Day 28, August 29th 2007 ( Twin Falls, ID to Twin Falls, ID)

I slept in this morning since I was able to enjoy the luxury of a bed. I woke up around 10 and just started to get everything ready for the road. I hung out in the hotel until around 11:30 and was surprised to see that I had a message at the hotel for me. Apparently the guy that I had run into at Applebees last night had left me a coupon for a free breakfast at Perkins. It was truly a great thing to wake up to in the morning and I enjoyed the meal that was offered to me. After eating I had it set in my mind to accomplish a few things with the internet from the campus located about 3 blocks away. It was a community college called the College of Southern Idaho and as soon as I said what I was doing I was given a computer to use instantly. I was able to make a flyer for an incredible organization called Food At First (F.A.F.) and update my blog. The flyer is something that I have been intending to do this whole trip and now that I had a computer at my disposal things just started to come together. I know it's about a month into the trip, but with 2 or more months left I think that some money might be able to be made for a good cause. The organization is something that I have volunteered my time at two times a week during the summer and one day a week for over a year previous to that. It has truly been great to have been part of F.A.F. while I was in Ames and I will say that it is one thing that I do miss while I've been on the road. Just being able to go into the kitchen and prepare any meal you want with the food that is donated to F.A.F. for sometimes up to 70 people is just awesome. With places like Red Lobster donating crab, lobster, shrimp and other seafood you can make some pretty good things. While on the road it was unfortunate to hear that the large freezer in the back had broken down. All of the food in the freezer went bad and it was a kind of jolt to get me going on the flyer. With enough money the organizer, Scott Walker would love to expand and make his life long goal come true, to feed the hungry people all over the world. Quite a feat to achieve in one lifetime, but this has definitely been a great step in that direction. To see the website go to www.foodatfirst.com and read more about the incredible program. Through the vicious hours over the computer I remained until around 6:30, when I decided to leave the college. It was a great time and I enjoyed every minute of the entire visit. For my last few minutes in the computer lab I was able to see an incredible response from the people involved at the college. There were two other gentlemen at the senate computer lab with me and both were as helpful as could be. By the time I left I had my hands full of pizza and 20 flyers to take with me on the road. The two gentlemen liked what I was doing so much for Food At First that they said they would post some flyers around campus. I couldn't believe the response from the first people I had introduced the idea of the program to, but I sucked it in and continued on my way. I got myself to the edge of town and was going to try and shoot for Boise tomorrow. I found a park very easily and set up tent right beside what looked like some river rapids.
Daily mileage: 5.1 miles
Total mileage: 1442.8 miles

Day 27, August 28th 2007 (Kimberly,ID to Twin Falls,ID)

I went to sleep 21 and woke up 22. I don't feel any different yet, but I guess the day just started. It was 5 in the morning and by 5:20 I had packed everything and jetted out of the campground. I didn't use anything at the campsite and I'd slept in a little park at the the campground and not actually in a camp lot, so I didn't feel too bad about leaving and not paying. I appreciated the use of their 6 by 2 patch of land for 6.5 hours, but not enough for over 20 dollars. I was a little tired so I pulled into the same restaurant that I had eaten at last night and ordered some breakfast. The first question I was asked is if I wanted some coffee. I've never been a coffe drinker so at first I said no, but then I decided I needed a little boost so I had the waiter bring me a cup. I've never enjoyed the taste of coffee, but I poured in a little creamer, sugar, and honey and it wasn't too bad. I slurped down one cup with my meal, which was just as good as the dinner last night, and two more after the meal. Now I know that Burgie would be pestered to hear that I actually enjoyed this little cup of coffee because it's probably nothing compared to what they offer in their shop. In fact, I can guarantee that his coffee is better and I'm not just saying that because they're my sponsors. But it is the best coffee in the WORLD. Anyways, I finished the coffee and felt like I was wired and could do just about anything, maybe even enjoy my birthday today. So I left to head towards downtown Twin Falls. As soon as I got on the interstate I saw a sign that said I had 13 miles to Twin Falls. I thought I was already in Twin Falls, but I guess I was in a town just outside of the falls. So with my caffeine jolt I was able to make it to Twin Falls in no time. As soon as I made it to Twin Falls I saw a scenic route. It was just on the right side of the highway I was on and was very convenient if on a bicycle, so i pulled over. After seeing 160 miles of only desert I was blown away at what laid before my eyes. There was a canyon that was almost 500 ft. high and 1500 ft. wide. It was a point that Evil Kinevil had tryed to jump over, but failed miserably in the attempt to get across. When I arrived at the Visitor's center which was just over the bridge I was surprised to hear that people actually did base jumping off of the bridge. They would stand on the side of the bridge, parachute to the bottom, and then climb up the side of the canyon to the top. As I was in the center, they said that someone was getting prepared to jump. I couldn't believe it, I had to talk to this guy. As I had said previously, I enjoy talking to people that are crazier than me. So I went to talk to this fellow named Tom. He said that his video crew hadn't arrived and so he asked if I would video tape him going down to the bottom. I gladly said yes and was able to video tape him with my camera and with his, it was very cool. About 15 seconds to get to the bottom and then 20 minutes to climb back up. It sounded a lot like me climbing a mountain on my bike. After the morning thrill I decided to treat myself to luxury today and see if anyone would offer me a good rate on a hotel for the night. I told everyone my situation at about 10 different hotels. Everyone of them said their rate was $119.95. I couldn't get a break. So I went to the last resort, the Motel 6. They offered me a room for $42 compared to their normal rate of $54 and I gladly took it. I went in and enjoyed all of the conveniences I had lost on the road, a shower felt pretty good. I went to eat and then had a list of things to do for the day. Apparently there was a waterfall 5 miles east of town that had a nice lake to swim in and also a waterfall that was 50 ft. higher than the Niagra Falls. I felt great about what i was getting into and after stopping at a bike shop to pick up a few things I went to the falls for an incredible sight. It was incredible to see and I just loved the area I had stumbled into. I went back into town and since it was around 7:30 at this point I went to the same restaurant I had enjoyed so much earlier. It was a nice locally owned Italian restaurant and it was truly delicious. The restaurant was called Tomatos without the "E" at the end of tomatoe. I sat down at the bar and ordered a meal and a Tall boy of Fat Tire. After engulfing my meal a nice gal named Deb came in and sat next to me. She lived just north in a ski town called Sun Valley and had come here because the town had been evacuated due to fires. She said she had been moving around on the road for awhile now because the fires have been so bad. She was great to chat with and was just a wonderful lady. After she found out what I was doing she knew right away that i was crazy. Before she left she paid for my beer and my meal and I couldn't thank her enough. It is just truly great to see some genuinely gracious people in the country. I wasn't able to get a deal on the motel for the afternoon, but getting a free meal seemed even better. After spending a little while longer taking in what had just happened I headed to Applebees to get one more beer before calling it a night. I met a guy in their who was a trucker from Portland and he was just the guy I wanted to talk to. I had been looking for a person to chat with about the coast and some of the attractions in the area. It just worked out too well, and then after talking to Phillip for a little while I went back to the motel room to call it a night.
Daily mileage: 42.7 miles
Total mileage: 1437.7 miles

Day 26, August 27th 2007 (Snowville, UT to Kimberly, UT)

I didn't end up sleeping until around midnight last night. So with that reasoning I wasn't up until about 8:30. I headed up the street to a nice little cafe called Mollies and was served by the owner, Mollie. The breakfast came with her homemade cranberry sauce and homemade salsa. With the eggs and the toast it was a delicious breakfast and I was ready to tip her fairly well. Then she came over and told me that this breakfast was on her. I couldn't beleive that for how fast and good everything was this was the first free meal given to me along the trip. It was great, I thanked her and took off down the road. It was about 10 when I started on the road and I started to wish that I would have started earlier because it was so hot outside. I don't know who would have figured that it would have been hot in the middle of desert terrain, but it was. It must have been in the upper 90's . I saw a sign for the next town and thought I would probably keel over and die in the heat before I made it that far. The sign said 76 miles before I would make it to the next town. Luckily, about 40 miles into the ride there was a little gas station off to the side of the road and I was able to stock up on ice water. Unfortunately, while I was in the station my rear tube had popped. I knew it wasn't from anything on the road because it had just been sitting there. So I took everything off the back of my bike and took the rear wheel off. After giving it a good inspection I realized that the rim tape going around the wheel had slid off and caused the tube to pop. With a little super glue the problem was solved and I was ready for a good ride. I still had about 60 miles to go for the day to make it to Twin Falls so that I could enjoy my birthday in a town larger than 2 people. I wasn't sure of the size of Twin Falls, but on the map it looked like it could have been a good sized town. It must have been one of the most boring rides for the remainder of the day, because it was me and the desert for the rest of the ride. I pulled into a little town about 8 miles out of Twin Falls and saw that they had a campground and a restaurant. It was getting dark and I didn't want to risk pulling the same thing I had done yesterday so I decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to stay here for the night. The restaurant was the first place I had seen on my trip that offered a spaghetti dinner, and I couldn't have been happier. With some excellent veggies mixed in I truly was blessed to have pulle off the desert and into this little restaurant. I went to the campground following the meal and I couldn't believe what I saw. It was 10:30 and the people were done for the night that were supposed to reaceive the money. Their sign showed that they wouldn't be back until 7 the following morning and that you could either drop the money off in their envelope or settle up in the morning. For 1 person with a tent they wanted to charge me $23.29 for the night. I decided I would set up tent and try to leave early to avoid confrontation because a price like that just seemed ridiculous. I quickly set up tent and enjoyed the few hours of sleep I could get before morning.
Daily mileage: 105.1 miles
Average speed: 14.1 mph
Total mileage: 1395.0 miles

Day 25, August 26th 2007 (Willard Bay,UT to Snowville,UT)

It was great to have all of the wonderful accomodations that the campsite offered me today. I was able to wake up to a shower and a gorgeous morning. I enjoyed a good 15 mile bike ride north until I was able to find a church service that I could attend at 10:30. It was the first time I was able to attend a service so far on the trip and I wouldn't have traded the experience for anything in the world. It was the St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Brigham City and I couldn't thank them enough for how they helped me. I was able to welcome myself to the congregation before the service and it was a truly incredible service where everyone was able to be themselves it seemed. I was able to enjoy some food and refreshments following the service and if that wasn't enough they had an internet connection that they insisted I used before I headed on my way. I spent a good portion of the aftd made sure to leave the blog address at the church so they could continue to follow me on my journey. I also left with a great gift from the pastor of the church and couldn't wait to enjoy a good meal that he had opened a window for me to enjoy. I left the church around 3 and knew that my rear tire needed to be changed. The air had practically all released just from sitting. I first headed to a grocery store to get some lunch, thanks to the church I was able to get a nice sized sandwhich. I ate half and saved the other half for the road. I was headed to a gas station so that I wouldn't have to use the air from my CO2 cartridges. I found a gas station but they didn't have an air compressor. It was the only station before I headed out of town so I was kind of bummed. As luck would have it there was another guy who happened to be in the station at the same time who was a cycler and he had a pump in his car. It was very convenient and in no time I was out on the road again. I had a good hike in front of me and it was already about 5. The first thirty miles were desert with nothing. I think a saw a couple of farm houses off to the side of the road and one pretty cool building, but that was it. The building was a NASA building and was closed since it was sunday. It had all sorts of cool displays in the front that I was able to tour through and it was pretty cool to look at. Once I made it out of the desert I had planned to use the interstate for a good 20 miles. It was getting darker outside and I was afraid I might be on the interstate when it was dark. It turns out that when I was 5 miles out of the town I intended to stay in the sun had gone completely down and I was relying on my light to see in front of me. I didn't have to worry about cars because there was a nice big path for me, but as I came closer to my destination there was a lot more trash on the side of the road and it was downhill. Going fairly fast the light doesn't do to well, and so I was about a half mile outside of town and my rear tube popped. I decided it was a good time of the night to go for a walk on the interstate so I hopped off of my bike and walked in the remainder of the way. I changed the tube when I made it to the gas station in town and hoped that would be all the flat tires I would run into for the remainder of my days on the interstate. There was a park 3 blocks from the station so I headed there to set up tent and enjoyed the remainder of the evening.
Daily mileage: 73.4 miles
Total mileage: 1289.9 miles

Day 24, August 25th (Kamas,UT to Willard Bay,UT)

What an incredible day. I wasn't able to get out of my sleeping bag very early this morning because it was too cold. I went to bed with wool socks, leg warmers and shorts on. Every time I tried to open up the tent I could feel the cold air breathing on me. So I covered up and slept until about 8. By 9 I had packed up and eaten some food and was cruisin down the road. The first thing I noticed were two bikers in front of me. I was about to speed up until I noticed three bikers behind me. I waited for the bikers behind me and was able to catch a good draft for about 10 miles. Apparently I had finally found a good cycling community. While I was biking through the area I saw a lot of bikers going the opposite direction and going by me, I felt welcomed for the first time in a while. There were a lot of great climbs in the area and the road wrapped in between mountains and around giant lakes and reservoirs. It was a saturday, so everyone and their neighbor was outside enjoying the fresh air. Boats were out on the lake and families were out having picnics and fishing, it was a great sit to see. I made it about 30 miles to a town called Echo and pulled in to chat with a nice older gentlemen. He said he had lived in the area for 60 years and so I jumped at the opportunity for better directions through the state. I was surprised to hear him tell me to bike on the interstate. At first i though this guy had a grudge against Iowa boys and was trying to get me killed. I later found out that he was right, the interstate had an entire lane on the right for cyclists and it was great. I also talked to a biker at a bike shop and he told me it was fairly common to bike on the interstate because there wasn't another route to take. I told him thanks for the advice, saving me a trip through Nevada's desert, and let him know not to try biking on an interstate through Iowa. As I continued to talk to the older man in the cafe he started to tell me about an old church just two blocks away. It was a non-denominational church that had been around since 1876. The church was very small, but looked like it had been maintained very well. There was a small museum downstairs that contained old photographs from the early 1800's. It was very cool and free, I enjoyed every minute. I left the museum and rode the interstate for about 20 miles and was very impressed with its' condition. I then hopped onto a highway that took me straight through Ogden, Utah. It was a fairly large city with three lanes of traffic going in both directions and was easily larger than Ames. As I rode in I could see three large mountain peaks in the distance and it was great to witness as the sun was going down behind them. I had weaved myself down and around to about 4,000 ft. and couldn't wait to get a good sleep. I knew that I would finally be able to wake up with out freezing in the morning. I stopped at an excellent chinese buffet and rode another 20 miles to what was said to be a campsite. I pulled in and it was fairly dark and so I couldn't see much of the place. It was completely empty with no one camping. The charge was 15 dollars and I was only charged 5. The accomodations were well worth the five dollars though. With heated bathrooms and showers and extremely hot water to shower in. I was able to shower and do laundry for the first time in a few days. When I came out of the shower I was ready to call it a night, but my bike had other plans. While i was in the shower my front tire had blown and so I ended up staying up until about midnight replacing the tire. I expected the tires to last a little longer, but they have blown a tube yet so I guess I'll continue to use them. The front is now ready to roll but I know the rear is going to go any day soon now. I slept great and enjoyed not having to wear wool socks and the whole bit through the night.
Daily mileage: 86.1 miles
Average speed: 15.4 mph
Total mileage: 1,216.5 miles

Day 23, August 24th (Duchesne,UT to Kamas,UT)

It was a little chilly waking up this morning. At around 7 I was packed and ready to ride, but it was so cold that I decided to get some breakfast first. It was 55 degrees when I went into the cafe and 72 degrees when I left the cafe an hour later. I started to ride towards Hanna, a little town about 30 miles out. The ride started with a lot of little climbs, and I was feeling pretty good. I stopped into Hanna at a little cafe for a delicious special of shrimp, fries, and a salad for only 5 dollars. I was just finishing my meal when I noticed a group of about 20 riders go by. I was amazed, it was great to finally see some riders. I paid for my meal and quickly hopped back on my bike in hope of catching up with the group. I pedalled as hard as I could for about 3 miles before I caught up with one of the stragglers who had fallen to the back of the pack. I rode with him for a good 7 miles and found out that we were going to be climbing a mountain. Supposedly it was one of the tougher mountains in the area with an 11 degree grade for about 10.5 miles. He and the group he had fallen behind were in the midst of training for a 206 mile bike race in Utah and so as soon as I heard this I decided it was okay to slow down and fall behind this guy for a little ways. I was climbing between 5-6 mph and had to take breaks up the mountain. I was on the road 35 west and it was by far the most scenic road I had been on so far, but it was starting to become fairly demanding for a cyclist. About 2.5 hours later I was at the top, 9,480 ft. Then after I took a little break 30 minutes passed and I was at the bottom of the mountain. I enjoyed the ride down, but I was exhausted. Even with the wind against me and me holding the brakes gently, I was still flying down the hill around 30 mph. I went about 2 miles from the bottom of the mountain and chatted with a nice lady that owned her own deli. Then I rode 6 more miles and stopped in Kamas, a good point to call it a day i thought. It was only about 5 and so i had plenty of time to just relax. I set up tent at a park and just enjoyed the rest of the evening.
Daily mileage: 75.0 miles
Average speed: 11.3 mph
Total mileage: 1,130.4 miles

Day 22, August 23rd 2007 (Dinosaur,CO to Duchesne,CO)

Well, I'm now out of Colorado. After putting in my first three miles I had crossed the border. I started riding around 9:30, a little late but I had a good breakfast in me and the cold weather had passed through. I headed west towards the first town on my list for the day, Vernal. It was a good 30 mile ride, but it was great biking weather. It was overcast, slightly sprinkling, and about 70 degrees. I ate and was quickly back on the road because I didn't want to miss much more of the great weather. I started to get closer to about 60 miles into the ride and the sun was starting to show its' true colors. It was around 4 and was now around 85 degrees. I pulled over to fill up my water bottles and was about to head out when I noticed a nice shaded bench in front of a grocery store. I pulled in and sat down, it felt great. No more than two minutes passed and a fellow cycler from Utah came to chat with me. His name was Bill and he went on to tell me how great it was to bike. He had hip surgery last year and as soon as he was better he hopped on his bike and hasn't stopped riding since. After enjoying a good conversation and shade I was on the last trip of the day to Duchesne. When I left it was a little cooler, but still hot and not a cloud in the sky. I rode for about 10 miles and was biking so hard that I didn't even pay attention to what was overhead. I looked up and to the south and all I saw was a black sky. I figured if I pushed it I might make it ahead of where the storm looked like it ended. So I started moving on my bike and sure enough the storm was moving to the north and was going to go straight overhead. I couldn't think of much else than just being in front of the end of the storm so when I started to feel a little sprinkle it was like juice keeping me moving faster. I was now 10 miles outside of Duchesne and the rain had turned into larger rain drops. I was now pretty exhausted at htis point so it felt kind of good. From the large raindrops I experienced nothing I had ever experienced before, it turned to hail. I was within 10 miles and in a good sized hailstorm. It stung when it hit me on my arms and back and I was thankful to have a helmet on. One hailstone landed and stuck on my arm so I was able to see that it was about half the size of a golf ball. I was tired but i wasn't going to slow down. I looked behind me and in front of me and cars had decided it was a good time to pull over. I had to look twice to make sure none of them were inviting and might let me sit this one out, but no. I went almost two miles in the hailstorm and couldn't have been happier to make it out alive. As soon as I was out I didn't see a cloud in the sky for the remainder of the night. I had just experienced my first bike ride through hail, and at the same time, my first time seeing hail in August, it just doesn't seem right. I went the last 8 miles and found a good sized school on my right, and so i pulled out the tent and was ready to call it a day. One hailstorm down and hopefully not another one to come.
Daily mileage: 94.2 miles
Average speed: 13.7 mph
Total mileage: 1,055.4 miles

Day 21, August 22nd 2007 (Rio Blanco,CO to Dinosaur,CO)

It was a little cooler when I woke up this morning. I was on my bike at around 7:30 AM, and it was about 50 degrees outside. I think the fact that I am at about 6,000 ft. of elevation right now might have something to do with it. I rode my bike for about 20 miles and it was a nice cool ride. Then I came upon some road work. The entire road was under construction and was complete gravel for about 3 miles. There was a road worker standing and holding a stop sign to only allow traffic to go one way at a time. He told me I couldn't bike it and then a truck came over the hill and gave me a ride across the construction. It was kind of nice how easy those 3 miles worked out. By the time I was done with the construction I was able to take 64 west and follow the White River all the way west for about 50 miles. It made things easier for me so I didn't have to make very many climbs. It was quite a bit flatter and there was hardly any wind because I was basically in a nice valley at 6,000 ft. After biking through the dead heat of the afternoon, I was about 70 miles into the ride and it was around 2 PM. There was a nice reservoir that I noticed to my right so I pulled over. I figured I might as well cool down and shower before I put in my last 30 miles for the day. After spending some time swimming and snacking I was back on the road. It was closer to 4 now and the weather had changed significantly. The wind was against me and the heat had turned on even hotter than before. For the previous 70 miles I had kept a pace of about 20 mph and was flying. Now, I was going about 12 mph and on top of everything, I wasn't in the nice valley anymore. I was climbing some pretty good hills and struggled to make the remaining miles to Dinosaur,CO. I pulled into a nice family restaurant and put away all the food that was placed in front of me. I had forgotten how much of an appetite you could build through a day of cycling. Across the street I entered Dinosaur Park and I couldn't believe how nice it was. There were restrooms with nice showers, and I took full advantage of the whole deal. Now I'm about to head to sleep at 6,000 ft. and in my last night of Colorado.
Daily mileage: 95.1 miles
Average speed: 16.2 mph
Total mileage: 961.2 miles

Day 20, August 21st 2007 (Basalt, CO to Rio Blanco,CO)

I have done a lot of sitting at the computer today and am going to leave with Matt in just a few hours to go to a place where I can bike at just about 20 miles north of here. If I were to leave here and try and head north I would run into an interstate that I would have to ride about 10 miles through the mountains. I liked the idea of not having to ride through that area so I quickly jumped on the offer to get a ride up north a little ways. It has been an incredible stay so far in Colorado and I couldn't have asked for a better way to go out in Colorado than the way I that I did. I was given tours and all sorts of great hospitality. I can't wait to see what the rest of the road lays ahead, but I am going to miss Colorado and the incredible stays in the mountains. I was dropped off past the interstate and a little north of a town called Rifle,Co. I was thankful for Matt helping me so much with my trip and making it possivle for me to take a trip through Colorado. With the time at his house I was able to prepare myself and my bike for the journey ahead. I only rode about 8 miles north of where I was dropped off before it was dark and then it was time to set up camp. I laid the tent down in a nice spot just offside the road. Although it has been a little while since I've hopped on the bike, it felt good and i couldn't wait for the ride that laid ahed tommorrow.

Daily mileage: 8.7 miles

Total mileage: 866.1 miles

Basalt,CO (more pictures)

More pictures From Basalt area........

Day 16, August 17th 2007 to Day 19, August 20th 2007 (Basalt,CO)

I woke up into what is now an elevation of around 6,500 ft. If I look in the backyard all I see is a mountain. I can't believe the change in terrain over the past night's drive up to where I am now. There are so few towns that are spread out through the mountains, and it is so cold at this elevation at night that you have to keep warm. Today was the first day in Basalt, but definately not the last. I've been in Colorado for a good amount of time, but now I'm in the mountains so I might as well spend a little vacation in the midst of everything. I woke up after a nice sleep on a bed and was able to shower and enjoy some good food. It was my first day in Basalt so I figured I might as well try to play some frisbee golf because there were supposed to be a couple pretty good courses nearby. I went with one of Matt's roommates named Kurt, and by the time we had made the 15 minute drive to the course it started to rain. It wasn't raining too bad so we started to play the first hole. When we were at the 2nd teebox it was raining even harder and out of nowhere was a bolt of lightning that couldn't have been very far away because the thunder followed immediately and shook the ground. We decided that we could probably throw some frisbees later on in the week because we'd had enough for the day. Matt was off work about the same time that we made it back from our wonderful display at the frisbee golf course and it was my first night in Basalt. We headed to a place called Smoke for dinner and they apparently had the greatest ribs. We each had a half rack and it came with two sides so we each had a large amount of food put forth in front of us and now we were expected to eat it all. It was great food and the ribs were great with four homemade sauces to choose from. We headed from Smoke to a person who Matt works with here in Basalt named Jared. There were about three people that Matt worked with at the house. It was a relaxing evening of just playing video games for a few hours and then we took off and headed to Matt's place. We showed up and went to sleep only to wake up to another great day. We started the morning off right. We headed to Snow Mass which is where Matt's jobsite is and also where there is a great disc golf course. We went and looked at some of his plans on his jobsite and it's pretty crazy to see everything like that layed out in front of you. It's around a 200 million dollar contract that is going up in the area and there are about 3 other groups of construction out working on the same site. About 400 people go out to work there and most have to catch a bus in because there is no way to park on the mountain. We headed from there to the disc golf course. In order to get to the disc golf course we had to first get a lift ticket to the top of the mountain, because the course was on the top. We reached the top and started to throw the discs on an uphill. For about the first 7 to 8 holes we were climbing up the mountain and by the end of that we were headed back down the hill, all the way to the bottom. It was an interesting course and ended up taking us the most time I've ever spent on a course before. We had played for about 3 hours over the course of 18 holes and it was quite the deal. We then went back to his house after feeling exhausted from that much walking in that high of an elevation. As soon as we walked in the house just had a great aroma of ribs in the air. We couldn't have asked for a much better way to top off the day. All you can eat ribs with beans, coleslaw, and potatoe salad. It was a great way to end a good day. The next day I woke up was the 19th and it was a great sunday. We headed out on a drive up a mountain. There was no way of getting there on a paved road so we had to take a gravel road off on the side. It started out as just a normal gravel road, but then the road started to get pretty rough and it was difficult to see how the car was making it through. We reached the top of where all the 4 wheel drive cars could make it to. If you parked there you could hike up a little ways and camp for the night or else you could mountain bike up a path. We stood at the top and couldn't believe the view that was staring directly at us. It was crazy how great it was to be at almost 10,000 ft. and to see everything from that height. After awhile we headed back down the path that we had come up, which was quite the drive. We made it down the mountain and went back to cook up some incredible chicken wings. We feasted and then went to see a movie that was playing down the street called "Bourne Ultimatum." It was a great end to the trilogy and was an incredible movie to watch. It was another great day in Colorado and another great day to spend in the mountains. The following morning was a monday and so Matt had to work. I stayed back at the house and was able to figure out some things for the rest of my trip and was also able to spend a little time detailing the bike because it was getting time to take off. I went to bed fairly early in the evening and was ready to spend the following day towards any last things that needed to be done and then get a ride once Matt got off of work towards a road I can bike on about 20 miles north.
Daily mileage: 0.0 miles
Total mileage: 857.4 miles

Day 14, August 15th 2007 and Day 15, August 16th 2007 (Lakewood,CO to Basalt,CO)

I spent the next two days waking up and feeling like I was at a resort. Just down the street there was a gym and a pool and as long as you were at the apartment building you could use both. I was able to see a Whole Foods grocery store, which is where Jordan just got a job at. It's a grocery store that has all organic foods and uses a lot of little separate cafes in the corners for which they prepare everything back in the kitchen. I was taken out to a large food place called the Cherry Cricket which had incredible burgers. You could build them up with all sorts of things that you want on top. A true experience to take in all at once. I saw Jordan every once in a while after he would get off of work, but mostly stayed at the place with his girlfriend Lee. She had just moved to Colorado about 6 months earlier and is originally from Sioux City,Iowa. She just recently moved from Hawaii after living there for four years and then she decided to move to Colorado because her sister had a baby and it was time to get closer to home. She told me about how surfing was pretty cool and how there was a big surf competition on the island that they lived on. After being offered an incredible vacation I was off to live on another vacation further west. I left at night and was able to get a ride from Matt Harder over to his place in Basalt,CO. It was a drive through the night and I was unable to see too much, but what I could see was awesome. There were mountains everywhere because we were now driving west through the mountains. Our elevation increased up to about 12,000 ft. at certain points and it was a little different having your ears pop as you climbed up and down the mountains. After about a 3 hour drive we were in Basalt, about 10 miles northwest of Aspen. We headed towards his house that has an incredible view of the mountains and I was blown away with the size of the place that only three of them shared.
Daily mileage: 0.0 miles
Total mileage: 857.4 miles

Day 13, August 14th 2007 (Aurora,CO to Lakewood,CO)

I headed out from Jordan's house and went back west through Downtown Denver and then towards Lakewood which is just before you get into Golden. I went through Lakewood and was able to get to their place in no time at all. I started to carry my bike up the stairs and was getting winded at the top of every flight of stairs because the elevation was now near 5,000 feet, a little higher than what I was used to. I eventually made it to the third floor and was treated like a true guest. Jordan's girlfriend Lee met me at the door and we chatted and just hung out at her apartment which was huge and was quite the deal. We watched a couple of movies and then Jordan got off of work and we hung out for about an hour and then went to sleep because it was late and he had to work again in the morning.
Daily mileage: 21.2 miles
Total mileage: 857.4 miles

Day 12, August 13th 2007 (Golden,CO)

I took a cruise through Denver this afternoon. There was only one road to take from where I was at in Golden,CO and it was straight through downtown Denver to Aurora, where Jordan lives. I headed east and stopped at a college in downtown Denver. I was planning to update this blog, but they wouldn't allow it. I first walked in and noticed about 20 computers not being used so I walked up to one and tried to use it. The computer said that I needed a name and password, so I walked to the front desk. I told the guy what I was doing and asked if I could use one of the computers. He said that without a Colorado license or Colorado University ID there was no way I could use a computer unless if I went to the Denver Public Library 2 miles east. I was a little surprised I couldn't use a computer, but it was alright I guessed I could use one at the library. I showed up to the library and it said that I could sign up for a two hour or a 20 minute session. I chose the two hour, it said that I could wait 3 hours to use the 2 hour computer. I couldn't believe it, I chose the 20 minutes and then I was out in Denver again. I saw quite a few cool things going through downtown and ran into a guy who was loaded up with all sorts of bags on his bike. He said he was from Denmark and started on the east coast after he had been flown into the United States. He was going to ride to the west coast and then from there head south to Mexico and that is where he would end his ride. Although his story was interesting he ran into a couple of people that were going on trips that were even crazier. He ran into one guy who was running around the world. He had two support vehicles behind him and from where he started in Germany he went east through Europe and then Middle Asia and to the east coast and then flew to the west coast of the U.S. and started heading east again. After talking with this guy for about 10 minutes we eventually started riding again and I headed towards Jordan's house. I showed up and he was actually at his girlfriend's house which is on the western part of Denver while I was now on the eastern part of Denver. He called his roommate who was at the house and told him who I was so he knew who I was when I showed up at his door. I was living in luxury again with a big bed to sleep on, a nice shower in the morning, and a big backyard with a good view of the mountains. Jordan's roommate showed me where everything was and he had the two coolest dogs one of their names' was Adrian and the other was Moe. I went to bed early and woke up late.....it was nice.
Daily mileage: 23.3 miles
Total mileage: 836.2

Day 11, August 12th 2007 (Golden,CO)

Relaxed at the hotel today. I think I'm enjoying the bed and shower too much. I went down to the pool and was able to swim a little in the water and then relax in the hot tub. It was hard to get out of the hot tub because it felt so good. I spent the rest of the evening enjoying the view of the mountains from outside on the deck of the hotel room. The perfect end to a good couple of days at Red Rocks.
Daily mileage: 0.0 miles
Total mileage: 812.9 miles

Day 10, August 11th 2007 (Golden,CO)

I got up this morning at the Courtyard at Marriott. It was my first time sleeping on a bed in a while so it felt pretty good. As soon as everyone was up in the room we continued to lounge around the hotel until the String Cheese show that was going to be on in the evening. We planned on leaving for the show between 5 and 6, so we had some time to just relax, which I was not going to argue with. I left for the show and forgot to bring my camera. The Red Rocks venue is just so unbelievable that it's hard to explain. I spent one more night enjoying good music and then went back to the hotel at the end of the night. String Cheese had played great and only had one more night to play. I didn't have a ticket to the final show so I planned on just hanging out at the hotel. One day to relax before I head for Denver and meet Jordan Hosher and stay with him for a couple of days.
Daily mileage: 0.0 miles
Total mileage: 812.9 miles

Day 9, August 10th 2007 (Ault,CO to Golden,CO)

I woke up and made it to Fort Collins around 10:15 in the morning. It was great to see the sun gonig up over the mountains as I headed west towards the mountains. I knew that the New Belgium Brewery was in town and so I asked for directions and made it there by 10:30. I was outside and saw a lot of cool looking cruisers that all had a Fat Tire emblem on the bike. I later found out that after working for New Belgium for a year thay give you a cruiser bike for free. I walked in and the first thing I noticed was that there were a lot of dogs. There were 6 or 7 dogs in the brewery and only about 11 people. I was glad to see there weren't too many people in the brewery this early because it was still the morning. I first walked in and was given four free samples of different beers. I started talking to a man that was sitting at a table across from me and found out that bhe was only about 25 years old. He had just moved to Fort Collins two days earlier and was walking his dogs down the road when he saw the brewery and decided to come in for a few free samples. I chatted with him for about a half an hour when I was asked to take a picture for a few people. One of the guys worked at the brewery and the other two had just been up in South Dakota at a big motorcycle event called Sturgis. I took the picture and the guy who worked there named Chad gave me a free tall boy of Fat Tire beer just for taking the picture. I came back inside and started to talk to a nice couple that were on the road for a couple of weeks just living out of there van. The man that i was talking to said that when he had graduated from high school and when he was only 18 he had decided to hike the Appalacian Mountains. His older brother had just graduated from college and so they headed to the east coast and spent 8 months hiking the mountains. They were very nice to talk to and mentioned that I should take a tour of the brewery. I had thought about it but had just overheard the guy that was giving away the tour tickets say that he had just given away the last 5 pm tour. I went to ask him if there was anyway that I could get in an earlier tour and told him that i was trying to cross the country on my bike. He was instantly as helpful as possible. He gave me some free Fat Tire stuff and told me he would get me in the first tour at 1 pm. He said that he used to live in Iowa but as soon as he got out of the army he bought a nice car and drove out to Fort Collins. He liked it so much in Fort Collins that he sold his car moved out here and hasn't left since. I started the tour at 1 and just loved the whole thing. The tour guide was the same guy who had given me a free beer. He said that every week an employee is given a free case of beer along with just a great work envirionment. On the tour I ran into a family of three that was headed towards the Golden area that I was headed to. They had two extra tickets to the String Cheese concert at Red Rocks. I was planning on making it to Golden,CO by some point in the evening and then trying to get tickets to the show when I got there. Instead I was given tickets and a ride to the show. The family consisted of three great people: Justin, Jamey, and their uncle Pete. After talking with them at the tour we sat down and I was given four more free samples from the brewery. I was treated like a king in Fort Collins and just loved the hospitality that was being offered. I made it to the String Cheese show around 6 pm and had a lot of time to just look at Red Rocks because the concert didn't start until around 8. The whole place was just unbelievable. As you got to the top you could see the stage perfect because it was on a slope and you could see Denver in the background about 30 miles away. The whole show was great and ended with Travis coming out and impersonating Michael Jackson for the encore with the whole suit on and everything. We went back to the hotel that I was arranged to stay at with a friend named Chris and his friend and girlfriend. I was able to stay with them for the next few nights and knew that I was going to enjoy a little break in Colorado. The bed in the hotel was great and it was nice to be able to take a nice shower.
Daily mileage: 21.3 miles
Total Mileage: 812.9 miles

Day 8, August 9th 2007 (Sidney,NE to Ault,CO)

I woke up with a mission today to get to Fort Collins,CO. I've heard that it is beautiful because it's just on the borderline of all the mountains. It was a good 160 miles away and so I knew it wasn't going to be easy. As soon as the sun was up, I was up. It was about 5 am and felt like 50 degrees. I knew it wasn't going to stay cool forever so I packed up and started to ride. About two hours into the ride the temperature had increased to about its' normal temperature of around 90 degrees. I reached Kimball and needed to take 71 south. I noticed I had a good 50 mile stretch between towns so I ate and stocked up on all the water neccesary. Almost 20 miles later I was in Colorado. It was a great feeling to be out of Nebraska and to be able to see a few new things. Although Nebraska may have have been mostly flat the wind never seemed like it was very friendly. It was always around 20 mph and was going from the west to the east. The hospitality was great in Nebraska and I can't wait to see if good people and things continue along the way. The road instantly changed as soon as I hit the border of Nebraska and Colorado. There were no more flat roads, it was one hill after another. I continued riding and made it to the next town after about 50 miles of nothing except for grassland and road. The town I came into couldn't have been more than 50 people because ther was nothing there. No restaurants, gas stations, or even any people. I decided I would ride 8 more miles in hope that the next town would have something. The next town had a nice little cafe with one lady working everything by herself. It was obvious that she didn't have to many people in there at this time. I was able to chat with her for a little while and enjoyed a great meal for only 5 dollars. I headed back out on the road and still had about 80 miles remaining to get to Fort Collins. The road had finally started to flatten out a little but it was still fairly warm outside. I biked as far as I could before the heat caught up with me and I was still about 40 miles outside of Fort Collins. I stopped at a school that was on the side of the road and noticed that the doors were unlocked. They had their A/C running and they had water. It was great to finally see something like that because it had begun to steam up a little outside and there was nothing else in the area to my disposal as far as cold air and water go. I still had a couple of hours before the sun would go down and I knew that thoses were the best hours to ride because it would finally cool down. I travelled very slow, but managed to put in another 26 miles before it was too dark and I had to pitch tent. I was thinking of going to Fort Collins, but it said it was still another 20 miles away and it was too dark. I found a park next to a school that I threw my tent up at and slept very well.
Daily mileage: 142.8 miles
Average speed: 13.6 mph
Total mileage: 791.6 miles