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Location:Eads, Colorado
Saturday, July 31, 2010
We need a slushy! - July 28
Alarm goes off.(did not want to get up) Rolled out of bed. Pack up...ate a bagel. Head winds make for a very depressing morning. We all meet up at the truck stop to use the bathroom and fill water bottles before our 62 mile trek to Eads, CO. We all grabbed our butt butter (helps prevent rashes) and headed to the bathroom to apply. I soon noticed that my tube was empty and found the contents in the bottom of my pannier. Chad and Jarod found this very funny and were amused for a good half hour. A couple miles into the ride something happened, no more mountains, hills, or trees. It was so flat we thought we could Virginia, possible one of the most challenging days yet. A train sat next to the road and blocked most of the wind for about 33 miles. Now what are three boys to do while riding next to a train you ask, climb to the top of course. We stopped got some cool pictures and looked out at the vast grass lands of Colorado. We crested a hill and saw a town we would go though about 16 miles away yet, all we could do was just watch it get closer and closer. Took a break from the wind and the sun at a small gas station and decided we would go to the next town in the middle of the afternoon, only 97 degrees. We pressed on and to our surprise the winds died down enough that biking was bearable again. Pulled into town and grabbed a slushy or two and enjoyed them in the shade. We enjoyed our first city pool of the trip and it was amazing to float for a good two hours and cool off. After two hours of swimming we decided to use the $20 we got and go out to eat at a local cafe. Set up the hammocks in the local park to nap and moved at night so we would not have any late night surprises with sprinklers blasting us while sleeping. As funny as Chad and Jarod find it that I get wet every time we get hit by the dumb things, we decided it would just be better not to chance it. Hammocks up. Stars out. Just another day on the road.
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
What the heck prevailing winds? - July 27
We awoke quickly to the sounds of sprinklers going off all around the play ground. We watched as they came just a few feet from our hammocks. After a few minutes the sprinklers shut off, but quickly turned on to our right. At this moment no one was alarmed until Jarod started to get to hit by the sprinklers. A quick move across the playground and all was quiet again in the park as we looked up into the stars and fell asleep.
Morning came and brought the heat with it as we quickly packed up camp. I rode over to the post office to pick up my package my parents sent me as Chad and Jarod found breakfast. Quick stop at the bike shop and Pueblo quickly became just a memory. A quick glance in the mirror and the Rockies still pieced the sky as we rode into the upper dessert of Colorado. The wind, like the past week was blowing from the north east and made for a great head wind. So to entertain ourselves we grabbed sunflowers from the side of the road and through them at each other. Water was not a problem for the towns were spaced out about every 20 miles. We finally came to the town of Ordway, CO and what better way to cool down then a slushy. I ran in only to find the machine out of order and and had to break the news to Chad and Jarod. While sitting outside the gas station an older couple asked us where we were heading. After telling them of all our adventures they gave us $20 to go out to eat. We thanked them beyond measure and headed over to the library to update the blog. Upon arrival we found it closed on Tuesdays for a summer reading party. They let us in anyway to escape the heat, very nice Librarians. We played guitar hero and some board games with the kids and even got free food! Jarod was informed of a hostel that we could stay at in town that had showers and was completely free.
After a nice shower we met another rider that was going west to yellowstone, she was from Mansfield, OH! We talked for a bit and told each other of the road ahead then went to bed early to try to beat the heat in the morning, 5:30 comes quick.
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Morning came and brought the heat with it as we quickly packed up camp. I rode over to the post office to pick up my package my parents sent me as Chad and Jarod found breakfast. Quick stop at the bike shop and Pueblo quickly became just a memory. A quick glance in the mirror and the Rockies still pieced the sky as we rode into the upper dessert of Colorado. The wind, like the past week was blowing from the north east and made for a great head wind. So to entertain ourselves we grabbed sunflowers from the side of the road and through them at each other. Water was not a problem for the towns were spaced out about every 20 miles. We finally came to the town of Ordway, CO and what better way to cool down then a slushy. I ran in only to find the machine out of order and and had to break the news to Chad and Jarod. While sitting outside the gas station an older couple asked us where we were heading. After telling them of all our adventures they gave us $20 to go out to eat. We thanked them beyond measure and headed over to the library to update the blog. Upon arrival we found it closed on Tuesdays for a summer reading party. They let us in anyway to escape the heat, very nice Librarians. We played guitar hero and some board games with the kids and even got free food! Jarod was informed of a hostel that we could stay at in town that had showers and was completely free.
After a nice shower we met another rider that was going west to yellowstone, she was from Mansfield, OH! We talked for a bit and told each other of the road ahead then went to bed early to try to beat the heat in the morning, 5:30 comes quick.
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Location:Ordway, Colorado
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Trying to find every excuse to stay in Canon City - July 26
We slept in at Loren and Amanda's house - for we have not slept inside since we can remember. Woke up and began to get ready. Amanda made us pancakes before we hit the road which tasted great! We said our goodbye's and thank you's and headed out. Amazing family!!! Thank you so much to them!! We began texting Stacy who told us that she would open up Cold Stone early for us if we wanted to stop by and get ice cream for the third time. Sure enough we did. We arrived and found that Stacy came in on her day off to open up Cold Stone a half hour early!! She got us our ice cream and then ate with us for an hour or so. We had a great time, said our goodbyes and she left - then we realized we should have gotten our picture with her so she could be on the blog... but it was too late. We went outside and then began talked with 2 girls sitting on the patio. They told us that we should stay in Canon City another day so that we could get tubes and float down the Arkansas River. We decided over lunch which was 2 lbs 8 oz of ravioli apiece. As much as we wanted to stay another day, we decided that it would probably be smartest to make progress towards Virginia. We headed out of Canon City and immediately, the head wind started - and then the flats started. We fought our way through wind, flats and heat to make it to Pueblo at a decent time. Rode through town, along a river, until we came to a place with 89 cent slushies!! We sat and drank slushies for probably 2 hours until we found ambition to ride to the park. We got there, got out our stoves and began cooking when a group of picknickers came over and gave us all of their extra food!! Like 13 hot dogs, a bag of chips and smores. Its always a great day when you get free food. We sat up our hammocks, showered in the sprinklers and went to bed.
Day of Cold Stone
(Written by Jarod)
So we woke up from a great nights sleep in our hammocks in the city park. Crawled out, packed up and headed to a hotel for some continental breakfast. We went in, started eating, called some churches and found service times. We had time to kill before church so we went for a dip in the hot tubs. They felt amazing! Got out, got ready and headed to church. Within 48 seconds of walking through the front door, and without saying anything at all, the church offered us a place to sleep, showers, and a whole cake!! What an amazing church! We found a seat and the service started. It really was a great service. Once over, all kinds of people found us and talked to us. Eventually we talked to a guy named Loren. He asked if we had a place to stay and opened up his home to us! We accepted, got directions, talked a bit and then headed out. We stopped at taco bell before going to Lorens house, where we got the BIG BOX MEAL, which we devoured. We finally arrived at Lorens house and met his whole family. His wife Amanda and their three daughters - Hope-age 6, Bella-age 3 and Ava-age 6 months. (I think I got all the ages and spellings right) But they are an amazing family! Already having their hands full with 3 young children and to still take in 3 strangers, do their laundry, feed them and let them crash in your home. We wanted to go to Wal Mart and Cold stone (for we got 4 free coupons through the church) so Loren and Amanda offered us their car to drive their rather than bike! So off we went, got some goods from Wal Mart and headed to cold stone. At cold stone we all ordered, talked with the employees for a bit (they were at the same church we were at), ate, then went back up and gave Stacy (an employee at cold stone) our phone number and asked if they wanted to hang out tonight. We laughed, talked, but had to leave in a hurry, for we were going to small groups with Loren and Amanda and were running late. Soon as we left cold stone we realized we forgot to do the only thing Loren and Amanda asked of us - which was to get some cleaning supplies from Wal Mart. So we had to stop back by Wal Mart then on to their house. We followed them to small groups, for their van was full. We met all kinds of great people at small groups - chatted, played with their kids, ate, and small grouped (yes that's a word) for a while before heading out. We left and headed back to cold stone for the second time to use our 4th coupon. Talked with the employees again and ate then rented a movie and went back to the house to watch it. Stacy began to text us -first making us aware that chad left his wallet, so chad had to go back to cold stone a third time LOL - BUT- she gave us a lame excuse that she cannot hang out because she had a pool party to go to - so we spent the night watching "The book of Eli" (great movie), eating animal cookies and icing, and then talking with Loren and Amanda til late. Great Times!!
So we woke up from a great nights sleep in our hammocks in the city park. Crawled out, packed up and headed to a hotel for some continental breakfast. We went in, started eating, called some churches and found service times. We had time to kill before church so we went for a dip in the hot tubs. They felt amazing! Got out, got ready and headed to church. Within 48 seconds of walking through the front door, and without saying anything at all, the church offered us a place to sleep, showers, and a whole cake!! What an amazing church! We found a seat and the service started. It really was a great service. Once over, all kinds of people found us and talked to us. Eventually we talked to a guy named Loren. He asked if we had a place to stay and opened up his home to us! We accepted, got directions, talked a bit and then headed out. We stopped at taco bell before going to Lorens house, where we got the BIG BOX MEAL, which we devoured. We finally arrived at Lorens house and met his whole family. His wife Amanda and their three daughters - Hope-age 6, Bella-age 3 and Ava-age 6 months. (I think I got all the ages and spellings right) But they are an amazing family! Already having their hands full with 3 young children and to still take in 3 strangers, do their laundry, feed them and let them crash in your home. We wanted to go to Wal Mart and Cold stone (for we got 4 free coupons through the church) so Loren and Amanda offered us their car to drive their rather than bike! So off we went, got some goods from Wal Mart and headed to cold stone. At cold stone we all ordered, talked with the employees for a bit (they were at the same church we were at), ate, then went back up and gave Stacy (an employee at cold stone) our phone number and asked if they wanted to hang out tonight. We laughed, talked, but had to leave in a hurry, for we were going to small groups with Loren and Amanda and were running late. Soon as we left cold stone we realized we forgot to do the only thing Loren and Amanda asked of us - which was to get some cleaning supplies from Wal Mart. So we had to stop back by Wal Mart then on to their house. We followed them to small groups, for their van was full. We met all kinds of great people at small groups - chatted, played with their kids, ate, and small grouped (yes that's a word) for a while before heading out. We left and headed back to cold stone for the second time to use our 4th coupon. Talked with the employees again and ate then rented a movie and went back to the house to watch it. Stacy began to text us -first making us aware that chad left his wallet, so chad had to go back to cold stone a third time LOL - BUT- she gave us a lame excuse that she cannot hang out because she had a pool party to go to - so we spent the night watching "The book of Eli" (great movie), eating animal cookies and icing, and then talking with Loren and Amanda til late. Great Times!!
Hoosier Daddy
Woke up to Chaz getting blasted by a sprinkler... again. Very funny way to wake up, for Chad and I at least. Since we were already awake, Chaz and I went and got a pancake breakfast while Chad slept in. We grouped back up and decided our plans for the day. We decided to ride rather than play. Big thanks to Jeff and Trisha for offering showers but we were only going to get sweaty again, so we passed up the shower and headed out. We began to climb immediately. Climbed and climbed for 16 miles where we arrived at the summit of Hoosier Pass. Ate lunch, took stickers from the sign, met a crazy biker and headed down. Dropped a ways and headed up our last rocky mountain pass. It was again 16 miles but we made it! We dropped from 11500 feet to 5000 feet throughout the day. Although it's sad leaving the Rockies, it feels good to be warm again and have an abundance of oxygen. We rode 100 miles to Canon City and celebrated by eating Mcdonalds. Tasted great! Found a park and called it a night.
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Canon City
Frisky in Frisco
We got sprinklered again last night at 11:45. Being as used to them as we are, we recognized the noise and were able to pack up our hammocks and get out of the way immediately. After patiently waiting on them to shut off, we located the switch box, used a trash can for protection from the sprinkler as the other blocked the stream with a mop. We ended up shutting them off, strung our hammocks back up from the rafters and went back to sleep. Woke around 7:30 and made our way back across the street to subway. The lady who owned the subway was so nice! We talked with her forever and then she gave us all extra food. Nice lady. We hit the road, quickly became irritated of how close cars were squeezing to us, so I put a stick with an orange flag off the side of my bike. It did the trick. It may have made cars more angry but made us feel much safer. Chad's tire got much worse on the way to town! The rubber was now pulling away on both sides about a foot long. All we could do is just ride and hope we made it to a bike shop. Sure enough we made it. Chad went to a bike shop as Chaz and I went to the Columbia outlet store. Chad called specialized (the maker of his tire) and they replaced it for free! We all met back up at pizza hut to get the buffet! We had a waiter named James who must have told us his name 12 times in a 30 second span. Quote: "hi, my names James. If you need anything just call for me, names James. Can I start you with a drink? When you know what you would like just call for me, James. But once again the names James and I'll be your server. No joke, it was great. He talked so loud too! And he had to go on delivery so he told every table individually that he was leaving, but by the time he would get to your table, you've already heard him a dozen times! We bloated ourselves, left and rode to breckenridge. It's a cool town. Huge mountain bike tourist town. We might rent mountain bikes tomorrow and ride if prices fit our budget. We explored town, searched for a place to stay, found a school and set up our hammocks. At camp we met a family, Jeff, Trisha, and there 2 kids. We talked to them about our trip for a good while, and they then invited us to there condo to shower in the morning. We must have stunk lol. What great people!
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Bike, eat, sleep... What a life. July 22
It was a routine morning. Crawled out of the tent, packed up camp and hit the road. We had to set up the tent for the first time in several days due to Colorado evening storms. We rode 35 miles and crossed the continental divide, 8859 feet. From there it was another 27 miles to Kremling, mostly down hill. We got in 62 miles by lunch which is a great feeling! We stopped at a grocery store, ate our lunch which consisted of ravioli, corn and ego's. We discussed maybe riding to the next town which would make it a 120 mile day. Due to being ahead of schedule, we found it more appealing to take it easy and enjoy the town. We rode to a local park, set up our hammocks in a pavilion and slept for 3 hours. I don't know if you've ever seen 3 guys sleeping in hammocks in the middle of town, but its a funny sight. We woke up around 6 and stumbled across the street to subway, where we all got a footlong. Afterwards we decided that we wanted dessert, so we went back to the grocery store to price some cookies. We ended up finding that all the baked goods were marked down for quick sale. Chad and I bought more fried food than any person could eat for total 3 bucks! Chaz bought a whole cake! We all shared and ate ourselves in to a food coma. We walked out as the check out girl commented on how much time we spent in the store eating, its great having nothing better to do. We rode back to the park and are laying in our hammocks again waiting for it to get dark so we can go back to sleep.
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Attempt to get caught up round 2
July 9 mammoth hot springs yellowstone
Split happened. Very sad day. Exchanged a list of ten to do items across country = very funny. And then there was 3 . Road construction sucks in yellowstone! Fed chipmunks. Saved 2 people off the face of a cliff with our bear hanging rope! It was crazy! More sweet hot springs. Ate a mystery mix for dinner that we found in a bear box. Added PB and J to make it taste good.
July 10 tower fall yellowstone
Saw our first bears! Climbed trees for a long time. Rode out lamar valley to a ranger institute. Met a guy from Dover, Ohio who knew our dad! He gave us tacos! Rode back. Saw more bears and much more wild life.
This was the view of the mountain from camp. If you look closely you can see a elk on the ridge of the hill.
July 11 canyon city yellowstone
Climbed mount washburn. 10,243 feet Got hailed on at the top= painful. Biked up pass. Ate at a 1 pass buffet where they were going to charge us 2 plates for stacking too high. We argued and got our way. Random people took pictures of us and our huge plates. Ate till we were sick, snuck out the rest for lunch. Crashed in the visitor center for hours watching free yellowstone movies and letting our food settle.
Chad sliding down the side of the hill.
This coyote walked right by us on top of the hill.
July 12 bridge bay yellowstone
Spent morning seeing grand canyon of yellowstone and falls. Went on a 7 mile hike around canyon.
July 13 colter bay tetons
Heavy cross wind! Heavy traffic! Road construction! We made it. Tetons are incredible! Met a father and mother taking there young children on a bike tour on tandems= hardcore. Watched over Jackson lake as the sun set over the tetons with a forest fire in Idaho. Made for a sky of every color you can imagine! Amazing
July 14 Jenny lake tetons
Rode to Jenny lake. Got trail info and a bear canister and began our 22 mile, 2 day, backpack journey. Hiked through cascade canyon to lake solitude (look them up).incredible. Saw 2 bull moose and 2 black bear. Set up camp in a snow field, middle of Tetons, next to lake solitude. Possibly the coolest place ever camped.
July 15 Jenny lake Tetons
Hiked on. Great views. Go over paint brush divide to the north face. Covered in snow making trail impassible with no snow gear.... To the normal person. Side of a mountain, very steep, covered in snow and ice= us trying a move learned from the man himself, bear grylls. We put our packs in front and jumped. Before we even had time to think we were sliding out of control a million miles an hour down a mountain. We were at bottom in no time. Most fun 30 seconds of my life. Better than any roller coaster or water slide. Hiked rest of way out back to town.
July 16 lander Wyoming
Left Tetons. Rode 143 miles to lander. Rolled in late, went to mcdonalds and ate 4 doubles covered in ranch with sweet tea=heaven after biking 143 miles. Camped in park.
July 17 lander
Went to bike shop. Bought hammocks which have replaced our tent. Met a very cool girl named Andrea with a very cool boyfriend named mike who had a very cool friend named Chris. They lived in their cars! Andrea let Chad and I borrow their mountain bikes as Chaz went to the library.it was sweet. I fell on a cactus though which was painful. Got back and went to the pool with Andrea which had a climbing wall and ball hoop. All ate ranch burritos together. Slept in hammocks. Sprinklers turned on. Got wet. Moved hammocks to bleachers.
July 18 lander
Andrea and Chris took us rock climbing at wild iris! It was such a sweet place to climb. Climbed all day. Chaz got to do his first climb ever! Headed back to camp.
Ate. All of us went to get ice cream and visited. Said goodbyes and passed out in hammocks.
Biked 126 miles to rawlins. Saw a rattle snake. Horrible winds. Made it. Groceries. Camped in park.
July 20 riverside Wyoming
Ate a hotel continental breakfast! Might have snuck in, but it was so good! Kind of just a straight day of riding. Got to riverside. Camped, ate, showered in a sprinkler.
July 21 walden Colorado
Short day. Climbed Colorado welcome sign. Lunch, library, laid on hammocks in a playground all evening. Frito Chile pie for dinner.
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Split happened. Very sad day. Exchanged a list of ten to do items across country = very funny. And then there was 3 . Road construction sucks in yellowstone! Fed chipmunks. Saved 2 people off the face of a cliff with our bear hanging rope! It was crazy! More sweet hot springs. Ate a mystery mix for dinner that we found in a bear box. Added PB and J to make it taste good.
July 10 tower fall yellowstone
Saw our first bears! Climbed trees for a long time. Rode out lamar valley to a ranger institute. Met a guy from Dover, Ohio who knew our dad! He gave us tacos! Rode back. Saw more bears and much more wild life.
This was the view of the mountain from camp. If you look closely you can see a elk on the ridge of the hill.
July 11 canyon city yellowstone
Climbed mount washburn. 10,243 feet Got hailed on at the top= painful. Biked up pass. Ate at a 1 pass buffet where they were going to charge us 2 plates for stacking too high. We argued and got our way. Random people took pictures of us and our huge plates. Ate till we were sick, snuck out the rest for lunch. Crashed in the visitor center for hours watching free yellowstone movies and letting our food settle.
Chad sliding down the side of the hill.
This coyote walked right by us on top of the hill.
July 12 bridge bay yellowstone
Spent morning seeing grand canyon of yellowstone and falls. Went on a 7 mile hike around canyon.
July 13 colter bay tetons
Heavy cross wind! Heavy traffic! Road construction! We made it. Tetons are incredible! Met a father and mother taking there young children on a bike tour on tandems= hardcore. Watched over Jackson lake as the sun set over the tetons with a forest fire in Idaho. Made for a sky of every color you can imagine! Amazing
July 14 Jenny lake tetons
Rode to Jenny lake. Got trail info and a bear canister and began our 22 mile, 2 day, backpack journey. Hiked through cascade canyon to lake solitude (look them up).incredible. Saw 2 bull moose and 2 black bear. Set up camp in a snow field, middle of Tetons, next to lake solitude. Possibly the coolest place ever camped.
July 15 Jenny lake Tetons
Hiked on. Great views. Go over paint brush divide to the north face. Covered in snow making trail impassible with no snow gear.... To the normal person. Side of a mountain, very steep, covered in snow and ice= us trying a move learned from the man himself, bear grylls. We put our packs in front and jumped. Before we even had time to think we were sliding out of control a million miles an hour down a mountain. We were at bottom in no time. Most fun 30 seconds of my life. Better than any roller coaster or water slide. Hiked rest of way out back to town.
Left Tetons. Rode 143 miles to lander. Rolled in late, went to mcdonalds and ate 4 doubles covered in ranch with sweet tea=heaven after biking 143 miles. Camped in park.
July 17 lander
Went to bike shop. Bought hammocks which have replaced our tent. Met a very cool girl named Andrea with a very cool boyfriend named mike who had a very cool friend named Chris. They lived in their cars! Andrea let Chad and I borrow their mountain bikes as Chaz went to the library.it was sweet. I fell on a cactus though which was painful. Got back and went to the pool with Andrea which had a climbing wall and ball hoop. All ate ranch burritos together. Slept in hammocks. Sprinklers turned on. Got wet. Moved hammocks to bleachers.
July 18 lander
Andrea and Chris took us rock climbing at wild iris! It was such a sweet place to climb. Climbed all day. Chaz got to do his first climb ever! Headed back to camp.
Ate. All of us went to get ice cream and visited. Said goodbyes and passed out in hammocks.
Chad,Jarod,Chris,Andrea,Chaz
July 19 rawlins WyomingBiked 126 miles to rawlins. Saw a rattle snake. Horrible winds. Made it. Groceries. Camped in park.
Ate a hotel continental breakfast! Might have snuck in, but it was so good! Kind of just a straight day of riding. Got to riverside. Camped, ate, showered in a sprinkler.
July 21 walden Colorado
Short day. Climbed Colorado welcome sign. Lunch, library, laid on hammocks in a playground all evening. Frito Chile pie for dinner.
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Attempt to be up to date
July 4 Jackson
Cold morning! First frost. Long gradual pass. Dropped in to big hole valley. Mosquitos everywhere! Strong headwind = longest 18 miles ever! Finally arrived. A farmer let's us camp on his land who turned out to be an Olympic athlete! We had a movie night on Chaz iPad= good times. Although, we found 6 people in our tent is too many!
July 5 twin bridges
Talked with the farmer for a long while. He welded Chaz rack back together. He also told us about rainbow people (look them up). Great guy. He had to leave in a hurry due to the neighbors bull that snuck into the cow field. Explains the mooing all night long. Rode to next town, ate subway and cookies fresh out of the oven. Pushed on to twin bridges. Great town. Free biker camp with pavilion. Dinner ranch burritos= new favorite.climbed a tree...took sweet pictures. Met James. Cool guy. He slept in a hammock as me and Chad slept in the rafters. Lit fireworks.
July 6 random campground
Girls got ready way before us so left and waited for us at a bakery. They know us well. Virginia city was cool. Got homemade taffy and huckleberry ice cream. Rode up and down a long pass to Ellis. Waited in subway only to find no $5 footlong deal= us storming out. Ride to camp. Played frisbee. Get chewed out by a farmer for jumping his fence while trying to hike up a mountain.
July 7 Madison yellowstone
Freezing morning. Pancake breakfast. Ordered stack of 3 cakes. They were huge! Took everything to finish. Whole restaurant cheered us on= best, most fun breakfast of our lives! Got to west yellowstone. Ate tacos out of a traveling bus= awesome! Went through gate into yellowstone!!!
July 8 Madison yellowstone
Last day with girls. Floated down a river in our tubes. Tourists found us as amusing as wild life. Found out tubes were illegal in yellowstone. Went to a swimming hole. Jumped off cliffs in to river. Found out it's illegal to cliff jump in yellowstone. Went to hot springs and geysers. Stuck our hands in. Found it was illegal to touch hot springs in yellowstone. Went to old faithful! Magical place! Hiked to a waterfall and returned to camp.
Cold morning! First frost. Long gradual pass. Dropped in to big hole valley. Mosquitos everywhere! Strong headwind = longest 18 miles ever! Finally arrived. A farmer let's us camp on his land who turned out to be an Olympic athlete! We had a movie night on Chaz iPad= good times. Although, we found 6 people in our tent is too many!
July 5 twin bridges
Talked with the farmer for a long while. He welded Chaz rack back together. He also told us about rainbow people (look them up). Great guy. He had to leave in a hurry due to the neighbors bull that snuck into the cow field. Explains the mooing all night long. Rode to next town, ate subway and cookies fresh out of the oven. Pushed on to twin bridges. Great town. Free biker camp with pavilion. Dinner ranch burritos= new favorite.climbed a tree...took sweet pictures. Met James. Cool guy. He slept in a hammock as me and Chad slept in the rafters. Lit fireworks.
July 6 random campground
Girls got ready way before us so left and waited for us at a bakery. They know us well. Virginia city was cool. Got homemade taffy and huckleberry ice cream. Rode up and down a long pass to Ellis. Waited in subway only to find no $5 footlong deal= us storming out. Ride to camp. Played frisbee. Get chewed out by a farmer for jumping his fence while trying to hike up a mountain.
July 7 Madison yellowstone
Freezing morning. Pancake breakfast. Ordered stack of 3 cakes. They were huge! Took everything to finish. Whole restaurant cheered us on= best, most fun breakfast of our lives! Got to west yellowstone. Ate tacos out of a traveling bus= awesome! Went through gate into yellowstone!!!
July 8 Madison yellowstone
Last day with girls. Floated down a river in our tubes. Tourists found us as amusing as wild life. Found out tubes were illegal in yellowstone. Went to a swimming hole. Jumped off cliffs in to river. Found out it's illegal to cliff jump in yellowstone. Went to hot springs and geysers. Stuck our hands in. Found it was illegal to touch hot springs in yellowstone. Went to old faithful! Magical place! Hiked to a waterfall and returned to camp.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Another day of riding... - july 3
(posted by Jarod)
So we woke up to rain in the families front yard. We all felt horrible from all the junk we ate the day before so just layed there til almost 8. Finally the rain stopped and we found the ambition to get up. We all told ourselves that today we would eat healthier and not bloat ourselves. First thing we do - we eat a whole bag of cereal - apiece- and a gallon of milk. We pack up, say our goodbyes and thank you's and hit the road. WE ride a few miles down and stop at a grocery store. Chad found a great deal on a whole Oreo cake... only 4 bucks!! So we buy it, split it in to thirds and eat the whole thing... so much for eating healthy. We bought some fireworks and hit the road. We rode on and came to a town where we wanted to eat lunch. Us guys felt miserable from all the junk so just slept while the girls ate. They woke us up, told us it was time to move on and back on the bikes we went. Rode into camp, set up, climbed a mountain for the view, ate smores and called it a day.
Pounding the Pounder - July 2
(posted by Jarod)
So I woke up this morning to the wind howling past the tent and a few rain drops. I opened the zipper and took a look outside and sure enough there was a huge rain cloud moving our way. I woke Chaz and Chad up, told them lets hurry to subway for breakfast before it rains, and it wasn't 5 minutes later that camp was torn down, bikes packed up and ready to hit the road. This was probably the first day that we beat the girls out of camp, all it took was a little rain and subway breakfast down the road. We got there, ordered and ate, and it began to poor rain! The girsls, who took longer to pack up, got soaked! It was actually kind of funny. We all ate, regrouped and then headed to Missoula. It wasn't long, maybe 18 miles until we arrived. The group then split, us 3 guys and 2 of the girls went to the bike shop then went to REI. While everyone was at REI Chaz and I decided to get our hair cut next door, for we were way over due. We walked in, sat down, began to talk with the barbers and somewhere along the line brought up dying our hair red and blue for memorial day. The barbers loved the idea so now our hair was being dyed with temporary red and blue dye. After laughing and getting our picture with our barbers we headed back over to REI. Chad was the only one left there who just looked at us like we were stupid. We then headed to Fudruckers - glanced at the menu - saw the pounder burger - and ordered it. This burger was huge!! Alot bigger than we expected! We loaded it up with veggies, ketchup, fry sauce etc and went back to our table and started eating. We looked up to realize about the whole restaurant was staring at our massive burgers and laughing - it was great. We stuck to our 'no food left behind' policy and devoured the whole burger and fries. We then grabbed a Fudruckers sailer hat and headed to adventure psychling headquarters to meet up with the girls. There was then free ice cream at adventure psychling so even though we were stuffed, couldn't pass it up. Ate ice cream got our picture taken 8 million times by adv. psych., did some group pictures then decided it was time to head back towards Lolo. We were able to make it to the next town after Lolo called Florence. We stopped at a grocery store, got directions to a park where maybe we could sleep and headed that way. When we were almost there we came across a man in his front yard who was very friendly and invited us to camp in his yard! We accepted the offer, set up camp and then they made us dinner! MORE BURGERS! LOL. We ate more burgers and enjoyed every bite! Definitely put in more calories this day than we burnt for sure. The family then had a massive bon fire for us where we burnt a couch! It was great! We all sat around, chatted, ate smores, journaled and just visited the rest of the night.
So I woke up this morning to the wind howling past the tent and a few rain drops. I opened the zipper and took a look outside and sure enough there was a huge rain cloud moving our way. I woke Chaz and Chad up, told them lets hurry to subway for breakfast before it rains, and it wasn't 5 minutes later that camp was torn down, bikes packed up and ready to hit the road. This was probably the first day that we beat the girls out of camp, all it took was a little rain and subway breakfast down the road. We got there, ordered and ate, and it began to poor rain! The girsls, who took longer to pack up, got soaked! It was actually kind of funny. We all ate, regrouped and then headed to Missoula. It wasn't long, maybe 18 miles until we arrived. The group then split, us 3 guys and 2 of the girls went to the bike shop then went to REI. While everyone was at REI Chaz and I decided to get our hair cut next door, for we were way over due. We walked in, sat down, began to talk with the barbers and somewhere along the line brought up dying our hair red and blue for memorial day. The barbers loved the idea so now our hair was being dyed with temporary red and blue dye. After laughing and getting our picture with our barbers we headed back over to REI. Chad was the only one left there who just looked at us like we were stupid. We then headed to Fudruckers - glanced at the menu - saw the pounder burger - and ordered it. This burger was huge!! Alot bigger than we expected! We loaded it up with veggies, ketchup, fry sauce etc and went back to our table and started eating. We looked up to realize about the whole restaurant was staring at our massive burgers and laughing - it was great. We stuck to our 'no food left behind' policy and devoured the whole burger and fries. We then grabbed a Fudruckers sailer hat and headed to adventure psychling headquarters to meet up with the girls. There was then free ice cream at adventure psychling so even though we were stuffed, couldn't pass it up. Ate ice cream got our picture taken 8 million times by adv. psych., did some group pictures then decided it was time to head back towards Lolo. We were able to make it to the next town after Lolo called Florence. We stopped at a grocery store, got directions to a park where maybe we could sleep and headed that way. When we were almost there we came across a man in his front yard who was very friendly and invited us to camp in his yard! We accepted the offer, set up camp and then they made us dinner! MORE BURGERS! LOL. We ate more burgers and enjoyed every bite! Definitely put in more calories this day than we burnt for sure. The family then had a massive bon fire for us where we burnt a couch! It was great! We all sat around, chatted, ate smores, journaled and just visited the rest of the night.
Day of the Hot Springs - June 31
(this post is written by Jarod)
So due to the shortage of cooking fuel, we lit a fire first thing in the morning so we could cook our oatmeal. We learned our lesson for buying cheap oatmeal this morning, because I swear no matter how long you boil it, it just doesn't get soft. This stuff was like oats for horses.... but we ate it anyway. We all packed up camp, got on our bikes and rode about 1 mile down the road to the hot springs! For many of us, this was our first hot spring experience. We parked, hiked about 1.5 miles and came to a large steaming pool of water. It was GREAT! They were so warm and the air was so chilly still.... it felt amazing! Tamera and I had our $3 rafts, so we were able to float in the springs which made them even more amazing! We all sat around, talked, took pics, etc. for an hour or 2 in the spring then decided it was time to make some progress towards our next destination. Well, because Tamera and I had our $3 rafts, and the river was flowing in the direction that we needed to hike, we thought it would be a good idea to float back to the bikes rather than hike. We sat in the FREEZING river, got on our rafts and away we went. I immediately flipped off my raft and just hooked it with my arm. I got tossed around and beat up for probably 200 yards down stream, off my raft the whole time. Tamera was able to do a whole lot better than I did. She just sat on her raft through all the rapids, almost making the float look relaxing, but was still unable to get to the right side due to the fast moving water. So now I'm standing on a rock in the middle of the river and she is on the wrong side of the river. I jumped back in and swam over to her but now we had no idea what to do. The rapids down stream were way to big to swim through and the river was too fast to swim across. We began to hike back up river probably 200 yards, freezing cold! Finally we came to the only possible spot to cross and sure enough, there was an old, wrinkly, butt naked man right where we needed to swim too. We couldn't believe it but we had to cross there so we jumped back in the river and swam on across. I thought once the man would see us, especially a girl, that he would maybe try and hide himself or be a little embraced, but nope, he just looked up, smiled, and remained naked, squatting in the river - washing or whatever he was doing. We hurried out and died laughing at the whole deal - but were scared because we thought everyone was going to be furious that we wasted so much time. Well it wasn't long until we saw Chad and Chaz. They weren't mad a bit. Turned out they were off exploring the forest. They found a hot spring waterfall where they showered and also found a snake that they were able to kill. So they were not mad at all, probably not ready to leave yet to tell you the truth. Turns out the other girls weren't too upset either, they were just waiting patiently at the bikes. So we grabbed our bikes and rode on. Eventually we came to a town called Powell where we ate lunch. We got Bologna and cheese spread which tasted great, but we think the cheese spread gave chad a bad stomach ache - but he toughed it up and rode on with an upset stomach. We immediately came to Lolo pass which was several miles long. Chad and I decided to ride the pass fast so that we could nap on the top while we wait on the rest of the group.We thought Chaz was coming with us but after riding a big I looked back and he was nowhere to be found, so I just figured he stayed with the girls. So Chad and I make it to the top, figured we would have about 20 minutes to sleep until the rest of the group catches us. We slept in the picnic shelter, got cold so we moved and slept in the grass, got hot and moved back in the shade and before we knew it almost an hour probably had past and nobody was at the top yet. We began to get worried but a couple told us they passed a group of girls almost to the top. Sure enough the girls got to the top but no Chaz. LOL. They told us that we took off, Chaz didn't realize we left because he was having chain issues, then tried to catch us and I guess he rode right on by the rest stop. We all had a good laugh, watered up and headed down the other side to find Chaz. We went down the hill, almost ten miles until we see Chaz along side the road. Sure enough that's exactly what happened. He said he didn't see us at the rest stop and kept riding. We rode on into the town of Lolo where we first ate some double burgers from McDonald's. We figured the only way to make a double cheeseburger from McDonald's more unhealthy but more Delicious was to add ranch dressing... so we did and it was amazing! We then went to the grocery store and met a guy named Steve who let us stay in his back yard!! Worked out great because the campground wanted 40 bucks for a night! So the three of us got a half gallon of ice cream apiece to celebrate a new state, met up with the girls who had eaten somewhere else and headed to Steve's back yard!
So due to the shortage of cooking fuel, we lit a fire first thing in the morning so we could cook our oatmeal. We learned our lesson for buying cheap oatmeal this morning, because I swear no matter how long you boil it, it just doesn't get soft. This stuff was like oats for horses.... but we ate it anyway. We all packed up camp, got on our bikes and rode about 1 mile down the road to the hot springs! For many of us, this was our first hot spring experience. We parked, hiked about 1.5 miles and came to a large steaming pool of water. It was GREAT! They were so warm and the air was so chilly still.... it felt amazing! Tamera and I had our $3 rafts, so we were able to float in the springs which made them even more amazing! We all sat around, talked, took pics, etc. for an hour or 2 in the spring then decided it was time to make some progress towards our next destination. Well, because Tamera and I had our $3 rafts, and the river was flowing in the direction that we needed to hike, we thought it would be a good idea to float back to the bikes rather than hike. We sat in the FREEZING river, got on our rafts and away we went. I immediately flipped off my raft and just hooked it with my arm. I got tossed around and beat up for probably 200 yards down stream, off my raft the whole time. Tamera was able to do a whole lot better than I did. She just sat on her raft through all the rapids, almost making the float look relaxing, but was still unable to get to the right side due to the fast moving water. So now I'm standing on a rock in the middle of the river and she is on the wrong side of the river. I jumped back in and swam over to her but now we had no idea what to do. The rapids down stream were way to big to swim through and the river was too fast to swim across. We began to hike back up river probably 200 yards, freezing cold! Finally we came to the only possible spot to cross and sure enough, there was an old, wrinkly, butt naked man right where we needed to swim too. We couldn't believe it but we had to cross there so we jumped back in the river and swam on across. I thought once the man would see us, especially a girl, that he would maybe try and hide himself or be a little embraced, but nope, he just looked up, smiled, and remained naked, squatting in the river - washing or whatever he was doing. We hurried out and died laughing at the whole deal - but were scared because we thought everyone was going to be furious that we wasted so much time. Well it wasn't long until we saw Chad and Chaz. They weren't mad a bit. Turned out they were off exploring the forest. They found a hot spring waterfall where they showered and also found a snake that they were able to kill. So they were not mad at all, probably not ready to leave yet to tell you the truth. Turns out the other girls weren't too upset either, they were just waiting patiently at the bikes. So we grabbed our bikes and rode on. Eventually we came to a town called Powell where we ate lunch. We got Bologna and cheese spread which tasted great, but we think the cheese spread gave chad a bad stomach ache - but he toughed it up and rode on with an upset stomach. We immediately came to Lolo pass which was several miles long. Chad and I decided to ride the pass fast so that we could nap on the top while we wait on the rest of the group.We thought Chaz was coming with us but after riding a big I looked back and he was nowhere to be found, so I just figured he stayed with the girls. So Chad and I make it to the top, figured we would have about 20 minutes to sleep until the rest of the group catches us. We slept in the picnic shelter, got cold so we moved and slept in the grass, got hot and moved back in the shade and before we knew it almost an hour probably had past and nobody was at the top yet. We began to get worried but a couple told us they passed a group of girls almost to the top. Sure enough the girls got to the top but no Chaz. LOL. They told us that we took off, Chaz didn't realize we left because he was having chain issues, then tried to catch us and I guess he rode right on by the rest stop. We all had a good laugh, watered up and headed down the other side to find Chaz. We went down the hill, almost ten miles until we see Chaz along side the road. Sure enough that's exactly what happened. He said he didn't see us at the rest stop and kept riding. We rode on into the town of Lolo where we first ate some double burgers from McDonald's. We figured the only way to make a double cheeseburger from McDonald's more unhealthy but more Delicious was to add ranch dressing... so we did and it was amazing! We then went to the grocery store and met a guy named Steve who let us stay in his back yard!! Worked out great because the campground wanted 40 bucks for a night! So the three of us got a half gallon of ice cream apiece to celebrate a new state, met up with the girls who had eaten somewhere else and headed to Steve's back yard!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Well today was uneventful...besides having to say goodbye - June 30
Well just another morning at the askers, up around 7:30, breakfast in the cabinet and OJ in the refrigerator. As always Chad was still passed out on the nice comfy couch, which i ended up falling asleep on during the movie. Once again the kitchen became a zoo as the askers are doing there morning routine and all 8 of us are running around the kitchen trying to eat. The askers got ready for their day as we packed up the bikes, we were informed of some really good donuts at the local gas station. I did not know until people started to scramble and yell ever one for them self! We knew we rubbed off on the girls when they where beating us to the donuts. Things calmed down when we took a huge group picture with the askers, but after that it was a mad rush to the gas station. People were talking about short cuts through town, that's a sign you have been in a town to long.
It was hard to say goodbye but we had to leave sometime. So this is a big thank you to the asker family for opening up your home to 8 people you ran into at a restaurant and impacting there lives for ever, i know we impacted yours! We will defiantly keep in touch and once again thank you so much Mike,Lorrie,Jon and Abby! We will miss you but never forget you.
A small climb for about 6 miles then we came across the sweetest down hill of the trip yet. For a good 7 miles the road twisted and turned down a canyon. Once we all regrouped at the bottom of the hill the group started the trek to our destination for the night....Hot Springs! We ate lunch at a cafe the was closed at 2:30 in the afternoon, then back in the the saddle. After a good hours of peddling we came to the last town for a while and stocked up on food for a three day trek over the lolo pass. But before we got the grouches we some how found out that they had cheap donuts, so after a little snack we got the grouches. I read online that this was going to be a 70 mile up hill climb. This was the easiest up hill of our lives, the river was flowing down hill for sure, but if you set a marble inn the road it would role the opposite way. So with a easy climb and hot spring waiting for us, and two days off we ended up doing our first century and then some to get to these dumb springs. After mile 107 rolled around we where done and pulled into the first camp ground we came to, Jerry Johnson campsite. We made about 3 pounds of Mac and cheese and went to bed.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
It was hard to say goodbye but we had to leave sometime. So this is a big thank you to the asker family for opening up your home to 8 people you ran into at a restaurant and impacting there lives for ever, i know we impacted yours! We will defiantly keep in touch and once again thank you so much Mike,Lorrie,Jon and Abby! We will miss you but never forget you.
A small climb for about 6 miles then we came across the sweetest down hill of the trip yet. For a good 7 miles the road twisted and turned down a canyon. Once we all regrouped at the bottom of the hill the group started the trek to our destination for the night....Hot Springs! We ate lunch at a cafe the was closed at 2:30 in the afternoon, then back in the the saddle. After a good hours of peddling we came to the last town for a while and stocked up on food for a three day trek over the lolo pass. But before we got the grouches we some how found out that they had cheap donuts, so after a little snack we got the grouches. I read online that this was going to be a 70 mile up hill climb. This was the easiest up hill of our lives, the river was flowing down hill for sure, but if you set a marble inn the road it would role the opposite way. So with a easy climb and hot spring waiting for us, and two days off we ended up doing our first century and then some to get to these dumb springs. After mile 107 rolled around we where done and pulled into the first camp ground we came to, Jerry Johnson campsite. We made about 3 pounds of Mac and cheese and went to bed.
Location:Grangville,ID
Pickle ball, Avatar, and a Baseball game - June 29
Both Jon and Abby are on a swim team and up early during the weekdays to go to the pool. The girls were still asleep out in the guest house while the guys minus sleepy head Chad were eating breakfast with the kids. Chad awoke, some of the girls finally came in and the askers just left us at the house. It was amazing how this family blessed us while we stayed in there home. To trust eight college kids alone at your house says a lot of what kind of family the askers are.
Well we are all eating breakfast and Danielle finally came in, got some food and then disappeared. We later found out around 3 that she went back to bed and did not get back until 3'oclock. While she was sleeping we watched Avatar and waited for the bike parts to come in. Finally got the phone call and went to the bike shop to get the bikes all fixed up. Once again Mr. Asker showed what kinda of a person he is and drove us to the bike shop to get them fixed. It took about 4 hours to get all three bikes back to working order and bike back up the hill to the askers house. When me, Amy, and Lucia returned, we came back to a mad house. We found everyone running around drawing on huge poster boards, and most of them were wet or drying off. While we were gone, everyone had a water fight with the kids, jarod and tamara wrestled each other into a swampy pond, and played another rundown of pickle ball. John had a little league baseball game and his whole family and almost the whole town was going to be at the game. So we spelled out on the posters WE LOVE JON! And went to the game. We piled into what the askers call the babysitter car, yes the eight us, and went down to the game. This was the first time some of us met Mrs. Asker, she was working and came home after a overnight stay in another town for work....i forget what she does..lol
So we piled in to this car and made a pretty big scene at the field with all of us getting out of the car and the huge signs we made. John loved it so much he really did not pay attention to the game, he just smiled and waved at us. Then a huge storm rolled in and postponed the game for a little bit. But this was good cuz we found out that it was two hot dog Tuesday! A dollar got you two hot dogs, let's just say they did not have any hot dogs left after we left the stand. The game was finally canceled due to lightning, and we headed back to the house. Now remember that all the bikes were fixed and we could have left that afternoon. But we decided to watch avatar and play pickle ball all day...and plus the askers said we could stay another night. So we did not to be rude and say no. Mrs. Asker made us an amazing dinner that was so good we stuffed our selves to the point it hurt, then she put ice cream in front of us.
We crawled to the couch and watched UP and talked into the night. Slowly people started to go to bed, but me, Chad, and Jarod were in bed already waiting for everyone else to leave the living room. But the three of us were out before the half way point of the movie. The sun set on yet another amazing day at the askers to make this the second night they have opened up their house to us.
Jon is the catcher pictured below! He was really good.
Well we are all eating breakfast and Danielle finally came in, got some food and then disappeared. We later found out around 3 that she went back to bed and did not get back until 3'oclock. While she was sleeping we watched Avatar and waited for the bike parts to come in. Finally got the phone call and went to the bike shop to get the bikes all fixed up. Once again Mr. Asker showed what kinda of a person he is and drove us to the bike shop to get them fixed. It took about 4 hours to get all three bikes back to working order and bike back up the hill to the askers house. When me, Amy, and Lucia returned, we came back to a mad house. We found everyone running around drawing on huge poster boards, and most of them were wet or drying off. While we were gone, everyone had a water fight with the kids, jarod and tamara wrestled each other into a swampy pond, and played another rundown of pickle ball. John had a little league baseball game and his whole family and almost the whole town was going to be at the game. So we spelled out on the posters WE LOVE JON! And went to the game. We piled into what the askers call the babysitter car, yes the eight us, and went down to the game. This was the first time some of us met Mrs. Asker, she was working and came home after a overnight stay in another town for work....i forget what she does..lol 
We crawled to the couch and watched UP and talked into the night. Slowly people started to go to bed, but me, Chad, and Jarod were in bed already waiting for everyone else to leave the living room. But the three of us were out before the half way point of the movie. The sun set on yet another amazing day at the askers to make this the second night they have opened up their house to us.
Jon is the catcher pictured below! He was really good.
Location:Grangville, ID
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