A lot of miles have been rolled on since day 21 with my last post! That was one of my last days in Kentucky. Since then I’ve crossed the southern end of Illinois, crossing the Mississippi River into Missouri. Then the peddling continued across the hills and plains of Missouri, Kansas, and eastern Colorado. These days were long hot days but spent with a good crew of guys that made it one of my favorite segments of the entire trip. My mom and her friend Jodi were able to meet up in Springfield, MO while my Dad and cousin Jake met up in Hutchinson, KS which was great for the morale.
Once we reached Pueblo, CO, the start of the Rocky Mtns on the route,I parted ways with my new friends as they set off on the Western Express and I carried on along the TransAmerica Trail. I was a little nervous for all the mountains to climb ahead but really it was the riding I looked forward to the most for this entire trip. Hoosier pass, the highest point of the trip at 11,542 ft was only treacherous because there was no shoulder and only one lane. To had to dodge trucks as they chugged up the hill and it made for a little stressful climb. But little by little, that hpass was conquered and I rewarded myself with an alpine e hike at the top. I met with more friends in Colorado basically the whole way through as well as having my grandparents come out for a few days. This made it by far my favorite state of the trip. After Colorado was Wyoming, and along with it, the head wind. Thankfully my friend Ryan biked with me up and over Togwotee Pass and down to Teton NP which seemed to be the worst days for head wind. Head wind on a bike just slowly takes your soul and really draws out the ride, and really calls on your need for PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) . This was key for getting through the western half of this trip as I biked solo for most of it.
From Teton NP I made my way north to Yellowstone and what a beautiful ride it was. Riding through Yellowstone on a bike was great because I didn’t have to wait for traffic to go in and out of pull offs which made seeing a lot of the sights much easier. By now I was doing a lot more camping than I was in the eastern half of the states which I enjoyed. I then detoured off trouts up to Gardiner, Mt, the north entrance of Yellowstone and spent the 4th of July week with friends camping and kayaking along the Yellowstone River. After taking a good portion of a week off I continued up to Bozeman and met up with my friend Corey and my Uncles family for the day too. Since Colorado it’s felt like I hadn’t been alone for more than a couple days and really loved this leg of the trip.
After Bozeman I worked my way up to Missoula, Mt and stayed with friends there and soaked up all the city had to offer (like bridge jumping into the river and a margarita festival).
While crossing Idaho I came across a group of cyclists with a tent city that I saw as I rode by. I talked to a nice lady and she told me it was BRNW (Bike Ride the NorthWest) on tour for a one of two weeks they do a year. They had a mobile semi trailer for showers, buffet style breakfasts and dinners, medical crew, and mechanics traveling with them. The average age of the group of 220 riders was 66. It turned out they were heading up and over a pass on interstate 90 as well that was under construction. I was able to catch a ride with them and save myself a lot of steep gravel riding… They took me in and fed me and I had lots of great convos with them, it was awesome of them to have me.
All the way from Colorado to Idaho I have been lucky to have great weather (besides the wind) the whole time. As I got to Washington and actually did my biggest vertical climb over Sherman Pass (~4,200 ft climb) through the north cascades the weather turned wet for a while. Thankfully I had Warmshower hosts on the wettest days. The North Cascades wre definitely the prettiest mountains I had ridden through and it was surreal going over my last pass, Washington Pass, after a long day climbing and knowing it was pretty much all downhill from there to the coast! On my last day biking I stopped in a small town cafe to get out of the drizzle and have one last cinnamon roll to fuel my ride. I struck up conversation with the waitress and guys at the bar stools I sat with. The gentleman next to me was kind enough to make a $50 donation right on the spot and it reminded me why I was raising money and how the VCP organization was important to be included on this journey.
I was met by my grandparents and Dad in Anacortes, WA on July 26th where I dipped my front tire in the Puget Sound to end my 3,996 mile bike ride across America. It was a great celebration and I was lucky to spend the weekend with them and my cousin that lives in Seattle. I couldn’t be happier with how the trip turned out. Thank you to everyone who has donated to VCP, hosted me in their homes, shared a meal, rode with me, and supported in every other way! It was the people I met and spent time with that really made this trip worthwhile!
Westbound and Down 