From North to South to North

For a few brief days I cycled in splendid northern Utah.  Sure, the road to Vernal was one of the worst I have ever rode one, getting air horned off the road by a passing semi, but once there, not only did I have the pleasure of a days rest with a great warmshower host, but I also got to watch the new Harry Potter. Yay.

I left Vernal heading due north, despite the warnings of 8% grades and 10 switchbacks, which were true but not as bad as it sounded.  I headed north to Flaming Gorge National Recreation area, a place I knew nothing about nor had heard of till recently.  I was pleasantly surprised.  After cycling uphill for a while through various rock formations, the aspen grove began and a new world greeted me.  At the top of the climb, I hit red canyon.  The canyon is about 4,000 ft wide and 1,700 feet deep, a mini grand canyon with nobody else around.

I skirted the gorge on the west side, bombing downhill at 44.7 mph (my fastest ever) to the little town of Manila before crossing out of Utah and back into Why oh Why Wyoming and camping at the edge of the gorge.  A windy night and i was on my way back into the high desert of Wyoming, crossing through the bustling town of Green River where i visited the free museum and waited out yet another storm.  A long 95 mile day through desert and i camped at a BLM site where there were more mosquitoes then any place on earth.  also, a storm that had 40 to 50mph winds howling at my tent for 20 minutes, but i survived.

Two more day riding in the desert, camping in BLM land and I am now literally at the foot of the Grand Tetons in Jackson hole.  I am staying with friends of a warmshower host who have warmly welcomed me to their home.  Tomorrow, I will actually bike to the park and spend a night or two there before heading north into Yellowstone where I will battle RV's and Bison and Bears, spending again a few days camping and hiking before finally heading into western Montana.


Thats where I's at yo.  Check I say Check out the photos: picasaweb.google.com/rossbikepics and remember you can send me mail at

Ross Guberman
Sonadei, LLC
PO BOX 99133
Seattle, WA 98139-0313
USA

Keep pedaling.

Crossing Colorado

Colorful Colorado has been full of colorful surprises. For a state that I hadn't intended on biking to when I first left Burlington, I now couldn’t be happier that I did. The wonderful front range towns of fort Collins and Boulder, with their biking, beers and babes were all so wonderful and relaxing. And of course crossing the highest point on my trip in Rocky Mountain National Park wasn't too bad either. But there is another side to Colorado, and it lies west of the mountains.

Having crossed RMNP, I descended into Grand Lake, which sits at over 8,000ft high. Did a small day hike to Adams Falls and generally allowed my legs to return to normal. Leaving Grand Lake, about 2 miles out, my drive side pedal began screaming the most hideous sound I have ever heard. So I prayed for a bike shop in Granby, and lo, there was. A scant 2 hours later after rebuilding both corroded pedals and I was on my way, but not alone. No, it seems 30 other bikers were going my way. Bike and Build, a non-profit that has crossed the country for over 8 years on various routes, has bikers biking and then stopping and building for Habitat for Humanity. Their route mirrors mine all the way to the Tetons, and in Colorado I saw a lot of them. From Granby it was a wonderful downhill day to Kremmling. A night of camping and the next day it was off to Steamboat.

On the way I had two passes, Muddy and Rabbit Ears. And I had to cross the divide twice. Accomplishing this was well worth the 7 mile, 7% grade descent into Steamboat Springs where I maxed at 38 mph. Stayed with a group of amazing people and on my day off went to a concert to see my home town music star, Grace Potter. All in all, I enjoyed the Boat and the relaxed attitude. Leaving Boat had me heading on an 85 mile day to Maybell, which I was told is conveniently located in the middle of nowhere. But, it did have me and 30 other people camping in their little park for the night. Got some dinner, talked about Peace Corps, meet a guy walking west to east carrying a cross, and enjoyed watching the comradeship these people had with each other. I left early the next morning on a 90 mile stint that took me through the desolate but pretty western edge of Colorado, past Dinosaur National Monument, into the actual town of Dinosaur, and finally into Vernal, Utah where I am now.

I entered Colorado on July 1^st and left on July 16^th, having taken nearly a week off in Boulder. The altitude isn't as bad now that I'm only around 5,000 to 6,000 feet. Making better time, got high spirits and lots of amazingness on the way. Next up is Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, home to the largest aspen grove and perhaps the largest living organism, excluding the planet. From there it's back into Wyoming and towards the Tetons and Yellowstone. For now, I'm loving the desert landscape, the sagebrush, the sandstone cliffs, the red and white and bluish mountains. I so look forward to coming back to Utah, but ion the south and in October. But this landscape is breathtakingly beautiful, quiet, and harsh.

Check out all of my Colorado pics , and of course, as always, with freedom and love, keep pedaling.

Interlude: Rocky Mountain National Park

It's not too often that in one day you can bike 25 miles, all uphill, gain over 5,000 ft in elevation, crossing alpine, sub alpine and tundra environments, and then bomb downhill, for 25 miles losing 5,000 ft in elevation. I got the pleasure to do this on Trail ridge, the scenic road that traverse Rocky Mountain National Park.  At the highest, the road hits about 12,100 feet, before descending and crossing the continental divide somewhere around 10,000 ft.  At the 11,000 foot mark, the trees stop, the tundra starts and man oh man was it COLD.  had to put on all my warm clothes.  Brrrr, lots of snow, and lots of beauty.  

Of course, many more pictures of this amazing place can be seen here: https://picasaweb.google.com/rossbikepics.  For now, from Grand Lake, and until I possibly get internet again, keep pedaling.

PS: Here is my next mailing address where you can send me letters, well wishes, and/or other goodies and surprises.  I will most likely be in Seattle sometime in mid/late august.

Ross Guberman
c/o
Sonadei, LLC
PO BOX 99133
Seattle, WA 98139-0313
USA

Radical Changes...

I proudly present to the entire Bingelverse, the new and improved "Eduardo the Touring Bike" !!!!!

Before

After

It'll take a little getting used to have the different distribution of weight, but I think this will end up working out better than the trailer.  Packing is a little different, as I can't willy nilley throw stuff in the trailer, and I had to rid myself of nearly 10 lbs of extra bits and pieces.  Got a handle bar bag to house my valuable items, like my multi tool, and some extra storage containers for water when i hit those lonely western Wyoming stretches.

my green highlighted route thus far

From Boulder, I will go to Estes Park, get used to being 8,000 feet up, then cycle along the highest, continuously paved road in north america, Trail Ridge Road in Rock Mountain National Park, where I'll hit an altitude of a bit over 12,000 feet before freewheeling to Grand Lake.  Then its across western Colorado and into Utah before making a sharp turn north, threw Flaming Gorge National recreation Area and heading northwest towards the Tetons and Yellowstone and into Montana.  Check out the ever growing pictures I update on my picasa page, https://picasaweb.google.com/rossbikepics and as always, keep pedaling.

Ye Olde Two Month Update

Some would call it 61 days, others would call it 2 months. No matter your vocular of choice, I have cycled from Burlington, Vermont to Boulder, Colorado. Who would have thunk it? I suppose I would since its sorta what I had planned. But not really. When I left Burlington I didn’t think I'd be coming south to Boulder, I had thought I would be cycling across Wyoming. Thankfully that idea was scrapped. And so many Bingler's are asking how its been going, what have been highlights, lowlights, stats, etc etc? So many questions my little Binglets, and since I have so much time, I can answer some of them.

But first, an important topic needs to be discussed. Its something I haven't talked about in this blog, only a little in letters to a friend. Its about food. In particular, animal based food. We all know that living vegan is the 100% only correct way to live, but what happens when your diet is put to the strains of location, phsyical demands, and extreme lusting of ice cream? You get a mental war if you's be's me's. As the saying goes, “Go Vegan or Go Home”. I do not and will never eat the flesh of an animal, but I have been eating, sometimes out of necessity from the kindness of my hosts, and sometimes of my own choice, some animal by-product food such as ice cream, dairy, and eggs. And really, these food items are absolutely equal in the suffering they cause the sentient beings they come from as meat. And this is really hard for me. Can I expect those willing to host me, already going out of their way to show me kindness, to sometimes rack their brains about cooking a way they know nothing about? Is it so bad to every once in a while to have dairy or eggs in my food? Maybe yes, maybe no. The real problem, and what has been hardest on me, is when it's done by deliberate choice. Lordy I crave ice cream, or at least I think I do. Because after wards, was it really that good, was it really worth the money or the mental back and forth I go through after wards? It never is. But it is and perhaps will be something I continue to struggle with on my journey, and I hope to be able to share more on this important topic for me with my compassionate Binglers as time marches on.

But now its time, drum roll please, for the TWO MONTH CYCLING STATSITICS:

Left Burlington, Vermont May 3^rd – arrived Boulder, Colorado July 3^rd.

61 days: 55 days cycling, 6 days rest

3,425.1 miles cycled

62.2 average miles per day

Longest mile day: 105.98 miles

Longest cycling day: 9 hours, 9 minutes

8 National Parks/Monuments/Lakeshores: Sleeping Bear Dunes, Pictured Rocks, Apostle Islands, Pipestone, Badlands, Minuteman, Mount Rushmore, Wind Cave

One broken spoke

Countless Nomad flats

Thee rear tire flats

One fall

One bear, one wolf, one moose

19 free/wild/stealth camping

7 paid camping

22 warmshower

11 couchsurfing

2 other hosts

8 states: Vermont, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota,Wyoming and Colorado

2 Countries: USA and Canada

7 jars of peanut butter

Highlights include cycling along Lake Michigan, the bike trails in Minnesota, the Badlands and Black Hills, and riding into Boulder yesterday knowing it was my last day riding with the trailer. Many highlights await. Lowlights include mid-Michigan, South Dakota, and eastern Wyoming. Blah. I have revised and revised again possible routes forward for the next two months, and I am slowly getting a better picture of how I might go, with a few spots still up for debate. Idaho really throws me for a loop. But, it looks like I might ride Glacier in Montana the opposite way I had originally planned, I think I'll go east to west across, then drop down maybe into Missoula? Who knows?

During my sabbatical in Boulder I'll take care of bike stuff and will soon post some before and after pictures of my steel steed, Eduardo, in all his glory. Hope you have all enjoyed the journey so far, and thanks to everyone who reads and comments. I look forward to continue sharing my journey and hope you all stick along for the ride.

Happy July 4th

Well my flag waving, patriotic Binglers, happy July 4th.  Here's to freedom, to biking, to Life.

Forever Windy

It would seem impossible, nay, unfathomable, for a place to be more open, more vast, more desolate than the plains and prairie of South Dakota. Well my ignorant Binglers, I have found such a place. The locals call it Wyoming. I call it “the god awful place of unyielding winds, vast stretches of road without water or shade and elevations over 6,000ft (aka Wyoming)”.

Leaving Hot Springs South Dakota, I had about another 26 miles in the now seemingly crowded and cosmopolitan state. Crossing into the “Forever West” state, I headed south. 60 mile stretch of no services, no water, no trees, only me, brewing storms, hail, lighting, and fellow bike tourers. Thats right, finally rode for a stretch with other weary travelers who had been a day or two ahead of me throughout South Dakota. They are on their way to the coast from Philly, and while we parted ways in Lusk, it's fun knowing they are out there somewhere in the wastelands of central Wyoming. God speed.

Stayed two nights in Lusk. Watched a softball game that brought back memories of shoeless Joe Jackson, as I learned the fix was in. Leaving the next day, the winds were blowing steady from the south. Had I gone north from Lusk, the winds would have been blowing from the north. Abhor is the strongest word I currently have to relate my utter hatred for the headwinds I have biked in for two weeks. And with the elevation, the little rolling hills have felt like mountain passes as I huff and puff and get my bike blown down. Somehow, after 85 miles and near exhaustion, made it to Hawk Spring State Park and was bestowed with cold spring water.

After fixing a flat rear tire and yet again flat nomad tire, biked into even stronger winds, higher elevations, and 100 degrees towards Cheyenne, the state capital. It was to be a 65 mile day, but this biking bingler wouldn't have none of it. I threw the thumb. Everything that passed me, I had a thumb going out, until finally, someone stopped and offered me mercy. Biked 40, hitch 25, and made it to Cheyenne covered in hay, dry sweat, and sweetly only 2 blocks away from where I am couchsurfing.

Another day off to get my legs for the ride into Colorado tomorrow. First stop, Fort Collins and then to the end of part one, Boulder. I can already taste the sweet flowing waters of Boulder. My bike will undergo a metamorphosis, as will the landscape I will encounter in the next two months, 2,500 miles. Wyoming is one of the very few states that I will actually be in twice, as I will eventually come back into the western part of the state to go to the Tetons and Yellowstone.

Stayed tuned for my two month wrap up, some stats, and before/after pics. You'll also notice a new little paypal donattion button on the right hand side of the blog.  I have decided that those who are willing and desirous can donate small sums that I will donate to various bicycle related groups, collectives, organizations that I come in contact with on my travels.  Till then, keep pedaling.