Happy Birthday America!

234 fabulous years! Wow...it was a good run while it lasted. Hopefully we can keep it up a bit longer. Anyways I hope all my readers out there had a great celebration (assuming you are American or a big fan); I know I sure did. Allow me to fill you in.
As I last left you I was leaving Burley, Idaho and heading south towards Salt Lake City. My route options were limited to taking the old highway 30 or the new interstate 84. In the interest hitching a ride and being able to spend more time with my friends I opted to stick to the more heavily trafficked interstate (even though I hate riding on such busy roads). I was just about to give up and take my next (and only) exit to get back on 30 when my saving grace appeared in the form of a Washingtonian named David. He was headed down to Telluride to try his hand at the mountain-bum lifestyle for the summer. We had a great time talking about college, travel, expectations and hopes. David dropped me off in Sandy and continued buzzing on down to camp in Moab that night. Last I checked he's loving life in Telluride.
From Sandy I just had a short jaunt over to my good buddy Adrian's house. Him and his girlfriend Cecile gave me a warm welcome and we quickly made our way up Little Cottonwood Canyon to check out the beer festival at Snowbird. By the time we arrived the beer supplies were running low but the high country scenery more than made up for it. The next couple days were followed by similar scenes of revelry and merry making including some delicious dinners prepared at my friend Chris's house and one high altitude dinner at Ted and Renata's place in Alta.
When it came time to depart SLC Chris gave me a lift up a good majority of Big Cottonwood Canyon and I finished the climb to Guardsmen's Pass on a beautiful Thursday. This let me arrive into the booming metropolis of Heber City just in time to join my pseudo-cousin Ryan for wings. Not quite on par with the famed 'Em R Wings of Apex but tasty nonetheless. I spent Friday lounging around and sorting my gear. That night Ryan treated me to one of the best damn tortas I've had (in no small part due to the amazing salsa bar with something like 25 salsas). I can't remember the name of the place for the life of me, so that is Ryan's little secret for now.
Saturday I pushed onwards over Daniels' Pass and braced myself for more "wonderful" (wink wink) desert riding. Don't get me wrong....the area does have its beautiful and breathtaking moments, but after 4 or 5 days of riding your bike in it, you're ready for a change. Anyways, I moved on through the interesting (and somewhat hilarious) towns of Vernal and Dinosaur. These are places whose biggest draw is probably tacky dinosaur statues inspired by the nearby fossil beds. I kept moving along through the scorching terrain and cranked hard to arrive in Steamboat Springs in the midst of a gusting thunderstorm. Besselman's former roommate Scott agreed to put me up for the night and after I washed 4 or 5 days' worth of road grime off we headed out in search of burritos. Unfortunately, the prime burrito joint was closed so we settled for free chips and salsa instead.
The next day Scott and I drove south and met up with Bess near Mount Evans. Mount Evans is a nice big 14er mountain which also happens to have the nation's highest road on it. We all camped out and awoke at 430 in the morning to attack the mountain. Bess and Scott dropped bicycles off at the top of the mountain then parked the car a bit lower and began a climbing ascent. I started even further down the mountain and chipped away at a 14 mile climb to the peak. After we had all completed our respective climbs we buzzed down the mountain on bicycles. The other two guys stopped about halfway down while I continued all the way down to Idaho Springs- a total of 28 miles and 7000 or so feet in altitude.
After our little side adventure I was dropped off in Kremmling (a.k.a. Krem-tucky) while Bess and Scott headed back north to Steamboat for a friend's wedding. Although I had planned to just sleep in Kremtucky I decided the park did not look all that enticing and rode onwards only to be thwarted by the most voracious mosquitoes of my whole trip and also one of the gnarliest-looking thunderstorms. I took shelter under a general store's awning in Parshall before backtracking to a river access area and ninja-camping. The rain had subdued the mozzies a bit but I was still terrified with how fast and thick they swarmed.
Yet another high-and-dry night in the hammock and I awoke refreshed to ride up to Grand Lake to meet up with my buddy Gray. Lots of shenanigans and debauchery ensued as we celebrated the nation's birthday. As I parted with Gray and my new friends I can't say I felt rested but I can say that I had one heck of a 4th.
Tonight finds me writing to y'all from Fraser. TK, architect of rock-solid wheels and friend of cyclists the world over (well, at least Carrboro right now) told me I MUST visit his old-school buddy here. I've never had any qualms with "visiting" (aka mooching) mutual friends so I stopped in to say hello to Jesse and his family. Tomorrow I'll be attacking a slightly dubious sounding mountain shortcut that Jesse recommends. I'll do my best to tune in from the other side and let you all know how it turns out.
Phew! For now I'm exhausted and going to hit the hay so I can meet Gray for a farewell cup of coffee tomorrow morn. Take care folks!

The Kindness of Strangers

As the adventure last stood I was in the middle of the eastern Oregon desert, just outside of Burns. I spent the an interesting night camping along a ridge, wind buffeting my hammock as I watched a lightning storm slide across the valley below. The next day I found myself in Vale, Oregon. As I stopped at a supermarket to charge my phone and munch snacks I started talking with some younger folks who were trying to cash in at the recycling machines. Before parting ways they offered me two icy cold gatorades...a welcome treat after the high desert sun!
While trying to scout out a place to sleep in the park two reassuring things happen. One was that I met and spoke with the mayor (he happened to be coaching a little league team). Although he couldn't give me "permission" to stay in the park, he said that he didn't think that it would be a problem and he would let the proper authorities know. After speaking with the mayor I wandered over to the pool and asked if I could use the showers. The girl at the front desk said I was free to use the showers but warned me they had no doors. She said my best chance was to be quick before the pool closed and all the kids swarmed the bathroom. After a brisk and invigorating shower I decided that all that desert riding deserved a bite to eat at the Mexican restaurant I saw on the way into town.
Sticking to the budget is important so I don't take decisions like this lightly but often (as in this case) it works out to save me in the long run. As I munched on my taco salad (with lengua, mmmmmm!) the owner of the restaurant struck up conversation with me. After hearing about my crazy trip Edgar called out to his god-son Carlos. The two quizzed me with the usual questions including the "where do you sleep". When I answered that I was planning to sleep in the park, Edgar quickly offered me the empty apartment above the restaurant! If you ever find yourself in Vale, be sure to drop into Chabelita's for some tasty grub and friendly people!
The next day I struck out for Boise. After a late start (had to get more salsa at Chabelita's!) I rode the short and relatively easy 60 miles to arrive in Boise about 6 or 7 PM. Luckily I had been able to arrange a couchsurfer; big thanks go to Dan for hosting me on such short notice! Dan had an amazing project going on in his backyard following the principles of permaculture. This is something I've become more and more interested in as I first encountered it in Croatia and on other farms. It basically takes the idea of sustainable agriculture even further. Had a great salad from Dan's garden and after he retired (darn 9-5 jobs) I had a nice evening hanging out with his roommate Becki and and her visiting friend Chris. Chris made a super cool sketch of me, I'll try to upload it.
Moving on from Boise I found myself in the small town of Buhl, Idaho. I stopped by a restaurant to relieve myself and fill water bottles before finding a camping spot but was tempted by cheese tots. Once again this purchase proved wise. A young man sitting in the next booth over became interested in my strange story and by the end of our respective meals extended an offer to sleep on his couch. I pretty much always prefer a couch over the unknown perils of a small town park (bored teens are the most dangerous wildlife of all). Travis had to work early in the morning but we had a hearty bacon and eggs breakfast together and he loaded me down with lots of goodies for the road.
Working my way east from Buhl to Burley was slow going with a headwind....REAL slow going. About 15 miles from Burley I got tired of crawling along while truck after truck buzzed by with empty beds. I started the technique of thumbing while riding with hopes of getting to Burley. From there my direction would head south and the torturous wind coming from the northeast would be eased. Around 8 or 9 miles out someone FINALLY pulled over and offered me a lift. I crammed my bike into the back of the SUV and had an entertaining chat with a fine family from Kimberly. Jim, Diane and their daughter Laura dropped me off at the high school and gave me even more treats for the road!
I started my journey onward feeling somewhat apprehensive about finding somewhere to sleep in such empty desert with no size able towns for at least 50 miles. Just as I was about to leave Burley a car full of raucous teenagers gave me some cheerful shouts. I circled back and asked them what was going on. They were inviting me to come over and have a bite to eat! I followed them back to one of their houses. The Handy family was no stranger to having loads of crazy kids around and they gave me a warm welcome. A restful sleep on the trampoline and the next day I was working my way south to SLC.
In summary, this leg of the trip was characterized by amazing kindness and hospitality by people who didn't even know me. I suppose what I do is a rarity and people get a kick out of it, but I think the unending kindness I'm constantly shown is much more stunning. Maybe I had lost faith in people (especially in the US) but bit by bit, pedal stroke by pedal stroke my confidence in kindness and love is restored.
Coming in the next installment: the final leg to Salt Lake, a little R&R and the road onward to Colorado!

The Trouble with Transience

As if my glorious rest with Bentley and Andi in Corvallis wasn't enough I extended my laziness for another 4 days or so. Cate, a friend from UNC who had been living in Portland, happened to be moving down to Eugene for law school. After dropping a Uhaul of her belongings she whisked my bicycle and me northwards to Portland. A couple of fine days were spent visiting old friends, making new ones and soaking in the vibes of Stumptown. I hadn't ridden from Portland to Ontario (the border with Idaho) but I had done the route from Eugene and loved it. Knowing this, I again hitched a ride with Cate down to Eugene. It felt rather funny to arrive back to the same town I had ridden through a week earlier!
That puts us on last Wednesday morning I believe. The forecast called for rain and wasn't going to change anytime soon but alas I forced myself back onto the road. After such fine companionship for the last week it was a very dreary ride into the storm-soaked hills, taxing me mentally perhaps more than physically. This is the "trouble with transience" I'm referring to; the desire to stop and hang out with good folks in a town or city you like but the conflicting urge to keep moving and stick to your "plan". I could easily have given up and lived happily ever after in the Bay Area, norCal, Eugene, Corvallis, Portland or Bend not to mention about one hundred other places I've been. Oh well...at least I know I have friends to go visit as soon as the call of the road hits!
So after leaving Cate and her awesome pup Sawyer behind in the dismal gloom of Eugene's weather (don't feel bad for her, she's on vacation in Hawaii now) I climbed into the mountains to reach Bend. Two wet, long, miserable days later I rolled into the sunny pleasant high desert town of Bend. The final leg from Sisters to Bend is a straight shot of about 21 miles on the highway but I got a bit audacious with my GPS and turned that 21 miles into God-knows-what of horrible, loose gravel forest service roads. A one and a half hour ride became 4 and a half hours. Finally rolling into Bend at around 10:30 PM, I was graciously hosted by fellow cyclist Brett on the first night. He had traveled a bit through Eastern Europe and we recounted our favorite moments until way past bedtime. Brett had to head to Portland to coach a youth lacrosse team he is involved with but I decided to stay on in Bend for one more day at least and catch the USA-England match.
Met some top-notch folks (tip o' the hat to Kai, Zach, Sean, et. al) throughout the weekend and once again was totally shattered to have to leave it all behind. Got a late start Sunday (had to visit a hardware store and grocery store for fuel and food) but the Desert Gods were with me and a tailwind pushed me about 95 miles towards Burns. Woke up this morning and cranked another pleasant, albeit warmer, 40 miles into Burns. I'd like to do another 60 or so and be halfway to Idaho but for now I'm letting the sun go a bit lower. Because the sun is up until about 830, you can ride super late into the evening here. Two more reasons to do so are that the GIGANTIC mosquitos come out at dusk (better to be moving!) and you can't sleep when its that light anyways.
I don't really know what to expect as I continue through Idaho and south into Utah. I've done sections of Idaho before, but those were farther north in the Sawtooth mountains. As much as I'd like to revisit those towns and sights its too far out of the way to Salt Lake.
From SLC the plan is to head loosely towards Denver where I hope to get a train to Chicago. The train will save me roughly 1200 miles thus extending my budget to allow more destinations back east. My apologies to all of my fans in Nebraska and Iowa. After Chicago its onwards through Ohio and PA up to NYC before dropping down the eastern seaboard to DC. This would technically conclude my trip, but I hope to also ride the Blueridge Parkway down to Asheville and then finish in true fashion with a ride through the Ole North State (brings tears to the eyes folks!).

That's about all I've got for you now folks. Hope you all are enjoying this spectacle as much as I am!

On the move again

So it has been quite awhile since I've updated this here blog, and for that I apologize. I would say this is the result of a complex mixture of elements, namely laziness and spotty internet access. In any case I'll do my best to relate the last month or so to you folks without much ado.
I would say the larger part of my time here in the US so far was spent just generally bumming around the Bay area. I spent time crashing on various friends' couches and floors in Berkeley and San Francisco. A big thanks to all the folks who made that possible. I managed to find some cash flow (multiple streams of income as Benji would say) by doing a promotional gig for Comcast and a language study, both at Berkeley. The Comcast promotion was just handing out moving boxes to students in exchange for them texting in a survey. The language study was pretty interesting. I had to learn an imaginary language called Sillyspeak and then was tested on it. Good thing I was already an advanced Sillyspeaker, as anyone whose met me after 11pm would probably attest to.
The final coup de grace of my stay in the area was the sheer insanity of the Bay-to-Breakers "race" in San Francisco. Hung out with my gracious hosts of Hayes Street and watched the hilarious antics of all the wierdos, drunks and drunk wierdos. In case you aren't familiar (I wasn't) B2B is a race in its 99th year where folks run from the bay side of the city down through Golden Gate park to the ocean. Somewhere in the last 100 years its morphed into a BurningMan/Lovefest-esque self-expression celebration. If you want to walk around San Francisco buck-naked, this is the day for it. Cross your fingers though...there is talk about canceling the event because it has become such a ruckus. ING, the sponsor, pulled out after this year!
Anyways, I departed the Bay area and pointed the bicycle north. I spent the first 6 days riding up Highway 1 along the coast. The scenery was a bit austere but beautiful nonetheless. Quite a rough re-introduction to bike touring however! Continuous climbs and downhills along the coast coupled up with some pretty strong headwinds and a month of (mostly) sedantary living to make for a rough couple days. The final deathblow to my willpower came in the form of 2 days of rain-riding in the Redwoods followed by a forecast for 4 more days. However, right when things looked their bleakest, serendipity found me a ride through the rain. I was remarking (okay, okay....complaining) on the weather to the kind lady at a coffeeshop in Redway, CA and she pointed out that her son was driving to Ashland, Oregon the next day. My new friend Evyn and I cruised right on up through the weather, saving me at least 3 or 4 days of rainy, cold riding. From Ashland I had a mostly pleasant cruise on backroads northwards. One great night was spent in the Threehorn campsite of the Umpqua National Forest. Kind neighbors there treated me to chilidogs...a welcome warm meal after a long day of climbing. As I neared my destination in Eugene on the third day out the clouds moved in once again. Visited my favorite bar in Eugene (called Max's...supposedly "Moe's" in the Simpsons is modeled after it) and then shuffled off into the drizzle to setup camp for the night. The next day I awoke with a less than optimistic outlook for the remaining 45 miles to Corvallis. Packed up all my wet gear and climbed onto the bike, squinting as I rode through more of the interminable Pacific NW scuzz. Things started to look up as I had the "Champion's Breakfast" (2 corndogs and 20oz of coffee at 7-11). The skies dried up but never quite cleared. Nevertheless, the ride was calm, almost no traffic and a relative straight-shot to Corvallis.
I arrived in Corvallis and struggled to find my hosts' place due to some "transcription errors" in getting their address. I found the street easily enough but the house number I had didn't exist! After wandering around town and campus for 2 hours without any luck in contacting them, I decided to tour the street once more. I knew they had moved recently so I hoped to spot an out of state plate. Sure enough my Dick Tracy skillz paid the billz and I found the house. I apprehensively rang the door bell (looking the way I do I was really worried I would give some old lady a heart attack). Andi (Bentley's Lady Friend) answered the door and after about 10 seconds of dumbfoundedness on my part, recognition clicked and I said "Uh....hey" or something equally impressive.
I took a shower for the first time in 5 days, ate 2 giant homemade pretzels and then we were off to a wine tasting Bentley was working at! What a welcome (take notes, folks in my path!). By this time the sun had broken through the clouds and mingled with a little jazz, some Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, and a gorgeous view of the vineyard and valley. In other words, the perfect way to top off a pretty solid day. Then to really put things over the top, we had dinner at a nearby brewpub. I hadn't had a huge appetite at first but as plates of hearty pubfood were put down I couldn't help myself.
So now its raining again. And the forecast is calling for more through the whole week. I'm trying to decide whether to face the facts and get wet or to hope that the elusive summer shows up soon. I've got some rough plans for whats next on the tour and when but I'll save that post for a few days. Until then, happy reading and riding!

Getting traction

The wheels have been spinning a bit here in Berkeley (both literally and figuratively). Sorry to leave all of you dedicated readers hanging for the last week or so. I arrived in San Francisco and promptly made my way across the Bay to visit my friend Daniel. The next week was spent exploring various neighborhoods,parks, restaurants (i.e. Taco Bell), and bars both in the city and around Berkeley. Pretty pleasant weather and lots of good company made for enjoyable days filled with the bliss of not having to go anywhere or accomplish anything.
But alas, all good things must come to an end and thus I've been dropping resumes at every restaurant, bar and retail store that I deem worthy of having me. With any luck I can find some work and make money for about 2 or 3 weeks until my next riding partner is supposed to join me. From there I believe we are planning on heading north towards Seattle and then cutting diagonally down to SLC. But who really knows. I'd like to see Yosemite and Redwoods but I also want to see the Grand Canyon. Yikes.
Anyways, this is just a short blurb to let you all know I'm alive and well. As plans come together better and I have some interesting news to report I'll drop you another update. Also I'll try to put some thoughts together about what the return to the US feels like after 8 months because either the US is stranger than before or I am. Or both.

One night in Bangkok...

and the world's your oyster! Okay. Three nights in Bangkok. Pretty cool city and Songkhran is absolutely insane. Songkhran is the Thai New Year and is celebrated by a week long waterfight throughout the city. You pretty much can't go anywhere or do anything without getting soaked by waterguns, hoses or just buckets of ice water. When you are trying to accomplish things it is extremely frustrating but you can't stay angry very long when the people are all smiles. When you AREN'T trying to accomplish things it is probably just about the most fun holiday ever. You just run around splashing strangers and smearing flour/talcum all over them. I fully intend to ring in all of my future birthdays with a Songkhran party the week before.
Bangkok is a much nicer city than I had imagined or the travel books had led me to believe. It is not as filthy, smoggy or congested as I thought it would be. Sure, it is nowhere near the level of Singapore when it comes to glossy finish and greenery, but its not so bad in its own right. Certainly beats Athens!
Yesterday I arrived early in the morning and spent the good part of the day searching out a bicycle box. Finally got a nice one from Cannanasia, an absolutely awesome Cannondale exclusive dealer with a stunning amount of bikes on the floor (the Factory Scalpel was looking pretty nice to me...). I made use of a fancy enclosed taxi to safely deposit the box back at Peak's house (my gracious couchsurfing host) and then I headed down towards the notorious Patpong area for the largest waterfight I had ever seen. A wet, floury mass of thousands of Thais (and a few farangs) writhed and squirmed their ways through the streets and alleys to the thumping beat of Thai pop and electronic. An absolutely amazing experience. I wish I had photos to share with you but alas I have no waterproof camera!
Today I may repeat the experience or I may just take it easy, not quite sure. Tomorrow I have to get everything packed up and find a big enough taxi to take me to the airport because I'm doubtful my stuff will fit in a normal sedan type. I'm also far to lazy to deal with dragging the bike box and near-50 pound bag of gear onto and off of various trains and buses required to reach the airport.
After all this goes down (and a nice 9 hour layover in Beijing) I will arrive in San Francisco. I will travel for 23 hours or something, but arrive only 11 hours after I leave. The jet lag is going to be monstrous. Thank goodness San Francisco is a hobo's haven and I have no less than 3 couches offered to me already! Brace yourself States, the hobo cometh!

Feelin' Kinda Laos-y

HAHAHAHAH. Another solid pun. I wasn't actually feeling lousy at all until a few days ago I was the victim of some debit card fraud. The series of events is probably the most frustrating and discouraging thing to happen on this trip (which I guess shows how fortunate I've been). Hopefully I can pull things together this weekend and make it to Bangkok in time to box the bicycle and get my flight to San Francisco.
But sour topics aside, I do have some entertaining tidbits for you.
Let's start with Luang Namtha, over a week ago, high in the mountains. There I had the pleasure of meeting and riding with one of the craziest guys I have ever ridden with (and I've ridden with some pretty crazy dudes!). His name is Pablo and he comes from Argentina, although he's been riding the bike on and off (mostly on) for about 8 years. You can read about his adventures from the link on my front page.
Anyways, Pablo and I decide to ride the next leg together and set out upon the 107km ride from Luang Namtha to Oudamxai (which included something like 1200meters of climbing). I had originally planned to break it into two rides but upon arriving at the base of the big climb around 4pm, Pablo convinced me we should just go ahead and knock it out. Bad choice. The climb ended up taking us until just about dusk. At this point, the prudent thing to do would be to stop in a village and ask if we could camp nearby. Of course, Pablo, being insane, said we should continue down. After all, its all downhill so how long could it take? Poor choice. The worst 25 km of my life. Dark, sketchy deteriorating road the whole way. Probably the worst road conditions I have seen. Anyways, we did survive and it made a good story, so my thanks go to Pablo for pushing the envelope.
So Pablo decided to go towards Vietnam while my path lay southwards towards Louang Prabhang. Another series of challenging climbs. At one point I finished one ascent and was greeted by a guy selling ice cream out of a cooler on the back of his motorcycle. This was probably up around 1200meters. On the way down to 600 meters we must have passed each other 15 times as he would stop, sell some ice cream, then come past me. It was pretty funny and we were both having a good laugh by the bottom. Another fun aspect of riding that day was my discovery of a little game I like to call "Tag-a-Falang" whereby all the village kids run out screaming, giggling and shouting "FALLAAANNNNGG!!!" (which attracts more kids). Whichever children can wrest the prize of a high-five from me as I fly past is ensured the envy of his or her mates. It is rather entertaining, for me probably even more so than them!
On that uplifting note, I must head out into the city. I've crafted up another hobo sign looking for some money, so hopefully I can get something going for lunch. I'll drop you an update as soon as possible letting you know how the outlook for making my flight next week looks. Wish me luck, I'll need boatloads of it!