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An announcement: The surlyville/Surly bikes link has been fixed. They have new colors and such for those of you who care. Also, it appears that Surly has raised some of their prices. Go figure.

I have a birthday request. I want all of you to answer a question for me.
Name a job that you would like to have. Don't think about career, and how you would support yourself; just a job you would like to have, maybe for just a week, even. For example, I have always wanted to work on a trash truck, for a couple weeks. Think of all the cool junk people throw out!

If you have a couple ideas and cannot decide, feel free to put a couple up. Also, please explain why you would want his job. Once again, it could be a job you would want forever, or one you would just have for a week. Bus driver, Zamboni driver, wrecking ball operator, lobster fishermen, sailor, massage therapist, doctor, sky-scraper window washer, trucker, train conductor, cop, interior designer, bodyguard, teacher, whatever you want!!!!!!!

one more night!

Well, although I had planed to leave Boulder today, it seems I will be here one more night. The honorable. hospitable, auspicious and ever generous, James Mitchell will be leaving for an Ultimate Frizbee tournament this afternoon, and I was planning to leave before then. However, James is not the soul possessor of hospitality here at University of Colorado, Boulder. His roommates have encouraged me to stay one more night, so as not to spend my birthday camped behind a Dumpster in a suburb of Denver. One more night of company, plentiful food, and a warm couch to sleep on..... Who could say no?!

I am having enormously poor luck with uploading my pictures, sorry, they Will be up soon.

Also, please check out the band The Cat Empire. I'm listening to One Four Five, and it's moving me. I have missed music so much on this trip. I find myself staying as long as possible in family restaurants and cafes, looking for reasons to wait a few minutes longer, just to listen to the crummy music loop they are running.

Mountains!!!

This is not a current rendering of the above exclamation. The real Mountain! Mountain! Mountains!! moment came a couple of days ago, as I approached Greeley. They are truly a sight to see, at first barely visible through the haze of distance, looming like hunched figures in a dense fog, they appear as if out of a dream on the horizon. The mountains signal a sense of elation and trepidation, for they are a sign that the parks of the southwest are getting closer. Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce, Jion, and the Grand Canyon have become more solidly part of the near future. Yet the mountains are my biggets shallenge thus far. My route will be taking hwy 50 through the mountains via the 11,000+ foot Monarch Pass. I don't need to explain to you all that this will be a rather tiring affair, the cycling of this pass. Also, the weather in the mountains is known to change very fast, and it is also likely that I will get some amount of snow during the few days I will be truly in the mountains.

Mountains, Mountains!! Lift your arms in joy, cringe in fear, shout to the sky: "I have arrived!", and let youself shake in your boots! Feel the excitement and the happiness, leep and dance! Be merry, but also shudder and buckle your seatbelts, ladies and gentlemen(or rather, zip up your jackets), for we, friends, have arived at The Mountains. Whaaaahoooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!

Boulder, baby!!!!

I am here! I now live a life of luxury. While I bask in the glowing hospitality of James and his roommates, I exist in a beautiful land of warm sleep, good company, and plentiful food. As of now that is all I have to say.

Narcissistic Pictures

never mind. Every so often the computer I'm using doesn't like my camera, and this is one of those times. oh well.

To fill the gaping whole left by these absent self centered pictures, I'll just keep talking.

When I was in Brush, I made a shopping stop at "Grocery Kart' to buy dinner and breakfast. They had a picnic table right out in front of the store, so I decided to eat dinner right there ( I couldn't fit all I had purchased on the bike anyway). I met/talked to a couple of people as I sat there stuffing myself. One was a pretty normal guy, who asked about the trip and said he biked too but had trouble with 'the hills.' He ended up informing me of the free campgrounds in Brush and Fort Morgan. Nice guy. The second person I met was a little less ho hum. She was an old women, and she got out of her car, where she said she had been 'watching me all this time' and walked over to me. She said (I'll paraphrase); it looks like you're on a trip, and it looks like you're well prepared and well organized, and I think it's wonderful what you're doing, and it looks like you know what you're doing and that you got a good rig/bike setup. "I don't preach religion," she said, "but I hope God keeps you in his good thoughts wherever you are going and wherever you've come from" etc. II barely had time to say 'thank you so much!' before she turned and walked back to her car. She never asked anything about the trip, and I never got her name. I'm not a religious person, but when people are genuine and kind when they say things like this, it's really nice.

The next morning as I was finishing packing up, a couple puled up in a small RV/sort of shuttle bus thing(one of the first reasonable sized Campers that I've seen so far). They asked about the trip and we talked for a while. They are from Minnesota!!! It was so great to talk to Minnesotans! Their names were Joyce and Don, and they drive down to Mesa, Arizona for the winter and try to make a road trip out of it every year so that they see more that the interstate! They are actually going my way: south toward Pueblo and then through the mountains via monarch pass, so I'm hoping that somehow we meet again, although it's unlikely because, well you know, they aren't on bicycles. They were great, and even offered me lunch. As unimaginable as it sounds, I had to turn down lunch, as I was still full from breakfast and needed to get to the Laundromat. I gave them the blog address, so maybe we'll here form them. Anyway, they were nice. Everybody is so nice?!

Fort Morgan

The snail's pace portion of the trip continues! I don't have long on this computer, so I have to be brief.

I have been lucky in camping options; both Brush and Fort Morgan have free campgrounds with outlets and bathrooms. The Brush campground even had a shower!
I have had 8+ flats in the last week. They have these things called 'Goat's Heads' out here, and they punch right through my tires. I also finally did laundry in Brush. I have one pair of special biking shorts, and they get worn every day, and I washed them for the first time yesterday. I think I'll inaugurate the holiday season now by giving you all the gift of no details on the state of those shorts.

I have responded to requests for more self portraits. these sort of Hold-the-camera-in-front-of-you-and-strike-a-pose-pictures always make me feel self centered and narcissistic, but if someone else wants me to take some, hey, it's like I'm doing a good deed.

Sterling, Colorado

I'll be honest folks, I've got nothing to say today. Well, at least not much, and nothing new or interesting or shocking.
I spent the 14th in sydney. My sprinkler adventure had left me running on an hour of sleep, so I decide that I didn't feel like going anywhere. I managed to track down an all-you-can-eat Chinese Buffet, and prodeeded to eat myself into oblivion; a sure-fire way to smooth over the low mood sydney was putting me in. I should say now; Sydney is the least bike friendly city I have ever been in. There are no ramps on the curb corners! You know how in most cities t\nearly every corner has a ramp? I assume it's done more for wheelchair access, but it's pretty nice for bikes too! Sydey has no ramps, just 6 inch (or higher) curbs.
I left Sydney after another atttmepted mood imrovement meal, this time at Perkins. They had this special, called the Tremendous Twelve. It includes three eggs, hash browns, bacon, and four buter milk pancakes. All of that for the price of 6.50? I couldn't pass it up.
That pretty much catches you all up. I think I will spen the night here in Sterling, cause it's a long way to the next town. Who knows, maybe I'll keep going. I don't think I have any new pictures, but I'll check, and if I've got em, I'll put em up. Thanks for reading.

More pictures.....

The top three: Feedlot Cattle Growing. Do you know where your meat grew up? No, they are not standing in mud. By the way, I've gotta recommend a book to anyone who has the time. It's called the Omnivores Dilemna, and it's by Micheal Polan. It's really amazing.

The middle: Nebraska.

The Bottom: Very large grain storage/elevator/mill/? and a train that was loading up. the building looks lik eMills we have in Minneapolis, but I don't know if that's what it is.

Pictures!

From the top: The last of the Hills, fog and rain on my ride to Hemmingford, A big ole pile of sugarbeets, trucks loaded with sugarbeets (that is many beets).

Sydney, Nebraska

Well, I've got a bit of writing to do.
Let's rewind, to Hot springs. I left hot springs and pedaled out of the Black Hills on a beautiful if cold day. My goal was Ardmore, where someone had told me there was a cornerstore where
I could buy dinner. I arrived at Ardmore late close to dark, as I had spent the better part of the day at the Mammoth Site and the Library. As I approached Ardmore I didn't think the town looked big enough to have a cornerstore. As I pedaled down the main street, I found that it wasn't. A couple chunks of buildings actually broke off in the wind as I pedaled by. Gutted Buildings and abandoned cars were all there was. At the very last house I stopped and pulled into the yard. I turned around and looked back at the town, trying to decide whether there was any building that looked like it might contain people. Then, in the window of the house in whose yard I stood, there appeared an old women! She waved, and Beckoned me to the door. "Come on in, aren't ya freezin?!"
I walked into the warm living room of an old mobile home. Before I got through asking her if I could camp in her yard she insisted that it was too cold, and that I would freeze to death, and that I could sleep on the floor inside.
i spent the next several hours hearing about the life of, and being questioned by, Laurine Hartman, the sole living resident of the once bustling town of Ardmore. Laurine's memory wasn't all that sharp, and after some calculating we decide she was 90. she said she was born in 1918 and moved to Ardmore from Montrose Nebraska when she was 18. She has lived there ever since, and has never ventured farther that Rapid City. I was asked more that 30 times where I was from, what I was doing way out here, whether I worked in the area, and if I had met such and such family members of hers( I always hadn't). Laurine talked not in circles, nut in spirals. The conversation would run over the same topics and stories of her life, but new bits of information was slowly added, so that I got a pretty decent idea of Laurine's life and what Ardmore was like back when the railroad stopped there. I realized after sitting and listening to her for a coupl ehours that she thought I was a girl. Although I was somewhat worried at this point that her hospitality might wiaver, I corrected her. She though tit was very funny, and insisted that I did have many girlish figures. Thanks Luarine. anyway, She set me up with dinner and breakfast, and a warm place to sleep, and she talked my ears off, which was just what I needed. One thing that kept me a little nervous the whole time was the often mentioned son Bob who stopped by to deliver her groceries, water etc. I didn't think Bob would take to kindly to a guy sleeping on his mother's floor, and I didn't know whether Laurine would be fast enough to explain who I was since she seemed to forget that every few minutes with me sitting right in front of her. Bob never showed up, and I said goodbye and thank you to Laurine after a long after breakfast chat(her talking). I will not soon forget your hospitality, Laurine.

Leaving Ardmore I pedaled south to Crawford and then on to Hemmingford. the area between Crawford and Hemmingford is not typical Nebraska, as the road passes through what are called the sand hills. The day was foggy, with a constant misting rain, and as I climbed up and coasted down the small rolling hills, visibility was often no farther that 200 feet. Beyond that distance, trees, the road, and hills disappeared into a dense fog. As I climbed the hills the tops would be obscured, giving the impression that I was climbing much higher hills than I was, and as I coasted down the bottoms would be hidden as well. It was an exhilaratingly beautiful ride.
By the time I reached Hemmingford, I was freezing, and pretty well soaked, but my spirits were high. The next day I woke to a flat tire and lots of rain, so i took a day to rest. the next day I got on my way again and made great time to Dalton, which is about 20 miles south of Bridgeport. From Dalton the ride to Sydney was short. And here we are.

I stopped in Sydney yesterday because of another one of those scheduling issues. I am planning to rendesvous with James Mitchell at his college in Boulder. However, James will be absent form Boulder from thursday to sunday. At my present pace and on my present course I was due to get to Boulder on thursday. Thus, I stopped. Now I plan to take a slightly less direct route to the mountains north of boulder, and spend a couple days enjoying the mountains and museums and such at a slower pace en route to Boulder. See, it all works out!

Now, I spent last night in Sydney. I had decided to camp in a sort of alcove next to the library. the sky was clear with now rain or snow predicted, so I decide to leave the tent packed. Everything was going just fine until at about 1 in the morning, the sprinklers started, one just a foot from my head. Gaahhh!!! The next few minutes was spent running my sleeping bag and other crap to the front bench of the library, which was out of sprinkler range. It was around 25 degrees, and everything that was wet quickly started to freeze. I was zipped into my sleeping bag, sitting on the bench, so that didn't freeze. Pretty much everything else, though, was frozen in minutes, from my therma-rest to my panniers. The whole bike had been sprayed and was covered in a thin layer of ice.
I stayed on that bench, trying unsuccessfully to sleep, until a very friendly and Cop pulled up and told me( after asking about my trip and such) that he hated to make me go anywhere at this hour, but that it was gonna freak people out. He told me where the one convenience store was that was open at 4 in the morning, wished me safe travels, and was gone. He really was very nice and understanding. One of the Few cops that I have met in my life that was relaxed in the situation. Maybe it's a smaller town cop thing, but If I was in Minneapolis I would probably have been asked if I was on any drugs or if I had any weapons on my and such.
Anyway, I spent the morning in the convenience store, drinking coffee and eating a breakfast sandwich, and then migrated to a 'Daylight Donuts' when they opened at around 5:30. There I sat, slowly working on another three cups of coffee(free refills) and two pastries, until the library opened at 9. And here I am, a little groggy after essentially no sleep, but warm (now) and well fed.

More pics from Hot Springs.

My camp next to a Pamida Grocery(with permission), and then bones.

Photos form the Michelso Trail, Hill City to Hot Springs

From the top; A llamma?, Deer, Wild Turkeys, Pretty Views, and sign.

Hot Springs

The following is from James Mitchell: "For those of you who wish to send alex stuff through me, my mailing address 9075 Stearns East Hall 600 30th St. Zip code 80310"

I plan to be in Boulder Colorado in roughly 5-7 days (still figuring it all out) Some folks have expressed an interest to send me something, and have an address. Well, here it is. If you wnat me to get what you send, you should send it soon. If you are woried about whether it will get there time, or have questions of any sort, you can always call me at 612-251-0663.

Well, I'm in Hot Springs, and it is not hot. It's friggin cold. I went to the Mammoth Site Museum place and that was pretty sweet. There was this muddy sinkhole thing back in the day and many mammoths fell into it and now you can see there bones and such. Pretty cool. An iteresting fact; all the mammoths in the hole are males. The tour guide pointed this out at least five times.

I will now be heading due south through Nebraska. Devin, I know you share my excitement.

Not much else to say. I'll put some pictures up for ya. If Western Nebraska is anything like central South Dakota, it may be a while before I am able to find a library and post again. Until then, hope everybody is doing well. Thanks for reading.

Hill City, Black Hills

From the top; me relaxing(in case any of you are worrying that I'm working to hard), Bighorn sheep in the Badlands, entering the Black Hills yesterday, and the last two are at Pactola Resevior, where I camped last night.

Here I am in Hill City. I stopped in to a bikeshop/tatoo parlor to talk to the owner about route. She suggested the Mickelson trail and also had advice on travelling through Nebraska. she also informed me that the weather is going to get nasty here in the Hills very soon. Rain tomorrow, snow the next day! I was planning on hangin around here for a few days, but in light oof this weather update i am going to hightail it south. I plan on staying in Hot Springs tonight so I can check out the tar pit sites and such. After that, though, it's goodbye to the Black Hills.

I'll be sad to see them go. The Black Hills are really beautiful. They are not as awe-insiring as the Badlands in that they are not as surprising. Yet they remind me of the north woods, and the rhythm of climbing up and then coasting down the small passes is really nice. Cliffs rise up on either side, then open to wide sunny valleys.

Hill City is great too, with cool places to eat, a Museum of Black Hills Natural History, a great Bike shop, and other cool stuff.

I should probably sign off so I can make it to Hot Springs. As usual, thanks for reading, hope everything is going well for all of you.

pics!

From the top; Me and my Dad camp in Granite Falls, the rest are Badlands photos.

Rapid City continued

My second story is less thrilling, but has a better outcome for me. Yesterday I was in a sour mood. Wall Drug had made me mad, and I was regrettin gleavin gthe badlands after one night. On top of all that There was a awfull headwind coming out of the west, and I was forced to spend 2+ hours on the interstate. I decided to stop for the day and treat myself to a real meal. I found a Restaurant in New Underwood. it also had a gas station, luandramat, and The Worlds Smallest Biker Bar. I got a cheeseburger with fries and a shake. They had the news on so I was able to catch up on how the ecomomy is crumbling. After my meal( which was great; lots of good food for a reasonable price) I asked the waitress if there was a place in town where I could set up my tent. The owner, Steve, that escourted my out back to a nice flat spot for my tent. I was happy already! The next morning, though, was the real pick-me-up. I was all packed and had eaten my morning oatmeal and coffee( which is rarely enough), when Steve came out and asked me if I was heading out. then he offered me a free Breakfast! He served my up a big plate of hashbrowns, sausage, and eggs, plus coffee, for nothing. This is one nice guy. On top of all this he gives me a 'World's Smallest Biker Bar' t-shirt. So i'm spreading the word(it's the least I can do), if you're gonna go by New Underwoodsoth Dakota, stop in for something to eat! Thanks Steve!

Other than that the trip has been pretty normal. I'm making good time, and hope to be into colorado in under ten days. James Mitchell, where are you located and can I sleep on your floor?
Also, acouple people have asked me about a location where they can mail me some stuff. If James is located in boulder, Colorado(if my memory serves me right), then that would be one place. Items can be shipped general delivery to large enough cities.

Depenmding on how fast I travel, I may end up being back in the citeis for a few weeks before christmas( before continueing the adventure). I know some folks will be back in the cities for thanksgiving, and probably christmas. When are people going to be back?
Also, if anyone has Cyrl's number, please alert him to the money post, or send me his number. Thanks.
What is everybody up to?
For new readers, please leave a comment so I know you are reading. It can be as simple as "Hi, i'm here."
Hope life is treating you all well. Thanks for reading.

Rapid City

I'm on a guest computer in a library that only gives me thiry minutes on the computer, so this may be cut short.
Last I wrote I was in mitchell. Now I am in rapid City, hoping to get into the Black Hills National Forest today.
I've had my longest day since I last wrote, a solid 80 miles. This is my estimate using my maps, as my spedometer/odometer is currently out of commision. I've got a coupl esweet adventures to relate since Mitchell. First, my near deadly brush with soDak wildlife.

On that 80 mile day, pedaling with a light tailwind over the rolling hills between Vivian and Cactus Flat, i was relaxed. I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to what was resideing on the shoulder. I was taking in the sights, enjoying the views of towns in the distance when I got to the top of hills. All that jazz. Hence, I didn't see the prairie rattlesnake that was basking on the shoulder until I was about five feet from the thing. There is a fair amount of rubbish on the sides of highways, so It's easy to not notice something in the distance. The following happened very quickly; the snake(which was big) coiled up, I couldn't swerve at all becuase of the load on my front wheel, the snake opened its mouth and made a hissing noise, I pulled my feet out of my toe clips and lifted them as high as could I could, the snake lunged, mouth open fangs exposed, I yell things, and mirqculously unskathed roll down the hill with a fair amount of adreniline in my viens. th eonly reason I didn't get bit was the fact that my legs were lifted entirely above my top tube. I watched that snake strike thin air(or maybe the bike) right where my right calf would have been. The next day I made it into the Badlands National Park and checked out the visitor center. There I checked a snake guide and found that my scaly nemisis was a Prairie Rattlesnake. Well!
My time is running out! I'll see if I can get back on after logging out.