The River

We rode across the river at 7 a.m. and like all the rivers I've seen along my trip, it was flooded. Not as bad as it could have been, but the locals said it was over roads just three days before we got there.

Garrett and Matt's adventures.

Today, I woke up on the banks of the Mississippi river; a place I felt peaceful sleeping until a train would blare it's horn 50 ft. from my sleepy eyes. I am enjoying Garrett's company on this section of the country. We are attempting to cross Illinois in 2 days in order to make the 550 mi. ride to Coshocton, OH in 5 days; just in time for the fourth of July.
We are both feeling healthy, perhaps the recent visits to food buffets have helped with that, we are addicted to eating. The key for getting 100+ mi a day has been taking a break every 10mi and having a good lunch; on top of early morning starts and late evening rides. The first three days we rode together after meeting in Abilene, KS consisted of night rides. We weighed the danger of night riding with the 100 degree heat, and decided to ride at night.
Both of us are talking to everybody we see in order to find our local information about camping, routes, eating, weather and inform them about the reason we ride, and hopefully inspire them to ride.

In Topeka, KS we ventured towards the capitol building and stumbled upon a frisbee dog show happening; then we toured the building, utilizing the internet and air conditioning. Shortly after we headed towards the HillCrest pool where we had a fun time. I stood in line at the diving board and made friends with 5 or so of the local kids who were playing a game of "fetch the comb from the bottom of the pool". I played along for a short time until I realized I had 50mi. to ride afterwards and I would need all my energy for the hills of eastern Kansas.

Some of the few "white guys" at the pool, with very trendy tan lines.

Missouri was over in 2.5 days.

Matt is somewhere in the upper portion of the "Show Me State". He's still riding with Garrett who I believe may join him all the way east. He's been pushing 120 mile days riding from what sounds like sun up to sun down in extreme heat.
His goal is to get to Ohio (my dad's) by July 4th. From there he'll spend a day or two before continuing on over the Appalachians.

~Elle

Kansas and a Broken Wheel

After leaving Russell I found myself with a broken wheel. I have a new one now, after arriving near K-State to find a shop who would replace this one. I had worn through the rim prior to the trip. I'm happy I was not stranded, instead, I found a friend, Garrett to ride with to Manhattan, KS. More to come.


My great Uncle Jim and his housemate Patty. I stayed a night with them in Russell, KS. I ate very well, thanks to Patty; she made a roast, with potatoes from the yard. Delicious.


My great Aunt Kathleen and great Uncle Father Jim in Russell, KS.

Midwest

I received the full experience at this pig/lamb show for the 4-H in McCook, Nebraska. Not only did they show pigs for the judge, but they served pulled pork sandwiches for $3. What a deal. I passed on the offer.



John on the left owns Swinging Bridge ranch, and his friend from Maryland Country is working on it for a bit, although he lives in Oklahoma. These two kept me occupied for 2 days and 3 nights in Nebraska. I never would have thought.
I was headed to the local fairgrounds to camp when John spotted me and immediately offered to buy me dinner and allow me to camp at his ranch. From then on it was fun, and I want to return to the small region of Imperial/Champion Nebraska. I had a hard time leaving these two friends, who I bonded with in a brotherly way, I never imagined could occur in such a place. My opinion of Nebraska is forever changed.
Have no fear, nebraska is here. I had a blast in this state. Shocked? Visit Swinging Bridge Ranch and you'll understand.

The West is the Best

My Uncle Tim in Fort Collins is a firefighter, and we met before I paddled. Local officials had two deaths in the river so far, and he informed me of the safety I needed. Also, my mom's honda with a boat on the roof. Living the day.


Section I paddled below Ouzel and about Poudre Park at 5,000 cfs. Fun day, 2 trips and this was the stretch along the second one I did alone. High water, fun birthday.

Rental kayak on the Poudre River June 14 @ 5,000 cfs

A birthday of pecan pie and beer, was perfect for me. I enjoyed my day, and had a large turnout for a party at my mom's house. She cooked an excellent BBQ for everyone, and Laura made the pecan pie.

Javier was one of the best characters I've met yet, and Butch was 15 min. ahead of him, and very exciting to talk to. Javier was Spanish from the Canary Islands. He spoke broken English but dominated the conversation. Great people.


This is me with Butch, a 63 yr.old who was riding the divide from Mexico to Canada. He had already rode cross country a couple years back. He lives in Cape Cod, Mass.


Cameron Pass was the easier pass I had to lead me out of the Rocky Mtns and descend into Fort Collins.


This was outside of Yellowstone, and I had some people cheer me at the top and take my picture.







Greeley Blues Festival was enjoyed with Todd (left) and Chris (right).

Hello everyone...
Matthew is now in Nebraska. He met some conservationist who has hired him for a day or two. I'll leave the details to him. Just thought you all would like to know he is doing well and making some traveling cash.
:) ~e


p.s. I can't wait to see his face again.

On the road

Along the wind River, as it was pumping along.

Paisley, OR via Red House Rd. to hwy 392 was a dirty ride for 25+ mi. One-handed made it more exciting, and I enjoyed the countryside.

Colorado

I made it into Colorado safely. I'm enjoying time off the bicycle. After riding twenty days straight, I made it into Windsor in time for dinner on 6/11. It was awesome making the ride down the Poudre Canyon, and I have a chance to paddle the river on Sunday. I'm hanging out it Colorado until tuesday, so I have opportunities to relax with family and friends plus watch World Cup soccer.

Matthew left a message today and was in Rawlins, WY. He plans on being in Ft. Collins, Co to celebrate his birthday with his family on Monday :)

~Elle

Wind River Range, Wy

Riding from Dubois, WY into Lander, Wy was beautiful. I felt like shit, but hey the sun was out, and I had a chance to dry my stuff out from the two rainy nights before. Life is good, beer is better.

Cold Day

The morning after Yellowstone, I woke up to rain in Grand Teton NP, everything was wet. I had to ride, and so I did; with grocery bags around my feet and all my rain gear on. I got really wet that day, and then road up this snowy road which took me up to 9,200 ft. It was miserable. The hardest day yet. I rode uphill for 15 mi in the rain, only to find snow covered mountains at the top. Today I'm in Lander, WY feeling sick. I will push on. I choose to ride!

Old Faithy

Trent and Terry told me how Old Faithful wasn't going every hour like she used to, and when I waited for it to go off, the other 150 people had no patience to see it happen. Even though she's not as faithful as she once was, she still erupted like nothing I'd ever seen. Then I erupted away from all those people who had RV's, which kept them out of the rain! not cool.

Yellowstone!

The road from Ashton, ID to Yellowstone NP was full of rain. It finally let up when I made it to the park. When I got to the campground at Madison, everybody had RV's except this guy. His name was Matt, and he was from Minnesota. He quit his job of 10 years as a computer geek and sold everything to travel. We bonded in the rain. He has no stove, and little experience in the outdoors but he has a good attitude. We had rain the whole night, and when I woke, the sun came out. I got this picture in the morning before we said goodbye. Good luck compute Matt!

Trent and Terry, Ashton, ID

These folks were so nice, they treated me like their own child. Of course, I met them at the local saloon, and forced them to let me stay. They had a spare bedroom, and liked to take in travelers like myself. Thank you Terry and Trent.
Trent met me in Island Park, 20mi uphill from Ashton and I got one last picture. Trent is a great guy.

Craters of the Moon, Idaho

The night after meeting JMC's aunt, uncle, cousin and dog; I pushed 100+miles to Craters of the Moon National Monument. Here I am camping of some dirt road the park employee told me to go to; after I payed him 4 dollars for what I thought was camping. That day is over, and I'm greatful. The next day I rode 120mi to Ashton, OR; just south of Yellowstone.

Jordan Maya Conrad's Family, mine too:)

After leaving Oregon, I made my way to the Given's hot springs; perfect. The next day I made it through alot of Idaho, and was climbing a mountain pass at about the 90th mile of the day when I heard someone call my name. It was JMC's aunt and uncle driving back from yellowstone! We talked for a bit, and it felt really good to see someone I knew in the middle of the desert. I told them the next time I see them I would beat them in cards; they were understanding.

Oregon was full of mountains; who would have known? I climbed them, and then rode down them, all with glee. This one was part of my 120mi day from Burns to Vale, OR. That evening I slept at the local fairgrounds.

This was camp in Paisley, OR. After having beers at the local saloon, I was offered free dinner by the bartender because he liked me. I took him up on his offer, and after food I found myself fast asleep at this campsite by the river. Good stuff, better stuff when I received a package from Elle at the post office the next day. It had coffee and dried food from Humboldt, which got me through the rest of Oregon. I love you Elle:)

This pass, humbled me. I camped soon after. This was at the end of the day when Ed's pulled pork sandwich got my stomach twisted up. Glad that's over.

After K-falls, I headed toward Paisley, OR; and on the way I met Ed. He ran a BBQ stand out of a trailer called "Hillbilly Ed's BBQ". I had a sandwich. We had a conversation. He seemed lonely, but sure liked me.
Meanwhile, his sandwich got me sick, and I had a long way to Lakeview,OR the next day.

This road got me out of California into Oregon, you can see the Klamath river on the top right. The dirt road followed the river for 25-30 mi. I'm glad that's over. I made it to Klamath falls that night and stayed with some friends.

Update

Posting from home base as Matthew has not been near a computer in a while...
As of yesterday June 4th, he had traveled 1,000 miles and was entering West Yellowstone!
He will be posting his encounters and experiences when he can, but for those of you wondering
where he is and if he's alive....I thought I'd update you. He is in great spirits as always and says
he looks like a biking creature with sunburn stripes.

~Elle