Adventures of Slackers on Bikes
got up really early to climb some hills before it got stupid hot. We climbed the hills and now it’s stupid hot. Maya’s having some bike problems so we’re at a rad shop in cache creek getting a repair. Looking forward to getting back into the alpine. Don’t forget
we took a long break to get out of the heat and it was worth it! we spent a while getting bikes fixed at the only shop for miles. Had a good time talking to neil, the owner and mechanic. He showed us his java cycle, a bike with an internal hub and wooden rims. We destroyed two large pizzas. We’re on to kamloops next and hear that it’s smooth sailing between here and jasper.
We’re deep in the canadian rockies now. It didn’t take us long to escape the BC desert and climb up into the mountains. Jasper gets a +5 for scenery and a -12 for being a pricey tourist trap. And can anyone explain why cheese is so expensive in Canada? We’ll be traveling through the glaciers tomorrow (while supplies last). Wish you were here being eaten by mosquitos with us!
we’ve been biking through jasper and banff parks and it’s been some of the most gorgeous riding i’ve ever done. We’ve been surrounded by mountains the whole time, but really have not had to do that much climbing. The only catch is that this place is full of the other kind of tourist
We’re now rolling 7 deep as we’ve picked up 2 other cycling maniacs. Emma is an aussie going from fairbanks to SF, and mike is a canadian touring BC. We’ve just come out of a string of canadian national parks, and it was spectacular – constantly surrounded by snow-capped peaks, crystal blue lakes, and rushing glacial streams for nearly a week! Ralph is perfecting his gourmet camp cooking, nick and I are perfecting our plans for the perfect bike saddle, and megan wrestled a bear for rights to import saskatoon berry jam into the US. Hopefully she’ll pull through in the tenth round. okay, it’s bedtime in BC – hope you’re having as much fun as we are!
Don’t worry – we’re still alive. We made it to glacier park with no problems. We had a great tailwind to help us over logan pass, only to get absolutly drenched on the way down. Unfortuntely, at that point we had to eat Ralph and Maya. They were great company, and took to bike touring like an RV takes to straddling the white line, but Ralph had been fattening himself up on burritos, and we were quite hungry. We took two days to hike in the park, during which I nearly sacrificed my knee to one of the mny goats and sheep we saw. Nick must have noticed Megan sizing him up for dinner, cuz he hopped the next train out of town. As for Tasha, her whereabouts are a mystery, but we can only assume she noticed all the food pics and sought to avoid her inevitable fate. So now it’s just the two of us, rolling along through lovely montana. We should make it to Helena tomorrow!
finally, greg’s dream came true and we found a town with a rodeo. So far, the cows are winning. The whole town is out here in their sunday cow ropin best. There are as many cow girls as there are boys, altho I haven’t seen any women on bucking broncos. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
we made it through west yellowstone mostly unscathed by the super tourism and fleets of rv s. I went to my favorite women owned and operated bike shop. We destoroyed a pizza and discovered that artichokes only on one side is not the same as only artichokes on one side. The ride into west yellowstone was hard and long. We climbed 4000 feet over 30 miles, which was the easier route. But now we’re in the park. This morning we had to fend off the vehicle toting masses who kept trying to pitch their tents in our coveted hiker bicyclist only site. We saw a bison this morning just hangin out by the side of the road. We should be in tetons tomorrow, where i’ve been told all the moose hang out.
we had a great ride through the tetons, despite ten miles of construction that left us caked in mud. it’s been pretty chilly the past few nights – there was ice on the bear box the other morning – but it’s nice and cool for riding during the day. Right now we’re 60 miles into what should be our first century of the trip – the wind is pushing us across the high plains of wyoming. We should hit utah tommorrow!
we blew thru utah and are on to our final state
