So I'm sitting in Missoula, taking a couple of days off. The whirlwind tour of the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier was awesome yet short. Here in Missoula it's like late Autumn, highs in the 60s and cloudy. I'm not prepared for this weather and I'm missing the summer weather of the east coast.
I don't have enough time to bicycle all the way to Seattle. My sister is flying in on September 6th to join me in bicycling around the San Juan Islands for a couple of days and then down the coast to San Francisco. What I'm going to do is catch a ride to Wallace, ID, ride the Coeur d'Alene rail trail (max 2% grade), head to Spokane and then up towards Kettle Falls and further if possible. Peter and possibly Eddie are going to drive out from Seattle and pick me up for a short road trip.
I should be able to work on my blog as I ride down the coast because my sister is bringing her computer. No promises though, but you should know that by now.
Happy September!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Another apology, another section
I'm finding it hard to sit in front of a computer and get everything I have on my to-do list done. Planning for the next part of my trip takes precedence over my blog, so I am getting further and further behind on my blog. I'm sorry for not keeping my promises to update it. I do want to share the trip with you and I will eventually get to all the posts.
Of course, I'm writing this because I'm off on the next portion of my trip from Arvada, visiting my brother and his fiancee, up to Glacier National Park. This portion is making me really nervous because I'm entering into bear country, hopefully avoiding the goathead thorns and climbing high passes. Tomorrow I head west from Arvada along the I-70 corridor over Loveland Pass to Silverthorne. Loveland Pass will be my highest pass at 11,990 feet. Luckily I have seen the route from going to a BBQ festival in Dillon with my brother. It's long but not as steep as some of those Appalachian hills.
I hope everyone's summer is going well.
Of course, I'm writing this because I'm off on the next portion of my trip from Arvada, visiting my brother and his fiancee, up to Glacier National Park. This portion is making me really nervous because I'm entering into bear country, hopefully avoiding the goathead thorns and climbing high passes. Tomorrow I head west from Arvada along the I-70 corridor over Loveland Pass to Silverthorne. Loveland Pass will be my highest pass at 11,990 feet. Luckily I have seen the route from going to a BBQ festival in Dillon with my brother. It's long but not as steep as some of those Appalachian hills.
I hope everyone's summer is going well.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Off on a Glacial Experience
I continued on the journey of Rail Trails and picked up one on the outskirts of the Milwaukee metro area. Did you know that Allis Chalmers were made in Wisconsin? I passed through a town called West Allis.
New Berlin Trail, then through Kenosha, and on to the Glacial Drumlin Trail. I met up with Scott at the start of the Glacial Drumlin. I had met him at the Downer Ave bicycle races, where he was selling his book, Falling Uphill: 25,742 Miles, 1,461 Days, 50 Countries, 6 Continents & 4 Moments of Enlightenment on a Bicycle, about his bicycle journey around the world. We bicycled to Dousman and the Coffee Vault Cafe, a former bank converted to a cafe (The vault is a supply closet.).
Scott headed back to Kenosha, as I headed on towards Madison and had a flat and mostly lonely ride. The hills (drumlins) were all to the north, left there from the glaciers. Corn and soybeans. Have I told you how boring it is to pass those fields for miles at a time? Luckily the trail was lined with trees, except for the hordes of mosquitoes that surrounded me when I stopped.
I made it to Madison and was greeted by a note left by Shaili and Keith, friends of Rachel and Eric from college. I hadn't read much since beginning the trip, and I relaxed and read the free weekly on the front porch. Keith came home from ultimate frisbee with the kids asleep, and Shaili arrived a bit later from a work meeting. Very friendly and generous people. I didn't think I'd ever meet anyone as quiet and reserved as Eric but Keith gives Eric a run for the title.
New Berlin Trail, then through Kenosha, and on to the Glacial Drumlin Trail. I met up with Scott at the start of the Glacial Drumlin. I had met him at the Downer Ave bicycle races, where he was selling his book, Falling Uphill: 25,742 Miles, 1,461 Days, 50 Countries, 6 Continents & 4 Moments of Enlightenment on a Bicycle, about his bicycle journey around the world. We bicycled to Dousman and the Coffee Vault Cafe, a former bank converted to a cafe (The vault is a supply closet.).
Scott headed back to Kenosha, as I headed on towards Madison and had a flat and mostly lonely ride. The hills (drumlins) were all to the north, left there from the glaciers. Corn and soybeans. Have I told you how boring it is to pass those fields for miles at a time? Luckily the trail was lined with trees, except for the hordes of mosquitoes that surrounded me when I stopped.
I made it to Madison and was greeted by a note left by Shaili and Keith, friends of Rachel and Eric from college. I hadn't read much since beginning the trip, and I relaxed and read the free weekly on the front porch. Keith came home from ultimate frisbee with the kids asleep, and Shaili arrived a bit later from a work meeting. Very friendly and generous people. I didn't think I'd ever meet anyone as quiet and reserved as Eric but Keith gives Eric a run for the title.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
