My New Riding Costume

I'm standing in Illinois, getting ready to take the ferry across the Ohio river and into Kentucky.

So I got this new shirt about a week ago, and I've been wearing it everyday. It has great sun protection and it also makes me more visible for passing cars. The long sleeves also protect me from the insects and the poison ivy when I sample trees.

Thanks Bob

Yesterday I woke up and decided to have a Dylan day. I got out my iPod and started things off with "Tangled Up In Blue." I followed that up with "Idiot Wind." And not long after that I found myself riding and listening to "Desolation Row." I listened to the Highway 61 Revisited version first and then a few other versions, including the MTV Unplugged version. After a good, long visit with "Desolation Row" I moved on to another one of my favorites, a song called "Dignity." After "Dignity" I put away the iPod and stopped to sample trees.


I listened to "Diamond Joe" in the heat of the afternoon, with sweat pouring off my face.





I listened to "Mississippi" as I followed the open road into evening's coolness.








I finished the day laying in my sleeping bag listening to the old song, "Boots of Spanish Leather," and the much newer song, "Workingman's Blues #2."

Thanks for the music, Bob. My iPod wouldn't be the same without you.

A Sweet Sunset

When I stopped to take this photo the air smelled really good. It was right before Illinois, right before I crossed the Mississippi River, and for about half a mile the air smelled like sweet, buttery muffins. I had no idea where the smell was coming from, because there were cornfields in every direction, but somewhere out there someone must have been doing some baking.

The Big Ring

Goin' fast. Ridin' in the Big Ring. Maybe there's a downhill. Maybe there's a tailwind. Maybe I'm cranking hard to get over a small hill. I shift to the big ring. It feels good to stand up, to pedal, to stretch. I power the pedals with a few hard cranks and then sit back and glide along, letting my momentum carry me. The right gear combination for the right terrain. The big ring makes things possible.

Finding Treasure

I found this 1/2'' socket extension on the side of the road. It's just one of many tools that I've found. Every couple weeks I mail some of the things I accumulate home. I don't take every tool I find, I just take the ones I like, or the ones I know I'll use. Maybe when I get home I'll photograph them all and make a post.

I look forward to the future treasures that I might find in the last 1,000 miles that separate me from Yorktown, Virginia--the eastern terminus of the TransAmerica Trail.

At The Horse Creek Inn

John, Barb, and Irv, three westbound cyclists, siting outside the Horse Creek Inn (formerly known as the Houston Motel) in Houston, MO. Pony and his wife Eya have owned and operated the hotel for less than one year. With their kindness and renovation skills, they have turned the old hotel into an oasis for cyclists.

Janice and I first heard about the Horse Creek Inn back when we were in Kansas. Hundreds of miles later, I was there enjoying Pony and Eya's hospitality. I shared a hotel room with John, and in doing so I learned that we had much in common. We talked for hours about guitars and music and bicycle touring.


A big, beautiful bowl of pasta.

Thanks again Pony and Eya! You all are awesome!

Photographs From Missouri

Janice and me standing in the forest off the side of the road. This was site 28, and it turned out to be the last time I sampled trees with Janice. Sampling trees by myself takes a little longer, but I'm ok with that. The Megatransect will continue.
A piece of pie I shared with Janice. Flavor: Caribbean Pumpkin. Source: Cooky's Cafe, Golden City, MO.

That was some good pie.







Fred's Fish House, Ash Grove, MO.

Janice and I went in here to ask directions and the people were so friendly that we talked to them for about 40 minutes. This is where we met Jacob, who offered to drive us to the Greyhound station.













Jacob Hodge with Janice and me. Place: Cici's Pizza, where the all you can eat pizza and salad bar is only $4.49.
Janice and I saw this creation the day we rode to Ash Grove, MO. There were a few other bicycle sculptures about the property, but this one was my favorite.

East Of The Mississippi River

I'm in Carbondale, Illinois and it's about 11:00 in the morning. This library is surprisingly crowded, considering how hot and humid it is outside. It's been one week since Janice left the tour and things are going well for me. I'm getting used to the solo travel thing, although not all of my traveling has been solo.

Yesterday, on my way to Carbondale, I met two other cyclists who were headed east, like me. They were from Vanersborg, Sweden and their names were Nisse and Daniel. Nisse (pronounced knees-ah) and Daniel are a father and son team (Nisse is the father) and their cycling adventure started in San Francisco. Daniel has diabetes, and they are cycling across the continent as a way to raise money for diabetes research. Here is their site. (Nisse's blog uses some English.)

I spent the afternoon riding with Nisse and Daniel, and while we rode we talked. Having people to ride with made the day go much faster and soon we were in Carbondale, planning our afternoon. The Simpsons Movie was opening and Nisse and Daniel were excited to see it. Also wanting to see the movie, I joined their mission. Together, we found the theater, bought tickets, ate lunch, and found a hotel room. Nisse and Daniel were kind, and invited me to share a room with them. After swimming and showering we walked back to the mall. Before the movie, we enjoyed a few cold beers and talked about cycling, traveling, and about our countries. We also talked about a sport called bandy, a Nordic sport that I had never heard of.

The movie was funny, and having friends to pass the evening with was most appreciated. Thanks Nisse and Daniel! It was great to meet you both and to share time with you all. I wish you well on your travels.

I'd also like to thank Jacob Hodge, who drove Janice and I to the Greyhound station back in Springfield, MO. We met Jacob at Fred's Fish House the night before Janice was going to leave. Janice and I were planning our ride to Springfield and trying to figure things out when Jacob offered to drive us. Thanks Jacob, you made Janice's last day of the tour smooth, safe, and fun!

Well, it's time for me to say goodbye and head out into the humidity. I only have about 45 miles to ride today, but I do have to stop and sample trees. I called the campground I'll probably be staying at tonight and they do have showers. (It's always nice to wash off any spiderwebs I might walk through while sampling trees.)

As I ride east today, my thoughts will be with Janice's friends Laura and Sampsa, who will be getting married this afternoon. Congratulations Laura and Sampsa! I wish you both the best! Janice has been talking about your wedding for the last two months, and I know she is very excited to be there. I can't wait to see the photos!

Things Have Changed

Janice and me inside the Springfield, Missouri Greyhound station.

Why were we at the Greyhound station? Well, as some of you may know, Janice needed to leave the tour so she could go to her friend Laura's wedding. (Janice is going to be one of the bridesmaids.)

We talked about many possibilities, but Janice's final decision was that it would be better if she stayed home after the wedding. Staying home will mean that Janice can go to Ireland with her boyfriend Chad and Chad's family. And it also means that Janice will be able to spend more time with family and friends before she goes to Spain in September (Janice will be living in Madrid and teaching English for 9 months starting mid September). It was hard for Janice to leave me--and to leave the tour--but knowing that we had 2 awesome months of traveling made it seem ok. Adventures are good and important, but Janice was wise to give family and friends the higher priority. Besides, Janice can always ride the last 1,300 miles another summer.

So now I'm traveling solo. It's different, and I knew that things were different the moment we said goodbye at the Greyhound station. The tour just wouldn't be the same without Janice. All the conversations, the meals, the jokes, the photographs, the smells and sounds of the road--we shared so much for so long. So instead of missing Janice, and missing what we had, I knew I needed a new outlook. A new attitude. A fresh coat of paint, maybe even a new color. I decided to view the remainder of this tour as a new tour, a completely different adventure, because that's exactly what it will be.

In future posts I will write about traveling solo. But to finish out this post, I want to go back and remember some of the good times Janice and I had.

If you know Janice, you know that she is a soft spoken person. Out there on the road, with the wind and sounds of passing cars, I couldn't always hear what she would say. I said "What?" quite a few times. Early on, this would cause tension, but as time went by, the "whats" became a thing of beauty, a springboard for humor. Sometimes I'd repeat what I thought Janice said. "Did you just say: 'French fry master'?" I'd ask. "No," said Janice a little louder, "I said let's ride faster."

And then there's Janice's tree identification skills. She was quite good at IDing new trees (probably because Janice is very determined and very patient). And when we were out there in the forest, sweating and swatting mosquitoes, it was a big help to have Janice pull though with the right tree at the right time.

And then there were the nights where we huddled in our tent and watched The Office on Janice's iPod. We'd chuckle quietly as the crickets and cicadas sang their nightly song.

I could go on and on remembering the golden moments and writing about how great it was to travel with my sister, but I think you get the idea: it was pretty great. Over the last 3,000 miles we digested a large portion of America. The West Coast and the Pacific Ocean. The Cascade Range and Oregon. The Rocky Mountains and the wide open valleys that run along beside them. The farms and fields and friendly people of Kansas. Thanks Jan! We had an incredible journey that we will never forget! It was a privilege and a joy to ride with you. I know we'll be out there again, in the not too distant future, but until then we will have all the wonderful memories from this summer.

Tour Update

The terrain has been flatter. The days have been hotter. The air: more humid. Tonight we camp in Eureka, Kansas, a small town east of Wichita.

Over this past weekend, Janice and I had the good fortune to meet and stay with my good friend Jake Belvin. Jake was driving to California. He detoured from his route and met us in Hutchinson, Kansas. (Although the town's name is Hutchinson, everyone we met called it Hutch.) We spent two nights and one day with Jake, resting and feasting, before we said goodbye and continued on our way.

Having Jake on tour with us was great, but Jake was not the first person to meet us on the road. Back when we were in Colorado, our friend Gabe drove down from Denver to meet us in Canon (pronounced Canyon) City.

Thanks Gabe, and thanks Jake. It was awesome to meet you guys on the road. And also thanks to Darin and Julie, who sheltered and fed us on a cold and rainy night back in Fairplay, Colorado.

Because some of you may be tuning in for the first time, and because we've been on the road for a while, now might be a good time for a tour review. 59 days ago, Janice and I started riding our bicycles down the coast of Oregon. We rode across Oregon and across Idaho and into Montana. We headed southeast through Montana, into Wyoming, and then into Colorado. After dropping out of the Rocky Mountains, we crossed eastern Colorado and then rode into Kansas. Distance covered so far: 2,616 miles.

After Kansas, we ride into Missouri. Then comes Illinois, Kentucky, and finally, Virginia. To see if our tour will be coming to a town near you, examine our route here.

Looking To The East

My blog marathon is almost over. I've been writing for a while and I hope you enjoy the posts. It will make more sense if you start with Great People and Great Parks (Part 1) and read up. I thought about writing less, and posting fewer photos, but I decided against it. I dove deep, and stretched out, and in doing so I remembered a quote that my friend Graham told me: Everything in moderation including moderation.

Tomorrow, on the 4th Day of July, Janice and I will leave Dillon and ride south. When we get to Pueblo, Colorado we will ride east, and that will be our general direction for the rest of the tour. Pueblo will be the halfway point of the tour--from there we will have a little over 2,000 miles to go. In Pueblo we will send home the western tree books and any warm clothes that we are still carrying. We will leave The West and into The East.

A special thank you to Deb and John who have fed, sheltered, and driven us around for the last four days. We have enjoyed the resting, and the movies, and the meals, and, most importantly, the good company.

Green Rocks At Red Rocks

The night we arrived in Dillon, Colorado was the same night that there was a concert at Red Rocks. John and Nathan from Team Believe actually told us about the concert, and Deb got us tickets. We had to go. Deb drove us down from the mountains to Morrison. We parked the car and walked up. This is the view walking up to the venue.


When we walked into the amphitheatre The John Butler Trio was playing. I was captivated by the rock, and the crowd, and the music. I pulled out my camera and took this photo.



The view from the top of the venue.


It was dark and city lights of Denver were shining when Michael Franti & Spearhead took the stage. The band came out swinging and fireworks exploded in the sky.


The band played on. We moved down closer to the action. The VIP passes helped.


Deb received a free ticket to the concert because she volunteered at the Eco-Cycle booth. Eco-Cycle was just one of the many green groups that were present at the first ever Green Rocks at Red Rocks. Deb got the free ticket, but all three of us got VIP passes thanks to Deb's friends at Eco-Cycle.

The Green Rocks show got Janice and I thinking. What can we do? We shop for groceries almost everyday. That's 2-3 plastic bags that we consume everyday. Not anymore. Here in Dillon we bought reusable grocery bags. The bag I bought was made by a company called ChicoBag.

Here's what it says on my bag's tag: "ChicoBags can save the average American 300 to 700 plastic shopping bags per year, which will save 3 to 7 gallons of crude oil. A population of 100,000 people can save up to 14,000 barrels of oil per year using reusable bags."

The bag Janice bought was made by 1 Bag At A Time. And they also have some pretty interesting facts up on their website.

Some Of The Places We've Camped

When we pulled into Kremmling, Colorado we were very surprised to find a couple thousand cyclists camping at the high school. We rode in and found a spot on the grass inside the track. As we talked to some of the cyclists, we learned that we had just crashed the final campsite of the 2007 Bicycle Tour of Colorado.

Our campsite back in Rawlins, Wyoming. We paid for this one, $4.00 each. There were hot showers and the wall blocked the Wyoming wind.


Me with Walli and Klaus, near our campsite in Riverside, Wyoming.

Klaus and Walli are from outside Hamburg, Germany. They are riding westbound on the TransAm. Janice and I enjoyed talking to them because we are considering a European bike tour.

Looks Like Rain

When we came to the Colorado border the wind was blowing and the sky was brooding. Temping the clouds, I started singing a few lines from the Grateful Dead's "Looks Like Rain." The sky grew darker still. But after eating three open face peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, this rainbow appeared. We rode into Colorado and the rain held off.

Team Believe

Team Believe: Clare, Nathan, Michael, John, Megan, and Sarah.

We met Team Believe in Rawlins, Wyoming. Like Janice and I, they are riding west to east on the TransAmerica Trail, but Team Believe is riding faster than we are. They average more miles per day, and they rarely take rest days. Because of time constraints, they are pushing themselves to finish the tour as soon as they can. Many of the team members are triathletes, which seems to help them crank out the miles. Not only are they riding the TransAm at a blistering pace, but they are also raising money that will be donated to help with cancer research.

Ride on Team Believe. We wish you well.

Cicadas, Trees, and the Megatransect

The megatransect part of our tour is going well. We've sampled 20 sites so far. This photo was taken near Site 18 (mile 1,538). Going east across Wyoming trees were not all that abundant down by the road. We could see forests up on the mountains, but we couldn't get to them very easily. So when this little patch of forest came along I was very happy. It was hot and dry when we sampled here and we were getting low on water.

This is a close up of the leaves of the Utah Juniper (Juniperus osteosperma), which was the dominant species in this forest.
This, I believe, is a cicada (genus and species unknown). These insects were flying around and making lots of noise in and about the juniper trees.


And this is me after we finished sampling. The work was done and I was happy to get out of the still heat and back on the bike where there is always a breeze. If you click on this photo you can zoom in see the sunscreen in my beard. I call it my white beard. If you look close, you can also see the top of a coiled up rope. The rope is used to mark the boundaries of each 10-meter by 10-meter module. We sample 6 of these modules and it usually takes about 1-2 hours depending on: how we're feeling, how many new species we have to identify, and what the terrain is like.

Riding Across The Country

After parting with Alex, Janice and I were feeling good. The road was smooth and fast. The wind was at our backs. The surrounding hills were glowing with the rays of the setting sun. Everything was just right and for the first time on the tour I was filled with the overwhelming feeling that we were actually riding across the country. The East Coast was ahead of us and we were moving toward it. We were sailing over the land. We were flying on the breath of the wind. Time was grinning a worldwide smile, and I felt as if I could ride forever.

Alex and the Great Divide Race

Riding east we said goodbye to the Tetons and goodbye to the wonderful cyclists from the Channel Islands Bicycle Club. For three days our tour overlapped with a ride that the club was doing. It was great to see so many cyclists out. Talking to Frank, Linda, Dick, Teresa, and Diana, we learned a little about their club, which is based in Ventura County, California.

We rode east, which took us up Togwotee Pass. Near the top of the pass we met another cyclist named Alex. Alex was riding a mountain bike, and seeing him my first guess was that he was riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, which is a 2,490-mile, off road route that follows the Great Divide from Canada to Mexico.

Alex was from Sydney, Australia and talking to him we learned that he was in fact riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. But he wasn't just riding it--he was racing it.

Alex Field was one of about 24 people who were competing in the 2007 Great Divide Race. Anyone who knows about this race knows how intense it is. Alex was hoping to finish the race in about 20 days. He was hoping to average about 130 miles a day. 130 miles a day! Off road! For Janice and I, who average around 60 miles a day (on the road), this seemed to be a truly herculean feat. Our trip was a vacation compared to what Alex and the other racers were doing. No rest days for Alex. And no support vehicles or team mechanics. Alex had to carry everything he needed. We couldn't believe it when Alex told us that he only gets about 5 hours of sleep a night. We took this photo outside the small store where Alex was stocking up on food and drinks.

"So what's your position in the race?" I asked.
"Fourth, I think," said Alex, his smooth Australian accent seemed to linger in the air.
"Wow, congratulations, that's really good," I said. "So how many miles does the leader average?"
"Oh I think he does about 150."
"A day?"
"Yeah."
"Man, that's crazy," said Janice.
"Yeah," I said, "you guys must go through so much food. How many calories do you think you eat a day?"
"Maybe around ten thousand," said Alex casually.
"What about your legs?" I asked.
"What about them," said Alex.
"If you don't rest, and you don't sleep, then how do your muscles recover?"
"I give myself an hour and a half of mah-sage everyday, which sort of helps."
"So you just have to ride through the pain," I said.
"Yeah," said Alex as he took a big swig from a bottle of Powerade.

Alex's route was overlapping with ours, and so Janice and I took off knowing full well that Alex would catch up. Alex caught up to us and rode with us for a bit. "You can go ahead if you want," I said. "We don't want to slow you down."
"No, it's fine," said Alex. "It's good to talk to other riders." Alex rode with us for a few minutes, and then he stood up and with a few hard pedal stokes he moved ahead.

After meeting and talking to Alex, Janice and I were humbled and inspired. The pain in my knee and the heaviness of my legs seemed to be a minor thing. We climbed the pass with a new energy.

Coming down the other side of the pass we were surprised to meet Alex again. A few hours had passed since our first meeting. Alex's route was not as direct as ours, and he had ridden many more miles than us. "The way they had me go was actually pretty cool," said Alex. Riding downhill, Janice and I were able to keep up with Alex. We talked as we cruised along at 20-some-miles-per-hour. "So where do you live?" asked Alex.
"I live in Maryland and Janice lives in Virginia," I said.
"So you attend the University of Maryland?" asked Alex.
"Yeah, I did! How did you know that?"
"I just guessed. All your states have universities, don't they?"

Alex's route eventually broke off to the right and we said goodbye. "Send me those photos," said Alex.
"Surrrrrrrrre," I said as I speed down the road.

Great People and Great Parks (Part 2)

As many of you know, Yellowstone National Park is sitting right on top of a supervolcano. The thermal energy under the ground is what drives the geysers and the hot springs and the bubbling mud pots. Janice and I spent about two and a half days riding through Yellowstone and enjoying its steamy beauty and abundant wildlife. As we moved through Yellowstone, Janice and I thought a lot about our mother, Monica, and brother, Chris, and friends Jamie, Travis, and Graham, who were all with us two years ago when we rode through the park.

After Yellowstone came Grand Teton National Park. There we came face to face with the beautiful and rugged peaks that make up the Teton Range. These mountains held my attention--I found it hard to look away. I wanted nothing more than to climb among them and walk around.


The Teton Range.

We stopped at Colter Bay and went to the visitor center. I felt a strong urge to learn the names of the peaks, and the kind people in the visitor center were a great help. Janice and I debated riding more, but we decided to spend the night in Colter Bay. We cooked pasta, and did laundry, and then went over to the general store to eat ice cream and look at books.

Outside the general store we met Jennifer, one of the park naturalists. It was getting late in the evening, and Janice and I needed to get to the campground. We asked Jennifer for directions, and that one lonely question sparked a whole conversation about bicycle touring. Janice and I were happy to answer Jennifer's questions because it was obvious that she was truly interested. Some people see us as a strange breed of traveler. Our form of travel is radically different and they find this hard to understand. They ask questions to satisfy their curiosity, and it sometimes seems like we are on display for them. But then there are people like Jennifer, people who really care about what we are doing. These people make us feel good about our adventure and ourselves.

So we talked for a while with Jennifer. And as we talked the sky grew darker. But Jennifer was observant, and she could sense that we needed to get to camp. "What are you guys doing tonight?" asked Jennifer.
"Nothing," I replied.
"We're just gonna go to camp and relax," said Janice.
"Well," said Jennifer, "If you want, you can come back to my place. We can hang out there and eat some food. You can definitely camp on our porch. There might be a campfire, or a party, or something happening."

So we went back to Jennifer's place and met her roommate Kat, who is also a park naturalist. Both Kat and Jennifer had been living and working in the park for about one month. They were excited to share the park with us, and we were happy to have some friends to share the night with. We ate Fritos and salsa, and talked about trees and traveling. We watched shooting stars and talked about the bears. When it got late, Janice and I rolled out our sleeping bags and slept on the living room floor.

In the morning, Jennifer and Kat made us an incredible breakfast feast, with eggs, waffles, tea, toast, and orange juice. Jennifer and Kat had to work, but Janice and I stopped by the visitor center before we left and it was there that we took this photo:

Kat, Me, Janice, and Jennifer.

Thanks again Kat and Jennifer, ya'll are awesome!

Great People and Great Parks (Part 1)

Hello again. It's been about two weeks since my last post and I've finally sat down to update the log. A lot has happened in the past two weeks, and I'm excited to write about some of the highlights.

Over the last 14 days, Janice and I have ridden through Montana, across Wyoming, and into Colorado. We've had fine weather, and the traveling has been smooth and good. The days have been sunny. The nights cool. And the sweet, dry smell of sagebrush became our constant companion.

Right now we are now in Dillon, Colorado staying with our friends Deb and John. We are resting and having fun, and I plan on writing about some of the things we've done in Colorado, but right now I want to go back to Wyoming.

Derrik, Rafi, Me, and Janice.

We met Derrik and Rafi just outside of Yellowstone National Park. We rode with them during the day and shared a campground with them during our first night in Yellowstone.

Derrik and Rafi are from San Francisco. Like us, they are riding across the U.S., but their route is a bit different than ours. They are riding from the coast of Oregon to Brooklyn, New York. Derrik and Rafi are bicycle mechanics (they both ride vintage Bridgestones), and we spent some time sitting around the campfire talking about bikes. We talked about bikes, and about riding, and about the places we've traveled through. Riding over the same roads we saw many of the same things, like this sandwich:
This ham and cheese sandwich was just sitting perfectly on the side of the road. We all wondered how it got there.

Derrik and Rafi were on a slightly faster schedule than us, but we still ended up traveling with them and sharing campsites with them for a few days. They became part of our tour, part of our daily adventure, and we will never forget them.

Some people love bikes. Some people love riding. And some people love to travel. Derrik and Rafi seemed to know and love all three.