California and Nevada…that’s all folks

El Fin. That’s right. I’m done. 3,200+ miles in a little less than a month and a half. I’m actually sitting outside the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas right now waiting on the fountains to get started for the noon show. My dad and I are checking out some sights on the way back (Hoover is next!).

But, to get back to the point I’ve first got to mention a few of the more interesting things from previous entries that I’ve left out. First off, in the middle of nowhere Utah without a person in sight I saw a huge tarantula crossing the road. Of course I stopped and took a few pics, (fountains just started) but it was one huge spider. The other thing I forgot to mention was my only run in with vandals, i.e., kids. I went to the public library in Maybell, CO, the little town where they skin antelope in the park, and while I was in using their only public computer, some kids (I think they were kids) decided they would tamper with my rig. They poured the water out of my bottles and stuffed leaves down the black water bottle and, no joke, urinated in the clear one. Now, the reason I’m pretty sure they were kids is because if they’d had more life experience they would’ve known to take a leak in the black one and leave the clear one alone (it makes you think of Dumb n’ Dumber doesn’t it…remember the dog mobile and the cop).

The statue show at Ceasar’s Palace just started, but I’m going to get to the last two states here in a sec. California and Nevada were two of the most scenic yet. As I previously mentioned, I actually started in California and went back to just East of Ely, 30 miles West of the Utah/Nevada border. Berkeley and San Francisco were two amazing cities. Berkeley I’m going to call the perfect college town--tons of restaurants, tons of street vendors, and the most amazing campus I’ve seen (not for flatlanders). San Francisco was way too cool to pack into a single day, but we did it. We rode the cable car a couple of times, went to the Fisherman’s wharf and visited the sea lions of Pier 39, ate cow stomach noodles for dinner in china town, and saw the golden gate bridge and Alcatraz from a distance. I also went to the huge REI there for some climbing gear.

The sealions with San Fran in the background

Now as for the riding…it was pretty sweet as well. The first day in Cali was incredibly flat coming out of San Fran. I rode South out of Oakland through a crazy number of little towns which were so intertwined it was difficult to tell it wasn’t all the same. After getting through the cities, most of the riding was through fruit farms. At night after a 100 mile day I had a little fit of the chills, but after a Taco Bell burrito (dad’s idea) I was 100% the next day which turned out to be a really good thing. I knew the valley had to end, but why it had to end in switchbacks going up roughly 3,000 ft in a few miles I have no clue. At the top at the gas station I stopped at 3 or 4 different people came up and said something to the effect of “I can’t believe you just did that,” and neither could I. It was the steepest “long” hill I climbed. Dad and I took the next day off in Yosemite (saw half done, el capitan, a dry Yosemite falls, etc.), and the following day I climbed the remaining 5,000+ ft out of the park over Tioga pass. I knew all the climbing wasn’t a total shaft when I got to the top and started down. A 12 mile downhill with nothing but a cliff on one side and a shear drop on the other for wiggle room was a pure adrenaline rush. Just on the other side of the park was mono lake, a pretty huge parti-colored lake surrounded at least on one side by a pumice moonscape crafted by the nearby volcanoes.

Dad in front of halfdome at Yosemite

Nevada, the final state, was significantly more mountainous that I would have previously imagined. Regular veins of mountains seem to come through the state every 50 miles or so going West to East, and I probably crossed 10 passes that were 6,000 ft or higher, with 5 of those being above 7,000 ft. The first night in Nevada we actually camped out just below an 8,000 ft pass and when we woke up the inside of the tent, the car, my bike, and everything else was covered in a layer of ice. My cheap thermometer said low 20’s when we finally got out of the tent and started making breakfast. I decided to ride the state without my trailer, and as a result my longest day was 125 miles, which included four 6,000 ft passes.

Nevada is nothin but desert/plains and mountains

Final Thoughts

I’m glad I did it. I set out with a goal; I figured a month of nothing but time to think would be sufficient for me to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. It hasn’t been, and I don’t think any amount of time would be. However, what I’ve managed to do instead is grow an amazing beard and go for extremely long periods of time without showering, two things I’ve wanted to do for a while. No joke though, this trip has been about little things and not life changing meditation sessions. It’s been about the people I’ve met, the places I’ve seen, and the experiences I’ve had that are going to continue to drive me to do more similar things. And even though I’m still clueless as to which direction my life is heading in, I’ve at least got a few more stories to tell about where it’s been.

The Final shot 

p.s. If anyone is wondering, I think the next trip involves a motorcycle ride through Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas (three states I’d still like to see more of), and then continuing on down through Mexico, and then… Let me know if you’re interested or have any ideas. 

Utah…mother nature guards her borders well

October 5, 2008 to October 9, 2008 

 I came into Utah during the tail end of a rain storm, and I just left it ahead of a killer cold front that is currently on its way. My first day in Utah was actually a half day. I’d been riding through spotty showers for the previous two days in Colorado and figure I was through when as I was nearing the visitor center a dark cloud just opened up. In the mile it took me to get to the visitor center everything below my waste (I had the rainjacket on) got soaked. Lucky for me the visitor center had a candy bowl with a bunch of sugar daddies and great restrooms with those obnoxious Xcelerator hand dryers which just happen to be great for drying clothes off. Needless to say that within an hour I was dry and on my way. I spent my first night in Utah in Vernal in a park right next to the police station (recommended by the cops of course).

Entering Utah (Western Utah was amazing)

The next day I took a short, 75 mile ride and went from Vernal to a little rest area on the other side of Duchesne which is definitely not pronounced the way it looks. Ten miles before I got there a super friendly black Lab (the dog) began following me and chased me all the way there. Don’t ever try and outrun one of those things. Even when I was going 20+ mph downhill he was right with me. I spent the night on a concrete table top which with the temperature in the upper 20’s was pretty cool (body heat can’t heat up a concrete slab).

On the way to Provo I went through the Provo canyon (incredible!)

After the previous short day, I climbed my third highest pass at 8,020 ft and ended 102 miles further West in Payson, where my dad and I camped at the local park. My dad and I actually met in the Provo visitor center--Provo being home to America’s largest private college, Brigham Young University. For dinner I had a peanut butter sandwich, but to wash it down I had an amazing cup of hot green tea…delicious!

I hope they don't actually swim here (that is for sure snow)

The final full day in Utah was pretty amazing. I rode 112 miles which included a 6,000 something (who’s counting at this point?) foot pass. At the top of the pass I stopped at a gas station and as I was leaving the attendant seriously said to me “Be careful, I hope you don’t get hit by a car.” Just not something you wanna say to a guy getting passed by hundreds of cars (or tens in Western Utah) a day.

A tarantula I saw on the road in Utah and chased after for a pic, haha

The final day in Utah was ridden entirely on the “loneliest road,” Hwy 6/50. Check out a map; that’s what it’s called. I rode for 83 miles on it and passed little more than a few cows grazing near the road, and it continues like that all the way through Nevada (the fun ahead!!). However, due to 25 mph head winds (you try riding across a plain with that kind of winds if you don’t believe they suck) and a cold front that sent temperatures into the teens, we’ve (my dad and I) driven to San Francisco, CA for a little hiatus; it was either stay in San Fran for a few days or stay in Ely, NE for a few days. I drove through last night, and we got to Berkeley at 4:00, with enough time for a few hours of shut-eye at the first gas station we saw. I’ve already checked out Berkeley which can be summed up with a word…beautiful. They have a concert every Friday in the commons area outside the food court, and today it just happened to be some alt. rock band. An alternative rock band… Who does that? Anyway, tomorrow is San Fran, and then the plan is to head back through Yosemite towards where I left off on Sunday. Only 600 something miles left to go!!!

Colorado Part II - Mountains and Dinosaurs

Fort Collins turned out to be a great time. I ended up getting to meet with Bryan Willson, the head of CSU's engine lab, among other things, and getting a tour of their amazing facilities. They have some huge engines and so many different things going on that it was hard not to get some drop-jaw. After the tour, I met with Dr. Marchese, a new prof. who I am seriously going to consider working with. Other than seeing the engine lab, I also had time to go check out all three of Fort Collins breweries and spend a very satisfying afternoon working on my bike at the bike co-op. The place is amazing. They have little workbenches with every tool you could want, and all you have to do is be willing to do a little work. For our last meal Chek and I make a killer pot of pasta and an entire skillet full of sauce which we managed to kill.

After three days of relaxing in Fort Collins, CO with Fedor, it was time to go. I headed out early in the morning after a breakfast of raisin bran (how I've missed cereal). The first 40 miles or so up the Poudre canyon weren't so bad, but the last 20 miles of the climb were pretty rough. What had begun as a great day turned further and further south the higher I got. By the time I reached the top of Cameron Pass at 10,200 ft., it was raining and it couldn't have been much warmer than 40. I ended up throwing all my clothes on for the descent to Gould. In Gould I ate 2 corndogs at the only shop in town and waited a few minutes for Chek to get there. We camped out in a field just half a mile from Hwy 14. A few old plates, some charcoal, and a few attempts later we had a great fire going which we milked for at least an hour, just chilling. Sometime that night, Chek woke me up after apparently hearing some huge truck, and he later made the weirdest moaning sound during a nightmare (you had to be there).

Riding by the Poudre River on the way to Cameron Pass

Cameron Pass, the highest point of the trip

For breakfast we cooked pop tarts over the fire and later had a cup of coffee in the next town down the road. The morning ride was incredible; it was flat and the scenery was second to none. For that matter, the mountains and Poudre canyon were absolutely amazing (pictures to follow sometime). I climbed Rabbit Ears pass at 9,400 ft to finish the conquest of my two tallest passes of the trip. Again, rain and wind made the approach to rabbit ears awful, but the 8 mile 3,000 vertical foot downhill after the fact made it all worth it. The night Chek and I spent in Steamboat Springs, a pretty famous resort town. It was First Friday so we had to stuff our faces on free cheese, crackers, and veggies. Oh how I love artwalks... After we spent the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot and had a huge cinnamon roll at Wynonna's, chek headed back to Fort Collins and I took off toward the west.

Chek and I in front of the famous cinnamon roll dive in Steamboat Springs

I spent a night in Maybell, CO, one of the weirdest places I've ever been. It's a little town of maybe 100 or so with a shop, a gas station, and a public park. It's the park that astonished me. The first thing I noticed when I rode in was the three or four antelope that were hung up in the process of being gutted and cleaned. haha. It was like being at a UT football game; orange and RV's everywhere. Gotta love huntin country.

Just outside of Maybell (this really means no cars)

My final day in CO (I spent 6 days total riding through the state) I went by Dinosaur National Park. Though I didn't go in, the scenery just driving by on Hwy 14 was pretty cool. Later in the day, in Utah, I got soaked when one of the clouds I'd been riding under for 2 days decided it was finally time to open up on me. Oh yeah, and the temperature has fallen from 80's to 60's. No worries though, I still made it to Vernal, Utah, where I went to Jubilee grocery store and ate 2 full slices of german chocolate cake that had been left out as free samples. I slept in a park right next to the police station recommended by the police (there wasn't a shelter, but it luckily didn't rain).

My dad is joining me either tonight or tomorrow, and I'm pretty stoked. He's got a stove, so there are hopefully going to be some warm breakfasts pretty soon. Have a great day!