pueblo to see the city.  Pueblo has some nice cafes, a big library, and a riverwalk.  In the afternoon, I went paddle boarding out on the Pueblo Resevoir.

Day 38

Ordway, CO to Pueblo, CO, about 52 miles.  Had only a short day today so Rens and I got off to a late start.  We left Ordway close to noon.  We ran into an Italian cyclist coming from San Francisco who warned about heat in the desert.  That will be fun.  Anyway, the winds were excellent and we rode to Pueblo in just a few hours.  After getting to Pueblo, Rens split off to go onward, as his route will take him north to Astoria, OR.   I had originally planned to spend two nights in Pueblo, but my place to stay fell through and a motel would be too expensive, so I also decided to leave town for a campsite.  Just as I was leaving Pueblo, I was met by Donald, a Pueblo resident riding home from work, who asked about my trip.  I told him about my trip and he offered to have me stay at a house next door that he is trying to sell, just a few blocks from downtown.  Couldn't ask for better luck!  I met his family and ate pizza.  We later went down to the Arkansas River for bodyboarding.  I wasn't very good at it, but had a blast doing it.  When I got back, Donald's neighbor from New Jersey came by with some leftover pizza from their dinner and some granola bars.

Day 37

Sheridan Lake, CO to Ordway, CO, about 86 miles. (Note: speedometer stopped working for the last five miles so there will be five fewer miles recorded at the end of the trip.)  Today was hot.  The terrain began to change, with some sunflowers and small cacti and desert shrubs lining the road.  Had another flat part of the way.  Towards the end of the day, I had a homemade cinnamon roll from a cafe in Sugar City which was really great.  Just after leaving Sugar City, the outline of the Rockies appeared on the horizon.  Now I'm getting ready to climb!  Rens and I are staying on a ranch in Ordway tonight owned by Gillian, where I got to feed goats, horses, and birds.

Also, I missed a milestone from yesterday.  I am now in Mountain Time.

Day 36

Dighton, KS to Sheridan Lake, CO, about 99 miles.  Made it to Colorado now!  It's still very flat.  And hot.  I also passed 2000 miles for the trip.  Now I have the mountains to look forward to.

Day 35

Larned, KS to Dighton, KS, about 95 miles.  Woke up to some heavy fog.  Rens and I quickly reached Fort Larned, my approximate half-way point.  We ran into many racers throughout the day, and were passed by large trucks carrying even bigger pieces of farm equipment.  Finished the day in Dighton, where we met a group of supported eastbound TransAmerica cyclists.  Two milestones today are passing the half-way point and completing Section 8 of the TransAmerica trail.  I'm also just shy of 2000 miles now with 1998, but that's a milestone for tomorrow.

Day 34

Newton, KS to Larned, KS, about 107 miles.  Left this morning from Newton with Rens and Karl, two other westbound touring cyclists.  Karl split off after breakfast to stop at a post office in a nearby town.  Rens and I continued on to Larned, but not before I had another flat.  It was a hot and tiring day as always, but we had some great coffee drinks after.

The Cookie Lady

It's been a while since I posted a story not about my riding days.  This one is about June Curry, also known as "The Cookie Lady."  June Curry lived in Afton, VA, a town I went through back on Day 7, until she passed away in 2012.  In 1976, when the Bikecentennial (the ride which first charted the TransAmerica Trail) first passed through Afton, VA, June found hungry cyclists in her small town and started bringing them cookies.  Over the years, as more cyclists passed through, she continued to bring them cookies and let them stay at a nearby property that she owned.  That property became the TransAmerica Bike Museum, and June Curry became known around long-distance cycling circles for her hospitality.

The Adventure Cycling Association, the organization which evolved from the Bikecentennial, began issuing an award in her name for people or places that are especially hospitable to cyclists.  One of those awards was won by the town of Farmington, MO, where I stayed on the night of Day 25.

June Curry's story can be found on her Wikipedia page:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Curry

Day 33

Newton, KS, 0 miles.  Took a rest day at the Newton bike shop.  Met some racers and some other touring cyclists.  One named Karl will join tomorrow just for the morning, although he will be making an early planned stop.  Rens will also join me tomorrow.  I'm a bit bummed about missing great tailwinds today, but there will supposedly be more tomorrow.

Day 32

Benedict, KS to Newton, KS, about 116 miles.  Left Benedict early and had some great tailwinds.  Waved to one passing touring cyclist going east.  Then a second passed and he stopped so we could talk.  He's coming from San Francisco and he talked about how beautiful Colorado and Utah are.  Went for my first 100+ day, but got a flat at about mile 97.  Since there's a bike shop in Newton and the leak was slow, I decided to refill the tire with air and kept going.  I had to refill it one more time.  Got to Newton's bike shop and met up with Rens, a cyclist whom I had last seen in Damascus, VA.  The bike shop has an awesome hostel for us to stay at, and is currently hosting cyclists on the TransAmerica race, which is a race following the TransAmerica trail from Astoria, OR to Yorktown, VA.

Day 31

Girard, KS to Benedict, KS, about 49 miles.  I stopped at a grocery store listed on my map in a small town called Benedict.  The store is owned by a Messianic Jewish pastor named Joe, who offered a free ice cream and a soft drink, and hosted me for the night.

Day 30

Golden City, MO to Girard, KS, about 59 miles.  Had an early breakfast at Cooky's in Golden City before hitting the road towards Kansas.  All I can say about this part of the country is that there are a lot of corn and wheat farms and that it is very flat.  Pittsburg was my first stop in Kansas, where I went to a bike shop for a few parts.  I saw some people on an Adventure Cycling Association van assisted tour taking a rest day in Pittsburg.  I only talked to Dave, who told me about their trip west.  Ended the night at a Lutheran church about 11 miles outside of Girard.  That leaves two milestones today, crossing into Kansas and completing Section 9 of the TransAmerica trail.  Section 8 will end in Alexander, KS, which I will consider my halfway point.

Day 29

Fair Grove, MO to Golden City, MO, about 66 miles.  Entered a new geographic region.  Came up a hill about 5 miles west of Pennsboro and the rugged hilly terrain changed to flat land.  Ran into three cyclists Larry, David, and Russ doing a two day out-and-back trip who camped out at the city park with me.  Also got free pie from Cooky's in Golden City.

Day 28

Houston, MO to Fair Grove, MO, about 79 miles.  Had an early start from Houston this morning.  A cat came to my campsite this morning looking very thin.  It was very friendly, but I wish I had some food for it.  I got a thumbs up and some honks in support early after leaving Houston.  Stopped in Hartville for lunch at a grocery store.  After I left, I saw a touring bike outside of a Subway.  Stopped in to meet Jean-Paul, a cyclist from France who had taken route 66 from LA.  Continued on to Marshfield, where I decided to stop at Subway for dinner.  It started storming hard while I was there, so I stayed put for a few hours.  As soon as the rain let up, I continued on to Fair Grove.  I stopped in a gas station across from the campsite, and someone gave me a BodyArmor sports drink, saying it's better than Gatorade.  My back tire again somehow went flat while I was in the gas station.  While fixing it, someone in a pickup truck asked if I needed a ride somewhere.  I declined and kept on patching.  Later on, someone named JD came by and started talking to me and offered to buy me an ice cream cone.  Overall, even with bad luck with flats, I've found awesome people who help make things a little better.

Day 27

Ellington, MO to Houston, MO, about 70 miles.  Today was exhausting!  Started the morning with a flat tire, and after thinking I fixed it with a patch, discovered that my hand pump broke off the air valve on the tube after inflating it all the way.  Luckily I'm carrying two spare tubes.  Had to replace it.  Before I left Ellington, a woman at a farmer's market gave me a garlic clove and said to use it for bug bites.  The day continued with biking through the Ozarks.  The Ozarks are a series of small but continuous mountains.  They were beautiful to ride through, and contained some fantastic scenery.  Nonetheless, I felt exhausted from the climbing and the heat.  Had some fans though with a few friendly honks and cheers from passing drivers, and some locals who were very interested in my trip sat by me at lunch and gave me some very helpful pointers.  Ended up in Houston, in Texas County, MO, where I'm camping in a city park.

Day 26

Farmington, MO to Ellington, MO, about 69 miles.  Started out at 7am and was happy to have an early start.  Made it about 4.5 miles out of town before I realized that I had forgotten my water bottles.  That led to a 9 mile round trip back into town to retrieve them.  Bad start, but by lunchtime I had entered Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park.  It was very beautiful, and there was a sign for a convenience store that I would stop at for lunch.  The convenience store happens to be beside a river that people swim in.  I went in and it was an awesome relief from the heat and riding.  Best experience of the trip so far.  Continued on to my destination through the beautiful state park as well as a national forest, Mark Twain National Forest.  So far, Missouri is shaping up to have some beautiful riding.

Day 25

Chester, IL to Farmington, MO, about 48 miles.  Crossed the Mississippi in the morning, but not before first seeing the Popeye statue.  Crossing the Mississippi put me into Missouri, my sixth state.  Saw one more Eastbounder today.  Got to Farmington, which has a really cool bike hostel.

Day 24

Murphysboro, IL to Chester, IL, about 41 miles.  Made it to the Mississippi River!  I took another short day to sleep in and also because there are no good places to stay between Chester, IL and Farmington, MO, about 45 miles away.  Chester is also a cool town with a Popeye theme, due to it being the hometown of Popeye's creator, E. C. Segar.  I was hosted by an Eagles lodge, a fraternal organization, and met five more westbound cyclists there!  They've formed a temporary group of five, but originally three are riding solo, one from Ohio, one from Tennessee, and one from England, and a couple from New Zealand are riding on a tandem.  I plan to ride with them to Farmington.  That makes 33 long-distance cyclists that I've seen so far, 23 Westbound and 10 Eastbound.

Day 23

Goreville, IL to Murphysboro, IL, about 38 miles.  Took a short day today.  Last night, an animal was scurrying around behind my tent which kept me up for a while.  It was finally scared off by an unexpected thunderstorm, which kept me up longer.  Woke up late with a bad headache and worse cold symptoms causing my body to crave rest, so I decided on a shorter day and a stay in a motel in Murphysboro for the night.  I took a nap by a lake mid-day, which was very relaxing.  I saw two pairs of cyclists today going eastbound, one pair on a tandem and another pair on two two-wheel recumbents.  I've also reached a new milestone, having completed Section 10 of the ACA's TransAmerica Route.

Day 22

Marion, KY to Goreville, IL, about 71 miles.  Crossed the Ohio River this morning by ferry from Kentucky to Cave In Rock, Illinois.  Today was very hot and I've had a cold which was at its worst today, so overall it wasn't a great day, aside from the ferry ride.  I went off ahead of the Penn State group that I was riding with through Kentucky, so I'm now solo camping outside of Goreville.  I saw three more cyclists today, all going east.  One appeared to be solo, and two were riding a tandem.  Going across the country on a tandem is truly incredible.

Day 21

Utica, KY to Marion, KY, about 69 miles.  I'm now further west than Chicago!  Also passed two eastbound cyclists on the road.  Staying in a Methodist church in Marion tonight.

Day 20

Big Clifty, KY to Utica, KY, about 66 miles.  Hit my thousandth mile today!  I'm also now in central time.  The family we stayed with in Big Clifty made us an awesome breakfast this morning of eggs and biscuits, and also we had some leftover spaghetti.  Ended the day in Utica, where we're staying at a volunteer fire station.  There's a cyclist named Henry staying here who biked from San Francisco and is heading to New York.  He's originally from Germany and currently lives in Australia, after also having lived in South Africa for some time.  He is filled with stories of biking, his two kids, and apartheid in South Africa.

Day 19

Springfield, KY to Big Clifty, KY, about 75 miles.  Hosted by a wonderful family in Big Clifty tonight.  They made us spaghetti for dinner and brownies.  I've been very impressed by the hospitality that people have shown to us.

Day 18

Berea, KY to Springfield, KY, about 75 miles.  It's great to be out of the Appalachians!  The riding is a whole lot easier.  Took a three hour break in Harrodsburg, which had an awesome Cafe and dessert shop called the Kentucky Fudge Cafe.  Stopped by a state park which is the sight where Abraham Lincoln's parents and grandparents lived, complete with replica homes made from some of the original wood.  While still in Kentucky, I'm now west of the Ohio-Indiana border.  Camping in a city park in Springfield tonight.

Day 17

Booneville, KY to Berea, KY, about 48 miles.  I've finally made my way through the Appalachians!  Came down off of a huge hill called Big Hill with awesome views.  Wish I'd been able to take a video of the descent.  We also went through Daniel Boone National Forest.  Ended the day in Berea, a cool little college town which is home to Berea College, known for being the first racially integrated college in the South.  I am camping outside of a fire station, where cyclists are welcome to stay.