Day 36 Cotopaxi, CO to Pueblo, CO

I started cycling, from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California on August 19th, and today I rolled into my final destination of this journey, Pueblo, Colorado on September 23th, 2009. I followed the Western Express Route, using the Adventure Cycling Maps, which were very informative and important to me. There is a lot of isolation through deserts on this route, so information was crucial, to say the least. These maps are very detailed and lead the way for me, as I just had to pedal. Now it's time to look back and reflect on what I have achieved. I always say, "it's not about the mileage, it's not about the duration, and it's not about me". Bicycle touring to me is "to be one with the road", "the unknown around that next corner", and "the friendships you make, as your passing through". I'm forever in debt, to the many people I've met along the way. You've all touched me in your own way, and for that, you'll never be forgotten. Thanks for the memories, they'll last a lifetime. On my last day of riding, I have one last summit to climb today, and the rest of the ride will be all downhill to Pueblo. I used more hand and toe warmers today as I hit a snow storm above 7,000'. At about 6,000' the rain started. The more I climbed, the colder it got. At about 7,000' the rain turned to snow and I wasn't near the summit as I had over 1000 more feet to climb. I had to pull over a suit up with all my winter gear. Hat, gloves, rain jacket and pants, and of course my pool towel, that I used as a face mask. I think I let out some choice words, but no one was around. This to me, was the cherry on top. I can't believe, I am cycling through a snow storm, or snow storms, because the last week has been crazy around here, weather wise. I finally crested the summit, but I wasn't finished yet. Going down this summit wasn't going to be a bargain either. Snow and freezing rain pelleting off the little exposed parts of my face, and the cold wind was sneaking through the smallest of cracks in my armor. It wasn't until I dropped a few thousand feet that I could stop shivering. I even ducked into a library in the tiny town of Wetmore. It was closed but the door was open. A few elderly people were inside, sitting at a long table drinking coffee and they invited me to join them. The one time I wish I drank coffee, as they offered me a cup. I really needed to warm up and it was very comfortable inside this building. I sat just soaking up the heat, while shooting the breeze with a few of the local towns people. They gave me the news I've wanted to here. "25 miles to Pueblo, and all downhill". Off I went, to finish something I started over a month ago. To reach the end of my route, in Pueblo, Colorado. The incredible part is that I heard the weather around here is supposed to get warm next week. That figures! This has been a tough tour, maybe one of my hardest, though nowhere close to the longest. Between the terrain, the weather, and the lack of services, the Western Express Route took a lot out of me. So after 36 days, 1,661 miles, and 4 states, I have finished my 12 tour by bicycle. My total tour mileage is over 31,000 miles and I'm not done yet. There's still a lot of places on this earth to see, as I've only scratched the surface. Until the next tour, thanks for viewing.

Day 35 Garfield, Co to Cotopaxi, CO

Can you say C-O-L-D!!!! How about S-N-O-W!!!! Ok, this takes first place, for being the coldest yet. I am at 11,ooo' and the sun is out but it's only in the high 20's this morning. I went down to the pool area at the lodge and grabbed a towel to use as a neck warmer and face mask. (photo above) This is ridiculous, it's only September, not December! The bad thing about this is that I have many miles of downhill to do this morning. Downhill, means high speeds, high speeds mean wind in the face, and wind in the face at 28 degrees means frozen nose, eyes, and ears, not to mention every other body part. I went into a Wal-Mart in Salida to buy a pair of winter gloves but the woman working there said they don't have them out yet. To early in the season, I guess. Well, so is the temps around here, I thought. I came across the next best thing. Hand Warmers, that you use while skiing, or any other outdoor winter activity. They fit right inside your gloves. I got a few pairs and used them in my gloves and in my shoes. This was a super idea, I feel warmer already and used them all day. I got to another KOA and rented a cabin again. Notice I'm not camping anymore. Just a little to cold for that, around here at least. This cabin had a space heater and I blasted it all night.

Day 34 Gunnison, CO to Garfield, CO

My plan for today, was to take a half day and stop at the town of Sargents and get another cabin. Rest up and tomorrow, climb the Continental Divide to Monarch Pass. I was so happy to get to Sargents by noon, knowing I was going to stop there. I went inside the cafe and store to rent a cabin, when the owner of them told me a storm was coming tonight and it was going to bring a couple of inches of snow to the mountain pass. He told me I'd be better off doing it today than chancing it tomorrow. My heart sank, as I didn't really want to climb this monster today. This is not just another mountain pass, as I have done what seems to be hundreds of times before. This is Monarch Pass at 11,312' over the Continental Divide and will be the highest I have ever been on a bicycle. So I am a bit nervous and excited at the same time. He told me about a lodge that was just over the summit, and that it is only 10 miles to the top. 10 miles straight up, sounds easy in a car, doesn't it. Ok, Ok, I said, your right. I have to do it today, thank you I said and pedalled up that monster. I got the sense people in the cars passing me, wondered why I would want to bike this. I don't know that I want to, but it's part of my route, so I am doing it. I know I can do it. I can climb pretty good and I still have energy after eating a quick lunch in Sargents. It took two and a half hours to bike that 10 miles uphill to the summit. I threw my arms in the air in victory and took a few photos before heading into the summit store and cafe to warm up. It was close to freezing at 11,312' and it was 3 in the afternoon. Going down the backside of the pass was so cold. I was bundled up like I was in Alaska, in dead of winter, but that's how cold I was. Only a few miles and I found the lodge the man in Sargents was telling me about. My eyes lit up when I found out that this lodge has a outdoor hot tub, and indoor swimming pool, and a sauna. I used all 3 happily. The room for the night was only $40, the best deal of the trip. Thanks to the stranger in Sargents who told me to do the pass today. Yes, it snowed that night. Just an inch or two, but it's nice that I got the highest pass of the trip behind me. I will sleep well tonight.

Day 33 Cimmaron, CO to Gunnison, CO

I used the same trick again this morning with the hand dryers in the bathroom. It's seems very important to camp where there is a bathroom with electric hand dryers, because the temperature in the morning has been close to freezing for over a week now. It's the elevation, because I have not been below 6,000' in weeks and it's late September, anything can happen here. I warmed up quickly with a 1500' climb that didn't want to end. I was taking a rest stop along the scenic Gunnison River, as another biker (Bob) pulled up to the picnic table I was at. Bob, was a older man, doing a 3 week tour of all the high passes in Colorado. I never heard of someone that wanted to bike over these high passes. I told Bob, that I was trying to avoid all the high passes of Colorado, but I wasn't doing a very good job of it. It started to rain and we left the rest spot at different times and passed each other a few times, but didn't really bike together at all. I think Bob turned off to attack another high peak down a side road. I was just trying to head east, thinking that was hard enough. I made it to the town of Gunnison. Gunnison, CO is know for being the coldest spot in the Continental US during the winter months. I headed for a KOA campground that I saw on my map. When I arrived, (Mike) the manager asked me how I would like not to set up my tent tonight. What are you talking about I said. We have A-Frame cabins and I will give you one for the same price as a tent site. That sounds great to me, I'll take it. The A-Frame cabin has nothing in it. No bed, no heat, but it did have a light and an outlet to charge my electronics. I laid out my sleeping pad and bag and was plenty warm for the night. Also at the KOA's, they usually have a common area, with a TV and books. I cooked my dinner outside my cabin, (photo above) and ate overlooking a small man made pond. I couldn't thank Mike enough, as he hooked me up!

Day 32 Ridgeway, CO to Cimmaron, CO

I have a new plan for this morning. Since it's been so cold in the morning just after waking up, today I will do my laundry first and let it warm up before setting off. It's so cold outside, that I ate breakfast in the laundry room and again used the bathroom hand dryers to warm up my hands. It was only a little after 9am, when I hit the road. The sun rose just enough to begin warming the mountain air. Another surprise to me was that I am biking through "Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park". I never even heard of this park before. I camped in the park at Cimarron Campground, and took a short walk after set up to the Gunnison River and Dam. I walked down this road that started at the campground and lead to deep canyon walls and a 400' high dam that they use for hydro electric power, as well as hiking trails along the Gunnison River.

Day 31 Trout Lake, CO to Ridgeway, CO

I am freezing! Oh, that's why, it's only 34 degrees this morning, and fresh snow on the mountain tops. (photo above) Even though the campground was closed, the bathroom was still open and they had electric hand warmers which I used for half an hour just to thaw out my hands. The manager came over to me this morning just to see if I was ok and if I needed anything. He was the one to tell me about the bathrooms. The first part of my ride this morning was bitter cold, but after a few climbs, I warmed up. I met another bike tourer, "Adam" but he was going the other way. Adam was planning on spending a few days in Telluride, at this weekends "Blues and Brews" festival. I decided to stay away from the large drunken crowd of people and shoot right by Telluride. At day's end I found a state park with shelters over the tent sites which was nice, seeing that it has been raining everyday around here.

Day 30 Dolores, CO to Trout Lake, CO

I had a great sleep in the rec room last night. It's not raining this morning, but it sure looks like it wants to out there. Well, those mountains I could see outlined days ago, they are now here. I will be climbing over Lizard Head Pass at 10,222' today. I climbed a good part of the day, but the one thing I noticed that is different here than in Utah is that the grades of the mountain passes are not as steep here in Colorado. That is good news for me. Mountains are popping up out of everywhere, as I gain elevation. Though I climbed all morning and part of the afternoon, my legs aren't as bad as those crazy climbs in Utah. Made it to the summit of Lizard Head and met another biker on top, next to the elevation sign post. "Brandon" was biking west, heading for Arizona, looking for work. Downhill at long last, and fast. Getting late I knew of a campground just a few miles from the summit. I passed Trout Lake (Photo Above), which was worth a stop. A beautiful lake with mountains behind it, and my camp spot right next to it. Well, the campground was closed! It was under construction but I didn't care and went around the locked gate, something you can't do in a vehicle. People were there working, but I just kept out of the way and out of site and set up camp. The next thing I knew, it was raining and raining hard. I went into my tent to stay dry and a few minutes later the construction managers came over to me and said I couldn't stay here and had to leave. They were being nice about it, but they said the big boss said no one is allowed to camp here while the camp is closed. I tried to beg but nothing doing. They left and I started to panic. It was very cold, getting late, and was raining very hard outside. The worst part was, that I would have to break down camp and bike off to find another spot, more than likely just down the street in the woods. The more I waited the harder the rain came down. It was pouring out, and I'm freezing cold. I ran out of my tent and over to the managers RV. This time I must have really looked down and out, because the first thing they said to me was "you can't move in this rain". After some sweet talking, they said that they would let me stay for the night but I had to leave early in the morning, before the big boss showed up. No problem, I said as I leave early anyway. I ran back to my tent so happy that I didn't have to move. Wow, that was close, I said to myself.

Day 29 Monticello, UT to Dolores, UT

Alone again! I broke down camp, packed up my gear and headed into town for breakfast. Back to my yogurt and fruit this morning. Major road construction was happening in downtown Monticello, and I had to follow a few detours to get around it , but not much of a problem. Once outside the town of Monticello, the landscape changed to something I had not seen all tour, "farmland". Grass, green grass, and cattle, and sunflower fields, (photo above) this can't be Utah, I said to myself. I was right, a few miles down the road I crossed into my 4th and last state of this tour, "Colorado". It was a nice change of scenery, a lot different than the desert that I have gotten used to over the last few weeks. "Farmlands", I thought Colorado would just be snow capped mountains. This caught me by surprise. As it got later in the day and I got closer to Dolores, Colorado, I could start to see the outlines of mountains in the distance. For sure, one's that I will eventually be climbing in the day's to come. The sky was getting dark as a storm was building. I wasn't going to make it to town before the rain reach me. I saw a large barn, with huge farm equipment and bails of hay stacked high. I saw no one around and ducked into the barn. Just in time as the rain came down hard for half an hour, and gave me a chance to eat my lunch, while not getting soaked. Shortly after lunch I was able to continue on, but the dark sky never went away and always had the threatening look of another downpour. I made it to Dolores, and stopped at the visitors center, and they told me the best place to camp. Dolores River RV Park, was there suggestion, so I headed for it only a few miles away. As I pulled into the camp, the rain came down again. The lady working the RV Park gave me a nice spot along the river to pitch my tent, and off I went to set up. No sooner did I have it set up and the skies really opened up. Very hard rain now, as I grabbed my stove and food bag and headed to the camp rec room, for a warm, dry place to eat dinner. As I was cooking just outside the rec room door, a man came over to me and asked if I am the one that is tent camping, Yes, I am I said. Well, I'm the camp host here, and you are welcome to grab your things and sleep in the rec room for the night. It is raining to hard for you to stay outside tonight. This storm is supposed to last most of the night, and temperatures are going down to the 30's, he said. Yes, thank you very much. I would love to stay in the rec room tonight. That camp host just made my day. I had the place to myself. The room was huge, tables everywhere, 2 bathrooms, and a TV to watch tonight instead of my usual satellite radio. I even stayed up later than normal, and finally went to sleep on the platform, that was built to gives talks to campers.

Day 28 Blanding, UT to Monticello, UT

We all woke up early, mostly due to the girls having a long day as they were going to try and make it to Moab by tonight. Moab was 85 miles away, a very long last day of cycling for them. As for me, I was going to take a short day and stay in Monticello for the night as the next major town was Dolores, Colorado a full days ride away. We packed up quickly, ate our breakfast, and the 3 of us hit the road for the last time together. We biked together for the most part this morning as bad weather was approaching us. Some rain, and thunder managed to reach us but nothing we couldn't ride through. We made it to the town of Monticello, Utah and the end of the road for us travelling together. Margaret asked a man to take a few photos of us together. (Photo above, Greet, Me, and Margaret) I will never see these girls ever again, I thought to myself. My emotions took over as I was wiping tears from my eyes. Very sad goodbyes, I waved to my new friends as they pedaled off in the distance. As I watched them go out of my site, I realized this is what I love most about cycle touring, not the miles pedalling everyday, not the scenery you see at a snail's pace, but the friendships you make along the way. That is cycling touring to me, and wouldn't have it any other way. Goodbye my friends, I'll miss you two. The rest of the day I went to the library and picked up some food, then found a campground. Tomorrow I should be in my 4th state, Colorado.

Day 27 Natural Bridges, UT to Blanding, UT

This morning there was 6 bikers packing up to hit the road early, well 5 bikers. Elliot was going to stay one more night with Stan as he was going to spend the day cycling around the Natural Bridges. Tim and Ian left first as Greet, Margaret, Elliot, Stan, and I ate breakfast and said our goodbyes. All morning I keep thinking how nice it was, that Stan let all these homeless bikers into his camp for the night. A few mountain passes to climb today (photo above, Margaret, Greet, and Me at 7110'), but not to bad and not much wind like yesterday. As always while travelling with the girls, we would go our own pace. Not always would we ride shoulder to shoulder as everyone likes a little space in their life. During the times off strong headwinds we tired to paceline but I found it very difficult to do with loaded bicycles and not to used to the other riders so we didn't do that to much. Greet and Margaret did a lot of it, but they knew each others pace pretty well, and it seemed to work for them. Kind of a short day today, we decided to get something to eat and go to the town library in Blanding, then find a campsite for the night. Tonight we had a special last supper, as tomorrow the girls will continue north to Moab and I will turn east towards Colorado. I was very sad about this, and even told the girls this, but I don't think they were buying it. I was really going to miss them. I felt for some reason that I had known Greet and Margaret for years, not days. Like I went to high school with them or grew up next door to them, but it has only been a few days. I didn't want to think about it to much but most of that night I did anyway.

Day 26 Hite Recreation Area, UT to Natural Bridges National Monumnet, UT

Wow, Wow, Wow! That's all I can say about today's turn of events. Where do I start! We woke up at 5:30am in total darkness and packed up using our headlights. Still, we only started to cycle just before daybreak at 7:15am. Right off the bat, I could tell we were in trouble with the winds today. Crazy headwinds, I'am talking 30 to 35 mph headwinds. Not good, not good at all. I put in my I-pod, cranked some tunes, put my head down and pushed those pedals. With over 3500' in elevation gain today and those winds pushing us nearly backwards, I knew this was going to be an insane day, but only 50 miles to Natural Bridges. Biking along, I happened to look over across the road and saw a man in a robe covered up from the sun and the wind, with a bicycle loaded beside him. We stopped to talk for a few, only to find out he was praying for the winds to stop with a Bible in his hands. We second that, I thought. I too was praying for the winds to stop, but just without the robe and the Bible. The girls and I stopped for lunch just off the road in what small bit of shade we could find. I laid out my tarp and we all sat on it eating our lunch. Greet and Margaret made eggs for all of us. I don't know what was in those eggs, but after lunch I just felt so strong on the bike and a little pissed off at the wind. I pushed as hard as I could, until I reached Natural Bridges NM and went into the visitors center. Just as I got to the center the skies open up. The rain came down so hard and so fast that I was really worried about the girls, still out on the road as I'am safe and sound under the shelter of the center. I found out that the campground was full and that the ranger had wanted us to bike back up the steep hill we just came down to camp for free in a wild spot she told me about. I don't think so, I thought to myself. No way are we going to pedal anymore, in this storm or even without the storm. I just had one of my hardest days on a bike ever and you want me to bike out of here late in the afternoon. No way! The girls came and to my surprise they did not get that wet as the storm had just missed them. I don't believe it I said. I also told them the news about the camping. They too, talked to the ranger and got the same response as I did. Not to worry, I have a plan, I said. I had met a man, named Stan, at the sign post to the park just an hour ago, and I know he got a campsite. Why don't we go and ask if we can camp on his site for one night. We all liked that idea and headed off to find Stan. We found Stan right away and he was happy to have us at his campsite, I think more than we were. Very lucky, very lucky we said to each other. Talking and setting up camp with Stan and another biker comes pedalling through. Need a spot says Stan! Yes I do, well Elliot from Colorado joined us too. Minutes later, two more bikers come into camp looking for a spot, and Stan again invites them to stay. Before you know it, we are having a small bikers party at Stan's site, who was here by himself before we came. We all joined our food together and made one big dinner and ate together talking about our journeys so far. I can't believe the ups and the downs of today, unbelievable. Thank you Stan, you made our day! ( In the photo above left to right is Margaret, Greet, Elloit, and Stan. Tim and Ian were setting up camp during this shot)

Day 25 Hite Recreation Area

Rest day number 2 at Hite Recreation Area. It's such a good feeling to go to sleep knowing you don't have to wake up and pack up and pedal off. For the second straight day we just enjoyed ourselves and the scenery around us. Hot and sunny again, but today, instead of the homemade shelter, we walked around and found a spot that was blocking the wind and the sun. Not far from our camp, was a nice little shady spot and access to the water for swimming. (Greet and Margaret taking a swim in photo above) Early to bed tonight, because tomorrow we are waking up before dawn, and will try to beat the heat and the wind. Before falling asleep, we got treated to a thunder and lightening storm that lasted an hour before passing us by.

Day 24 Hite Recreation Area, UT

Rest Day, Rest Day, Read all about it! That was the headlines going through my head today. Fun in the sun, was the name of the game for today. We found out fast that the sun is too strong and hot to be out in it all day. So we came up with a plan to make our own shelter from the sun. We used both of the girls bikes because they had kickstands and we used my tarp to go across the bikes with a long piece of wood for support. Instant shelter! We used our therm-a-rest sleeping pads for cushion and all huddled under it away from the sun, other than going to cool off with a dip in the Colorado River. It was early afternoon, and Greet says to me, "How about another rest day tomorrow". Sounds good to me, without even thinking about it. "I don't care if we stay here a week", I said. We mentioned it to Margaret, and before you knew it, another rest day was awaiting us. How could you not take time to enjoy this! In late afternoon, another biker had made it to our campsite. "Jack", from Hawaii, was biking from California to Virginia and had left the same day I did from San Francisco but we had not crossed paths until now. We all ate dinner together and had a campfire and talked into the night.

Day 23 Hanksville, UT to Hite, UT

Wow, what a difference it is travelling with Greet and Margaret, (the 2 Dutch girls) they made eggs for breakfast. I'am used to yogurt or oatmeal, but never thought of biking with eggs in tow. I had to make a few phone calls and load up on groceries, so I told Greet and Margaret to start cycling and I would try and catch up later. I was forever in town and didn't get on the bike until 10am, over 2 hours behind the girls. No big deal, because we all knew where we were going to camp that night anyway. Very, very strong headwinds all day. It made the 50 miles feel more like 100 or more miles. Just before Lake Powell I met up with the girl while they were taking a break overlooking the lake. We were in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and it was beautiful. We biked the last 15 miles together in awe at every turn in the road. After a nice downhill, we came to the Colorado River and just a few miles away from Hite Recreation Area, where we were going to camp for the night. One last problem through, straight uphill and our legs didn't feel like pushing it. Slowly we made it to the turn off for Hite. (Photo above is Margaret biking up the last steep grade to the turn off for Hite) A few miles of downhill brought us to the small grocery store, where we just made it in time, before it closed for the night. A $6 fee got us a waterfront paradise. Doesn't get any better than this. Even better, we all decided that we are taking a rest day tomorrow. Rest, swim, read, and eat, those are the only things that seem to matter for tomorrow. No headwinds, no mountains to climb, and no campsite to break down in the morning, as we are staying put. Time to relax!

Day 22 Grover, UT to Hanksville, UT

This is my first time to Capital Reef Nation Park, and what an impression it has made on me. Around every corner, is a new surprise, as you can see in the photo above. Just as I thought it couldn't get any better, it did just that. Somedays, only a handful of vehicles would pass me all day. This day was no exception, as I could ride down the middle of the road for hours without ever having to move. Funny enough, this picture was taking during Utah's "Rush Hour". Just kidding! A far cry from my usual Boston commute to work. Today was a ride I won't soon forget. Not only was the scenery incredible but it was mostly downhill, which hasn't seemed to happen that much around here. That means I could sit back and relax a little as I was taking in the sites mile after mile. I stopped at the Capital Reef National Park Visitor Center and took in the half hour movie about the history of the park. Then had my lunch outside the visitor center under one of the few trees I had seen in days. Shade was at a premium, around this part of the country and I was taking it when I could. I would put Capital Reef NP on my short list of favorite places I've seen in America, that's how impressed I was with this place. On top of having a grand day, I was even happier when I remembered that I was going to meet my Holland friend in camp tonight, or at least I hope they are there, like we talked about a few days ago. Sure enough, pulling into the town of "Hanksville", (which is very small) I saw two bikes outside the town market and two people eating and drinking at the tables beside the front doors. It wasn't my friends like I had thought and hoped but 2 others from Germany, which I talked to, for some time. They told me the Dutch girls were waiting for me at camp and that they too were camping there as well. Just down the street was the Redrock Campground and the girls had just arrived as well. I was so happy to have met back up with them, that I was all smiles the rest of the night. The 3 of us just hit it off, right from the start. We set up camp, cleaned up, and they made a group dinner which was wonderful. Tomorrow we ride together to Lake Powell, and can't wait!

Day 21 Escalante, UT to Grover, UT

Today, just might have been my hardest day ever, on a bicycle. The terrain today was so steep and for miles and miles. To give you an idea for example, today's ride had 2 climbs at 14% grade at over 8 miles each. Ok, 14% grade is just crazy steep. I don't even think Lance Armstrong climbs 14% grades in the Tour de France. A normal mountain passes grade is anywhere from 3% to 6%. I was pedalling as hard as I could and my speed was 4.7 mph. Then I got off the bike, and walked it up the climb at 4.1 mph. So, I did the math. Less than 1 mph difference, and I was in pain doing it. Yes, I ended up walking a lot of today, it seemed like miles but time does go by slow as you are climbing Mount Everest, or so it seemed. Today's climbing went on from 9 in the morning to 4:30 in the afternoon. A long day of suffering, but pain is short, I keep telling myself and the scenery is just awesome. Today's route is on Hwy 12, a scenic byway and one of AAA's 10 most beautiful roads in America. I don't think AAA thought much about doing it on a bicycle! After getting over a section called "The Hogback", I found a state campground to spend the night. Just as I was arriving, so were the dark clouds and rain. Well, when it rains it pours! I set up camp and eat dinner the best I could, just happy not to be climbing mountains still. Rest up Old Man!

Day 20 Bryce Canyon, UT to Escalante, UT

After taking two days off the bike, I was fresh and energized to explore new ground. I have never been to Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (photo above) or to Capital Reef National Park so I am fired up to see these places. I was extremely impressed and delighted at what I saw. The scenery just kept getting better. I had nice, dry weather, a little hot but this is the desert so I expected that. The beauty of today's ride, was that the first few hours of riding were downhill and fast, steep downhill. Pretty fun to being blasting downhill and checking out the sites passing you by. On top of one of the massive downhills I had, I met a group of bikers who were on a organized bike trip with a van, as sag wagon. It was interesting to hear how they like bike touring, but without the hassle of carrying your own gear, food, and setting up camp. They stayed in nice hotels and eat nice meals at restaurant's. By days end, I found camping at Escalante State Park. Just behind the camping was a Petrified Forest, which I hiked into, to see petrified wood that I've never seen before. The camp host was a chatty fellow as he came over to me to shoot the breeze.

Day 19 Bryce Canyon National Park

Rest day number 2. Well worth it. What's the rush, I said to myself? Over the last day and a half, I have made friends with the Greet and Margaret, who are from the Netherlands. They are the two I met coming into the campground the other day and showed me the way. They are heading off this morning, but we made plans to meet up in a few days, in a place called "Hanksville". We looked over the maps and even had a campground picked out, to meet at. I was sad in a way, that they are leaving but happy and looking forward to meeting back up with them. I hope we can cycle together for a few days as well. After the girls left, I cooked up a mess of pancakes, I say mess, because they stuck all over my pot, which is not good for making pancakes. Of course, I eat my scrambled pancakes and then caught the free shuttle to Bryce Point, and then another shuttle to Sunrise Point where I would begin my 3 mile hike in the canyon. Bonnie and I had done this hike a few years ago, and I remember it as being incredible. Getting off the shuttle bus, I met 4 other bike tourers and talked about their travels and mine before setting off on my hike. After the hike I shuttled back to camp and went to other ranger talk at the lodge, but this talk was on the trees of Bryce. Tomorrow I bike on!

Day 18 Bryce Canyon National Park

What a day off! I liked it so much, I will take another day off tomorrow. Well, I thought 2 days off would give me more time to explore this awesome place and with free shuttles driving me around, I could really rest my poor and sore legs. I woke up this morning in relax mode for the first time of this trip. I didn't need to pack up my tent and wolf down breakfast and hit the road. I had signed up for a bus tour of the entire park. A 4 hour tour took a full bus load to every scenic overlook in the park and stopped to let us get out and explore a few minutes while the guide gave us info about the area. Very happy to have signed up for that tour. After the tour, I got cleaned up and made dinner. Then walked to the Bryce Canyon Lodge for a ranger talk about the night time sky of Bryce. It was a dark walk back to camp but a beautiful full moon lead the way, along with my headlight.

Day 17 Panguitch Lake, UT to Bryce Canyon, UT

It was freezing cold breaking camp this morning. When available at campgrounds, and it's this cold outside, what I do is go into the bathroom and use the hand dryer to warm up. I sometimes spend up to half an hour doing this, as it works great. After breaking camp and warming up, I cycled down the street to a church building that had sun on it. My camp was all shade and was to cold to eat breakfast there so I thought I'd move on and find a better spot. I had to do take a small detour leaving camp because a herd of cows had taking over the roadway and pretty much blocked my route completely. I didn't want to squeeze between cows, so I went around the long way. After breakfast and back on the road, I got flagged down by a girl and a guy standing beside the road waving for me to stop. At the time I was going downhill and pretty fast, so I didn't want to stop and I didn't know what they wanted. So I came to a hard stop and still going by them, but I pedalled back. They were Eric and Christie (photo above) from Minnesota, and they too were bike touring, and were told by someone in there campground that another biker (Me), was coming. So they came out to the road and waited for me to come by and waved me down to say hello. Come to find out, that Eric and Christie are biking down to Argentina on a tandem bike while pulling a trailer. I was very interested and we talked for a long time. They happen to have some family visiting with them now and are taking a few days off, and going to site see Bryce Canyon by car today. I eventually pushed on, heading for Bryce myself. As I cycled into Red Canyon the scenery turned amazing and to top things off, I had a bike path to follow for the next 10 miles. By late afternoon, I made it to the turn off for Bryce Canyon National Park. I was very excited knowing just how beautiful Bryce is and that I am going to take a day or two off the bike to check out the sites by shuttle bus. I was going to stay outside the park at Ruby's Inn but I decided to go the extra 3 miles today and stay in the park at North Campground. Pulling into the campground and lost as to which way to go, 2 woman just getting off a shuttle bus told me I must follow them to where bikers are allowed to camp. We were talking, and they too are on a bike tour, and are from Holland, and going to Moab, Utah. I got one of the last spots in the campground as it was getting to be Labor Day weekend and a busy time here. I set up camp and rested away.

Day 16 Cedar City, UT to Panguitch Lake, UT

I've been warned that this day would come sooner or later. Today's the day everyone has been talking about. A 4,500' elevation gain over the next 21 miles that would bring me to Cedar Breaks National Monument, which stands at 10,300'. That will be the highest I have every been on a bicycle or anything thing for that matter other than a plane. What an insane day, it took me 5 hours to climb that 21 miles, straight uphill. I didn't know what to expect at Cedar Breaks, and couldn't believe my eyes once I got there. It was incredible, a 180 degree view of this deep red canyon with hoodoos popping up from everywhere. Just as I arrived at the visitors center it began to rain. I took some shelter and a minutes later it turned to hail, very large hail and a lot of it. I was very lucky to have found shelter because that hail would have hurt quiet bad. With the hail, came the cold temperatures but that is normal for this high elevation. After the rain and hail stopped, I was able to walk about the National Monument and enjoy the views below and around me. As I pedalled on, I stopped at more overlooks beside the road. Finally, my first downhill for the day, but it's now late afternoon. I found a place to camp, at Lake Panguitch, as the rain started up again. I even had to cook my dinner in the men's bathroom, so I could at least eat my dinner in a dry spot. Very few campers were in this campground so it was not a problem to do that. I would never have done that if a lot of people were around. Time to sleep.

Day 15 Milford, UT to Cedar City, UT

As if taking me out to dinner wasn't enough, Clark made me breakfast this morning. Pancakes and eggs, what a nice treat. As we were eating, Clark's friends came to visit. Jim and Ester, were here in Milford to be part of a huge class reunion that was going on this upcoming weekend. I want to say their 50th, but not sure. I had met Jim and Ester yesterday as well, because it was their RV that I had met Clark at, when he invited me to stay at his place. After breakfast Clark took me on a ATV 4 wheeler ride around the neighborhood, which was fun. Then it was sad goodbyes. I found tears in my eyes leaving as I had made a good friend in such a short time. I thought of Clark most of the day as I pedalled toward Cedar City. Found a KOA campground to stay at, (photo above) in Cedar and a good place to stop for the night. Tomorrow is a major climb up to over 10,000'. My poor legs!

Day 14 Wah Wah Summit, UT to Milford, UT

Two tough climbs to do today, but sure glad that I broke this ride into two days. It would have been an extremely hard one day ride. When I finally arrived in the town of Milford, Utah (pop. 1451) I had a few options for camping. There was an RV Park and a City Park, which allowed camping. As I was biking around looking to find the RV Park, I noticed an RV with people around it. They looked to be setting things up for the night, but they were the only ones there. I biked over to them and started talking with them. One man named "Clark", (the man in the photo above) invited me to stay at his place for the night. He said that I was welcome to set up my tent for free at his house, on green grass. Again, I can't pass that up. So of course I agreed and thanked him very much. It was only early afternoon at this time, so Clark and the others told me where the library is, and then gave me directions to his home for afterwards. I was very happy to have a safe, comfortable place to stay for the night. I went to the town market first and then the library, but leaving the library I got lost using Clark's directions, so I stopped at the town's small visitors center, which was located inside a section of a train. Set up to help the few visitors who stumble through Milford, Utah. As I walked into the train, I didn't notice anyone there, but as I walked in farther I saw a girl taking a nap, not so busy around here I said as she woke up. I found out that the girl working inside the visitor center was Clark's niece, so it was easy for her to set me straight, small world I said. I showed up at Clark's, and we talked away like long lost pals. After awhile, Clark tells me to clean up, as he wants to take me out to dinner, on him. Wow, how lucky am I, this is great. A place to stay, good company, and now dinner. We drove to Penny's Diner, one of the two places to eat in town. It was a turn back the clock type of diner but very good food, and just great hanging out with Clark. We drove back to Clark's house after and watched TV till bed time. As I was going off to sleep, I was thinking to myself "you never know what will happen while travelling by bicycle along the backroads of America". What a day! Thank you Clark and will always remember you and the beautiful small town of Milford, Utah.

Day 13 Baker, NV to Wah Wah Summit, UT

Decisions, Decisions! To do it or not to do it! That is, to bicycle the 6 miles uphill, some 2000' in elevation, off my route, to visit the Great Basin National Park and inparticular the Leeman Cave's. As you can see by the photo above, what my decision was. No, I didn't want any extra climbing and especially off of my route, but I couldn't pass up my chance to see these caves. I woke up early from my free camping spot, beside the Post Office in the tiny town of Baker, Utah. Not my best camping spot ever, but it worked for the night and no one seemed to notice me. The sun was just coming up over the horizon as I heading uphill the 6 miles to the Leeman Cave's visitor center. I thought of thumbing a ride and leaving my bike below in town but what's an extra 6 miles up and 6 miles back going to do to me. Just make me stronger, I hope. It took me just over an hour to do those 6 miles uphill, until I reached the visitor center. I bought a ticket for the 90 minute guided tour of Leeman Cave's. You can't go into the caves without a guide and without purchasing a ticket for $15. The best $15 I ever spent. What an incredible place. I have never seen anything like it, or the closest thing I had seen like it were the cenotes in Mexico that Bonnie and I went snorkeling in years ago. A group of 12 went with one guide walking through these caves at a snails pace just in awe at every corner. I took many photos as we walked through, but your not allowed to touch any part of the cave because the oils on your fingers will damage the stalagmites, which are alive and still growing. Pretty amazing and very happy to have made the side trip. After the tour, I had lunch in their cafe and biked down the 6 miles to Baker and continued on with the intention to rough camp again off the side of the road due to the distance of the next town. I filled up all my water jugs, at over 2 gallons (which is 16 pounds) and food for what seemed to be a week. My bags were maxed out. I crossed into Utah in early afternoon. My first time cycling in the state of Utah, so I was pretty excited. As the afternoon went on, it got hotter and hotter, and I drank more and drank more. Till I noticed I was running low, down to about half a gallon and I still had tonight and tomorrow to go with no services, and no houses. I started to get a little nervous and thought of flagging down a car or truck that passes me next. I haven't seen a vehicle in hours. I continued on and found an old abandoned ranch right off the road. I pulled into that ranch and looked around but saw no one. There were farm sables out back but no animals. Windows were broken on the ranch as I looked in, just a mess and not really livable. In my eyes at least. To my great surprise, I found a pipe coming out of the ground with a hose attached to it and water flowing out of it at a good rate. I can't believe this! How lucky is that? First of all, is that water safe to drink? I tested it, with a small sip. It tasted ok, and I was going to need water somehow, and someway. I filled up all my bottles and even took a shower under it. As I looked around, I noticed it getting darker and decided to camp here inside the animal pens. I just had to move some dung out of the way and set up my tent during a beautiful sunset. In some way, I thought of this as being a miracle. It's not for everyone I know, but I felt very lucky this night, as things could have got much worst.

Day 12 Ely, NV to Baker, NV

Headwinds! No, that is not a victory sign I am holding up in the photo above, but maybe a moral victory. These winds normally come from the west, known as westerlies, which would be ideal for me going east. For some reason, I am getting blasted day in and day out with these winds in my face, and from the side, known as a cross wind. Just one more thing to think about and deal with along with the mountain passes to climb, the burning hot sun, the lack of services, the cold nights, and now the worst of all - the headwinds. I always tell people I meet, that I would rather climb a mountain or mountains, than to have headwinds. The reason is this: a mountain will at some point end and then you go downhill, but a headwind is in your face and pushing you backwards and you are trying to push forward, and most of the time, you lose. An example of a typical headwind is this: on a flat road you can bike tour at an easy pace of 13 mph, but on that same road with a 20mph headwind and pushing as hard as you can, your lucky to be going 7 to 8 mph and you tire out much faster. The wind whistles in your ears all day and it plays games in your head, and not good games. When I get to that point, it's time to put my I-Pod on and crank some tunes.

Day 11 Pancake Summit, NV to Ely, NV

It got very cold last night where I was sleeping, off the side of the road. I think it's because I am at 6500' in elevation. It's still incredible to me that the temperature changes so much over the course of a day and into the night. So cold that I woke up at 3am to put on a winter hat and gloves. I really like the idea of breaking up a long mileage day, into two days. I am in no rush, so whats the sense of killing myself just to get to a town with food and water, if you are prepared. I had 3 mountain passes to climb today: Pancake Summit at 6521', Little Antelope Summit at 7438', and Robinson Summit at 7588'. Also, the other reason for breaking this into 2 days, is because I would have had 5 summits to climb and over 85 miles to pedal. To much with 100 pounds of bike and gear to push up those steep climbs.

Day 10 Eureka, NV to Pancake Summit, NV

I came up with a new game plan today. The next town and place to get food and water is too many miles away for one day of riding, so my plan is to break it up, into 2 days of riding. Since I will be rough camping tonight, (photo above) beside the road and in this case in a little ditch just out of sight of oncoming traffic, there is no need to get there much before dark. So I stayed in the nice town of Eureka, NV until late afternoon and relaxed, then biked a few hours until sunset and found a place to call home for the night. An hour or two before setting up camp I met Charles, who is from England and also on a bike trip, but going west. We must have talked for over an hour. I told him what to expect coming up and he did the same to me. It is always great to meet people who are also travelling by bike and very helpful as well. I find that even after a dozen bike trips that I've taken, that I'am still learning new tricks of the trade from others. You always talked about where to camp, where to get food and water, and of course you talk about the road that lies ahead and how many more mountain passes you must climb. Charles, started biking early in the summer from Florida to Boston to Quebec to Nevada, and is going to finish in San Francisco in a few weeks.

Day 9 Austin, NV to Eureka, NV

This morning, I left the town of Austin at 6:00am because I had 2 major mountain passes to climb and I wanted to get over them before it got too hot. I did them faster than I thought. I was over the both of them by 7:30am. I had biked both of these summits 3 years ago, when I rode from Alaska to Mexico. So I knew just how steep these passes were. Later in the day, I stepped on new chip seal and oil from the 20 miles of road construction on my route, my shoes were covered with sticky tar, which made a mess of things. After a long day in the saddle, I reach the town of Eureka, NV. A very nice woman in the only food market in town, told me about a free place to camp for the night, the town park and that there is a indoor swimming pool I could use for only one dollar. I don't know what news was better, the free camping or the swimming pool. I did both as I thanked the nice lady for making my day. That night, as I was cooking dinner, a man named "Paul" came into the park and talked with me for hours. He himself was on a motorcycle tour through the backroads of America. I was talking so much that it got dark before I had set up my tent. The park had beautiful green grass, but to have green grass in a desert, you must also have lots of rain. Well, it doesn't rain to much here I thought, as I read the sign posted "water sprinklers 4am to 8am" Tuesdays and Fridays. I looked at my watched and sure enough it was Friday. I was forced to set up my tent under the pavilion, which had a concrete floor, but no problem with my sleeping pad I use anyway. Like clockwork at 4am, I woke to the sound of water sprinklers and it made me happy to have seen the sign last night.

Day 8 Middlegate, NV to Austin, NV

I had heard about this "The Shoetree", one of the only trees I had seen in days. Not many trees can grow in this area but this sure did. It's such a loner that someone came up with the idea of throwing a pair of shoes around it, and it caught on. I couldn't begin to count just how many shoes were up on the tree, but I would say hundreds. There is a large temperature difference between the day and night here in the desert. A 50 to 60 degree difference was normal. The days highs were around the mid 90's and the night's lows fall around the 40's. Finishing my day here to Austin, NV was one of my hardest days so far. No services what's so ever, very hot and dry, headwinds, and the last few miles to town were just crazy steep. I had to get off my bike and push, as my legs just said no.

Day 7 Fallon, NV to Middlegate, NV

Want an easy job around here? How about being the local weatherman? "Well, today will be dry, hot, and sunny. Tomorrow will be dry, hot, and sunny. Everyday will be..." Where I took this phote above, it doesn't seem to have rained all year here. Just off the road on Hwy 50, Nevada. No plant life and no wildlife, mostly due to no rain in this part of the desert near Salt Wells, Nevada. Waking up this morning, I had a surprise when I saw another tent, set up right beside me that wasn't there when I went to sleep. It was another bike tourer (Christan) from Germany. Christan didn't get to camp until 11:00pm as he did a huge day, but cycling at night is not the safest thing to do. I guess around here it's not so bad due to the very little traffic. I didn't even hear him set up camp, (that's not good if someone was stealing my bike) but we talked for awhile in the morning. He was going west towards LA, so we could not ride together.

Day 6 Carson City, NV to Fallon, NV

Fill'er up! Well, this is a joke of course, but I did need gas stations. My camp stove used auto gas, so I would stop about once a week and fill up my small fuel bottle for about 45 cents. It was always fun watching the gas attendants face as I hand them the few coins to pay for it. Fallon, NV is the start of the "Loneliest Road in America", also known as Highway 50. This stretch of road goes almost 400 miles straight across Nevada. Back in the 1980's, a writer for Life Magazine did an article on this Highway 50 and gave it the name "Loneliest Road in America" and it stayed ever since. AAA does not recommend any motor vehicle drive this road due to lack of services. What's that make you think about riding a bicycle across it?

Day 5 Cooks Station, CA to Carson City, NV

Today's ride was to finish Carson Pass, which was another 3500' of climbing. It took me most of the day to crest the summit at 8,573'. Now on top of the Sierra Nevada mountains, it was all downhill to Carson City. While on top of the summit, I talk with the 2 park rangers that had a shelter on the top of it. Beside the shelter, was the path of the Pacific Crest Trail, a hiking trail that goes from Canada to Mexico. The PCT is 2600 miles long, and it made me happy to be on my bicycle. At my campsite that night, a man named Richard came over to me and interview me for his website, taking photos and video of me, taking about this and other trips I have taken. His website is about crazy vacations people take. A prize goes to the person with the craziest vacation and he thought for sure I would win. I haven't heard anything as of yet and really don't expect to, but it was good company that night even though I was cooking dinner as he came over to me. Something that always seems to happen. I never turn down company or friendly people on the road that I meet. Meeting new people is one of the main reasons I enjoy bike touring, especially since I am solo.

Day 4 Placerville, CA to Cooks Station, CA

Let the climbing begin! This morning I started near sea level and by days end, I was at 5000' above sea level and only half way to the summit of Carson Pass. It was only getting hotter as I continued inland, but the elevation kept it cool, or cold at night. Near the end of the day, I came across Dave and his son Josh. (the 2 in the photo) Dave was playing sag wagon for Josh who was doing a one day 200 miler from Carson City, NV to Sacramento, CA. Josh called it the Capital to Capital ride. At this point where I met them, he had miles and miles of downhill and I was very jealous as I just spent my whole day climbing and only doing a fraction of the miles he was. Dave gave me all kinds of food and drink as his whole truck bed was full of supplies for Josh. After leaving those two, I came across a one stop town called Cooks Station, and they let me camp behind the store, for the night.

Day 3 West Sacramento, CA to Placerville, CA

This is the American River Bike Trail that runs 30 miles from Davis, CA to Folsom, CA. Very flat and heavily used, as I saw and met a lot of bicyclists. The Sacramento River is on the right side of the photo above and the biker is "Chris". Chris, pedalled up to me on the trail and started talking. I rode with Chris for about 25 miles to the town of Folsum, where the trail ends and he lived. Chris asked if he could buy me lunch in town. I couldn't turn that offer up. We filled up on pizza and said our goodbyes afterwards. Not a good time to be bloated on pizza, as the hills were to begin. Later that day, I met Liz and Bill, 2 school teachers from Connecticut who were just finishing there cross country bike trip which started out early in the summer from Virginia. I talk to them both for awhile before going our own way.

Day 2 Winters, CA to West Sacramento, CA

This graffiti bridge lead me to the small town of Winters, CA, where I took my morning rest stop at the town park. Already temperatures were rising, so early starts from now on. Today I pedalled through the "Bicycle Capital of the USA". Davis, CA is world class bicycle city. I felt as though I was back in Holland, with bike paths everywhere. More bikes then cars, it was a very nice surprise for me. I ended this day at a KOA campground, early due to the temperatures in the 90's. It didn't make sense to me, to push myself early in the trip. I had flashbacks of Southern California, 1997 and my first cross country bike trip, that nearly ended in disaster. I had passed out from heat exhaustion, and needed an ambulance ride to the hospital. I didn't want to re-live that again.

Day 1 San Francisco, CA to Winters, CA

It was a cold and foggy morning on August 19th, as I officially started the Western Express Route at the Golden Gate Bridge. Before this photo though, I had 15 miles of busy city cycling from where I stayed in San Bruno to here. After I left the bridge I went to the waterfront and saw the seals at pier 39 before taking a 1 hour ferry to Vallejo, CA to avoid a day of urban cycling. By days end, I pedalled 77 miles and the temperature rose to the 90's.

The start of the Western Express

I arrived in San Bruno, CA on August 18th, 2009 to begin the Western Express Bicycle Route. The route starts in San Francisco, CA and ends in Pueblo, CO. In this photo, I just flew from Seattle, Washington, where I was hiking the North Cascades with Bonnie and her family to San Francisco, California, and took the train to my motel. I stayed the one night in San Bruno's Super 8 Motel, mostly because I could ship my bike there by UPS and they would hold it for me, until I arrived. My bike was waiting for me, in a 3 x 5 box. No problems this time, no broken parts, and nothing missing from the box. I will rest up tonight and start fresh in the morning, across downtown San Francisco. I can't wait!

Just over a week to go!

It's just over a week until Bonnie and I head to Seattle and the North Cascades to meet up with her family, for our backpacking trip. After 10 days in the Cascades, I will fly to San Francisco to begin the Western Express Bike Route. A lot of packing and planning still have to be done. Do you think all this gear and equipment can fit on one little bicycle? I sure hope so! Departing August 8th, returning (who knows)?

IF by: Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stop and build'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a man my son!