8-1 Saturday

Sisters, OR to McKenzie Bridge, OR - 61.57 miles

It was weird looking at the elevation profile for the remainder of our trip. Today was to be our last pass, Santiam Pass, with an elevation of 4817 ft. And the rest is, "All down hill" as they say... That saying hasn't held true once this trip. We celebated at the top of the pass, then peddled hard to savior the high speeds... our last chance. A sweet downhill it was but you had to pay close attention to avoid the frequent rocks scattered on the shoulder of the road with RVs screaming past you at every turn. There was often a bunch of weird rock to either side of us that we guessed was some sort of igneous rock... to steal a reference from Dustin's Blog. more later...

7-31 Friday

Ochoco Pass to Sisters, OR - 72.15 miles - Trip Total: 4138.43 miles

Don's Dinner was open again for business and he pumped out egg and cheese sandwhices. Thanks again Don. We cruised down from the pass into flat terrain for most of the day... back into the desert. Cruising through Redmond was a bit confusing as Chris and I added a few extra miles to the total trying to get back on route... as if 4,000 miles wasn't enough already. We were happy to cruise into Sister at the end of the day and find the group at a nice campground, the city park, where I could get wifi from our picnic table... nice. After I made dinner at the campsite, I met up with the rest of the group at the Three Creeks Brewing Co. which is owned by Mason's cousins. I caught up a few more blogs and enjoyed the company and laughs of the rest of the group. Great day...

7-30 Thursday

Mt. Vernon, OR to Ochoco Divide Campground at Ochoco Pass - 80.9 miles

Continuing through the desert today the temps rose steadily into the high 90's again today. A steady climb of 2,000 ft. across 25 miles wasn't so bad, especially with the cooler temps of the morning. Passing through the John Day Fossil sites we found ourselves crusing through carved revines in the mountains...

It was like a scene out of Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark. The terrain was gorgeous with an array of colors panning through the layers of rock that the roads cut through. Each layer, millions of years old, represented by different shades of red, brown, orange, pink, purple... As the day moved on, so did we, moving up from the town of Mitchell at 2795ft on up to the top of Ochoco Pass - 4720ft.

It was one heck of a climb, and the heat.... well.... we've gotten used to it by now. Camping at the top of the pass was great with the climate changing the terrain drastically from what we've been used to lately... the desert. Tall lush pines hundreds of feet tall with moss and dense tree cover everywhere. The stars tonight we're unbelievable... maybe the best yet... maybe.

7-29 Wednesday

Baker City, OR to Mt. Vernon, OR - 89.92 miles

Three climbs each averaging 1,200 ft. in climb were to be the extent of our day, followed by a nice downhill into camp: Sumpter Pass, Tipton Pass, & Dixie Pass - 5082ft, 5124ft, & 5277ft respectively. On the elevation profile they look 3 twin peaks, one after another across 30 miles. From the desert that is Baker City, we ascended into the lush forests of the mountains, overlooking lakes and crystal clear rivers.

Just like the last week, it's been getting hotter everyday we get closer to the coast as today was in the high 90's. Apparently Portland is experiencing record highs at this time. Amanda and I decided to take a pit stop for endless fountain drinks at McDonalds. A sweet tail wind carried us the remaining 20 miles as we followed the river right to the campsite, an RV park. I love campgrounds with showers. Mason and I tossed the frisbee around for a while before dinner... I'm going to miss this life as we only have a few days left...

7-28 Tuesday

Brownlee Dam to Baker City, OR - 82 miles

Wow, another blessed morning of Don's Diner, whipping up pancake after power packed pancake. Big day today... we have finally crossed into our final state... Oregon, wow! We could literally see Oregon from our campsite, right across the river.

We made the cross, and almost instaneously did Amanda, Daniella, and Kristen got flats. Apparently by the, "Welcome to Oregon" sign there were these plants with burrs in them that stuck into their tires. I dont know why the guys were lucky but it made for an interesting morning anyway. More incredible views today, from the mountains to the high plains, and back to the desert.

It was almost hard to appreciate the views of the day as our heads were drooped down over our handlebarbags trying to ignore the heat. I felt like a slug for the final 20 miles between the heat and the headwinds but I finally made it into Baker City.

A special thanks to Dustin's mom for sending a box of goodies, the chocolate chip cookies were awesome. We stayed at the Mtn. View Holiday Trav-L-Park por gradis, Thanks so much Carrie!! Man I love showeres at this point, feeling like I scrubbed off a year's worth of road grime.

7-27 Monday

New Meadows, ID to Brownlee Dam - 75.31 miles

Another day of high temps well into the 90's and interesting terrain into the desert. The first half the day was mainly downhill, a long slow sloping grade. Not much to report during the middle of the day, except for the views. Incredible spanses of desert and dry mountains.

While riding, we had the company of millions of locusts that made crunching noises as we rode over them.

I also found an Idaho license plate that is the newest edition to my bike... sweet. We road along the Snake River until the end of Idaho. The river turned into a resevoir where we camped at the bottom of the damn at McCormick Park, one of Idaho Power's Hells Canyon Recreation Facilities just past the Brownlee Dam.

We enjoyed the cool river and lounged by the tents the rest of the day. Once again, the stars were epic!

7-26 Sunday

Grangeville, ID to New Meadows, ID - 89.39

We awoke this morning to thunder storms and the pitter patter of rain on the tent. It was only temporary and nice to listen to for a little while before we crawled out of the tent and were greated by another famous Don's Diner special... pancakes... my favorite. The ride started with a climb to the top of White Bird Hill Summit at an elevation of 4,429 ft.

We cruised down the side of the mountain range all the way into White Bird at 1,518 ft. The rest of the ride on the day was through the Salmon River Canyon, where at one point Chris and I decided to go to the beach... quite literally.

We've been cruising along these gorgeous rivers for days now so we bring along our bathing suits just in case. Unbelievable that this exists in Idaho, very relaxing before we got back on the bikes for another 40 miles! The rest of the day was a climb up to 5,020 ft. into New Meadows.

On into town for endless rootbeers at Subway and soccer and frisbee with Dustin at our campsite, Dorsey Warr Memorial Park, where I also enjoyed some wifi from the tent, awesome.

7-25 Saturday

Grangeville, ID to New Meadows, ID - 89.39 miles

It was a nice cruise into Kooskia where, as we were informed at the restaurant yesterday evening, the town was holding their annual Kooskia Days.

Chris, Dustin and I each had a quart of chocolate milk and a burrito at the local gas station and then pushed on. Other stuck around for the parade. After a 3,000 ft. climb along the Middle Fork Clearwater River Chris and I pulled over for a dip in the river. What a life I'm living where I can just pull over from biking on a hot summer day and take a dip in a cool, clear Idaho river. Thankyou!!

On the road again brought us into Grangeville. Milshakes and Burritos at the Zip Trip and blogging in the city park... I love it! The Grangeville Chamber of Congress hosted a spaghetti dinner for us at the senior center. Incredible!! Thanks again Jeff for helping us raise that money as well as Bev Frost who has MS donated paintings to be auctioned off and the money donated in our honor... Wow!

The dinner was amazing and the company was great. Sleeping in the town park under another blanket of stars.

7-24 Friday

Lolo Hot Springs to Lowell, ID - 94.4 miles

Another big day today on all fronts; new state, new time zone, good climb, killer downhill all afternoon... lot's happening. Woke up to thunderstorms which were loud but brief so it was nice to lay in the tent as the rain poured for a little while. By the time I crawled out of the tent it was partly cloudy and time for a hot shower... RV parks are nice like that. Another 600 feet brought us up to the top of Lolo Pass and across the state line into Idaho... no potatoes here though.

After we took our pictures in front of the sign, we headed across the street to the visitor center were we gratefully drank free hot chocolate and wifi for a few minutes before heading down the mountain. The downhill was sweet, check out dustin's blog for this day to see a sweet downhill video, I took one also but his is better.

We cruised along the Lochsa River all day and at our first stop we ate peach pancakes, (thanks Don & Will) and on top of that I slammed another triple decker. At the end of the day we enjoyed milkshakes at Ryan's Wilderness Inn Cafe thanks to Kevin's Grandma Betty!! The Clearwater National Forest Wild Goose Campground was full so we camped Rambo style on the roadside about 3 miles past Lowell. Thank goodness I didn't get any poisen ivy. The stars were amazing!

7-23 Thursday

Missoula, MT to Lolo Hot Springs - 46.2 miles

Can't thankyou enough Sue Gelber for the rooms at the Days Inn last night!! Sleeping in this morning was a bit unusual and felt odd but we were at ease for at noon we traveled to the Adventure Cycling Association headquaters.

What a welcoming, they were very happy to see us, as we were with them, especially they offered us free ice cream. We took the full tour and heard some great stories of some of the original Transam stories. Then off to the back to have our pictures taken for the wall of pictures in the foyer of all the riders taking the journey this summer. Thanks again for the hospitality and enthusiasm Adventure Cycling, we'll see you next year.

Coincidentally the local news was doing a story on cycling in the area and they happened to interview a couple of us, check it out here! Thanks Jake! The rest of the ride was a climb to Lolo pass. We rode by the only confirmed camping site of Lewis & Clark. Had a blowout with 3 miles left to go. Long day, head wind most of the day and man was it hot... the bank said 101 degrees. Camped by a stream, great views.

7-22 Wednesday

Hamilton, MT to Missoula, MT - 52.51 miles

What a weird setting to waking up in, a bowling alley. Dustin and I were ready to get in a few games, but we figured we better get on the road. Quick stop at McDonalds to hit up the value menu. Road with Chris for a while and then he got a flat. 93 is a scary road and if I can avoid roads like that till the end I'll be a happy camper, doesn't look like much here, but it was something awful.

After we reached Florence we turned onto a bike trail for a few miles, back on the busy road, and on into Missoula. Last night while at the bowling alley, we recieved a tweet from a woman named Susan Gelber. We've never met her before as she had only been following our tweets. She said that she had bought up 3 hotel rooms at the Days Inn in Missoula. Unbelievable!!!

Thank you so much Susan. So I took advantage of a hot shower and some wifi to catch up on my blog. Tomorrow we head to the headquaters of Adventure Cycling who manages the route that we're taking across the country. It'll be neat to meet them and get some free ice cream.

7-21 Tuesday

Wisdom, MT to Hamilton, MT - 73.95 miles

What a day, what a day, and slow to warm up this morning. We climbed our final acent in Montana today which was the highest of the state. From halfway through yesterday until about halfway through today is basically one big valley, atleast in terms elevation profile of the route. I thought for sure we would see a moose today considering our environment on the day.

I haven't decided if this climb was any harder than the rest in Montana but this felt slow. Maybe it was because I wasn't able to get to a triple decker until after the ascent as our first stop was at the top, Chief Joseph Pass (elev. 7241), the continental divide... again. I had to take a moment at the top to realize what a way to spend the summer this was and this moment was a real high. Hanging out with good people on the top of a mountain in Montana, triple decker in hand and chocolate milk in the other, thankyou!

The downhill was sweeet. I got some great footage, a bit bouncy which annoys me but you get the flavor of what it's like to drop down a mountain with another rider at 40 mph, drafting and using each other as a slingshot. Unbelievable suprise at the end of the day in Hamilton..... Leana's bestfriends' family from growing up, Jan and Nancy, own the Bitterroot Valley Lanes, a bowling alley in Hamilton.

As soon as we got off our bikes we were generously greeted with food, drink and beyond our wildest dreams, free bowling all night long with the whole building to ourselves. When we grew tired and our arms heavy, we laid down right there next to the lanes and went to sleep... I dreamt of the perfect 300 game. (Thanks so much for your generosity)

7-20 Monday

Dillon, MT to Wisdom, MT - 69.3 miles

Beautiful morning, clear skies and moderate temperature, made for a very enjoyable ride... until the two 1,500 ft climbs. They were like the climbs of the east, tough. It's cool though, they made for some great downhills.

Another triple decker sandwhich carried Chris and I to both peaks. I must warn anyone attempting to try these sandwhiches, they're very powerful and could send you to the top of a mountain... which you must decend from at 40 mph. Stayed at the American Legion Memorial Park. The sunset was unbelievable, like painted brush strokes in every direction of all colors. The mosquitoes were terrible though, terrible.

7-19 Sunday

Ennis, MT to Dillon, MT - 71.81 miles

Another great day of riding, slow in the morning though. Big climb to start off. 2,000 ft climb over 10 miles so a nice challenge to say the least. It felt like the climbs of Virginia. Looking back from the pass, the valley was dreamlike as the heavens poured sun on the mountain that we just descended from into the valley while storm clouds resided on either side of us.

Another famous triple decker sandwhich carried me to the top and through till the end of the day. We passed a decent size biker gang on our way into Dillon, MT.

We stayed at a KOA which isn't exactly roughing it but it sure is nice to get some laundry done, take a shower, and

hit up some wifi. I pitched my tent next to the sweet river that was beside our site which was nice to wake up to.

7-18 Saturday

West Yellowstone, MT to Ennis, MT - 71.6 miles

This might have been the fastest and easiest feeling 70 miles yet. Perhaps it was the triple decker deluxe that has now become the standard meal at the first stop. The recipe: 2 slices of wheat bread -> spread peanut butter on 2 slices -> honey and m&m's on one slice with the peanut butter -> raisens on the other -> rasberry jam on the third slice -> mash together and consume -> energy for the rest of the day. Montana has unbelievable scenery with epic valleys and snow crested mountains surroundings us at al times. I felt like I was riding through the set of a River Runs Through It.

Sweet little camping spot beside a river where some of us bathed before heading to the grocery store to stock up. The highlight of the day for me though was watching the softest side of Kevin I've ever seen. This video can only help with the ladies Kevin!

7-17 Friday

Canyon Campground to Bakers Hole Campground in West Yellowstone, MT - 48.22 miles

Well we finally had to say farewell to our three friends from the east; Freda, Lisa, and Mellissa. It was great riding with you girls this past week and we wish you safe travels onto San Francisco. We walked the catwalk at the Norris Basin and saw a bunch of geysers and hot springs and even the world's largest geyser, the Steamboat geyser.

Man it was hot walking around there. While taking the tour we had the pleasure of meeting a couple curious in our ride as the woman had MS. As we continued down the road there again was another ruckus of cars scattered precariously along the road, observing this.

Although I will miss Yellowstone, I was anxious to finally arrive in Montana.

West Yellowstone is a neat town immediately over the border in Montana. Some people went to the bike shop for some repairs, which I have to say might have been the best bike shop yet, not because of what supplies they had but the man that worked there... a legend. Dustin and I had a top ten milkshake at the Eagles Currios. Three more miles up the road brought us to Baker's Hole Campground.