Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
The Puget Sound
Yesterday we biked along The Puget Sound... Which connects to the Pacific Ocean! We are so incredibly close!
We've done lots of camping and climbing the last few days. Feeling accomplished.
66 miles from Vancouver! Here we go!
We've done lots of camping and climbing the last few days. Feeling accomplished.
66 miles from Vancouver! Here we go!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
End of Montana; Idaho!!
Eureka, MT
64 miles
Libby, MT
70 miles
Sandpoint, ID
95 miles
Currently icing my knee after a long 95 mile ride... The last "long ride" of the trip! Instead of intense blogging, I'll just post some pictures from the last couple of beautiful ride days. A picture is worth a thousand words, right?
64 miles
Libby, MT
70 miles
Sandpoint, ID
95 miles
Currently icing my knee after a long 95 mile ride... The last "long ride" of the trip! Instead of intense blogging, I'll just post some pictures from the last couple of beautiful ride days. A picture is worth a thousand words, right?
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Reflections and the Rockies
The last few days have been breathtaking. Biking across Montana, reaching the Rockies, camping in Glacier National Park, climbing up 6,600 ft Logan's Pass (and descending at 30+ miles an hour on a 6% grade!)... It has all been beautiful. The rides have been invigorating and terrifying at the same time. Stormy weather, skinny roads, bad visibility, freezing temperatures-- but we pressed on, fueled by our adrenaline. I feel very alive from all of it.
I also feel reflective from the last couple of days. While we were camping, a terrible storm struck. We scrambled to tie our tents down, keep our possessions dry and ultimately, stay warm. We were hardly successful in our attempts. Our ride the next morning was tough- cold, wet, and exhausting from a poor night's sleep. My beloved moleskine journal that chronicled college/ this trip was also water damaged and became a blurred, inky mess. For anyone that knows me, you'll understand my devastation with this.
Sure, the camping experience was a taxing and unpleasant one, but I took away an important reminder. We only had to deal with one night of inadequate housing-- millions of people in our country face that on a daily basis. One night of being in a leaky, poorly insulated, cramped shelter really put the affordable housing cause back into perspective for me. As we pedal these last 700 miles, I want to make sure we continue to raise money and awareness for affordable and adequate housing.
And as for the journal, oh well. I'm trying to appreciate the enjoyment and opportunities for reflection my journal gave me. But not all is lost. I still hold into the memories it contained, and for that I am most grateful.
I also feel reflective from the last couple of days. While we were camping, a terrible storm struck. We scrambled to tie our tents down, keep our possessions dry and ultimately, stay warm. We were hardly successful in our attempts. Our ride the next morning was tough- cold, wet, and exhausting from a poor night's sleep. My beloved moleskine journal that chronicled college/ this trip was also water damaged and became a blurred, inky mess. For anyone that knows me, you'll understand my devastation with this.
Sure, the camping experience was a taxing and unpleasant one, but I took away an important reminder. We only had to deal with one night of inadequate housing-- millions of people in our country face that on a daily basis. One night of being in a leaky, poorly insulated, cramped shelter really put the affordable housing cause back into perspective for me. As we pedal these last 700 miles, I want to make sure we continue to raise money and awareness for affordable and adequate housing.
And as for the journal, oh well. I'm trying to appreciate the enjoyment and opportunities for reflection my journal gave me. But not all is lost. I still hold into the memories it contained, and for that I am most grateful.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Cut Bank, MT
Cut Bank, MT
67 miles
Today's ride was great- a nice tailwind for the first 40 miles, and then easy hills the rest of the day. We also stopped for coffee along the way and enjoyed a pot of French Pressed coffee. Absolutely delicious and more than enough caffeine to power us the rest of the way to our host.
We're all like kids on the night before Christmas-- tomorrow we bike to Glacier National Park, which is something everyone has been eagerly anticipating. There is so much excitement and scurrying. Tonight I finally put on my new chain to prepare for our imminent climb and descent on Glacier's Road to the Sun. Hooray!
67 miles
Today's ride was great- a nice tailwind for the first 40 miles, and then easy hills the rest of the day. We also stopped for coffee along the way and enjoyed a pot of French Pressed coffee. Absolutely delicious and more than enough caffeine to power us the rest of the way to our host.
We're all like kids on the night before Christmas-- tomorrow we bike to Glacier National Park, which is something everyone has been eagerly anticipating. There is so much excitement and scurrying. Tonight I finally put on my new chain to prepare for our imminent climb and descent on Glacier's Road to the Sun. Hooray!
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Just keep biking...
Malta, MT
70 miles
Continuing again with another 64 mile ride to Chinook, MT! Let's do this!
70 miles
Continuing again with another 64 mile ride to Chinook, MT! Let's do this!
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Montana, The Treasure State
Glascow, MT
54 miles
I've decided that Montana is aptly nicknamed "The Treasure State". Our rides the last couple of days have been some of the most picture-esque and incredible yet. The rides have been a bit shorter, allowing more time to stop along the way and enjoy the scenery around us. I love being able to look out for miles and see nothing around me but big sky and endless fields of gold. The variation in lighting during today's ride was especially breathtaking- beautiful sunrise, stormy skies and sunshine. I wish I could be more poetic, but there's no other way to put it- It's simply beautiful.
Today was another mail drop and I'm overwhelmed with how many cards and packages I received. Turning 22 is awesome! Seriously, you guys are the best at keeping me well-fed and in the best of spirits! I now have the challenge of fitting all sorts of goodies into my ever-expanding backpack.
During our rides, we have something called the "sanity mile", which is the point of our ride in which we know we're going to make it and survive. Typically, riders' sanity miles occur when there's 10-20 miles left in the ride. Suddenly, a daunting day of riding feels like an easy, casual ride. I'm realizing that I hit the "sanity day" of the trip. My birthday marked day 50 of the trip, and today means we've only got 19 days left. Less than 20 days feels entirely manageable. It's the home stretch of my ride, but we've still got another 1,000 miles to go....
54 miles
I've decided that Montana is aptly nicknamed "The Treasure State". Our rides the last couple of days have been some of the most picture-esque and incredible yet. The rides have been a bit shorter, allowing more time to stop along the way and enjoy the scenery around us. I love being able to look out for miles and see nothing around me but big sky and endless fields of gold. The variation in lighting during today's ride was especially breathtaking- beautiful sunrise, stormy skies and sunshine. I wish I could be more poetic, but there's no other way to put it- It's simply beautiful.
Today was another mail drop and I'm overwhelmed with how many cards and packages I received. Turning 22 is awesome! Seriously, you guys are the best at keeping me well-fed and in the best of spirits! I now have the challenge of fitting all sorts of goodies into my ever-expanding backpack.
During our rides, we have something called the "sanity mile", which is the point of our ride in which we know we're going to make it and survive. Typically, riders' sanity miles occur when there's 10-20 miles left in the ride. Suddenly, a daunting day of riding feels like an easy, casual ride. I'm realizing that I hit the "sanity day" of the trip. My birthday marked day 50 of the trip, and today means we've only got 19 days left. Less than 20 days feels entirely manageable. It's the home stretch of my ride, but we've still got another 1,000 miles to go....
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