Hello All,
I have just posted day 44 to 51I hope you enjoy my writing and please leave a comment. I really am in Butte but I have not had time to updatae all of it so I will do that as soon as possible enjoy this and the rest is coming :)!!!!
Enjoy,
Maya
I have just posted day 44 to 51I hope you enjoy my writing and please leave a comment. I really am in Butte but I have not had time to updatae all of it so I will do that as soon as possible enjoy this and the rest is coming :)!!!!
Enjoy,
Maya
Day 34 to 51:
Day 46:
We had a record setting day today! Our little family just did 83 miles! Wiley and I wanted to keep going and do 100 but we had a head wind and really bad dirt roads. The most amazing part about it is we are in the great Basin. I was really worried about it so getting 80 miles into it in one day is awesome that means less tomorrow. The day started out before the sun we got up at 5:00 a.m to get a early start before the sun and wind. It was not fun getting up early but once we were on the road it was great. We did the first miles quickly on the busy highway. There was lots of smog so it was hard to see but what I could see was just flatness and the big taunting basin. It was so big it looked like a giant ocean but instead of a sea breeze and waves it was miles of flat desert with a few hills. It was both stunning and intimidating. We dropped into with trucks zooming by us. All I could think is "Oh man when am I getting out of this hot place. We turned onto a road that was paved with no traffic those 20ish miles have never gone quicker. We all just cruised I felt so good. WE then hit the dirt and our pace slowed a little but we were still going about 8 mph which is really good for dirt. Soon enough we had done 55 miles. That was our goal for the day and we ate lunch where we were going to camp. We sat and ate apples. We made a group decision to keep going as long as possible so we could tick away the miles. The afternoon was not as easy we had a horrible head wind almost every person I have talked they said that they had a head wind it is the curse of the Basin. We kept going as much as we could. We stopped to have dinner and decide if we wanted to do a century. We were all tired and decide to call it a night and get up at 5:00 am the next morning and do the same thing. We slept under the stars right smack dab in the middle of the basin.
Day 47:
Well the miles may have been good the day before but it took a toll today. Before today I was wondering why everyone thought the Basin was so hard but I now know why. I spoke to soon. We pushed so hard the day before but now we all hurt and the day was slow going. The wind started four hours before it was supposed to so that was bad and we had bad head winds and lots of heat. We just pushed along the best we could. One of the best part of the days was in the morning as the sun was rising I was riding along and I saw wild horses. These are real wild horses they do not belong to anyone. I saw a whole herd of them and I took a picture of them then they cantered away I could hear there hooves pounding along up the ridge it was really magical. The rest of the day was a blur until the evening we were trying to make it out of the Basin that day and into a little town called Atlantic City. We were about to climb out of it and we met this guy in a truck and he said that there was a bar and grill and the grill closed at 7:00 it was about 6:10 So dad took off to get in orders before we closed. We all just road as fast as we could it was not far but we had two huge hills to climb they were very steep I some how rode up both when there is an opportunity for hot burgers you can do anything :). We made it in time dad put our orders in and we sat around and just relaxed. The place was great awesome people and the food was insane it made all of our days. HUGE bacon cheese burgers it was great. The pie was also really good so if you ever go to Atlantic city go and get there burgers. After good food and meeting half the town we started biking we made it up into some trees and called it home.
Day 48:
We had a really late morning. Mom and Dad finally let us sleep in well until 7 so I guess that is not really sleeping in. We then went 3 miles to a little historic village called South Pass. It is where a ton of old trails connected. Like the Oregon trail and a lot of others. South Pass is the lost pass threw the Windy's so all these trails would go over it. South Pass was the first City in Wyoming. It was going to be the capital but now it only has 5 people in it. At one point there was a population of 3,000. It was really cool we were there for a few hours we got ice cream and kept going. We had a lot of milage to do. We started to ride I thought about how hard it would be to be traveling 100 years ago in a wagon trying to make a life out of the desert place. We were riding up a beautiful valley the Windy's on one side and flat plains on the other. With the wind in our face we all tried the best we could. We stopped at a river and went swimming well everyone but me I just sat in the shade and ate food. We were thinking about camping there until a biker showed up. He was doing the same ride as us and was also a nobo. HIs name was Andrew he was going to go another 15 miles up to the next river and camp we decide to try and keep up with him. So the five of us continued on our way. When we got to the river there were lots of No Trespassing signs. Dad found a way to get to the river were there was no signs. We all went swimming in the river. While we were making dinner a rancher showed up and told us we could not camp there. Lucky for them Wiley and I were there so he was nice and let us stay as long as there was no camp fires. Dude we are on bikes we do not have fire wood like come on. So we went to sleep under the stars again in our warm sleeping bags.
Day 49:
We rose early at 5:30 am again. Andrew kept riding with us. It is so nice to have another person there to mix things up. We made good time we got on pavement quickly and then it was so great. Nice and smooth. We made it to PineDale by 11:30 we had done our 40 miles so we went out to lunch with our new friend. PineDale is really nice with lots of good food. After an early lunch we checked into our hotel. Andrew came with us to work on his blog and Wiley and I went swimming. We had dinner later to see Andrew one more time before he left on his way. We should be in Jackson soon. The trip is coming to and end soon I hope we make it to Montana. I think we can we are all strong and we can go if need be. A rest day and we will be good as new.
Day 50:
Well I worked on this a lot. I talked to my friends and that was it. I tried swimming but the dumb people had to close the dang pool so that made me mad. That is about it.
Day 51:
We made it to Jackson! One day ride and we are here in someones yard. It took us a few hours but we made it by 3:30. We did wake up early like around 5:30 and I ate a lot of oatmeal. We were on the road by 7ish and cruising. We hopped off the route so that we could eliminate an extra two days on dirt. I am sure we missed some beautiful country but todays ride was totally worth it. On pavement everything is easier. First off when you go up hill it is like floating. Second your butt does not hurt. Third: there are a lot of stores containing tasty morsels. And fourth the time just flys. The bad things are that there is lots of traffic like tons of it with big trucks. Another thing is you have to worry about shoulders. Last but not least is you have to watch for objects on the road like wood, signs and license plats from dumb motorcycles. Motorcycles are only there to mock you like haha I am faster then you and I look like a bike but for real I have a motor and I am taunting you and I am louder then the biggest semi truck. The only thing they contain are lazy people thinking they are cool. Today I was riding across a bridge and for once I was really focused that is another thing you cannot space out I do a lot of that. I was so worried about running into Wiley I did not see the license plate from the motorcycle and I ran over it. The bridge had tons of cars and a tiny little railing. I am very lucky that I used to ride horses because what I have learned from it is to have a good seat. It was like my bike (Cow Poo) had come alive he was like a bucking bronco according to my dad who witnessed it from behind said that my rear end went about 18 inches into the air. I swerved into the road and some how regained my balance. I kept riding but very shakily. We made it to Jackson a hour later, we found a nice bike path to get off the road. That was my ride today.
Day, 34
I started out feeling really blah. It is always hard to start after a rest day. Wiley and I both had attitudes as we started our 12 mile climb out of Salida. I finally snapped out of as I realized that riding was not that bad. Wiley had a harder time and it took us 3 hours to go like 6 miles. It was a bummer but that is part of the great divide. He too got out of our funk. At that point we had 40 miles to go and it was about lunch time. The ride up was beautiful huge 14,000 foot mountains were all around us and the higher up we got the less we could see the little town of Salida it just disappeared into its amazing valley. When we dropped to the other side the scenery was a lot less spectacular. Roly poly fields with cattle and no shade in sight. I felt like I was in north east Montana again. We rode late trying to make up the miles and made it 44 mile only 3 short of our goal. So over all our milage is not bad but we are trying to bring our average up to 40 mile per day so we have some work to do. We camped on the side of a road hoping that no one would see us.
Day 35:
Today was an ass kicker. Ya it was a really hard day. We went out to breakfast for fathers day. Well we went out for breakfast then realized it was fathers day. Sorry dad when you are on the road you forget things like that. I am such a bad daughter.
The first 10 miles flew by until bump bump wash board. For miles it was like that and that was not the worst part we also had a lot of traffic going really fast kicking up dirt. Also we had our lovely friend the head wind decide that we were not working hard enough and need to get stronger. It was a really hot windy day. At the end of it I was so sunburned and sand whipped I felt like I had been through a tornado with blinding light. 25 miles went by like this. I saw the town we were aiming for and did not get there until 3 hours later. It was just one of those days we rode on pavement with no shoulder for a while then we hit high way 12. 12 is a major high way with four lanes and lots of traffic on going. Well when we got there, there was no shoulder well a 12inch one but still it was really scary lucky for us it was only a few hundred yards so I just ran my bike down the hill where Dad rode his it was so scary to watch. We made it to Como and went out to eat a a really good little restaurant. The owner invited us in and made sure we had water for the night and gave us such great service. After a snack there and our water bags full we headed up our last 11,000 foot pass. We camped on a cliff to wait and climb the rest of it the next day.
Day 36:
The climb out was a breeze it was nice feeling to know that after that we were not going to be that high again. We dropped into Breckenridge and what a town very fancy we had coffee at starbucks and made plans for the rest of the day. We found the bike trail that would lead us all the way to Silver Thorn were we would be spending the night. I loved being on the paved bike trail I could just relax and cruise for 22 miles. We got into Silver Thorn and weaved our way through traffic to our hotel then Mom and I jumped into the shower and went out shopping. We may be on a bike trip but I still love shopping. We had a really fun few hours I felt like a normal kid instead of some bike freak. With out my helmet, bike shorts and bike I can be like another person no one is walking up to me and asking what I am doing. We then went back to our room and got ready for dinner. We met some really good friends of ours, Dave and Betsy. They used to work for us in the summer and became like family to us. It was such a fun evening with them it was wonderful to hear their stories and catch up with them. When I was little they were like older siblings that I never had. It was awesome to reconnect and I hope to see them on the west coast soon.
Day 37:
We left our hotel bright and early. We did our shopping at Target and put all of our food in our painiers. We road 15 miles on a busy highway road to this little paved road to climb out of the valley we had just dropped into the day before. These route planners really make us go up and down and in and out maybe we can stay in one valley for a while just and idea. The climb was insanely gorgeous the mountains were all around us as we climbed. This was the first pass that I did walk so that was a plus we had lunch at the top. We started dropping into this weird desert place it was flat and all the trees were dead. The wind was not helping we had a really bad head wind and all of our spirits were a little crushed. We camped on a reservoir. We got to camp early so we played in the water and hung out in the shade.
Day 38:
Today was a hard mental game for me. I woke up in a horrible mood and I stayed there for a while. WE rode a lot today well more like we hike a lot. The first ten miles were a flat breeze we met a racer named Dillon so good luck. We then climbed up another hill with really nice road surface more like pavement then dirt. We met another rider who was doing just the Colorado section of the divide. WE dropped into another valley (another tip route planners, when there is a road going around let us take that.) That way we could avoid climbing an extra 2,000 feet. We crossed the Colorado river then started climbing up and up and up. We got to the top of our two hour hike and dropped and climbed again I lost it I was so done with the day. My dad had the worst day he thought the people who made the road did it on purpose just to bug him. Once Wiley lost it we decide to call it a day and try and push into Steamboat the next day.
Day 39:
We made it to Steamboat! It feels really unreal like it had just been a goal and now we are here it is really crazy. We are half way through. The morning was long and hard we had 50 plus miles to do and a pass to climb. We did the pass then dropped down then went up and down but we made it to this lake thing by lunch then we just sprinted into steamboat. There we met our good friends and stayed out at there house for night. It was really fun.
Day 40:
We had a rest day. I went down town and walked around got good burritos. Then we went out to a friend of a friends house they were gone so we got to have our own house for the next two nights. Our friends came over and we had Thai food on the deck.
Day 41:
Wiley and I convinced our parents to have a second rest day so we just hung out and watched movies. We went to the river and swam and that was fun. I caught up with my friends. We had pizza for dinner.
Day 42:
We got up and got breakfast sandwiches then hit the road. It felt awesome to get back on our bikes I was so happy to be riding again. We met a racer who told us that Matthew Lee was staying at this ranch. Matthew Lee is like our trip hero. More like a divide hero. So we decide to climb the pass instead of taking the alternate so we could meet this man. We biked along roads it was a blurry day.
Day 43:
We got up and started riding. We road threw some beautiful country aspens and hills. WE then got to this ranch that had a sign saying tour divide riders welcome. WE went in and there stood Matthew Lee. We hung out for an hour. It was so great I am so happy I got to meet him. That made the rest of the day good. We also made it to Wyoming! It is great we have now made it threw two states slow and steady wins the race well not really with the tour divide race. So far I do not like it to much it is hot really hot and there is a lot of wind. I will judge it better after the great basin.
Day 44:
LONG DAY! Lots of wind. Some were really nice tail winds but other times really bad side winds. I had my first my crash. I was going down a really rocky hill. The wind picked up I was on the wrong side of the road it blew me across the road so I started leaning into the wind and the rocks started sliding to I corrected it and the wind blew me off the road. I was lucky I jumped off my bike but in the process I tweaked my shoulder really bad so the rest of the day it was in pain. We biked for a while and made it to Rawlins we are taking a rest day because we have the Great Basin ahead of us and it will be a while until we see civilization again. I am a little worried about but I hope it goes well. I will write again in Pine something.
Thanks for reading,
Cheers
We had a record setting day today! Our little family just did 83 miles! Wiley and I wanted to keep going and do 100 but we had a head wind and really bad dirt roads. The most amazing part about it is we are in the great Basin. I was really worried about it so getting 80 miles into it in one day is awesome that means less tomorrow. The day started out before the sun we got up at 5:00 a.m to get a early start before the sun and wind. It was not fun getting up early but once we were on the road it was great. We did the first miles quickly on the busy highway. There was lots of smog so it was hard to see but what I could see was just flatness and the big taunting basin. It was so big it looked like a giant ocean but instead of a sea breeze and waves it was miles of flat desert with a few hills. It was both stunning and intimidating. We dropped into with trucks zooming by us. All I could think is "Oh man when am I getting out of this hot place. We turned onto a road that was paved with no traffic those 20ish miles have never gone quicker. We all just cruised I felt so good. WE then hit the dirt and our pace slowed a little but we were still going about 8 mph which is really good for dirt. Soon enough we had done 55 miles. That was our goal for the day and we ate lunch where we were going to camp. We sat and ate apples. We made a group decision to keep going as long as possible so we could tick away the miles. The afternoon was not as easy we had a horrible head wind almost every person I have talked they said that they had a head wind it is the curse of the Basin. We kept going as much as we could. We stopped to have dinner and decide if we wanted to do a century. We were all tired and decide to call it a night and get up at 5:00 am the next morning and do the same thing. We slept under the stars right smack dab in the middle of the basin.
Day 47:
Well the miles may have been good the day before but it took a toll today. Before today I was wondering why everyone thought the Basin was so hard but I now know why. I spoke to soon. We pushed so hard the day before but now we all hurt and the day was slow going. The wind started four hours before it was supposed to so that was bad and we had bad head winds and lots of heat. We just pushed along the best we could. One of the best part of the days was in the morning as the sun was rising I was riding along and I saw wild horses. These are real wild horses they do not belong to anyone. I saw a whole herd of them and I took a picture of them then they cantered away I could hear there hooves pounding along up the ridge it was really magical. The rest of the day was a blur until the evening we were trying to make it out of the Basin that day and into a little town called Atlantic City. We were about to climb out of it and we met this guy in a truck and he said that there was a bar and grill and the grill closed at 7:00 it was about 6:10 So dad took off to get in orders before we closed. We all just road as fast as we could it was not far but we had two huge hills to climb they were very steep I some how rode up both when there is an opportunity for hot burgers you can do anything :). We made it in time dad put our orders in and we sat around and just relaxed. The place was great awesome people and the food was insane it made all of our days. HUGE bacon cheese burgers it was great. The pie was also really good so if you ever go to Atlantic city go and get there burgers. After good food and meeting half the town we started biking we made it up into some trees and called it home.
Day 48:
We had a really late morning. Mom and Dad finally let us sleep in well until 7 so I guess that is not really sleeping in. We then went 3 miles to a little historic village called South Pass. It is where a ton of old trails connected. Like the Oregon trail and a lot of others. South Pass is the lost pass threw the Windy's so all these trails would go over it. South Pass was the first City in Wyoming. It was going to be the capital but now it only has 5 people in it. At one point there was a population of 3,000. It was really cool we were there for a few hours we got ice cream and kept going. We had a lot of milage to do. We started to ride I thought about how hard it would be to be traveling 100 years ago in a wagon trying to make a life out of the desert place. We were riding up a beautiful valley the Windy's on one side and flat plains on the other. With the wind in our face we all tried the best we could. We stopped at a river and went swimming well everyone but me I just sat in the shade and ate food. We were thinking about camping there until a biker showed up. He was doing the same ride as us and was also a nobo. HIs name was Andrew he was going to go another 15 miles up to the next river and camp we decide to try and keep up with him. So the five of us continued on our way. When we got to the river there were lots of No Trespassing signs. Dad found a way to get to the river were there was no signs. We all went swimming in the river. While we were making dinner a rancher showed up and told us we could not camp there. Lucky for them Wiley and I were there so he was nice and let us stay as long as there was no camp fires. Dude we are on bikes we do not have fire wood like come on. So we went to sleep under the stars again in our warm sleeping bags.
Day 49:
We rose early at 5:30 am again. Andrew kept riding with us. It is so nice to have another person there to mix things up. We made good time we got on pavement quickly and then it was so great. Nice and smooth. We made it to PineDale by 11:30 we had done our 40 miles so we went out to lunch with our new friend. PineDale is really nice with lots of good food. After an early lunch we checked into our hotel. Andrew came with us to work on his blog and Wiley and I went swimming. We had dinner later to see Andrew one more time before he left on his way. We should be in Jackson soon. The trip is coming to and end soon I hope we make it to Montana. I think we can we are all strong and we can go if need be. A rest day and we will be good as new.
Day 50:
Well I worked on this a lot. I talked to my friends and that was it. I tried swimming but the dumb people had to close the dang pool so that made me mad. That is about it.
Day 51:
We made it to Jackson! One day ride and we are here in someones yard. It took us a few hours but we made it by 3:30. We did wake up early like around 5:30 and I ate a lot of oatmeal. We were on the road by 7ish and cruising. We hopped off the route so that we could eliminate an extra two days on dirt. I am sure we missed some beautiful country but todays ride was totally worth it. On pavement everything is easier. First off when you go up hill it is like floating. Second your butt does not hurt. Third: there are a lot of stores containing tasty morsels. And fourth the time just flys. The bad things are that there is lots of traffic like tons of it with big trucks. Another thing is you have to worry about shoulders. Last but not least is you have to watch for objects on the road like wood, signs and license plats from dumb motorcycles. Motorcycles are only there to mock you like haha I am faster then you and I look like a bike but for real I have a motor and I am taunting you and I am louder then the biggest semi truck. The only thing they contain are lazy people thinking they are cool. Today I was riding across a bridge and for once I was really focused that is another thing you cannot space out I do a lot of that. I was so worried about running into Wiley I did not see the license plate from the motorcycle and I ran over it. The bridge had tons of cars and a tiny little railing. I am very lucky that I used to ride horses because what I have learned from it is to have a good seat. It was like my bike (Cow Poo) had come alive he was like a bucking bronco according to my dad who witnessed it from behind said that my rear end went about 18 inches into the air. I swerved into the road and some how regained my balance. I kept riding but very shakily. We made it to Jackson a hour later, we found a nice bike path to get off the road. That was my ride today.
Day, 34
I started out feeling really blah. It is always hard to start after a rest day. Wiley and I both had attitudes as we started our 12 mile climb out of Salida. I finally snapped out of as I realized that riding was not that bad. Wiley had a harder time and it took us 3 hours to go like 6 miles. It was a bummer but that is part of the great divide. He too got out of our funk. At that point we had 40 miles to go and it was about lunch time. The ride up was beautiful huge 14,000 foot mountains were all around us and the higher up we got the less we could see the little town of Salida it just disappeared into its amazing valley. When we dropped to the other side the scenery was a lot less spectacular. Roly poly fields with cattle and no shade in sight. I felt like I was in north east Montana again. We rode late trying to make up the miles and made it 44 mile only 3 short of our goal. So over all our milage is not bad but we are trying to bring our average up to 40 mile per day so we have some work to do. We camped on the side of a road hoping that no one would see us.
Day 35:
Today was an ass kicker. Ya it was a really hard day. We went out to breakfast for fathers day. Well we went out for breakfast then realized it was fathers day. Sorry dad when you are on the road you forget things like that. I am such a bad daughter.
The first 10 miles flew by until bump bump wash board. For miles it was like that and that was not the worst part we also had a lot of traffic going really fast kicking up dirt. Also we had our lovely friend the head wind decide that we were not working hard enough and need to get stronger. It was a really hot windy day. At the end of it I was so sunburned and sand whipped I felt like I had been through a tornado with blinding light. 25 miles went by like this. I saw the town we were aiming for and did not get there until 3 hours later. It was just one of those days we rode on pavement with no shoulder for a while then we hit high way 12. 12 is a major high way with four lanes and lots of traffic on going. Well when we got there, there was no shoulder well a 12inch one but still it was really scary lucky for us it was only a few hundred yards so I just ran my bike down the hill where Dad rode his it was so scary to watch. We made it to Como and went out to eat a a really good little restaurant. The owner invited us in and made sure we had water for the night and gave us such great service. After a snack there and our water bags full we headed up our last 11,000 foot pass. We camped on a cliff to wait and climb the rest of it the next day.
Day 36:
The climb out was a breeze it was nice feeling to know that after that we were not going to be that high again. We dropped into Breckenridge and what a town very fancy we had coffee at starbucks and made plans for the rest of the day. We found the bike trail that would lead us all the way to Silver Thorn were we would be spending the night. I loved being on the paved bike trail I could just relax and cruise for 22 miles. We got into Silver Thorn and weaved our way through traffic to our hotel then Mom and I jumped into the shower and went out shopping. We may be on a bike trip but I still love shopping. We had a really fun few hours I felt like a normal kid instead of some bike freak. With out my helmet, bike shorts and bike I can be like another person no one is walking up to me and asking what I am doing. We then went back to our room and got ready for dinner. We met some really good friends of ours, Dave and Betsy. They used to work for us in the summer and became like family to us. It was such a fun evening with them it was wonderful to hear their stories and catch up with them. When I was little they were like older siblings that I never had. It was awesome to reconnect and I hope to see them on the west coast soon.
Day 37:
We left our hotel bright and early. We did our shopping at Target and put all of our food in our painiers. We road 15 miles on a busy highway road to this little paved road to climb out of the valley we had just dropped into the day before. These route planners really make us go up and down and in and out maybe we can stay in one valley for a while just and idea. The climb was insanely gorgeous the mountains were all around us as we climbed. This was the first pass that I did walk so that was a plus we had lunch at the top. We started dropping into this weird desert place it was flat and all the trees were dead. The wind was not helping we had a really bad head wind and all of our spirits were a little crushed. We camped on a reservoir. We got to camp early so we played in the water and hung out in the shade.
Day 38:
Today was a hard mental game for me. I woke up in a horrible mood and I stayed there for a while. WE rode a lot today well more like we hike a lot. The first ten miles were a flat breeze we met a racer named Dillon so good luck. We then climbed up another hill with really nice road surface more like pavement then dirt. We met another rider who was doing just the Colorado section of the divide. WE dropped into another valley (another tip route planners, when there is a road going around let us take that.) That way we could avoid climbing an extra 2,000 feet. We crossed the Colorado river then started climbing up and up and up. We got to the top of our two hour hike and dropped and climbed again I lost it I was so done with the day. My dad had the worst day he thought the people who made the road did it on purpose just to bug him. Once Wiley lost it we decide to call it a day and try and push into Steamboat the next day.
Day 39:
We made it to Steamboat! It feels really unreal like it had just been a goal and now we are here it is really crazy. We are half way through. The morning was long and hard we had 50 plus miles to do and a pass to climb. We did the pass then dropped down then went up and down but we made it to this lake thing by lunch then we just sprinted into steamboat. There we met our good friends and stayed out at there house for night. It was really fun.
Day 40:
We had a rest day. I went down town and walked around got good burritos. Then we went out to a friend of a friends house they were gone so we got to have our own house for the next two nights. Our friends came over and we had Thai food on the deck.
Day 41:
Wiley and I convinced our parents to have a second rest day so we just hung out and watched movies. We went to the river and swam and that was fun. I caught up with my friends. We had pizza for dinner.
Day 42:
We got up and got breakfast sandwiches then hit the road. It felt awesome to get back on our bikes I was so happy to be riding again. We met a racer who told us that Matthew Lee was staying at this ranch. Matthew Lee is like our trip hero. More like a divide hero. So we decide to climb the pass instead of taking the alternate so we could meet this man. We biked along roads it was a blurry day.
Day 43:
We got up and started riding. We road threw some beautiful country aspens and hills. WE then got to this ranch that had a sign saying tour divide riders welcome. WE went in and there stood Matthew Lee. We hung out for an hour. It was so great I am so happy I got to meet him. That made the rest of the day good. We also made it to Wyoming! It is great we have now made it threw two states slow and steady wins the race well not really with the tour divide race. So far I do not like it to much it is hot really hot and there is a lot of wind. I will judge it better after the great basin.
Day 44:
LONG DAY! Lots of wind. Some were really nice tail winds but other times really bad side winds. I had my first my crash. I was going down a really rocky hill. The wind picked up I was on the wrong side of the road it blew me across the road so I started leaning into the wind and the rocks started sliding to I corrected it and the wind blew me off the road. I was lucky I jumped off my bike but in the process I tweaked my shoulder really bad so the rest of the day it was in pain. We biked for a while and made it to Rawlins we are taking a rest day because we have the Great Basin ahead of us and it will be a while until we see civilization again. I am a little worried about but I hope it goes well. I will write again in Pine something.
Thanks for reading,
Cheers
Day 22-31
Day 22:
It was very hard to leave the comforts of the Inn. But we all knew we had to at some point. The next stretch was going to be hard lots of climbing including the highest pass of the whole ride. It was a beautiful ride we got back into the trees. We rode a bit not as much as we had wanted. We coyote camped on the road, way off in the trees. We saw a rattle snake it was really big. The day did not have any big memory thing.
Day 23:
Today was hard mentally and physically we were all emotionally drained. We had hoped to make more miles but we did not I think that put a lot of stress on everyone. We made 20 miles the majority of it was climbing it seems that is all we do. Just climb. We camped in caterpillarville. It was disgusting. There were these little green squirmy things crawling on everything. They had killed millions and millions of acres of aspen trees it was really sad. I just sat in my tent hoping they would leave me be.
Day 24:
Night two in caterpillar. I hate these bugs SO much.... ewe. This day was a blur. The country we are in is spectacular with aspens and creeks and lots of mountains. We are getting so close to being done with New Mexico. In the moment the time is so slow but when you look at in a whole it is amazing to me that we are all ready at day 24. I really need food I am craving carbs right now we are running low and if we do not have a store tomorrow we will be eating caterpillars.
Day 25:
I would say that today was a day filled with disappointments. We got up early to get out of caterpillar area. We climbed up to 11,000 ft! I felt as if I was on top of the world it was awesome! The disappointments started here. WE were relying on the down hill to get down some miles but instead we had to walk down because of the road conditions. It is so maddening to be walking down hill. We did have a good moment we made it to COLORADO!!!!!! We had made it through one state. That was a good feeling. We were all excited to get some real food because we were out of our own. On the map there was a restaurant symbol we were all super duper excited to get some hot food. Well there was no food the restaurant was closed. WE were all a little crushed we ate some old bars so we had some energy to climb the next pass. Lucky we were on pavement so we pushed on to the town with a store. We made it to the top then flew down the paved hill going faster then the speed limit. We dropped into a beautiful valley. We dropped into Hoorca I was so excited to get a burger and hot food. Well the store/restaurant was closed. We had to keep going. We trucked up the dirt road. The canyon was amazing it is the type of place that reminds of tons of places but not like one and the more you snake up the canyon the more it changes. Six miles later we make to a R.V park with an open store! When I say store I am talking the size of a big closet. It had chips mac n cheese and candy bars. I ate some snickers. We made dinner and relaxed in shade of the r.v park. It was great to have grass and chairs. I got super home sick. I was really missing my friends, house and mostly my dog.
Day 26:
Today we camped at 11,480 feet! This is the highest point we have been on the whole trip and in my whole life. I am really proud that we got up this high. It feels like we are back packing it is really cold and no one is around. The place we are camping is timeless I could be here 100 years ago and it would look the same. I love places like these it is like there is no time at all.
We left early in the morning and had a very healthy breakfast of big Texas Cinnamon rolls. We started climbing up the canyon dogging pot holes and such. 16 miles later we made it to Plataro! In Platero we got to switch our maps which made everyone very happy! We went out for lunch at a little cafe were we got really good burgers. (Thank You Sue). Sue was the chef of the cafe and made us extremely good burgers. After a good lunch we went started to climb up out of the canyon. Eventually we got to a pass were then we went down into another canyon. I bet you can guess what we did next we started climbing out of it. This was the big climb to Indiana pass. We met a very nice family at the end of our day and they steered us to a great place to camp. Tomorrow will be our big climb.
Day 27:
Well we just dropped today. Down and down. But before our drop we did climb to the highest point of our trip and the great divide. The great Indiana Pass. 12,000 feet in the air is were we climbed and I have to say it felt very surreal. The climb up was not that bad we had done the bad part the day before so we just had 10 mile climb. At the top we had a celebratory coke that dad had forgotten to drink and chocolate from mom. The bummer of the whole thing was that Mom had gotten bad altitude sickness and did not feel so well. After pictures and a brief break we started our 25 miles down.
Since we had 4,000 feet to drop we did not take so many breaks. The ride down was great until we hit pavement. About ½ a mile into the smoothness Wiley took a bad spill right in fornt of me. He skidded side ways luckily I was far enough back to slam on the breaks and help him of the road. He hit hard. WE were crusing at 20 mph so when he hit he had speed. He scraped up his lip and knee. At first it was just blood every were and my brave brother who was barely crying were if I had crashed I would have been screaming my eyes out. It was really scary he was shaking and there was lots of blood. After about half and hour we made a plan Wiley was to stay with mom on the side of the road and Dad and I were going to bike into town and find a truck to pick him and Mom up to take him 10 miles to the closest town, Del Norte. Dad and I flew we were going at 30 mph I was really worried about bud so we really tried to go as fast as possible. We got to Del Norte and got us a little cabin next to a health food store. I stayed and Dad found a truck to go and get Wiley. I stayed and ate food. While I was sitting out side two bikers pulled up. They were super nice. We ate lunch with them since they were going so fast they had to hit the road. Rest day tomorrow!
Day 28:
Well not much to say other then we sat around and ate a lot. We all felt a little sick.
Day 29:
We got a big breakfast before we hit the road again. We all over ate a bit and felt really sick for a while. We rode 30 miles the rodes were really good so we got to camp around 3:00! The camp sight was really nice we had water and picnic tables so we played cards for hours. We laughed a lot and talked to our neighbors tomorrow we have a pass to climb again.
Day 30:
Today we got up and left our nice camp sight. I had pop tarts and coffee for breakfast and I felt good to start the day. It was super cold at first so I rode a while in my down coat before I took it off. The three mile climb up to the pass was really nice and the ten miles down was even nicer. It was a good way to get miles down. On the way down from the pass we were riding in the worlds 2 largest caldera which was really cool. We hit the paved road and rode for 12 miles before we turned off it and started climbing into a canyon. We had a really good lunch of tuna fish sandwich. After stuffing our selves we continued up and up. We all listened to our music I just made up stories to help the time pass, We made it to our second pass of the day and started to go down. A lot of it did not seem down due to the head wind. We camped on a lake on a nice pull out and had a dinner of beans and rice.
Day 31:
Sitting in a camp sight on the side of the road again and we saw our fist racer. He stopped and we talked wit him for a while. He was super nice and he had ridden from Costa Rica to get in shape for the ride we was in 2 place. I really hope he wins!
We biked a lot today we biked 51 miles. We had 37 done before lunch so we took a really long lunch break before we climbed the pass separating us from Salida. Other then that today was just kind of dull lots of pavement which is stressful but it helps us do millage. We just kept going. We are about 5 miles from the pass right now so tomorrow we should be hitting Salida for our rest day!
Day 32:
We made it to Salida! What a cool town it reminds me a lot of Missoula. I love it here we had really, really good pizza for lunch from Moonlight pizzeria. We are getting our bikes worked on so that is good. I am so happy to be clean and I am about to go swimming with Wiley.
Thank You all for reading!
Cheers,
It was very hard to leave the comforts of the Inn. But we all knew we had to at some point. The next stretch was going to be hard lots of climbing including the highest pass of the whole ride. It was a beautiful ride we got back into the trees. We rode a bit not as much as we had wanted. We coyote camped on the road, way off in the trees. We saw a rattle snake it was really big. The day did not have any big memory thing.
Day 23:
Today was hard mentally and physically we were all emotionally drained. We had hoped to make more miles but we did not I think that put a lot of stress on everyone. We made 20 miles the majority of it was climbing it seems that is all we do. Just climb. We camped in caterpillarville. It was disgusting. There were these little green squirmy things crawling on everything. They had killed millions and millions of acres of aspen trees it was really sad. I just sat in my tent hoping they would leave me be.
Day 24:
Night two in caterpillar. I hate these bugs SO much.... ewe. This day was a blur. The country we are in is spectacular with aspens and creeks and lots of mountains. We are getting so close to being done with New Mexico. In the moment the time is so slow but when you look at in a whole it is amazing to me that we are all ready at day 24. I really need food I am craving carbs right now we are running low and if we do not have a store tomorrow we will be eating caterpillars.
Day 25:
I would say that today was a day filled with disappointments. We got up early to get out of caterpillar area. We climbed up to 11,000 ft! I felt as if I was on top of the world it was awesome! The disappointments started here. WE were relying on the down hill to get down some miles but instead we had to walk down because of the road conditions. It is so maddening to be walking down hill. We did have a good moment we made it to COLORADO!!!!!! We had made it through one state. That was a good feeling. We were all excited to get some real food because we were out of our own. On the map there was a restaurant symbol we were all super duper excited to get some hot food. Well there was no food the restaurant was closed. WE were all a little crushed we ate some old bars so we had some energy to climb the next pass. Lucky we were on pavement so we pushed on to the town with a store. We made it to the top then flew down the paved hill going faster then the speed limit. We dropped into a beautiful valley. We dropped into Hoorca I was so excited to get a burger and hot food. Well the store/restaurant was closed. We had to keep going. We trucked up the dirt road. The canyon was amazing it is the type of place that reminds of tons of places but not like one and the more you snake up the canyon the more it changes. Six miles later we make to a R.V park with an open store! When I say store I am talking the size of a big closet. It had chips mac n cheese and candy bars. I ate some snickers. We made dinner and relaxed in shade of the r.v park. It was great to have grass and chairs. I got super home sick. I was really missing my friends, house and mostly my dog.
Day 26:
Today we camped at 11,480 feet! This is the highest point we have been on the whole trip and in my whole life. I am really proud that we got up this high. It feels like we are back packing it is really cold and no one is around. The place we are camping is timeless I could be here 100 years ago and it would look the same. I love places like these it is like there is no time at all.
We left early in the morning and had a very healthy breakfast of big Texas Cinnamon rolls. We started climbing up the canyon dogging pot holes and such. 16 miles later we made it to Plataro! In Platero we got to switch our maps which made everyone very happy! We went out for lunch at a little cafe were we got really good burgers. (Thank You Sue). Sue was the chef of the cafe and made us extremely good burgers. After a good lunch we went started to climb up out of the canyon. Eventually we got to a pass were then we went down into another canyon. I bet you can guess what we did next we started climbing out of it. This was the big climb to Indiana pass. We met a very nice family at the end of our day and they steered us to a great place to camp. Tomorrow will be our big climb.
Day 27:
Well we just dropped today. Down and down. But before our drop we did climb to the highest point of our trip and the great divide. The great Indiana Pass. 12,000 feet in the air is were we climbed and I have to say it felt very surreal. The climb up was not that bad we had done the bad part the day before so we just had 10 mile climb. At the top we had a celebratory coke that dad had forgotten to drink and chocolate from mom. The bummer of the whole thing was that Mom had gotten bad altitude sickness and did not feel so well. After pictures and a brief break we started our 25 miles down.
Since we had 4,000 feet to drop we did not take so many breaks. The ride down was great until we hit pavement. About ½ a mile into the smoothness Wiley took a bad spill right in fornt of me. He skidded side ways luckily I was far enough back to slam on the breaks and help him of the road. He hit hard. WE were crusing at 20 mph so when he hit he had speed. He scraped up his lip and knee. At first it was just blood every were and my brave brother who was barely crying were if I had crashed I would have been screaming my eyes out. It was really scary he was shaking and there was lots of blood. After about half and hour we made a plan Wiley was to stay with mom on the side of the road and Dad and I were going to bike into town and find a truck to pick him and Mom up to take him 10 miles to the closest town, Del Norte. Dad and I flew we were going at 30 mph I was really worried about bud so we really tried to go as fast as possible. We got to Del Norte and got us a little cabin next to a health food store. I stayed and Dad found a truck to go and get Wiley. I stayed and ate food. While I was sitting out side two bikers pulled up. They were super nice. We ate lunch with them since they were going so fast they had to hit the road. Rest day tomorrow!
Day 28:
Well not much to say other then we sat around and ate a lot. We all felt a little sick.
Day 29:
We got a big breakfast before we hit the road again. We all over ate a bit and felt really sick for a while. We rode 30 miles the rodes were really good so we got to camp around 3:00! The camp sight was really nice we had water and picnic tables so we played cards for hours. We laughed a lot and talked to our neighbors tomorrow we have a pass to climb again.
Day 30:
Today we got up and left our nice camp sight. I had pop tarts and coffee for breakfast and I felt good to start the day. It was super cold at first so I rode a while in my down coat before I took it off. The three mile climb up to the pass was really nice and the ten miles down was even nicer. It was a good way to get miles down. On the way down from the pass we were riding in the worlds 2 largest caldera which was really cool. We hit the paved road and rode for 12 miles before we turned off it and started climbing into a canyon. We had a really good lunch of tuna fish sandwich. After stuffing our selves we continued up and up. We all listened to our music I just made up stories to help the time pass, We made it to our second pass of the day and started to go down. A lot of it did not seem down due to the head wind. We camped on a lake on a nice pull out and had a dinner of beans and rice.
Day 31:
Sitting in a camp sight on the side of the road again and we saw our fist racer. He stopped and we talked wit him for a while. He was super nice and he had ridden from Costa Rica to get in shape for the ride we was in 2 place. I really hope he wins!
We biked a lot today we biked 51 miles. We had 37 done before lunch so we took a really long lunch break before we climbed the pass separating us from Salida. Other then that today was just kind of dull lots of pavement which is stressful but it helps us do millage. We just kept going. We are about 5 miles from the pass right now so tomorrow we should be hitting Salida for our rest day!
Day 32:
We made it to Salida! What a cool town it reminds me a lot of Missoula. I love it here we had really, really good pizza for lunch from Moonlight pizzeria. We are getting our bikes worked on so that is good. I am so happy to be clean and I am about to go swimming with Wiley.
Thank You all for reading!
Cheers,
Day 14-22
Day 14:
22 mile day to climb out of Grants. Up to the mountains my friend. I was so excited to get up in the mountains I was ready for no cactus and no rattle snakes. The first 12 miles was a windy paved road with a bit of traffic. Once we got to dirt we had a nice more gradule climb. We camped ½ a mile away from a spring with grass. It was so nice to be with aspen trees and grass!
Day 15:
Today we dropped out of the mountains :( so much for being back in them. I was so happy NOT to be in the desert. I have had enough of the wind, sand, and no shade. I am sunburned on my arms, legs neck and face. Today we had our first flat and not only one but three! Plus two of our spares were flat as well. We spent a lot of time in the shade waiting. The desert is taking a toll on all of us. It was a slow bumpy day with lots of sand and heat. Even though the views were beautiful. I just felt sick and I did not appreciate the views as much as I would have liked to. Town in two days woho.
Day 16:
43 miles, 2600 ft. we did today. Today we went down and up down and up down and up that was about the whole day the morning was beautiful. We went into rivers and climbed out I feel like I saw the real magic of the desert this morning. After lunch we just started riding we had 17 miles done before lunch after lunch we started riding and riding. We had 4 miles of pavement then back to dirt we stopped to eat dinner. After dinner we felt good so we continued on. We saw a HUGE rattlesnake it was some what frightening. We camped on the side of the road next to some cactus.
Day 17:
We finally made it to Cuba!!!!!!!! I we all got up early packed up camped and bike 8 miles to the paved road then another 10 on pavement to cuba. This is supposed to be our last day of the desert finally. Do not get me wrong it was beautiful but I am so ready to go home to the mountains. We booked a hotel it was an experience :). Had lunch out the food was good nice to have something other then cheese and crackers.
Day 18:
Well it was not a big day. We only did 13 miles. We went out for breakfast yummy :). IT was however a huge climb. I do not know why they had to put Cuba so down low and our road so high up. We gained 2,230 feet over 13 miles and our climbing is still not done. Today was a real test of our ability. The good thing is we are now up in the mountains and off the desert floor! I feel right at home. We camped in next to a little creek with green grass, birds singing and the color green all around. It is here and present not a distant memory. I was so happy to be breathing this rich mountain air and a cool breeze present. I find it amazing that even though I am 2,000+ miles away from home I still feel as if I am right there in the cascade mountains. We found a soccer ball at camp and Wiley and I were so excited for some entertainment. The simplest things make your day out here and I love that.
Day 19:
Yes were are definatly in the mountains. I woke up very grumpy because of the temperature I was really cold and did not want to get out of my sleeping bag :). It felt like and endless climb of just up and up. The first 20 miles we had a mixture which was fun climb up drop down. The next ten miles were mostly up. The last five miles were all up we were climbing to which we called first summit it was really just a top of a mountain 10,200 feet in the air. The last five miles were such a push the road sucked it was like walking up a stream bed at an 8% grade fully loaded at times. During one of the really steep rocky sections I had to unload all my gear ride my bike up then go down and pick it up. Since my elbows are very weak it was to hard to push my bike up. It was a hot day in the mountains but I was happy. Tomorrow we have one more climb then a nice drop into our next town Abiquiu.
Day 20 and 21:
The drop was not what we expected to sum it up it sucked. There is a reason why it is called the one of the toughest climbs and they are not talking about the grade. The road was rocky bumpy and sandy and took us a really long time to get to Abiquiu. Once in Abiquiu it was great. The Inn we were staying at was amazing. We spent two nights there just relaxing and refueling out selves for a long hard stretch. I just sat around enjoying the beautiful place and ate.
22 mile day to climb out of Grants. Up to the mountains my friend. I was so excited to get up in the mountains I was ready for no cactus and no rattle snakes. The first 12 miles was a windy paved road with a bit of traffic. Once we got to dirt we had a nice more gradule climb. We camped ½ a mile away from a spring with grass. It was so nice to be with aspen trees and grass!
Day 15:
Today we dropped out of the mountains :( so much for being back in them. I was so happy NOT to be in the desert. I have had enough of the wind, sand, and no shade. I am sunburned on my arms, legs neck and face. Today we had our first flat and not only one but three! Plus two of our spares were flat as well. We spent a lot of time in the shade waiting. The desert is taking a toll on all of us. It was a slow bumpy day with lots of sand and heat. Even though the views were beautiful. I just felt sick and I did not appreciate the views as much as I would have liked to. Town in two days woho.
Day 16:
43 miles, 2600 ft. we did today. Today we went down and up down and up down and up that was about the whole day the morning was beautiful. We went into rivers and climbed out I feel like I saw the real magic of the desert this morning. After lunch we just started riding we had 17 miles done before lunch after lunch we started riding and riding. We had 4 miles of pavement then back to dirt we stopped to eat dinner. After dinner we felt good so we continued on. We saw a HUGE rattlesnake it was some what frightening. We camped on the side of the road next to some cactus.
Day 17:
We finally made it to Cuba!!!!!!!! I we all got up early packed up camped and bike 8 miles to the paved road then another 10 on pavement to cuba. This is supposed to be our last day of the desert finally. Do not get me wrong it was beautiful but I am so ready to go home to the mountains. We booked a hotel it was an experience :). Had lunch out the food was good nice to have something other then cheese and crackers.
Day 18:
Well it was not a big day. We only did 13 miles. We went out for breakfast yummy :). IT was however a huge climb. I do not know why they had to put Cuba so down low and our road so high up. We gained 2,230 feet over 13 miles and our climbing is still not done. Today was a real test of our ability. The good thing is we are now up in the mountains and off the desert floor! I feel right at home. We camped in next to a little creek with green grass, birds singing and the color green all around. It is here and present not a distant memory. I was so happy to be breathing this rich mountain air and a cool breeze present. I find it amazing that even though I am 2,000+ miles away from home I still feel as if I am right there in the cascade mountains. We found a soccer ball at camp and Wiley and I were so excited for some entertainment. The simplest things make your day out here and I love that.
Day 19:
Yes were are definatly in the mountains. I woke up very grumpy because of the temperature I was really cold and did not want to get out of my sleeping bag :). It felt like and endless climb of just up and up. The first 20 miles we had a mixture which was fun climb up drop down. The next ten miles were mostly up. The last five miles were all up we were climbing to which we called first summit it was really just a top of a mountain 10,200 feet in the air. The last five miles were such a push the road sucked it was like walking up a stream bed at an 8% grade fully loaded at times. During one of the really steep rocky sections I had to unload all my gear ride my bike up then go down and pick it up. Since my elbows are very weak it was to hard to push my bike up. It was a hot day in the mountains but I was happy. Tomorrow we have one more climb then a nice drop into our next town Abiquiu.
Day 20 and 21:
The drop was not what we expected to sum it up it sucked. There is a reason why it is called the one of the toughest climbs and they are not talking about the grade. The road was rocky bumpy and sandy and took us a really long time to get to Abiquiu. Once in Abiquiu it was great. The Inn we were staying at was amazing. We spent two nights there just relaxing and refueling out selves for a long hard stretch. I just sat around enjoying the beautiful place and ate.
Day 5-11
Today is our second rest day for the trip and a well deserved one at that. We have been biking for 7 days straight so today (our 8th day) we are in a hotel. Our current location is Granst, New Mexico. We are in a Quality inn and Suits with two beds a tv and the best thing is there is a Swimming pool! Our trip has been going smoothly other then the bumpy roads and sand pits we keep falling in. :)
Day 5: Grammy took us up the busy road to start our first day on dirt with our gear. We were loaded up and we started climbing not the best way to start. We were all walking our bikes up the hill fully loaded I was thinking "why am I doing this" we climbed for about two miles of just up. I road as much as I could bout I had never ridden with so much weight so balence at that speed was an issue. After climbing for and hour and only going 2 miles we were all disurageede. The road started flattening out and we were riding on the continatale divide right on it. The road was SO bad the was bord was unbaible and the gravel was super thick. It was very fruesterating to be going 2 miles per hour on a flat road or even worse walking. After lunch the down hill finally came we started droping into a canyon. We dropped a lot which meant we had to climb up again. I was mad that this was not the canyon we were staying in. We stared climbing again. Up and up I was the only one who rode it because walking and pushing my heavy bike hurt my elbows super bad. After anouther two hours of climbing we got to the top and started dropping again this time in to rockey canyon just one canyon away from the one we would camp in. The road finely was better on the drop down there was no more gravel meaning no more wash board. We saw Grammy at the bottom of the canyon. It was so beautiful. Grammy took our gear for the last climb which was really nice. I rode more then half of it which was very satisfying the down hill was super duper fun. It was a three mile down hill dropping 1,000 feet!!!!!!!!!
Day 6: We got up and started climbing out of the canyon. Grammy took our gear to the top of the hill so the climb only took us an hour to do. At the top of the hill we said good bye to Grammy. One of the best parts about this trip was being able to have Grammy be apart of it. She was so wonderful and I had so much fun hanging out with her. So Grammy thank You SO much for taking time out of your busy life and coming and helping us. I am so happy we could share this adventure with you! The rest of the day was annoying I had a bad day that day. We climbed up and climbed down. At the end of the of the day we climbed over 2,000 feet.
Day 7: Hit the road at 8:00 from Beaver head camp ground. We planned to have a thirty mile day on day 7. I do not remember to much about that day it was very long day that is all I really remember. We just kept riding and riding. I wanted to get as far as possible because the next day we had a mountain to climb and go over 40 miles. It was super hot and we were in high plains with not much shade so I pushed that we keep riding. We ended up coyote camping off the road in the shade of some bushes.
Day 8: I am now 14! Day 8 was my birthday. We had cookies and pop tarts for breakfast and got on the road since we went so far the day before we only had 27 miles to go. Nine of them up and the rest on high plains. We sped off riding it was 90 degrees by nine I was so ready to start climbing so I could be in the shade of the trees and mountain. When we finally got to the camp site Wiley and I played ball and had a race on who could set up there tent first (I won). Being 14 is good I do not feel different though. I had fun spending time with my family and having a birthday.
Day 9: I had been waiting for this day for a really long time. Ever since I saw the movie I wanted to go to this town Pie Town. What could be better then a town named after Pie? We really pushed to get to pie town before lunch so we could have burgers at a restaurant. We entered the town and my first thought was what a dump! I was a little uneasy but we found a cafe' called the daily pie so I was happy. The food was AMAZING the cook was such a great guy super nice new everyone and made huge burgers just for us I felt right at home. He made pies from scratch everyday so we had to try them. I had the three berry pie and split the key lime with my dad. The cook said that we had to stay at the toaster house. The toaster house? That is what I thought who names a house a toaster house? He gave us directions and we went and checked it out. It turned out the toaster house was not a house but a home. Inside there was couches, beds and food. Someone had given this house to the travelers. It was for bikers and hikers do the dived. It was the most amazing thing ever. The person who the house belongs to is named Nita. The cool thing is we got to meet her. She is the most kind person ever. She gives travelers what they miss most when away a home. You feel so good getting in to that house the love is every where.
We even got to meet her we talked to her in the afternoon and learned about her life and made plans the next day to meet up for breakfast.
Day 10: The next morning we said goodbye to the home and biked over for breakfast. I ate a lot the food was great. After a very, very good meal Nita gave us a tour of pie town. The town was really interesting and I loved seeing the whole thing. By the time we were leaving I realized that Pie town was a wonderful place and I should not judge towns by the way they look. We had a very bad side wind and we road on a dirt road for 30 miles. We got on pavement by around five and that bad side wind turned into a sweet tail wind so we just kept going. We were going 20 miles per hour by just coasting it rocked! As the sun was getting low in the sky we hit the narrows. It was one of the most spectaculars sights I have ever seen we were just cruising down the road. I was flying on a down hill and Rounded a corner and right there with sun shining just perfectly on a paved road tail wind a partly any traffic was the arch. Oh man If I could relive that moment I would it was breath taking. We made I to a BLM sight after a 54 mile day the record for this trip.
Day 11: Well not as great we had 17 miles to grants and a nice head wind. It was not an amazing day it took us a while to make it to Grants. Grants is not the nicest place ever the only restaurants they have near our hotel is a Denny's, Subway and a taco Bell. We went to Subway and got sandwiches then went across the street to our hotel. The rest of the day was spent eating, lying in a bed and watching TV about snakes. It was a good end of the day. :)
Thanks for reading!
Day 5: Grammy took us up the busy road to start our first day on dirt with our gear. We were loaded up and we started climbing not the best way to start. We were all walking our bikes up the hill fully loaded I was thinking "why am I doing this" we climbed for about two miles of just up. I road as much as I could bout I had never ridden with so much weight so balence at that speed was an issue. After climbing for and hour and only going 2 miles we were all disurageede. The road started flattening out and we were riding on the continatale divide right on it. The road was SO bad the was bord was unbaible and the gravel was super thick. It was very fruesterating to be going 2 miles per hour on a flat road or even worse walking. After lunch the down hill finally came we started droping into a canyon. We dropped a lot which meant we had to climb up again. I was mad that this was not the canyon we were staying in. We stared climbing again. Up and up I was the only one who rode it because walking and pushing my heavy bike hurt my elbows super bad. After anouther two hours of climbing we got to the top and started dropping again this time in to rockey canyon just one canyon away from the one we would camp in. The road finely was better on the drop down there was no more gravel meaning no more wash board. We saw Grammy at the bottom of the canyon. It was so beautiful. Grammy took our gear for the last climb which was really nice. I rode more then half of it which was very satisfying the down hill was super duper fun. It was a three mile down hill dropping 1,000 feet!!!!!!!!!
Day 6: We got up and started climbing out of the canyon. Grammy took our gear to the top of the hill so the climb only took us an hour to do. At the top of the hill we said good bye to Grammy. One of the best parts about this trip was being able to have Grammy be apart of it. She was so wonderful and I had so much fun hanging out with her. So Grammy thank You SO much for taking time out of your busy life and coming and helping us. I am so happy we could share this adventure with you! The rest of the day was annoying I had a bad day that day. We climbed up and climbed down. At the end of the of the day we climbed over 2,000 feet.
Day 7: Hit the road at 8:00 from Beaver head camp ground. We planned to have a thirty mile day on day 7. I do not remember to much about that day it was very long day that is all I really remember. We just kept riding and riding. I wanted to get as far as possible because the next day we had a mountain to climb and go over 40 miles. It was super hot and we were in high plains with not much shade so I pushed that we keep riding. We ended up coyote camping off the road in the shade of some bushes.
Day 8: I am now 14! Day 8 was my birthday. We had cookies and pop tarts for breakfast and got on the road since we went so far the day before we only had 27 miles to go. Nine of them up and the rest on high plains. We sped off riding it was 90 degrees by nine I was so ready to start climbing so I could be in the shade of the trees and mountain. When we finally got to the camp site Wiley and I played ball and had a race on who could set up there tent first (I won). Being 14 is good I do not feel different though. I had fun spending time with my family and having a birthday.
Day 9: I had been waiting for this day for a really long time. Ever since I saw the movie I wanted to go to this town Pie Town. What could be better then a town named after Pie? We really pushed to get to pie town before lunch so we could have burgers at a restaurant. We entered the town and my first thought was what a dump! I was a little uneasy but we found a cafe' called the daily pie so I was happy. The food was AMAZING the cook was such a great guy super nice new everyone and made huge burgers just for us I felt right at home. He made pies from scratch everyday so we had to try them. I had the three berry pie and split the key lime with my dad. The cook said that we had to stay at the toaster house. The toaster house? That is what I thought who names a house a toaster house? He gave us directions and we went and checked it out. It turned out the toaster house was not a house but a home. Inside there was couches, beds and food. Someone had given this house to the travelers. It was for bikers and hikers do the dived. It was the most amazing thing ever. The person who the house belongs to is named Nita. The cool thing is we got to meet her. She is the most kind person ever. She gives travelers what they miss most when away a home. You feel so good getting in to that house the love is every where.
We even got to meet her we talked to her in the afternoon and learned about her life and made plans the next day to meet up for breakfast.
Day 10: The next morning we said goodbye to the home and biked over for breakfast. I ate a lot the food was great. After a very, very good meal Nita gave us a tour of pie town. The town was really interesting and I loved seeing the whole thing. By the time we were leaving I realized that Pie town was a wonderful place and I should not judge towns by the way they look. We had a very bad side wind and we road on a dirt road for 30 miles. We got on pavement by around five and that bad side wind turned into a sweet tail wind so we just kept going. We were going 20 miles per hour by just coasting it rocked! As the sun was getting low in the sky we hit the narrows. It was one of the most spectaculars sights I have ever seen we were just cruising down the road. I was flying on a down hill and Rounded a corner and right there with sun shining just perfectly on a paved road tail wind a partly any traffic was the arch. Oh man If I could relive that moment I would it was breath taking. We made I to a BLM sight after a 54 mile day the record for this trip.
Day 11: Well not as great we had 17 miles to grants and a nice head wind. It was not an amazing day it took us a while to make it to Grants. Grants is not the nicest place ever the only restaurants they have near our hotel is a Denny's, Subway and a taco Bell. We went to Subway and got sandwiches then went across the street to our hotel. The rest of the day was spent eating, lying in a bed and watching TV about snakes. It was a good end of the day. :)
Thanks for reading!
Rest Day!
Well, well, day four and it is a rest day, woho! We are resting in Silver City, New Mexico a little over 100 miles away from our starting point. We started four days ago at Antelope Wells, a border crossing with Mexico. After walking into Mexico for a photograph,we started our first day of riding. WE have been really lucky my grandma (Grammy) has come out to help us for the first week by carrying our gear. This way we can get used to the heat and bikes before carrying extra weight. The ride was great. I had never been to a desert and it was really beautiful. All the cactus was blooming and it had just rained so it was very green! We biked for 34 miles the first day and then camped up near were the border patrol gets cell service. On the first road we were on we became good friends with the border patrol. We would see them every 15 minutes or so. Becase of all of their presence we felt really safe and did not see any smugglers. The desert was great for just riding and just for thinkng it was just so quiet. The next morning we packed up camp and Grammy drove off to do some shopping. We got to the end of the border patrol road and stopped to have lunch. After a great lunch of cheese and meat sandwichs we set off down a dirt frontage road. We had a great tail wind so we cruised along at a nice pace. We were about five miles in and had seen no cars when we saw a sliver truck driving towards us. It turned out to be Grammy with fruit popsicles!!! It was the best treat ever after riding for 30 miles on a hot day. After the popsicles Grammy took off and we continued down the road until we got to a so-called town containing one broken-down store. We got directions and started on a 35 mile dirt road. It was a short cut to Silver City. Looking for a camp site was hard there was not much shade. After a lot of stopping and saying "lets go to the top of the next hill" we found a pull off for the truck and made some shade. The next morning we wanted to get an early start so we woke up before the sun at 5:30. We were on the road a little before 7. We had a really long day. Our goal was to get to Silver City but on dirt we were averaging about 5 miles per hour. The GPS was telling us mileage as the crow flies but we were twisting and turning.There was lot of frustrating mileage. It did save on some turns though those back roads can get confusing. When we finally got to the main road Grammy was waiting with Ice cream!!!! Wiley and I were really tired so we got in the truck to go to the hotel a little faster then mom and dad --we had called first showers :) Being in the hotel is great. We have been watching t.v hanging out and replenishing ourselves for the week ahead of us. Today we went to the Gila Cliff Dwellings and touched thousand year old urine.. Other then bad sunburns and head winds the trip has been good. I do miss my friends and bed no doubt but this has been cool so far. :)