Location: Camped by Dillon Reservoir, Frisco, Colorado The temperatures last night did not fall as I suspected them to do. I stayed warm in my 35̊ sleeping bag, and I even sweated a bit on my chest. The wind blew hard, but the heat stayed trapped in my tent and I was comfortable through the […]
Archives for September 2014
Biking through Colorado Part II – Bike Across America Day 35
Location: Camped by Blue River, seven miles south of Heeney, CO I hid from the sunlight this morning and refused to climb out of my sleeping bag into the cold. I probably would have slept until noon, but Brian shouted for me to wake up. I reluctantly crawled on the dirt into the cold and […]
Biking through Colorado – Bike Across America Day 34
Location: Sawmill Gulch outside Granby, CO The rain poured so hard last night that I felt as though I were inside a snare drum. The rattle of raindrops on my rain fly rattled so loudly and constantly that I had to put in my earplugs to dull the noise. Once I had done that, I […]
Some sketchy locals before cycling into Encampment, Wyoming – Bike Across America Day 33
Location: Walden, CO (Walden City Park) I say every time I write in my journal that I rose early this morning. Today, though, I rose really early. The sun had not yet peeked above the mountaintops, but its light shined brightly off wisps of clouds, reflecting brilliant colors of pink, orange, and gold in the […]
Biking on the Interstate in Wyoming – Bike Across America Day 32
Location: Saratoga, WY (Saratoga Lake) I didn’t sleep well last night because of the raucous from Interstate 80 traffic. The RV Park and campsite advertised that is was the quietest in town. I can’t compare it to other sites, but it wasn’t quiet by any definition of the word. The noise from the trucks and […]
Cycling into Rawlins Wyoming – Bike Across America Day 31
Location: Rawlins, WY (Western Hills Campground) I slept like a rock in Frank’s yard, and I buried myself so deeply in my sleeping bag that I slept too late. By the time I woke, Brian had packed, gone to the gas station down the street, and was polishing off a box of Fruit Loops. I […]
Cycling through Wyoming backcountry – Bike Across America Day 30
Location: Muddy Gap, WY (Franks house) Brian and I rose early this morning after a restful night in Lander City Park. Dew had settled on the green grass in the cold dawn, so my sleeping bag was damp. We dried our gear in the warm sunshine while we ate breakfast, and then we went to […]
Serendipitously meeting Schwinn with broken down bike – Bike Across America Day 29
Location: Lander, WY (Lander City Park) My sleeping bag failed to keep me warm last night. Early in the dark morning, I woke up to freezing feet. I pulled my rain jacket around my feet, and that warmed them up a little. I didn’t sleep well the remainder of the night. When the sun came […]
Cycling through Grand Tetons – Bike Across America Day 28
Location: Dubois, WY (Lava Mountain Lodge) Last night at an unknown hour in the middle of the black Wyoming night, a rain cloud opened up on me as I slept in the open. I didn’t wake up from the cold rain falling. I couldn’t or hear the drops on my sleeping bag. Instead, I heard […]
Cycling through Yellowstone Park Part II – Bike Across America Day 27
Location: Yellowstone (Lewis Lake Campground) Having slept in the open, I slept better last night than on many other nights. The air was always fresh and the sky clear. The temperatures dropped to near freezing, and I cinched my mummy bag tight around my face so just my nose and mouth were exposed. I stayed […]