Waitsburg, WA!

We've reached Washington state! We're down to our last 8 days of riding, and looking forward to wrapping up an awesome tour. The past several days have been incredible. Most of the time was spent through Idaho wilderness area and other areas with poor cellular phone reception, so I've been lacking computer access. The scenary and experiences have been amazing, though.

After leaving Missoula, we had a nice climb up to the boarder of the Pacific and Mountain time zones, which coincided with the MT/ID boarder. We took the Lolo pass, which follows the Lochsa river valley. We camped out twice, were able to see some amazing hot springs, and swim in the ice cold river. Needless to say, we had a blast. After exiting the Lolo pass, we toured into some more rural areas of Idaho, and met some really cool people along the way. We wound up our time in Idaho in Lewiston, which acted as our home base for a rest day. I got to see The Dark Night, and really enjoyed it. We went to a really cool place for lunch the next day (the United Methodist Church we stayed at provided our breakfast and dinner-thanks again!) at a unique local place called Waffles N More, where I had a dessert waffle with ice cream, strawberries and blueberries. I also had several cups of good coffee.

On the ride out today, I enjoyed the scenary very much. I got to see some really awesome geologic formations-the columnar joints continue into Washington, and after that, rolling fields of wheat (amber waves of grain). I've already begun to like Washington very much! I can't wait to see more of the state, and to continue towards Portland. Until then, John

Wall-E Wall-E County, Washington!

As we entered the final state of Washington, although we will be leaving tomorrow, we encountered fun obstacles that made our day fly by. We started off with a 2000 foot climb, which wasn't as intimidating as it sounds due to the gradual grade. After our climb to the top, we continued onto the rolling wheat fields which created a beautiful view. The view was intriguing due to a technique called strip cropping. This sounds misleading, but it is used in conservation efforts to minimize soil erosion. A few miles out of lunch we ran into a block of road construction. Although some of us tried to ride through the 4 miles of gravel roads, a 6% steep incline, laden with new oil, most of us were able to hitch a ride due to the kindness of strangers with pick-up trucks. Either way we all made it safely.

The state of Washington has not only been gorgeous, but we have already felt the generosity and kindness of the people we have meet. When we arrived in Waitsburg, WA this afternoon a local cajun cafe donated delicious food that really helped reenergize the team. We also celebrated Rachel Burke's 24th birthday with superb vegan rice crispy treats and candles that her teammates made. 

See you later Washington, BRB! 

Restday in ID

We are keep riding!  Montana and Idaho is really nice though I have not taken shower for a long time! I know that ending is getting close but I do not want to think about it.  I just want  to concentrate and enjoy each day.
See you!

Rest day in Lewiston

Today the team had a relaxing rest day in Lewiston, ID. The church provided the team with oatmeal and coffee for breakfast in the morning. After breakfast, a group of people went to a waffle house while others remained in the church to recharge. A few people took multiple naps throughout the day while others read and played chess. The church once again provided us with a lasagna dinner today followed by ice cream and cookies. Since today is Pastor Kevin's birthday, a few of the girls decided to bake him a surprise birthday cake to show our appreciation. After dinner, a few of us sat down with Helen who is a survivor of breast cancer for a portrait project. Helen shared with us her experience dealing with cancer as well as a few interesting stories after her recovery. Overall, our experience in Idaho has been extremely positive and we are excited to see what Oregon and Washington state have to offer.

Lewiston, ID

I can see Washington State from the backyard view of the United Methodist Church.  I can't believe we are this close to the making it across the country.  Pastor Kevin Dow welcomed our team into Lewiston today, and they are even making dinner for us!!  I am continually blown away by the kindness and generousity that is shared with me.

People weren't joking when they said Lewiston is really hot.  It's cloudy out right now with a really light drizzle and it's 97 degrees!  Riding through the Clearwater National Forest just a few days ago, it was so cold I couldn't remember what summer felt like.  But now I do. 

=)

The adventures of Lewiston and Clarkston

Leaving Craigmont and entering Lewiston, ID was a great adventure. We climbed a few more rolling hills (leftover from yesterday) and had a scenic descent that lasted around 10 miles. We're currently at the First United Methodist Church of Lewiston where the members have been very kind to us. The bought groceries for us to have a barbeque later tonight and have offered to cook for our other meals as well.

We are excited to explore Lewiston and Clarkston. Many of us will watch the new Batman movie later tonight, and are also planning on sampling the local restaurants. We are especially interested in a breakfast/lunch place called Waffles & More and a pizza place called Bishop's Bistro.

Another day in Idaho

After spending three days in the scenic Clearwater National Forest, we were finally back to civilization. Although we had a tough day going up and down the mountains of Idaho, it was a very rewarding ride and we all had a lot of fun along the way. The front group got in Craigmont by noon while the back group took their time and rolled into town in flying V formation. After having a delicious meal of vegetable stew cooked by Nick, Andrea, and a few others, a few members of the church offered us both laundry and shower. Most of us took up both offers and chatted with the families who let us use their showers. We are expecting a relatively easy day tomorrow into Lewiston followed by a rest day.

over the continental divide...3 times

hello.  sorry that it's been so long since i wrote.  Internet has been getting scarce the further west we go.  since the last time i wrote, many things have happened.  The most exciting of which was going over the continental divide 3 times.  Two of those 3 times were on the way out of yellowstone.  The third was just a few days ago going into missoula.  We are also now well over 3000 miles travelled.  I'll try updating again soon.
Matt

No Potatoes Yet

To those who missed our last installment of the I4k journal, we promise that we have a good reason! After a great rest day in Missoula, where we enjoyed the pro-bicyclist leaning of the city, our next destination was just past Lolo pass on Route 12 in Idaho. Our stopping point was a campground with plenty of space for our 5 tents. Several people decided to sleep outside while others stayed in the tents. The place was quite scenic and very nice, considering that we just chose the location out of convenience. The river next to our campground was a great spot to cool off.

We left that location today but hadn't bike 10 miles before stopping again for at least an hour. Nested in one of the trails was a series of hot springs, which we took advantage of. Given that showers were not expected, they were a very welcome addition to our ride. After about 60 miles of following the river, we arrived in our current location, another campground called "Wild Goose Campground".

Stay tuned for more updates!

Resent thoughts

Today we are in Missoula Montana I really like this aria, it is a college town and it seems very progressive. There are a lot of really neat stores hare Today I went to a Fair trade store and bought some buttons with progressive sayings on them. I don’t know why, but I collect these kinds of buttons. I usually get buttons that deal with issues such as world peace and environmentalism.  I’m somewhat of a hippie and proud of it. I’ve been trying to figure out what I want out of life on this trip, I have basically come to the conclusion that I have my whole life to figure this out. I don’t have all the answers and I’m far from perfect and I am willing to admit to it, this trip has been hard for me because I have never had so many restrictions put on my life before and no mater how hard I try everything I say or do seems to be wrong, plus I tend to have a different kind worldview than most people which has lead to some conflicts. I try my best but my best is never good enough.

            Some things that I have learned about myself on this trip are that I am very competitive and tend to try and turn everything into a race.

            I have a lot of problems with authority and often do things I normally wouldn’t do just because I’m told not to.

            I don’t think before I talk or act.

            I can be very aregent at times.

            I am highly opinionated about everything

What I truly want to do in life is go to grad school and do research for a living.  

bicycle composter!

Hi there, from Missoula, MT!

I love this place.  There are people who volunteer to bike around town collecting organic waste from local businesses for compost! It's such a good idea, maybe Urbana-Champaign will also do something like this.  There's a beautiful river perfect for swimming that runs right through the center of town, tons of options for coffee drinkers, mountains surrounding the whole town.  Oh, and also a great yarn store that sells pre-spun wool.  I hope I get to come back here some day!

Internet access has been really hard to come by, but the past few days (weeks even?) have been really incredible.  Crossing the rockies has not been as difficult as I prepared for, and it's been even more beautiful than I hoped it could be.  (Minus the swarms of mosquitoes outside of Wisdom). 

Seeing Yellowstone was also an amazing experience.  It's a really unique experience on a bicycle, and a much more personal experience.  Also, when the buffalo block roads, we can ride right through the traffic jam!!! YEssss!!!

missoula

sorry for not updating my blog for a really really long time.
i miss u all, Li, Jie, Aunt, Uncle, grandma grandpa, biggie and twinie
Missoula is prob one of the smallest cities that i ever been to. it is def something new. a lot of people in the city are actually not from here. hippies? I was surprised to see so many people in the library were waiting for the public computer, because in any other cities that i've been to, the public computer was never fully occupied.
i went for a morning wrong today on a trail along the river. It feels so good. I realized how strong i have become because of biking, it definitely gave me more confident for the half marathon in September.
we visited the adventure cycling association at 10am, nice place !!! we were welcomed !!!
i will try to go ask for some donations this afternoon with nick, and get some groceries for myself, i heard the next two days we will be camping outside.
thinking about there are not too many days left makes me kinda sad.
our team is a strong team and people on this team are good people.
it's not about the destination, it is about the journey.

Hamilliton to Missoula

    We left Hamilton in high spirits with the realization that we only had to ride 45 miles to the bike friendly town of Missoula, MT.  The latter half of the ride was spent on a trail, something we haven't done in a while, and something that was a treat for all of us.  We arrived at the Lutheran church, where we would be staying, and many of us set out to explore the town.  With four bike shops in the area many of us were occupied with spending most of the day oogling the bikes and parts at each one.

     We returned to the church for dinner to find that pizza, along with chicken and tacos, had been graciously donnated by some of the local pizzerias.  We engaged in a feast that would last all of fifteen minutes.  The rest of the night was spent exploring the downtown area and the campus.

     Today on our rest day, we visisted the Adventure Cycling Association in Missoula, which offered us free trial memberships, ice cream and drinks, and the use of a computer from which I am writting this blog entry.  Tomorrow we leave for Idaho and with close to two weeks remaning in the ride, many of us are very excited to reach our final destination.

Hello Missoula

Hello! Today's ride took us from Hamilton to

Missoula

where I am typing to you from the public library. The ride was flat and short, a change from recent days and with a rest day in

Missoula

tomorrow will almost make it seem like we get two rest days!  After getting kicked off the computer after 30 minutes of use at the library in Hamilton yesterday, my sister sent me a text saying I'd left her in suspense as to what happened next - thus I had her finish my blog over the phone last night. Thanks Kimmy!

I'm happy to report that today I did not hit any large rocks and my tires seem fine. We arrived in

Missoula

by lunch time and had a peanut butter, jelly and honey sandwich picnic outside the van on the lawn of St. Paul's Lutheran Church (our host in

Missoula

). After unloading the van I headed to the Post Office to check the status of a general delivery package my mother sent me however apparently the postal service sent it to another post office in

Missoula

 so I will have to pick it up tomorrow. I tried to upload some photos to my Photo Album however the connection here is SLOW and inconsistent so it doesn't seem to be working very well.

Here are a few photos to entertain you until I get the rest uploaded to Picasa.

I4K Girls celebrate Mustache Montana!

The team before departing Big Sky Baptist Church this morning.

Beautiful Montana!

Hello from Hamilton, Montana!  Internet access has been sparse recently.  We've biked through so many places and experienced many bike rides with wild adventures, it's hard to choose what to write about.

One of our most significant days was biking from Dayton, WY to Greybull, WY.  We crossed Big Horn National Forest, which was a mountain reaching about 8,500 feet.  It was significant as it was possibly the longest climb of the summer (I may be speaking too soon...), the longest descent of the summer (18 miles!), and had some of the most beautiful sights we've seen all summer.  We spent all morning climbing found snow close to the road at the top.  Descending was long, and included a lift in a pick-up truck for 2 miles because of road construction, which was scarier than biking downhill since 7 of us with our bikes crowded onto the bed of the truck.  It's hard to describe what we saw that day.  With every curve along the mountain side, the scenery seemed to change.  There were waterfalls, huge red rock cliffs, forest, a creek, and more.  I stopped plenty of times on the way to take pictures so ask me about them later if you'd like.

A couple days later, we got to Yellowstone!  We spent a rest day there which allowed us to relax and see some of the park.  I hiked around for most of the day.  On our ride out of the park, we stopped at Old Faithful and at many hot springs, geysers and pools, all of which were fascinating.  Unfortunately I had a lot of trouble sleeping while camping as I am a light sleeper, so that was the one negative part about Yellowstone.  We also experienced cold cold nights and mornings, which we still experience here in Montana, requiring me to wear about half the clothes I have with me during the morning ride.  A couple days later, I bought gloves at a thrift store for 50 cents which have been a huge help.  Now my fingers don't lose feeling while biking!

Biking through Yellowstone also meant dealing with a lot of traffic, tons of RVs passing close to us, and getting through a huge traffic jam caused by bison on the road.  The next day we biked to Ennis, Montana and the morning was the opposite traffic-wise.  There were very few cars and the ride was one of the best.  We rode through valleys between mountains with lakes, including one caused by an earthquake years ago, and rivers.  There was not a single cloud in the sky and it was very peaceful and relaxing.  I felt like I could have ridden on that road all day.  During rides like that, I realize how glad I am to be doing a road trip on a bicycle rather than any other type of vehicle.  It's wonderful to be outdoors all the time so close to the surroundings, going slow enough to get a good look at everything, feel every temperature change, smell everything and breathe fresh air.  It got slightly more busy later in the day but the scenery was still amazing.  Every ride in Montana since then has been just about as beautiful.  We've had some climbs and descents, none of which have been horribly difficult.  I enjoy the mountains out here much more than in the East.  The grades are noticeably shallower and there is far less traffic.  It is still a challenge going up, but a good one, and I don't get as afraid going down as I did at the beginning of the summer since it's shallower. 

I don't have much time left but I hope that gave you an idea of a couple of highpoints from the past few weeks.  Tomorrow we'll ride to Missoula where we'll have a rest day the next day!  It's hard to believe I'm actually in Montana and will soon be in Idaho.  Crazy.

These are Real Mountains (The Rocky Mountain Chapter)

I know it has been quite a while since I last blogged (due to lack of internet access and from so many different activities going on).

Anyways, what seems like several weeks ago, I drove the car during our ride through Big Horn. This ride was extremely beautiful, although I regret having to drive, I was able to experience gorgeous scenery which was a precursor to what lay ahead in the west.

With The Big Horn Mountains leading into the Rocky Mountains, the scenery became spectacular and our first camping adventure lay ahead when we going to Yellowstone. Although the Rocky Mountains are over 3000 miles long from New Mexico to Canada and stretches up to 300 miles wide, we were still able to ride through 3 continental divides, 2 of which were in Yellowstone.

Yellowstone was unbelievable! With my first visit to Yellowstone, our day of arrival was quite interesting. Due to the fee of $12 a biker, we decided to caravan everyone into the park, 4-5 people and their bikes at a time. Although this was the only logical idea at the time, it took over 2 hours for the van to get to our campsite 30 miles into the park (Bridge Bay Campground) to unload the van and get back to the entrance. Waiting and becoming tired, many of us were not prepared for the steep incline that met us once we entered the park. Climbing up the mountains, I realized that I would never forget this experience, although late and tired, the views were breathtaking. Also, as Dana, XiXi, and I climbed up, we took breaks, some at the freezing meltwater waterfalls next to the road to cool off. As we rode higher the air became thinner, but Yellowstone was more than I expected it to be.

Never really camping before, I enjoyed the life outdoors, BUT I would have enjoyed hot water. It makes you realize how fortunate we are for the little things and how much we are given each day. Since we got a day off in Yellowstone, I told everyone that I wanted to go watch the sunrise at the park on Yellowstone Lake, which was 2 minutes away from where we camping. Many people wanted to watch the sunrise, but only Brad and I rolled out of our sleeping bags at 4:30 AM to walk down to the lake. The sunrise was amazing, although it actually came up at 6:00 AM over the mountains onto the lake. With a hike and a nap, I took the day as a rest day and relaxed, which I needed.

The next day we rode out of the park into Montana to West Yellowstone. The day started off colder than I have ever felt. Not feeling my hands and most of my body, we pedaled as fast as we could to warm our bodies up. I think these cold frigid mornings have been the only time I have been excited to climb, and climb we did. That day we rode over the continental divide, not once, but twice over 8000 feet high. As the day grew warm, so did we and we rode into Old Faithful to watch my first geyser show. Although not as impressed as I wish I was, Connie, Amy, Dana and I rode around Yellowstone looking at the geysers and other natural formations in the Caldera Boundary. Realizing that this supervolcano can blow at any moment and take the US with it, I was quite afraid, and very excited to get out of the boundary and into Montana.

Although the mornings in Montana have been by far the coldest, it has also been the most beautiful place to ride through. If you were to stop and turn in a 360 degree circle in one spot, you would see mountains surrounding you. Mountains on every side, while you stand in a perfectly flat valley. The rides have been amazing, and as we approached these mountains that lay ahead I realized that I have been so fortunate for being able to meet the people I have and that I have been so fortunate that this opportunity worked out for me.

Through towns of thousands of people, to towns of 50 (Wisdom, where we stayed for a night), the people that we have met everywhere have a common bond, their encouragement and their humanity towards us keeps us going. Their generosity and love that people have shown makes what we do worth every mountain we climb and every painful pedal worth the struggle.

Our journey ends soon, but our memories will live on forever,so will our friendships we have made, the people that we have met and impacted our lives, and the generosity that has been shown, none of that will be forgotten.

I'm Alive!

Hello! I apologize that it has been awhile since my last post but today marks the first time I've touched a computer since July 4th. While I can not update the world on the past 11 days in a matter of 20 minutes I just wanted to check in and say that I'm alive, doing well and have returned to somewhat normal civilization after having spent the past week or so in Wyoming and southwestern Montana. This afternoon we cycled into Hamilton, Montana and will head to Missoula tomorrow. It seems hard to believe that we less than three weeks away from Seattle - how fast time flys when your having fun! To be honest I don't even know where to begin this post as there are so many things that have happened in the past two weeks. We have gone from the flat lands of South Dakota through the Black Hills and by Mt. Rushmore, celebrated the fourth of July in Gillette, climbed the Big Horn Mountains where we got to play in the snow, visited Yellowstone National Park, worked as a team to find a last minute stay over after our plans fell through and made several trips to Dairy Queen among many, many other things. I'll update you on all of this stuff in time however it would probably be easiest to just start with today.

This morning we awoke in the tiny town of Wisdom, Montana where we were staying in the community center. I heard people moving around and looked at my watch only to see that it was 4:00 a.m. and that I had an additional two hours to sleep. When my alarm finally went off I'd been laying awake for atleast 30 minutes so getting up was no problem. I packed up my stuff and headed to the kitchen to put on water for the oatmeal. While I was preparing breakfast Xixi Moshered me, I tried to pass it off on Nick by handing the Mosher card to him with the team credit card (since he was driving) however as he went to put the credit card in his pocket he saw the Mosher behind it and handed it back to me. After a breakfast of oatmeal, rice and Golden Grams (all mixed with milk and maple syrup - creativity is key) we cleaned up and headed outside where I gave the daily Mosher speech. I hadn't prepared anything so I had the team form a massage circle and spoke a few words before we all sang Happy Birthday to Matt and headed on our way. The morning included a gradual climb and marked the third and final time in which we cross the continental divide. We reached the top of the climb around mile 25 before beginning our decent. I was riding with Xixi, Fei and Takaya all of whom were ahead of me. Around mile 29 I went around a bend where there was gravel and rocks alongside the road. Looking at the rocks on the side I paid no attention to the rock that was right in front of me and hit a jagged rock about the size of a tennis ball at about 32 mph (not something I'd recommend doing), when I saw it I knew it wouldn't be good and immediately after going over it I heard my tire make a hissing sound and knew I'd just gotten my first flat tire of the summer. (I'd been pondering only a few miles earlier as to if I'd be able to go the entire summer without a flat so maybe I jinxed myself.) Riding in the back of my group everyone else was well ahead of me and didn't hear me yell "STOP" so I pulled to the side and quickly began to change the flat. Cell phone service which has been hit or miss the past few days had resurfaced by this point in the descent so I turned on my cell and tried to call my group to tell them that I was ok however nobody answer their phone so I just began changing the flat. After a few minutes a man in a white truck pulled over to check and make sure that I was ok. I told him that I was fine and just had a flat tire and he went on his way. A few minutes later I looked up to see Takaya making his way back up the hill to make sure that I was ok. About a mile after my flat my group realized I was no longer behind them ad had set Takaya back to check on me worried that I may be hurt. Takaya helped put the tire back on the rim and we headed down the hill. When we got to the bottom we found Fei and XiXi sitting on the side of the road. As we approached them Nick who was driving the support van pulled up to make sure we were ok. We refilled our water bottles, grabbed a snack and I re-pumped my tire before letting the van go to catch the front group for lunch. 23 miles later we pulled into Darby MT where we ate a fabulous PB&J lunch in the parking lot of a super market gas station. From lunch we quickly made our way to Hamilton where we are staying at the Big Sky Baptist church.

After unpacking the van Andrea and I headed to the post office, the library and the grocery store where we bought ingredients to make Matt a brownie banana ice cream cake. We then headed back to the church where Andrea, Dana and I made cake and heated up the Chicago style pizzas which Matt's grandfather had bought for the team. When the pizzas were done we ate dinner which was immediately followed by our brownie banana ice cream cake in celebration of Matt's birthday. We are now watching the movie Super Troopers while celebrating Mustache Montana!

That updates you on today. Updates along with pictures from the previous two weeks will come in time. Tomorrow we ride into Missoula, a short 45 mile day meaning we will be sleeping in an extra hour!

Wyoming & Montana

Over the last couple weeks we have seen small and bigger towns in Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park and several towns in southern Montana. All of these have been great.

Hamilton, MT

Well, its been a while. Since I last blogged, I've seen some of the most amazing natural beauty in my life! We passed through Yellowstone NP, and on into the Rockies, which we've largely finished with. The mountain streams provide nice scenery as we ride, and the vistas in MT are really amazing. Some highlights from the past couple of days:

-Ice cream and sodas in Ennis, MT
-The grand opening of SavWay in Dillon, MT
-The amazing generosity of people in all of MT

I'll do my best to get some photos up tonight. Until then,

John

Hamilton! Through Chief Joseph's Pass

Today began with blustering winds and threatening rain clouds. We were reticent to exit the warmth of the community center in Wisdom, and enter the reign of the mosquitoes outside. After mustering our courage, and realizing that Matt's birthday is today, we got around to finishing breakfast and preparing for the Mosher. Sandy gave the Mosher, providing words of encouragement by referencing all that we've accomplished thus far. We had a massage circle to relax our shoulders, and completed the morning routine by singing Happy Birthday to Matt.

We set out toward an impending climb and gray skies. At mile 10 or so, the grade began to steepen. The tall pines lining the street provided wind protection, and we maintained a reasonable speed through the first water stop, at mile 20. Immediately following the water stop, the grade picked up for the next 5 miles, and provided a challenge to our legs. We climbed at a steady pace through the continental divide for the 3rd time, and began the steep descent into the valley. The miles flew by as we cut through the rock lined roadway. Before we knew it, Nick was swinging his arms wildly in a motion resembling that of an "Air Guitar," in order to wave us into the second water stop. We paused for a few minutes, and continued down hill through mile 60, where we enjoyed our lunch beside a cool stream. The fisherman seeking trout passed by in boats, and some of us tried our hand at skipping stones across the creek. After enjoying some delicious sandwiches, we continued on the road. The remainder of the ride was relatively uneventful, and went by very quickly. We arrived to a warm welcome from the Baptist church in Hamilton, and eagerly await a delicious dinner in celebration of Matt's birthday. Until then, I4K.