Wednesday, June 26, 2013

MN to eastern/central MT

6/26/13...way late type up and update
"I'm going to update my blog regularly," I said.
I know there is a decent sized following of people truly interested in following my blog. I am sorry that I have been so lame at keeping up with it. Since the last post I have ridden North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington, and completed my journey. In this post I will do the best I can to give an interesting review of that part of the trip, and I will make another post for finishing and follow-up.
My original plan to cross ND and MT was the "high-line," US Route 2 all the way. I wanted to avoid the interstate, and not zig and zag the entire way across the country. Route 2 seemed to be a good option. That was until I started asking some locals for some info. Turns out northern ND and into eastern MT is all oil country. So, they're drilling oil...whats the difference? Heavy traffic, bad roads, and worse outlaws. I was told point blank, "If you try to ride US 2 through northwestern ND, you WILL be killed, either by a truck on the road, or a dirt bag at the bar." At first, when I was told "Don't go north unless you are armed, I thought they were joking, and laughed it off. I heard it again from a completely separate source, and my eyebrows lifted with curiosity. More and more congruent reports led the the decision of staying alive and trying to parallel the interstate closely through ND. This was where the real adventure began. At this point in the trip, I was able to ride high mileage days consistently, and started making true progress. Knocking off 115 miles in a day began to be standard fare, and 140 wasn't insane or unachievable anymore.
North Dakota was actually much more enjoyable than I had expected. I did face headwinds, but I also had a few lucky days with tail winds. Perhaps the most adventurous, epic memory day, coincidentally was my longest day. From Valley City, ND to Bismarck, ND I rode 157+ miles in a single day. I had not yet discovered the magic of the interstate on a bicycle, so I attempted to run the secondary highways. This day I rode about 65 miles of gravel roads, a few of which would suddenly be closed without notice, and the bail out road was about 10 miles back. At one point, I was traveling a small path with two wheel line of dirt, grass in between, and a swamp surrounding. This path ended at a huge flood lake. I could see there was another road through the swamp, other the train tracks, and through a field, about 1/8th of a mile south of where I was. I shrugged my shoulders and went for it. A few minutes later I had successfully crossed over, and began westward progress once again. It was only about 15 minutes before this road also came to a close at the same lake. This time I could see the road emerge from the lake about a mile or so straight across the lake. At this point, I could see where the farmers drove through the field and started a new "road" for local access. I followed suit, and busted out some mountain biking motives and rode through the field, which seemed reasonable considering the situation. I then buried my bike to the axels in mud, so I "decided," I had to walk that section. Finally back on route, I made it to the next town. Local intel was I would be running into the same situation for at least the next 30 miles until the highway bypass became a paved reliable route into Bismarck. I timidly entered Interstate 94 for the first time. At first it was scary, but I got used to the 85mph traffic. I still used the secondary highway at first realistic opportunity. Having a good friend in Bismarck, I decided to take my first rest day in 3 weeks. Rest day, haha, good one... . Evan B. brought me to his local gym for my first session of Crossfit. For those of you that don't know, Crossfit is a high intensity workout program. It was a lot of fun, but I certainly felt like I had my 4$$ handed to me afterwards. We also went to a bike shop in town, and I tested out a really sweet 9:zero:7 fat bike!
I left Bismarck on June 13th, my 21st birthday. I got an early start and made slamming good mileage. I planned on riding to Dickinson (about 100 miles,) but I made it there by about 2 or 3, so I pushed another 40 miles or so to Medora, ND. Medora is in the center of the ND badlands, and was epic visually. I should also add that ND is not all flat. West of Bismarck, real hills exist! Feeling like a champ, I had decided to ride from Medora to Miles City, MT the next day, about 140 miles again. I was absolutely slammed with headwinds and had to call it for the day in Glendive, MT, at less than half my planned mileage. It took all of the next day battling the wind to eventually make it to Miles City. The first day in the wind was probably the most stressful day of the whole trip, both physically and mentally. The consistent 20mph wind gusting to 35 or so makes a horrid sound whistling through a bike helmet, eventually leading to a horrid headache. The side gusting literally blew me of the shoulder twice, and I was blown into a guard rail as well. Trying to counter the winds, my chest, shoulders, and arms were spent. I put in twice the effort as a typical day, and still came up with less than half of my mileage, it was depressing and crushed my spirit. The forecast showed the same thing for the next day. Being mentally prepared for it the second day, it was certainly still a struggle, but not nearly what it was the day before. These two wind days were the first time I had decided to utilize the interstate. Coming into Montana, the secondary highways were even less consistent than in ND, and the only other direct west route being the feared Route 2, the interstate became a decent option. After all I did have a 6-7 foot shoulder with a rumble strip separating myself and traffic.
As I entered Miles City, I was starving, but I had a few hours 'till dark. Not being pressed to set camp, I stopped in the local grocery store. I have to say, I am that weird guy who actually enjoys grocery shopping. I love to eat, and I eat a lot, even more while riding as much as I was. Grocery shopping and trying to eat healthy for a reasonable price is extremely difficult while bike touring. I would regularly buy a quart of strawberries, and a pint of blueberries, a hlaf- full gallon of chocolate milk and eat/drink them all in a single sitting. This particular trip to the store, hunger got the best of me. I had nearly a full shopping cart, and a huge smile on my face, just thinking about devouring my selections. That grin quickly turned to a frown when I looked at my bike, with very little space to spare for food. I bought a cake....a whole cake. I bought a quart of chocolate pudding, a half gallon of chocolate milk, a half gallon of juice, a big bag of mixed fruits, and various high carb snacks. I stuffed what I could into my panniers, and strapped on the rest in plastic bags. I also ate a lot of it right there in the parking lot. Now, looking like a hobo on a high end bike, I proceeded through town. A friendly hippy on a scooter cruised up behind me after a friendly wave. After a bit of small talk, I was soon camping in his backyard. He had to head to work, so I just hung out by a campfire and ate more food. He came back around 9PM with a to go box FULL of steak, potatoes, and pasta. We hung out around the fire drinking beers, talking about everything from hot rods, to UFO's, until about midnight. I woke up, an packed up. He was either up and gone for the day, or still sleeping, but I never saw him again. Thanks for everything "Uncle Craig," as he told me his name was.

MN to eastern/central MT

6/26/13...way late type up and update
"I'm going to update my blog regularly," I said.
I know there is a decent sized following of people truly interested in following my blog. I am sorry that I have been so lame at keeping up with it. Since the last post I have ridden North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington, and completed my journey. In this post I will do the best I can to give an interesting review of that part of the trip, and I will make another post for finishing and follow-up.
My original plan to cross ND and MT was the "high-line," US Route 2 all the way. I wanted to avoid the interstate, and not zig and zag the entire way across the country. Route 2 seemed to be a good option. That was until I started asking some locals for some info. Turns out northern ND and into eastern MT is all oil country. So, they're drilling oil...whats the difference? Heavy traffic, bad roads, and worse outlaws. I was told point blank, "If you try to ride US 2 through northwestern ND, you WILL be killed, either by a truck on the road, or a dirt bag at the bar." At first, when I was told "Don't go north unless you are armed, I thought they were joking, and laughed it off. I heard it again from a completely separate source, and my eyebrows lifted with curiosity. More and more congruent reports led the the decision of staying alive and trying to parallel the interstate closely through ND. This was where the real adventure began. At this point in the trip, I was able to ride high mileage days consistently, and started making true progress. Knocking off 115 miles in a day began to be standard fare, and 140 wasn't insane or unachievable anymore.
North Dakota was actually much more enjoyable than I had expected. I did face headwinds, but I also had a few lucky days with tail winds. Perhaps the most adventurous, epic memory day, coincidentally was my longest day. From Valley City, ND to Bismarck, ND I rode 157+ miles in a single day. I had not yet discovered the magic of the interstate on a bicycle, so I attempted to run the secondary highways. This day I rode about 65 miles of gravel roads, a few of which would suddenly be closed without notice, and the bail out road was about 10 miles back. At one point, I was traveling a small path with two wheel line of dirt, grass in between, and a swamp surrounding. This path ended at a huge flood lake. I could see there was another road through the swamp, other the train tracks, and through a field, about 1/8th of a mile south of where I was. I shrugged my shoulders and went for it. A few minutes later I had successfully crossed over, and began westward progress once again. It was only about 15 minutes before this road also came to a close at the same lake. This time I could see the road emerge from the lake about a mile or so straight across the lake. At this point, I could see where the farmers drove through the field and started a new "road" for local access. I followed suit, and busted out some mountain biking motives and rode through the field, which seemed reasonable considering the situation. I then buried my bike to the axels in mud, so I "decided," I had to walk that section. Finally back on route, I made it to the next town. Local intel was I would be running into the same situation for at least the next 30 miles until the highway bypass became a paved reliable route into Bismarck. I timidly entered Interstate 94 for the first time. At first it was scary, but I got used to the 85mph traffic. I still used the secondary highway at first realistic opportunity. Having a good friend in Bismarck, I decided to take my first rest day in 3 weeks. Rest day, haha, good one... . Evan B. brought me to his local gym for my first session of Crossfit. For those of you that don't know, Crossfit is a high intensity workout program. It was a lot of fun, but I certainly felt like I had my 4$$ handed to me afterwards. We also went to a bike shop in town, and I tested out a really sweet 9:zero:7 fat bike!
I left Bismarck on June 13th, my 21st birthday. I got an early start and made slamming good mileage. I planned on riding to Dickinson (about 100 miles,) but I made it there by about 2 or 3, so I pushed another 40 miles or so to Medora, ND. Medora is in the center of the ND badlands, and was epic visually. I should also add that ND is not all flat. West of Bismarck, real hills exist! Feeling like a champ, I had decided to ride from Medora to Miles City, MT the next day, about 140 miles again. I was absolutely slammed with headwinds and had to call it for the day in Glendive, MT, at less than half my planned mileage. It took all of the next day battling the wind to eventually make it to Miles City. The first day in the wind was probably the most stressful day of the whole trip, both physically and mentally. The consistent 20mph wind gusting to 35 or so makes a horrid sound whistling through a bike helmet, eventually leading to a horrid headache. The side gusting literally blew me of the shoulder twice, and I was blown into a guard rail as well. Trying to counter the winds, my chest, shoulders, and arms were spent. I put in twice the effort as a typical day, and still came up with less than half of my mileage, it was depressing and crushed my spirit. The forecast showed the same thing for the next day. Being mentally prepared for it the second day, it was certainly still a struggle, but not nearly what it was the day before. These two wind days were the first time I had decided to utilize the interstate. Coming into Montana, the secondary highways were even less consistent than in ND, and the only other direct west route being the feared Route 2, the interstate became a decent option. After all I did have a 6-7 foot shoulder with a rumble strip separating myself and traffic.
As I entered Miles City, I was starving, but I had a few hours 'till dark. Not being pressed to set camp, I stopped in the local grocery store. I have to say, I am that weird guy who actually enjoys grocery shopping. I love to eat, and I eat a lot, even more while riding as much as I was. Grocery shopping and trying to eat healthy for a reasonable price is extremely difficult while bike touring. I would regularly buy a quart of strawberries, and a pint of blueberries, a hlaf- full gallon of chocolate milk and eat/drink them all in a single sitting. This particular trip to the store, hunger got the best of me. I had nearly a full shopping cart, and a huge smile on my face, just thinking about devouring my selections. That grin quickly turned to a frown when I looked at my bike, with very little space to spare for food. I bought a cake....a whole cake. I bought a quart of chocolate pudding, a half gallon of chocolate milk, a half gallon of juice, a big bag of mixed fruits, and various high carb snacks. I stuffed what I could into my panniers, and strapped on the rest in plastic bags. I also ate a lot of it right there in the parking lot. Now, looking like a hobo on a high end bike, I proceeded through town. A friendly hippy on a scooter cruised up behind me after a friendly wave. After a bit of small talk, I was soon camping in his backyard. He had to head to work, so I just hung out by a campfire and ate more food. He came back around 9PM with a to go box FULL of steak, potatoes, and pasta. We hung out around the fire drinking beers, talking about everything from hot rods, to UFO's, until about midnight. I woke up, an packed up. He was either up and gone for the day, or still sleeping, but I never saw him again. Thanks for everything "Uncle Craig," as he told me his name was.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Title....this should work.

6/8/13
4 weeks + 1 day from departure.
It has been about 2 weeks since I have seen another person that I know. It's not my first time going this long solo, but its never easy. Sure, I interact with people, but I certainly miss my friends and family from home. The weather has been cooperating a bit better the last few days, and I am hoping it continues this way. It hasn't been blazing hot or brutal sun, which is good. It also hasn't been pouring rain for a few days. The consistent overcast does get a bit depressing, but I wont complain, because sunscreen sucks.
I have been pushing consistently high mileage days, which is awesome! I haven't taken a day off since I left home for the doctor visit. When you ride 80-110 miles fully loaded everyday, live in a tent, and occasionally a h/motel when the weather truly sucks, and it your body doesn't hate you everyday, it is hard not to feel like your in the best shape of your life. That's living off fast/gas station food, and just add water meals too, I can't wait for healthy home cooked meal! I am looking forward to possibly taking a day off for my birthday this week, but depending on how logistics work out, I may just keep riding.
I just "zoomed out" on the map for the first time in a while, and was pleased with progress. It has taken four weeks to get about half way across the country, which is pretty much dead on with what I had planned initially. Its not a race, but I do like sticking to the plan, and seeing how far and hard I can push. I could easily add mileage to everyday, but logistically it doesn't always work out. I am not out for a ride for the day, everyday. I have to consider where I can set up camp or get a room for the night. I need to get meals (lots of them.) I need to ride smart everyday, so that I can wake up the next day and do it over again. There is no sense pushing 150 miles one day, if I could only do 35 the day after.
"Zooming out" also gave me a very isolated feeling. As inspiring as it is to know that I rode so far under my own power, I feel so small, in such a big place. I know all of one person in a 1000 mile radius around me. I am enjoying the trip, but I honestly have to say I am looking forward to being done at this point. I am not going to cheat or quit, but I do want to push just to finish. I am not a "sight-seer" and the logistics of high mileage do not allow for much quality interaction with other people. Living in a tent, with spotty showers, progressively more disgusting clothing, and generally less than healthy food, is getting old.  There are definitely moments of "this is the best thing ever," as well as moments of "why the f^(k did I want to do this." The general feeling now has become "I am glad I will accomplish this feat, but I miss comfortable life." I will tour more again after this trip. I do think that much more than two weeks solo will be avoided. I would also like to trade my ride in for a mountain touring bike. I have passed so many awesome looking MTB trails, that I would gladly take a day off trip progress to ride and explore, but with a road touring rig, I would destroy my bike, or myself.
I don't mean to make it sound like my life is miserable out here. There are parts of my days where, in between the pain, boredom, and loneliness, I feel invincible, or at complete peace with the world. I live for the push, the endorphin rush from physical exhaustion, and the overwhelming sense of accomplishment when finished (at least for the day.) I wish I was better with words to describe the feeling. On extremely long days, there comes a point when the pain stops, and everything gets smooth and peaceful. I don't have to think about pedaling, my legs are on auto-pilot, I'm just along for the ride. THESE are the moments that make this ride worth it for me.
6/9/13
After typing this up last night, I was concerned I may have jynxed my weather luck. Well, I did. I woke up to pouring rain, and was hesitant and slow to even get out of my tent this morning. Once I finally got rolling, things worked out. I got breakfast on the house at a small cafe, which is always a good start! Once on the rail trail connecting St. Joseph and Fergus Falls (100+ miles,) I was enjoying not being on the highway being hit with road spray from passing cars. I met up with some other touring riders and rode with the for a bit. It was nice to ride with some other people for a bit, but our paces ended up separating us. Rolling through town, I met up with Dave Jensen who just finished a California to Florida tour! Currently I am enjoying his great hospitality and shelter from the rain! Check out his travels: http://dreambigtour.net/
Thank you everyone who is behind me. It is truly inspiring to know that I have a solid following, fan club, and support team. Extra thanks to Dave for the hospitality!

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

I'm not good at titles.

6/4/13
It hasn't been too long since I last updated timewise, but I have logged some serious mileage since then. Still, the weather has continued to be spotty, but it looks like things may be starting to dry up for a bit (fingers crossed.) So since I last updated my blog I have come through Niagara Falls, crossed the border into Ontario, stayed one night, and then pushed the the longest day (146+miles) on a bike in my life back to the States, to be greeted with a thunderstorm and expensive camping. I proceeded to head west in bad weather, utilizing some hotels through Detroit outskirts and Lansing. In better weather I road west to the western Michigan shore, got on the Lake Express which brought me from Muskegon to Milwaukee, WI, and I pedaled out of my city the first day. That brings me to now.
I wont leave it a vague as that.
Ontario was a neat experience; it was my first time ever leaving the US, which was exciting and a bit intimidating doing it alone. I made decent time in the morning and made break for a park much farther than originally planned. The first thing I noticed is that Canadians were several years behind the states in architecture, signage, and styling. The economy seemed to be in the shitter, judging by buildings and general cleanliness, however they all drove souped up, shiny new cars. Once I cleared the tourist city limits, I found myself in the middle of nowhere. A gas station was about all I was going to find outside of a "large" town. Feeling good, and wanting out of Canada, I figured I could make in to Michigan the next day in about 120 miles. I was short by a good 20 miles, which is considerable when your talking 120 vs 140 on a bicycle. I wanted to hit 25-30 miles before food, but I am glad I stopped at 17, because the next decent food source other than candy bars and ice cream sandwiches was at mile 82 at 4PM! This is also where i used a library computer to discover I had 60 more miles to the US border. It was one hell of a push, but I made it!
Welcome to Michigan, can I leave now? Michigan has been my least favorite place yet. Past New Baltimore, I began to get into Detroit overflow, and played sidewalk superhero for seemingly endless days. Rough roads, super highways, harsh sidewalk transitions, and randomly ending sidewalks and paths led to some interesting times. I am glad my bike held up to the abuse, and I am hoping my major metropolitan experiences are over until Portland, OR. Milwaukee, WI was a much better experience. Although rough, dedicated bike lanes were both utilized by bikes, and respected by drivers. After asked and officer where to avoid in the city, I followed his advice, and kept the lake in view until I needed to traverse west, where I found a nice bike/ walk only route, which gave me a few miles off the roads. County and State highways are a bit rough, with large cracks every so often, but its better than the urban jungle. 
Again, the weather has been brutal. It seems like every other 2 days I am back riding in the rain, and hiding out in a hotel for another night. The experience has been great, when the weather cooperates.
Thanks to everyone from Denny's Central Park Bikes in Okemos, MI! www.dennyscentralparkbikes.com
Huge thanks Bobby Hunt from The Bicycle Shop in Hartford, Wisconsin. I went in looking for some new bar tape, and ended up with some beautiful new bars, with amazingly comfortable wrap, at a sweet deal! I highly recomend checking out his small, yet high-end shop.  It is always nice to meet another bike addict who has a respect for quality rides, from cutting edge to classics. www.hartfordbikeshop.com
1705 miles ridden as of upload. 2 days into Wisconsin, one more will put me at the border, or just into Minnesota.