Yes... just two more days to go!
This blog will be updated in the coming days. Want my readers to finish my trip also.
And there will be more about the result of our charity ride... Suspense for those who do not know it yet.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
August 9th: Torrey...adore
The most amazing thing about cycling in Utah is the changing scenery. In the morning you cycle in high altitude country - three hours later we reach red country.The cold front that came in is almost gone again, which makes the morning not as cold as we thought it would be. This means that after cycling two miles we are ready to take out the upper layers of our clothes. Especially knowing that a small climb is coming up. Yes, back to that top of two days ago. But this time it's an easy climb. A deer is standing in the woods, watching us. Comes the screaming (yes, this time Sofie is also screaming) 4 mile donwhill to UT 25. Seeing where we came from two days ago makes us proud!
My days cycling in the USA with the company "Cycle America" has taught me vocabulary about roadways: a rolling downhill would be the appropriate term for the road to Loa. Calling it a great rollercoaster in green surroundings will fit the description also. Anyways, it ends with another 8% downhill where my speed reaches 70 km/hrs of speed. Yes, on the bicycle! Once in the town of Loa the scenery changes from green bushes to green farmland. We choose to cycle the shorter option to Bicknell, even if that means we might encounter a nasty dog chasing us. I cannot help noticing how some farms look deserted - the crows adding to the picture.
The town of Bicknell would have been our pit stop - but it is sunday and the gas station is closed. Too bad for Sofie, who is desperate and finds a spot further down the road. Now, the green is out of the picture and red rocks are abundant. In the far distance the Henry mountains are visible. What a view!
The hosts of the 1000 Lakes RV campground are very friendly. Since the price of a cabin or a campsite is almost the same and since they do not want you to camp on their lovely grass, we take a cabin, with a view on the red rocks. This is so totally different from the morning.
We still have plenty of time to explore the small town of Torrey: this was once the hide out for Butch Cassidy. Also, Anthony has his church here! I am so eager to visit Capitol Reef National Park. Cannot resist a preview!
On sundays the campground does not offer dinner - a hamburger at a new dinner (style sixties) is okay (the style does not fit in this surroundings, I think).
August 8th: relaxing!
Wonderful - that's what Fish Lake looks like at midnight when a full moon is shining on the water. The reflection of the light makes the lake look like a brilliant diamond. Although it was cold at midnight, I was glad to see this. It made me feel special.
Of course, we slept in this morning, since we had nothing planned. Well, it was 8 o'clock when we decided to crawl from under the blankets. Sofie turned on the heather a bit but soon it got too warm.
We decided to have breakfast a mile from our place - still along the lake, at Bowery Heaven Resort. The hot oatmeal (the first on this trip) filled my stomach all the way.
We weren't going to do any heavy cycling after yesterday - just some spinning around. We toured to the end of the lake and a little bit beyond that. Traffic was very light and we enjoyed nature around us. I guess only fishermen take this sideroad to Fish Lake.
Sofie decided to clean her bicycle in the afternoon, while I searched for a spot away from the cold wind, in the sun, with a view on the lake. Life can be so simple!
We had our dinner at the lodge again. The busy squirrel from last night was out... Tomorrow we are on the road again.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
August 7th: Yesssssss!
THE DAY!!!
This is IT!!!
Anyone who has ever reached the top of a tough climb, has reached any kind of goal... you know what it feels like!
Getting up was already the first difficult job. The breakfast at JB's is not really that exciting nor healthy, but I managed to eat lots of fresh fruit. Next problem was leaving the hotel. Somehow we never got registered in the hotel computer...maybe we stayed here for free! Would that be great: two free nights! Two persons kept searching for some evidence of our checking in, but they did not succeed.
The first part of the ride is back to Sigurd. This flat stretch runs along farmlands. Close to the small village we notice a deer stuck in the barbed wire. I was already looking for a car to stop and help us getting the animal out of there, but luckily it could get away by itself. I kept wondering if it was hurt...
Numbers on this ride are very important to me: it keeps my brain focused on something different. Scenery on this ride is not so wild - especially not in the beginning. Farmland changes into woods on the first climb. After reaching the top the downhill brings you into open country with lots of sage bushes. Way ahead - if you know where to look - you can see the road climbing again. The last four miles are the most beautiful ones: the view is astonishing. The elevation now is 2686 meters: meadows and aspen trees are abundant. The dominant color of the day is green - all kinds of green!
The wind, you are asking me, well it was mostly a headwind, but somehow that did not bother me too much since I knew that the last 9 miles would be tailwinds then! Yes, we were blown up UT 25 and that made up for the pedaling on the downhill earlier during the day.
During the whole day there is not one house along the road. Luckily, somewhat more than halfway, there is a rest stop with water! A great life saver, a bit scary too since there is hardly anyone around there! A great rest stop... just before the steepest climbing of 10%.
"Crazy to do this", Sofie says... but what an accomplishment! "Never again...", she says! A novice in cycling touring and she climbed 1350 meters on one day - what a hell of a good job!
The view of the lake, after going over the top, is awesome. We have a cabin at Fish Lake Lodge for two nights. This is a primitive wooden building but it has all we want. Once off the bike my quads are already getting sore. I wonder if I'll feel it tomorrow!
August 6th: Is it a game?
Sofie is feeling a bit better and this means I can drag her to all the shops in Richfield. Relaxing is what I call this! The dollar shop and K-mart are first. Spending traveller cheques in K-mart is becoming difficult with their new register. This time they cannot figure out how to get the machine to read my cheque. In the end I need to turn to Wal-mart and luckily I manage to get rid of the already signed cheque while buying postcards. A library visit is another must do this: reading email. The wind is blowing today at 80 km/hr - it feels as if 100 persons are using a hairdryer. No whining though because another cold front is coming in - hopefully the wind will then come from the north which means a tailwind on our ride to Fish Lake. With this hard ride in mind we do not do any vigorous activity - watching the movie "Artificial Intelligence" is just what we need.
Monday, August 31, 2009
August 5th: Electricity all around...
I feel excited today: from this point forward it is as if we enter a part of Utah the way it is supposed to be - some red rocks, dry and looking a bit like a desert.
Breakfast at the café takes longer than I expected, but we still manage to leave Manti early enough to cycle the first part of the route in the somewhat cooler morning air. Sofie blasts away - I can hardly keep up with her pace and decide to let her go. I enjoy the view of the reservoir and the barren grey hill behind it. In GUNnison we cycle along the central Utah prison - kind of eerie! Road work in Axtell forces us to make a detour to Redmond. Yes, this is the place where the Real Salt originates from. At one point I speed up to get away from the bee which is annoying me by circulating around me. On to Salina where a slice of pizza from the gas station serves as my lunch. From here it's a boring 20 miles to Richfield and I do my best to find distractions along the road. There are the two longhorn cows and I wonder if they are the same ones of last year. I see the Fish Lake plateau in the distance and wonder how the ride will be... I'm slowly catching Sofie who's speed is dropping while the temperature is rising, the grade is getting a bit steeper and the wind is blowing a bit stronger. The bridge of the Interstate is a welcome shady place, but we know we cannot linger here too long. The red mountain to our right is fascinating at first, but after looking at it for more than 30 minutes the wow is gone! At last we reach the rather big town of Richfield. A room in the Comfort Inn offers us the possibility to cool off. I still feel very energetic and I drag Sofie to Wal-Mart. A sudden stomach ache sends Sofie back to the hotel. After my shopping I know things are not right: a dust wall is approaching from the south! This means lots of wind and the black sky brings rain or even worse ... thunderstorm. I try to run to the hotel, but one block short of it I have to seek cover for the lightning, wind and rain. Guess I couldn't find a safer spot: an electric appliance shop with TVs and computers, but also furniture to relax in. The door of the shop is thrown open and closed by the wind, the TVs and computer flicker off and on when power is lost and turned on again. The saleswoman wonders if she needs to turn them all of and she also offers me something to drink. Luckily the storm is short and after only 10 minutes or so I dare to go outside again. I notice the police is now leading the traffic around a cable which is lying on the street. A vision of cables trying to grab people sparks up in my imagination... I wonder how Sofie did in the hotel room...did the window hold??? I find her still in bed, still sick. Time for me to relax also while viewing the Little House on the Prairie... The soup and bagel form Albertsons is a great evening dinner for me.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
August 4th: A fight with a Mc.Flurry with m&m's
Today the members of the volleyball team at home started their first practise and I couldn't resist to tease them a little and send a text message, wishing them good luck being sore!
Today US 89 was our route again, this time going south as this is the main direction of our trip.
After the 2nd mile, Sofie was already 500 meters ahead of me. Suddenly three young men on bicycles passed me and I decided to draft them... We flew by Sofie who was too amazed too jump on the train. Almost in Mt. Pleasant (again the mountain!) I let them go and waited for Sofie. This town is rather big - it even has a Family Dollar which we had to check out: they still sell the same goods, but at least the shop was arranged somewhat different.
The roadsurface to Ephraim, a college town, was chipsealed. We had another Mc. Donalds event in this town: I went for the coke float while Sofie chose the Mc. Flurry with m&m's.
The ride to Manti was easy for me, altough the heat was building and the air became hot. I heard some yelling in Manti and noticed a swimming pool! That looked like fun, I thought, until Sofie joined me. She had a fight with the Mc. Flurry along the road and didn't feel that well. A cool room helped. And instead of going swimming in nice cold water, we trotted to the laundromat, where it's usually hot.
The valley we cycled through today is known for Mormon Pioneer towns. Manti even has a big white tabernacle towering on a hill.
That evening we updated our adventures with NCIS, on TV.
Today US 89 was our route again, this time going south as this is the main direction of our trip.
After the 2nd mile, Sofie was already 500 meters ahead of me. Suddenly three young men on bicycles passed me and I decided to draft them... We flew by Sofie who was too amazed too jump on the train. Almost in Mt. Pleasant (again the mountain!) I let them go and waited for Sofie. This town is rather big - it even has a Family Dollar which we had to check out: they still sell the same goods, but at least the shop was arranged somewhat different.
The roadsurface to Ephraim, a college town, was chipsealed. We had another Mc. Donalds event in this town: I went for the coke float while Sofie chose the Mc. Flurry with m&m's.
The ride to Manti was easy for me, altough the heat was building and the air became hot. I heard some yelling in Manti and noticed a swimming pool! That looked like fun, I thought, until Sofie joined me. She had a fight with the Mc. Flurry along the road and didn't feel that well. A cool room helped. And instead of going swimming in nice cold water, we trotted to the laundromat, where it's usually hot.
The valley we cycled through today is known for Mormon Pioneer towns. Manti even has a big white tabernacle towering on a hill.
That evening we updated our adventures with NCIS, on TV.
August 3rd: It's not really Electric lake, but...
Wham, last evening I fell asleep at 8.30 pm! In the middle of the night I heard some banging on the door next to our room, but I did not peek out the window to look what was happening. Sofie slept through all of that noise!
The oatmeal breakfast cookie is one of the best breakfast to have with you on the trip: lightweight, but filling, which was what one needs when going to climb.
Yes, today a pack free climb was scheduled: seeing Electric lake along the scenic byway in Huntington Canyon. To reach this lake we had to climb 10% and 12%. On the left side of the canyon was a stone wall, on the right you could hear a creek running down, but you could not see it since bushes were covering it. The climbing was steep, but traffic was light! The scenery gradually changed from rocks to birch trees to open spaces with purple and yellow wildflowers. So far this was the best climb of the trip. We finally reached the top at 2810 m: a wild dance was in order to celebrate this achievement. Here we had an awesome view of the Sanpete valley where our motel was. A perfect place to lunch. Both of us agreed not to ride on to Electric Lake (this meant going down for 7 miles...and going back up those 7 miles). We were happy as it was! Came the great downhill into the valley: from breezy air to hairdryer hot wind! Sofie learned this the hard way and sweated the last fast miles on the road. That might been the reason why she took a nap in the middle of the afternoon, while I watched some TV. Dinner was across the street: on mondays there are not too many people eating out!
The oatmeal breakfast cookie is one of the best breakfast to have with you on the trip: lightweight, but filling, which was what one needs when going to climb.
Yes, today a pack free climb was scheduled: seeing Electric lake along the scenic byway in Huntington Canyon. To reach this lake we had to climb 10% and 12%. On the left side of the canyon was a stone wall, on the right you could hear a creek running down, but you could not see it since bushes were covering it. The climbing was steep, but traffic was light! The scenery gradually changed from rocks to birch trees to open spaces with purple and yellow wildflowers. So far this was the best climb of the trip. We finally reached the top at 2810 m: a wild dance was in order to celebrate this achievement. Here we had an awesome view of the Sanpete valley where our motel was. A perfect place to lunch. Both of us agreed not to ride on to Electric Lake (this meant going down for 7 miles...and going back up those 7 miles). We were happy as it was! Came the great downhill into the valley: from breezy air to hairdryer hot wind! Sofie learned this the hard way and sweated the last fast miles on the road. That might been the reason why she took a nap in the middle of the afternoon, while I watched some TV. Dinner was across the street: on mondays there are not too many people eating out!
August 2nd: Shrinked lama's?
We left town around 9 am and started immediately with a climb through a rocky canyon. I always imagine mountain lions lurking behind rocks...
While climbing I tried not to push too hard on the kiddy pedal... It seemed to work: no weird cracking noises anymore.
After reaching the top, we flew through the town of Fountain Green. On our way to Moroni our eyes caught something strange: what kind of animals are those? We still don't know if they were shrinked lama's or lambs with a long neck! At least the turkeyfarms were normal! We had a gas station stop with lemonade and nuts before we headed towards Mt. Pleasant... (that big mountain we have to climb, Sofie!). Sundays in Utah are very quiet - one can really tell the difference from other days in the week. So instead of concentrating on traffic, I tried not to cycle over too many grasshoppers and I also enjoyed the many butterflies along the road. The steady uphill to Mt. Pleasant (yes, indeed, it was uphill) was warm and without any shady places. At the junction with US 89 we turned north to reach the small town of Fairview: there is indeed not too much to see there, but the cafe across Skyline motel has a lot of customers on sundays (it's also the only cafe in town).
While climbing I tried not to push too hard on the kiddy pedal... It seemed to work: no weird cracking noises anymore.
After reaching the top, we flew through the town of Fountain Green. On our way to Moroni our eyes caught something strange: what kind of animals are those? We still don't know if they were shrinked lama's or lambs with a long neck! At least the turkeyfarms were normal! We had a gas station stop with lemonade and nuts before we headed towards Mt. Pleasant... (that big mountain we have to climb, Sofie!). Sundays in Utah are very quiet - one can really tell the difference from other days in the week. So instead of concentrating on traffic, I tried not to cycle over too many grasshoppers and I also enjoyed the many butterflies along the road. The steady uphill to Mt. Pleasant (yes, indeed, it was uphill) was warm and without any shady places. At the junction with US 89 we turned north to reach the small town of Fairview: there is indeed not too much to see there, but the cafe across Skyline motel has a lot of customers on sundays (it's also the only cafe in town).
An uneventful day
It's already August!
Our ride today took us, this sunday morning, through Santaquin. They were celebrating something over there, 'cause some of the floats of the parade in Salt Lake City had passed us and people were sitting on their lawn chairs as we cycled by. We did the special parade hand wave to the people.
Santaquin is getting bigger every year - you now find horse corals surrounded by new houses. It looks a bit sad to see the horses near buildings.
Our route parallelled the Interstate going to St. George, which was the reason there was hardly any traffic.
Along the road we saw some fruit orchards and later on a lavender farm. In the small town of Mona, just in front of Mt. Nebo, there is a place where you can eat ice cream or have a coke float. From there on my Sweet Machine started to make some noise again. As we reached Nephi, my right pedal was really doing funny things. So while Sofie cooled of in the pool, I cleaned my Sweet Machine, took of the pedals, put them back on, cycled to a hardware store where they sold some pedals for 6 dollars and changed the one I thought was broken. With some ties I managed to put the clip back on. Tomorrow will be the test: is it only the pedal or is something else wrong?
Our ride today took us, this sunday morning, through Santaquin. They were celebrating something over there, 'cause some of the floats of the parade in Salt Lake City had passed us and people were sitting on their lawn chairs as we cycled by. We did the special parade hand wave to the people.
Santaquin is getting bigger every year - you now find horse corals surrounded by new houses. It looks a bit sad to see the horses near buildings.
Our route parallelled the Interstate going to St. George, which was the reason there was hardly any traffic.
Along the road we saw some fruit orchards and later on a lavender farm. In the small town of Mona, just in front of Mt. Nebo, there is a place where you can eat ice cream or have a coke float. From there on my Sweet Machine started to make some noise again. As we reached Nephi, my right pedal was really doing funny things. So while Sofie cooled of in the pool, I cleaned my Sweet Machine, took of the pedals, put them back on, cycled to a hardware store where they sold some pedals for 6 dollars and changed the one I thought was broken. With some ties I managed to put the clip back on. Tomorrow will be the test: is it only the pedal or is something else wrong?
Sunday, August 2, 2009
July 31st: Our first Mc.Donalds
A note about yesterday's ride: saw the worst case of road kill - a dead horse!!!
Riding from Provo to Springville takes you along the Juvenile Correctional Facility. Not really the place to spend time. Most of the towns we cycle along, are surrounded by new houses, new businesses and the big department stores like Kmart or WalMart. The center of town is usually looking dead - windowshopping is not done here: the most shopkeepers need a course on how to promote the goods they sell. Maybe my school can organize a course here? It's a bit sad, 'cause the older buildings look nicer!
Sofie lead again - following her guts and her feeling of direction. She took me through farmland, over and under the Interstate, until we reached Payson.
Lunch here was at Dalton's family restaurant: Sofie chose a chowder soup, followed by... a hot chocolate, while I got new energy from an avacado/turkey/cream cheese bagel. Yes, all that stuff was on my bagel! At the restaurant some people came up to us and asked about our trip - they all wished us good luck.
We spent our afternoon in the library, catching up with friends and updating the blog.
Yes, our dinner came from Mc. Donalds, just across from our bed.
Riding from Provo to Springville takes you along the Juvenile Correctional Facility. Not really the place to spend time. Most of the towns we cycle along, are surrounded by new houses, new businesses and the big department stores like Kmart or WalMart. The center of town is usually looking dead - windowshopping is not done here: the most shopkeepers need a course on how to promote the goods they sell. Maybe my school can organize a course here? It's a bit sad, 'cause the older buildings look nicer!
Sofie lead again - following her guts and her feeling of direction. She took me through farmland, over and under the Interstate, until we reached Payson.
Lunch here was at Dalton's family restaurant: Sofie chose a chowder soup, followed by... a hot chocolate, while I got new energy from an avacado/turkey/cream cheese bagel. Yes, all that stuff was on my bagel! At the restaurant some people came up to us and asked about our trip - they all wished us good luck.
We spent our afternoon in the library, catching up with friends and updating the blog.
Yes, our dinner came from Mc. Donalds, just across from our bed.
July 30th: Life on the edge
Boy, no breakfast food in the kitchen this morning. It's back to our good old (well, not too old) oatmeal cookies we have sitting in our packs.
For fun I headed on the road towards Mirror Lake, waiting for Sofie to yell me back... but she kept following me...
Sweet Machine is squeeking: I think it's got something to do with the pedal and I hope it's not the bottom brakcet. Anyways... I need a mechanic to check on him.
The ride to Heber City was fascinating: a 10% downhill for half a mile, followed by some climbing. We could see Jordanelle reservoir again - this time from the other side. On top we could see the dam and Provo river. You could also hear the people playing on the water. Our fun came also: a two mile fast downhill for 8%.
Heber City became our pit stop and bicycle shop stop. The mechanic tried to ride Sweet Machine fully loaded and he almost tumbled to the ground! I took over, but strangely, Sweet Machine refused to make any noise at all. I kept telling it felt like the pedal, but he focused on my old chain. Anyways, he tightened the bottom bracket somewhat.
Back on the road - on US 89 down Provo canyon - we needed all our concentration on the traffic. Next to us was Deer Creek Reservoir - an awesome waterbody with high mountains in the background - but we had not much joy of it. There was no shoulder on this part of the road and the roadsurface next to the white line had lots of holes and the traffic was horrible fast! We were so glad to survive these 4 miles. Finally, the road in the canyon was much better - well, at least we had a wide shoulder and the cars could race each other on two lanes down and two lanes up. We heared the Heber Valley train whistling in the far distance: hurry over, crossing four lanes of traffic, to watch it in the narrow canyon. We noticed there was a bike path here and claimed our territory: cars keep out - this is ours. Well, not for long...'cause a dog suddenly jumped out of a house. I shouted 'Stay - good dog" (he did stay) a couple of times, when suddenly a woman came out, telling us we were on private property. So it was back to the four lane road, cycling on the wide shoulder which had plenty of broken parts of cars on it, making it hard for us to go down fast.
We passed Vivian Park ( a mistake) and a few miles further we viewed Bridal Veils Fall from a distance - between cars racing up and down. As we looked in the woods we noticed another bike path and yes, a good mile later we were able to get on it. It actually starts at Vivian Park and takes you the rest of the way through the canyon into Provo-Orem.
Provo is a big city - spread out - well known for the Brigham Young University (yesss.... another bookstore to visit). The center is somewhat lost - maybe because there are no students now or maybe we see it in the middle of the day when it's too hot to be outside.
Our dinner that night was excellent at the Olive garden - and Sofie did not deserve a dessert: she did not eat all her food!
For fun I headed on the road towards Mirror Lake, waiting for Sofie to yell me back... but she kept following me...
Sweet Machine is squeeking: I think it's got something to do with the pedal and I hope it's not the bottom brakcet. Anyways... I need a mechanic to check on him.
The ride to Heber City was fascinating: a 10% downhill for half a mile, followed by some climbing. We could see Jordanelle reservoir again - this time from the other side. On top we could see the dam and Provo river. You could also hear the people playing on the water. Our fun came also: a two mile fast downhill for 8%.
Heber City became our pit stop and bicycle shop stop. The mechanic tried to ride Sweet Machine fully loaded and he almost tumbled to the ground! I took over, but strangely, Sweet Machine refused to make any noise at all. I kept telling it felt like the pedal, but he focused on my old chain. Anyways, he tightened the bottom bracket somewhat.
Back on the road - on US 89 down Provo canyon - we needed all our concentration on the traffic. Next to us was Deer Creek Reservoir - an awesome waterbody with high mountains in the background - but we had not much joy of it. There was no shoulder on this part of the road and the roadsurface next to the white line had lots of holes and the traffic was horrible fast! We were so glad to survive these 4 miles. Finally, the road in the canyon was much better - well, at least we had a wide shoulder and the cars could race each other on two lanes down and two lanes up. We heared the Heber Valley train whistling in the far distance: hurry over, crossing four lanes of traffic, to watch it in the narrow canyon. We noticed there was a bike path here and claimed our territory: cars keep out - this is ours. Well, not for long...'cause a dog suddenly jumped out of a house. I shouted 'Stay - good dog" (he did stay) a couple of times, when suddenly a woman came out, telling us we were on private property. So it was back to the four lane road, cycling on the wide shoulder which had plenty of broken parts of cars on it, making it hard for us to go down fast.
We passed Vivian Park ( a mistake) and a few miles further we viewed Bridal Veils Fall from a distance - between cars racing up and down. As we looked in the woods we noticed another bike path and yes, a good mile later we were able to get on it. It actually starts at Vivian Park and takes you the rest of the way through the canyon into Provo-Orem.
Provo is a big city - spread out - well known for the Brigham Young University (yesss.... another bookstore to visit). The center is somewhat lost - maybe because there are no students now or maybe we see it in the middle of the day when it's too hot to be outside.
Our dinner that night was excellent at the Olive garden - and Sofie did not deserve a dessert: she did not eat all her food!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
July 29th: Is there a bison along the road?
Today was the big day. Mirror lake - here I finally come! From Kamas leads a scenic highway high up into the mountains. First you pass the small town of Samak (yes... it is Kamas read the other way!) where they have a neat smoke house with tasty goodies inside.
Every 2 miles I stopped and wrote down our elevation. Whoever wants to ride their car on this scenic byway has to pay 6 dollars for 3 days. Luckily, the lady in the booth along the road let us go. Just as we got in, a deer jumped over the road! We ended at mile 23, still 9 miles from the lake, at an elevation of 2660 meters. By then I was a bit tired of seeing the same scenery all the time: winding roads and pine trees. I was a bit disappointed but I guess the nicest scenery was still to come. But at almost 1 p.m. I was eager to head down - also watching the clouds in the sky. Lucky us... while racing down (learning to draft) I suddenly noticed a young moose hidden behind the trees. Slammed the brakes and returned to see if I was not delirious from the oxygen shortage. No way... it was a moose and I bet mama moose was somewhere around. We enjoyed this moment for a while... noticing no drivers in the passing cars saw what we did! Somewhat further down the road a couple of big fat raindrops hit my helmet: good thing we were not high up in the mountain anymore - it looked eerie up there. Our luck of seeing wildlife was not gone yet as I suddenly yelled out to Sofie:"Kiek, kiek, kiek". Turns out she was looking for chicken while I was pointing her some strange looking brown birds with long necks, just walkin in the high, wet grassland. Turns out it were sandcranes - the lady in the booth told us so. And for good luck: our morning deer jumped out on the road again as we were leaving the payed highway. Thought this was a pretty good show! After seeing all that wildlife, Sofie confessed that this morning, while cycling uphill, she had noticed some black thing along the road and had cycled somewhat faster, scared it was some bison again. Turned out it was a big rock!
Samak smoke house became our hot chocolate stop (yes - it is still over 30 degrees out but Sofie enjoys hot chocolate everywhere).
Back "home" we relaxed in the garden again - making sudoku's or crosswords, read somewhat and I played with the horseshoes again but had no luck throwing that thing around the stick.
A dinner of ravioli with raw carrots ended may day. I guess, we would get the price making the weirdest dinnercombinations!
Every 2 miles I stopped and wrote down our elevation. Whoever wants to ride their car on this scenic byway has to pay 6 dollars for 3 days. Luckily, the lady in the booth along the road let us go. Just as we got in, a deer jumped over the road! We ended at mile 23, still 9 miles from the lake, at an elevation of 2660 meters. By then I was a bit tired of seeing the same scenery all the time: winding roads and pine trees. I was a bit disappointed but I guess the nicest scenery was still to come. But at almost 1 p.m. I was eager to head down - also watching the clouds in the sky. Lucky us... while racing down (learning to draft) I suddenly noticed a young moose hidden behind the trees. Slammed the brakes and returned to see if I was not delirious from the oxygen shortage. No way... it was a moose and I bet mama moose was somewhere around. We enjoyed this moment for a while... noticing no drivers in the passing cars saw what we did! Somewhat further down the road a couple of big fat raindrops hit my helmet: good thing we were not high up in the mountain anymore - it looked eerie up there. Our luck of seeing wildlife was not gone yet as I suddenly yelled out to Sofie:"Kiek, kiek, kiek". Turns out she was looking for chicken while I was pointing her some strange looking brown birds with long necks, just walkin in the high, wet grassland. Turns out it were sandcranes - the lady in the booth told us so. And for good luck: our morning deer jumped out on the road again as we were leaving the payed highway. Thought this was a pretty good show! After seeing all that wildlife, Sofie confessed that this morning, while cycling uphill, she had noticed some black thing along the road and had cycled somewhat faster, scared it was some bison again. Turned out it was a big rock!
Samak smoke house became our hot chocolate stop (yes - it is still over 30 degrees out but Sofie enjoys hot chocolate everywhere).
Back "home" we relaxed in the garden again - making sudoku's or crosswords, read somewhat and I played with the horseshoes again but had no luck throwing that thing around the stick.
A dinner of ravioli with raw carrots ended may day. I guess, we would get the price making the weirdest dinnercombinations!
July 28th: Horseshoe's and other garden games
I got up early and fetched our bagels from the Einstein Bagel company down the road. I know by now that Sofie will never be disappointed if there is something chocolate in it.
Our start took us along a different bike path, this one towards US 40. Busy it was with joggers, cyclists and people who took their dogs out. We cycled one mile on gravel to UT 248. Boy, this route did not meet my expectations! In my dreams I thought this was going to be a quiet roadway, in barren surroundings. Well, it was a quite busy road and it is all ready to be exploited. Roads are already laying out... the housing still has to come. I guess Park City being so closeby and the views on Jordanelle Reservoir State Park makes it a place to bloom in the next couple of years. Signs for deer to cross at certain points are dotted along the roadside; I just hope the deer know this! The Provo River gives it water to this reservoir, made by a dam, and necessary for the water in the surrounding towns and cities. So it was a climb with a view... On the other side of the hilltop lays Summit Valley. On one of the slopes stood the letters S S ... referring to South Summit, I later learned. The valley is irrigated which gives excellent opportunities for farming. We arrived way too early at the Inn. Scoop out town , we said. Well, Kamas is a very small town, but it did have a library (but only a short time limit on the computers - not like here in Payson). What to do next? More walking ... and eating lunch. What a blast was that. Our waiter expected us to choose from the menu but instead we ordered a coke float (my favourite) and Sofie had a white lady (dame blanche) with a cherry on top (o no, they were out of cherries, instead the waiter arrange for a raspberry). The price of our lunch was ridiculously low.
We waited in front of the Inn till 2.30 p.m. We finally were able to see our majestic room . We enjoyed the afternoon sitting, playing and reading in the lovely garden.
Dinner at 5.50 p.m. was in the local shop. The burgers there were voted best of Utah 2009 ... who would miss such an opportunity?
Sometimes we have bright ideas and that evening was one of them: lets rent a DVD! What a bummer was that! The movie "Australia" was hard to follow in the beginning, but once we understood what was going on, the DVD played tricks on us... making watching irritable. Instead of finishing the 2 hours 30 minutes movie we went to bed.
Our start took us along a different bike path, this one towards US 40. Busy it was with joggers, cyclists and people who took their dogs out. We cycled one mile on gravel to UT 248. Boy, this route did not meet my expectations! In my dreams I thought this was going to be a quiet roadway, in barren surroundings. Well, it was a quite busy road and it is all ready to be exploited. Roads are already laying out... the housing still has to come. I guess Park City being so closeby and the views on Jordanelle Reservoir State Park makes it a place to bloom in the next couple of years. Signs for deer to cross at certain points are dotted along the roadside; I just hope the deer know this! The Provo River gives it water to this reservoir, made by a dam, and necessary for the water in the surrounding towns and cities. So it was a climb with a view... On the other side of the hilltop lays Summit Valley. On one of the slopes stood the letters S S ... referring to South Summit, I later learned. The valley is irrigated which gives excellent opportunities for farming. We arrived way too early at the Inn. Scoop out town , we said. Well, Kamas is a very small town, but it did have a library (but only a short time limit on the computers - not like here in Payson). What to do next? More walking ... and eating lunch. What a blast was that. Our waiter expected us to choose from the menu but instead we ordered a coke float (my favourite) and Sofie had a white lady (dame blanche) with a cherry on top (o no, they were out of cherries, instead the waiter arrange for a raspberry). The price of our lunch was ridiculously low.
We waited in front of the Inn till 2.30 p.m. We finally were able to see our majestic room . We enjoyed the afternoon sitting, playing and reading in the lovely garden.
Dinner at 5.50 p.m. was in the local shop. The burgers there were voted best of Utah 2009 ... who would miss such an opportunity?
Sometimes we have bright ideas and that evening was one of them: lets rent a DVD! What a bummer was that! The movie "Australia" was hard to follow in the beginning, but once we understood what was going on, the DVD played tricks on us... making watching irritable. Instead of finishing the 2 hours 30 minutes movie we went to bed.
Friday, July 31, 2009
July 27th: Ski jumping is not for us!
We took our breakfast on the balcony of our lodge room - my half banana nut muffin tasted gorgeously.
Today we decided to empty our packs and send some of our stuff ahead to St. George. Sofie's wardrobe is now down to what is normal for a bicycling trip in the mountains. I also went to the post office (those post cards we still have to send) where a lady inquired about our trip. We are meeting more and more people who are interested in what we are doing out here. She taught me how to pronounce Kamas, our next destination, and she also told me about a great burger place there.
The Olympic Park was 6 miles back on yesterday's route, but this time we cycled on the bike path - giving us the chance for more steep hills (short ones). At the Olympic Park, there were people jumping of the ski jumps into a basin of water. It looked fun, but I think I'd be too scared to do this. There were some jumpers from the Australian National Team jumping from the highest one, making summersaults in the air. AWESOME, dude! On our bus tour we were guided by Carl, a guy who is going to help out at the next winter olympics in Vancouver. We had the chance to meet Lisa... one of the best Olympians of the USA team to come. On the tour we saw the bobsled and luge run (one bobsled did the run when we were there), we stood at the bottom of the ski jumps, we stood at the top of the ski jumps (You can not see where you will land!)
Back in Park City we rode a chair lift up and down one of the mountains: wasn't it a bit scary when we hung there high in the air, not knowing when the lift would start again, the wind blowing around us...
Park City itself is a neat ski town. It wasn't too busy now, but I can imagine this being a great ski resort. I even got an offer to pay 40 dollars ahead and recieve two nights free...
So whoever thinks of skiing in Utah... I've got the address where your ski stuff is being handled by someone else and where you can linger in a spa for hours! They want you out here!
Today we decided to empty our packs and send some of our stuff ahead to St. George. Sofie's wardrobe is now down to what is normal for a bicycling trip in the mountains. I also went to the post office (those post cards we still have to send) where a lady inquired about our trip. We are meeting more and more people who are interested in what we are doing out here. She taught me how to pronounce Kamas, our next destination, and she also told me about a great burger place there.
The Olympic Park was 6 miles back on yesterday's route, but this time we cycled on the bike path - giving us the chance for more steep hills (short ones). At the Olympic Park, there were people jumping of the ski jumps into a basin of water. It looked fun, but I think I'd be too scared to do this. There were some jumpers from the Australian National Team jumping from the highest one, making summersaults in the air. AWESOME, dude! On our bus tour we were guided by Carl, a guy who is going to help out at the next winter olympics in Vancouver. We had the chance to meet Lisa... one of the best Olympians of the USA team to come. On the tour we saw the bobsled and luge run (one bobsled did the run when we were there), we stood at the bottom of the ski jumps, we stood at the top of the ski jumps (You can not see where you will land!)
Back in Park City we rode a chair lift up and down one of the mountains: wasn't it a bit scary when we hung there high in the air, not knowing when the lift would start again, the wind blowing around us...
Park City itself is a neat ski town. It wasn't too busy now, but I can imagine this being a great ski resort. I even got an offer to pay 40 dollars ahead and recieve two nights free...
So whoever thinks of skiing in Utah... I've got the address where your ski stuff is being handled by someone else and where you can linger in a spa for hours! They want you out here!
July 26th: Climbing anyone?
This morning my breakfast was a banana and some orange juice. Boy, did I almost regret drinking that juice! The climb to the university - this time with our luggage - was gradually until those two blocks which looked like a wall! There was no other way - up it had to go! And the juice went almost out of my body! It took us almost one hour to reach "This Is The Place". Immigration canyon starts here and like all canyons it is narrow and this time for us going up. But, we were not the only ones cycling there. On this sundaymorning, a lot of cyclists try to beat the timeframe of 30 minutes to reach the top. I guess it took us a bit longer than that, but... we had lots of thumbs up from our fellow cyclists. They did not have a whole wardrobe to tag along! Once at the highest point of this canyon it's a drop towards I80 (the Interstate). My speed on the downhill: 70 km/hour. Came now a new experience for Sofie: cycling on an Interstate (= autosnelweg bij ons). Luckily we were climbing again for about 6 miles. We did not have to be afraid of trucks going too fast or unable to break on the downhill. The summit is Parley's summit and it felt great to reach it... and to get off the I80. Just around the corner of the top there is a small gas station and a neat cafe where they serve good food: the pancake went down fast! With our supply of energy high up again we headed to the Tanger Outlet Shops...Yes, Sofie needs more clothing and weight to carry with her. Up here we cycled along ski resorts. The strangest thing for me was the barren slopes of the hills on the east side. There were hardly any trees there - just dried grass and rocks.
We cycled into Park City, famous for its powder snow. No, we can not confirm this at this time! Our sleeping place was a dark room - even here we needed a step to get into our beds since they reached the middle of our stomachs.
Pizza was dinner that night and we watched Contador getting the Yellow jersey to keep.
We cycled into Park City, famous for its powder snow. No, we can not confirm this at this time! Our sleeping place was a dark room - even here we needed a step to get into our beds since they reached the middle of our stomachs.
Pizza was dinner that night and we watched Contador getting the Yellow jersey to keep.
July 25th: A lazy day
This morning we did not sleep in...(see later in this article why)
First thing to visit that day was the library. It's an amazing piece of architecture - receiving the 2006 price of libraries. There is a special departement for children, with hidden corners where one can read aloud with your kids, or let them play a bit. There are fireplaces at some levels, the walls are in glass, the building is tilted inwards and there is a nice rooftop where you get a majestic view of the city.
We then wanted to hear the Mormon choir sing, but we ended up listening to the Mormon Organ... not really our cup of tea but it was relaxing (no, I did not fall asleep).
The afternoon was play time in the shops again...
In the evening we had to reorganise our cycling bags again. The next day we were out of Salt Lake City.
We felt sad that this fancy hotel did not have the TV-channel where we could follow the ride up the Mont Ventoux. Instead we got up early and ran to the computer office... where we got very disappointed we were not able to watch the ride on Sporza on the computer. But... we listened to the comments in Dutch and I watched funny cartoon style cyclists on the computer screen.
Overall we were very pleased with the Belgian cyclist Jurgen Van den Brouck! And, way to go Lance!
First thing to visit that day was the library. It's an amazing piece of architecture - receiving the 2006 price of libraries. There is a special departement for children, with hidden corners where one can read aloud with your kids, or let them play a bit. There are fireplaces at some levels, the walls are in glass, the building is tilted inwards and there is a nice rooftop where you get a majestic view of the city.
We then wanted to hear the Mormon choir sing, but we ended up listening to the Mormon Organ... not really our cup of tea but it was relaxing (no, I did not fall asleep).
The afternoon was play time in the shops again...
In the evening we had to reorganise our cycling bags again. The next day we were out of Salt Lake City.
We felt sad that this fancy hotel did not have the TV-channel where we could follow the ride up the Mont Ventoux. Instead we got up early and ran to the computer office... where we got very disappointed we were not able to watch the ride on Sporza on the computer. But... we listened to the comments in Dutch and I watched funny cartoon style cyclists on the computer screen.
Overall we were very pleased with the Belgian cyclist Jurgen Van den Brouck! And, way to go Lance!
July 24th: Pioneer day
In 1847 the Pioneers discovered the valley of Salt Lake City and it was here that Brigham Young said: 'This is the place'. July 24th is a national holiday in Utah, commemorating this. At 9 a.m. the parade started and it was 2 hours long, viewing high schools, decorated floats, people on horses, and of course...the US army! Luckily we found a place in the shade to sit down, but slowely the sun was getting closer to us.
We decided to visit Clarcks planetarium where the IMAX theatre was. With our 3D glasses on our nouse we saw the underwaterworld of the Barrier reef. Must confess though: at one point I fell asleep and I woke up just in time to see that cute seal, giving a kiss to us.
Next museum stop was the Discovery center... a childrens hand-on museum... we did try a lot!
We had our lunch in the Lions house, which is the original house of Brigham Young and all his wives. Yes, it was a big house and it had several doors to enter, guess each wife had a key to a door.
In the afternoon we spent time cooling off in the hotel - watching TV. At 4 p.m. we went back outside to the parc where the pow wow was held. Here several Native Americans tribes were playing the drums and chanting while the Native Americans dance in their traditional dresses. It's a must see, even though it's hot and you have to sit on the grass for a long time. It is a competition between dansers of the same age group. The smallest ones are called tiny tods and they look really cute. Before the actual competition there is a big entrance with the different flags and all the dancers come in the circle. This is followed by a prayer in the Native language. The public is then invited to come into the circle and dance with the Native Americans.
We both enjoyed this very much.
The day ends with fireworks, of course!
We decided to visit Clarcks planetarium where the IMAX theatre was. With our 3D glasses on our nouse we saw the underwaterworld of the Barrier reef. Must confess though: at one point I fell asleep and I woke up just in time to see that cute seal, giving a kiss to us.
Next museum stop was the Discovery center... a childrens hand-on museum... we did try a lot!
We had our lunch in the Lions house, which is the original house of Brigham Young and all his wives. Yes, it was a big house and it had several doors to enter, guess each wife had a key to a door.
In the afternoon we spent time cooling off in the hotel - watching TV. At 4 p.m. we went back outside to the parc where the pow wow was held. Here several Native Americans tribes were playing the drums and chanting while the Native Americans dance in their traditional dresses. It's a must see, even though it's hot and you have to sit on the grass for a long time. It is a competition between dansers of the same age group. The smallest ones are called tiny tods and they look really cute. Before the actual competition there is a big entrance with the different flags and all the dancers come in the circle. This is followed by a prayer in the Native language. The public is then invited to come into the circle and dance with the Native Americans.
We both enjoyed this very much.
The day ends with fireworks, of course!
July 23rd: are we in Bokrijk?
Tour guide Renet Kroket leaded guest Sofie on the bicycle around Salt Lake City. We bicycled along the Mormon Church again, saw the Capitol building in the distance while we were standing at the Eagle's gate: an arch with an eagle on top! We slowly climbed up to the university of Utah campus. At this point we were not so far from the U on the mountain. Almost every town in the west has a big letter on one of the slopes of the surrounding mountains - usually referring to the schools or university in that city or town. We kept on climbing, rather steeply now, and reached the university hospital and it famous cancer institute. The road leveled along Fort Hall (I think) where students are housed now. There was some story here to tell, but I have completely forgotten about it. Last part of the climbing today went towords Hogle zoo and the This Is The Place open air museum. We had passes for both of them, but decided to visit the latter. Good thing they had small trains (like the one circling in Oostende) - the sun was beating hard and I am not really a walking person! All aboard and off we went, about 500 meters we got off to visit Brigham Youngs summer house. We jumped on the next train which braught us to a hotel from pioneering days. The funniest part was our train ride in a very small train - for kids (and adults it said on the brochure). An adult could sit in there with his knees up to his chin and we rode three times around a small pond - there was even a tunnel (about 5 meters long). From there we headed towards the tipis where a Navajo Native American let us sit on bison hides and talked to us. From the distance we could hear the BIG train coming again which took us back to the starting point. Before leaving the museum I had my lunch: a mint chocolate chip ice cream.
The rest of the day should be easy cycling: all downhill. Well, almost... We skirted out the campus of the university, looking for the book shop, and this took us on some up and down roads. Then we moved over to the Olympic Heritage Place - also an outdoor museum - yes , exactly the place to visit when it's almost 100 degrees F and there is no shade around. But, we are the Brave Belgians and we want to see as much as possible. Cooling time was done in a bakery where they serve fresh bread, which we didn't buy... we went for the cookies!
We had to do grocery shopping next, 'cause we planned to have dinner at our hotel. There are only two grocery stores in the center of the city! The rest are convenience stores... I do not think it is so convenient!
The rest of the day should be easy cycling: all downhill. Well, almost... We skirted out the campus of the university, looking for the book shop, and this took us on some up and down roads. Then we moved over to the Olympic Heritage Place - also an outdoor museum - yes , exactly the place to visit when it's almost 100 degrees F and there is no shade around. But, we are the Brave Belgians and we want to see as much as possible. Cooling time was done in a bakery where they serve fresh bread, which we didn't buy... we went for the cookies!
We had to do grocery shopping next, 'cause we planned to have dinner at our hotel. There are only two grocery stores in the center of the city! The rest are convenience stores... I do not think it is so convenient!
July 22nd: Sofie and maps
Today was Sofie's turn to lead us all the way to Salt Lake City, using the map and the route I highlighted for her.
From Layton to Salt Lake City one cycles on urban roads, crossing small suburbs, not knowing when one starts and when one ends. Each town has a main street and a center street - this being the center of the town. Any street north is called North 100 etc.. any street south is named South 100 etc.. Very logic. The same system works with east and west.
The route we took is on the outskirts, close to the base of the mountains. Not much traffic there!
I was amazed at how well Sofie did! She kept on cycling and hardly stopped to look on the map, but she was following the given route. Almost at the end she made a mistake and looked on the map. Then I found out she thought we were still in the beginning of the route... Good laugh there!
We had a milk shake break at Mac Donalds in North Salt Lake. Yes, you are right, this is the suburb just north of Salt Lake City. From here it was my turn again to find the hidden bike path wich takes you along the extremely busy US 89 (I was cycled it and it was so scary) - not on it! It's not the most scenic approach into the city, but it surely is the shortest.
So there we were - in the heart of the Mormon life. Our first visit, with fully loaded packs, was to the Temple, more exactly to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, to watch the movie about the origins of the Mormon church (and to sit in an airconditioned building).
We then headed to the visitor center to recieve our passes for museums and exhibits.
The last cycling stretch of that day was to our hotel - that was a bit too fancy!
Later in the afternoon we strolled to the Gateway mall: an open air mall which was constructed for the Olympics in 2002. It's a great place for windowshopping and ... getting you nails done!!
From Layton to Salt Lake City one cycles on urban roads, crossing small suburbs, not knowing when one starts and when one ends. Each town has a main street and a center street - this being the center of the town. Any street north is called North 100 etc.. any street south is named South 100 etc.. Very logic. The same system works with east and west.
The route we took is on the outskirts, close to the base of the mountains. Not much traffic there!
I was amazed at how well Sofie did! She kept on cycling and hardly stopped to look on the map, but she was following the given route. Almost at the end she made a mistake and looked on the map. Then I found out she thought we were still in the beginning of the route... Good laugh there!
We had a milk shake break at Mac Donalds in North Salt Lake. Yes, you are right, this is the suburb just north of Salt Lake City. From here it was my turn again to find the hidden bike path wich takes you along the extremely busy US 89 (I was cycled it and it was so scary) - not on it! It's not the most scenic approach into the city, but it surely is the shortest.
So there we were - in the heart of the Mormon life. Our first visit, with fully loaded packs, was to the Temple, more exactly to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, to watch the movie about the origins of the Mormon church (and to sit in an airconditioned building).
We then headed to the visitor center to recieve our passes for museums and exhibits.
The last cycling stretch of that day was to our hotel - that was a bit too fancy!
Later in the afternoon we strolled to the Gateway mall: an open air mall which was constructed for the Olympics in 2002. It's a great place for windowshopping and ... getting you nails done!!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
July 21st: the Belgian National Day has to be celebrated!
Right from the start we started with singing our national anthem. Without eating breakfast we hit the road... and that was some kind of road. It seems that a lot of roads we are cycling one have to be resurfaced. This one also and again there was gravel on the road. The speeding advice to cars was 20 mph but that was only an advice given. Well, we got the advice to cycle in the middle of the road, between two rows of red tons. This went on for 6 miles - making it kind of weird for us to be in the middle but having no traffic there, since cars were not allowed there. Mile by mile we came closer to Ogden where breakfast was. And what a breakfast! IHOP is such a feast - you should ask Sofie! She ate 4 (!!!!) chocolate chips pancakes. Anyone knowing the pancakes in America can figure out how devilish this is! After filling our stomachs I told her we had some climbing to do now... just kidding! Anyways, I towed Sofie through Ogden and all the small suburbs like Centerville and Sunnyside... into Layton. Along the road we had to stop at K-mart and Wal-mart.
We still had plenty of time that afternoon to go shopping in the Mall of Layton, to browse the bookstore Barnes and Noble. The big finale of the day came when dinner was served in the Golden Corral. This is an all you can eat joint and boy... did we eat: salads, mashed potatoes (the best!) veggies, chicken, and desserts. My stomach was twice as big as before.
I guess cyclists need two things: a good place to sleep and lots of food...
We still had plenty of time that afternoon to go shopping in the Mall of Layton, to browse the bookstore Barnes and Noble. The big finale of the day came when dinner was served in the Golden Corral. This is an all you can eat joint and boy... did we eat: salads, mashed potatoes (the best!) veggies, chicken, and desserts. My stomach was twice as big as before.
I guess cyclists need two things: a good place to sleep and lots of food...
July 20th: The "tits" mountain
Oostende has its "tits"bridge, well about 10 miles west of Logan there is Sardine Pass, which I nickname the Tits mountain: you climb about 6 miles, go down for 1 mile and climb again for 1 mile.
Hurray, Celine, I found an American flag along the road (oh yes, ever since the day into Afton I'm riding with a Wyoming licence plate) and picked it up. Sweat was dripping from my arms while I was climbing but again I loved every moment of the hard labour. At the top I waited a bit for Sofie and then we speeded downhill again into the town of Brigham City. This is our lowest point of the ride so far - around 1200 meter. The foothills are barren - nearly no trees, only dry yellow grass. I took us right to the library to cool off and have a half hour on the computers there. Lunch was at a family restaurant where I ordered a kiddy meal: macaroni and cheese, which tasted like heaven.
The plan was to go on to Perry and sit the afternoon in the movie theatre... but the shows started only at 5 pm - we were way too early. We cycled on to the campground - and I received a free peach when I wanted to buy one in a fruitstand along the road.
At the KOA we had a difficult time to find a good grassy site, not under the powerlines, not under the tree with the dead branch. I remembered my night with Celine here, where the wind was so strong!
We had lots of time to play in the pool, to do laundry again while playing pool and to relax at our site.
Hurray, Celine, I found an American flag along the road (oh yes, ever since the day into Afton I'm riding with a Wyoming licence plate) and picked it up. Sweat was dripping from my arms while I was climbing but again I loved every moment of the hard labour. At the top I waited a bit for Sofie and then we speeded downhill again into the town of Brigham City. This is our lowest point of the ride so far - around 1200 meter. The foothills are barren - nearly no trees, only dry yellow grass. I took us right to the library to cool off and have a half hour on the computers there. Lunch was at a family restaurant where I ordered a kiddy meal: macaroni and cheese, which tasted like heaven.
The plan was to go on to Perry and sit the afternoon in the movie theatre... but the shows started only at 5 pm - we were way too early. We cycled on to the campground - and I received a free peach when I wanted to buy one in a fruitstand along the road.
At the KOA we had a difficult time to find a good grassy site, not under the powerlines, not under the tree with the dead branch. I remembered my night with Celine here, where the wind was so strong!
We had lots of time to play in the pool, to do laundry again while playing pool and to relax at our site.
July 19th: push push push
What a great start this morning! As we were packed and having breakfast at the camp store, a guy saw my sign of the ride "SHARE THE ROAD OF HAPPINESS" on my bicycle. We talked a bit and in the end he donated 20 dollars for the postcards! Awesome!
There wasn't too much traffic on the road yet and the temperature was still pleasant - even for a 10 mile climb.
Yes, this was Sofie's first long climb and it wasn't an easy one. I remember when I had done this ride for the first time, I had said to myself "never again"... but you know how it works with the word NEVER! Now, I can enjoy this climb, since I know every curve that's coming. I love the view when one gradually gets higher, overlooking the lake. I had fun this year on the climb! Almost on top there is a visitor center with information about the region and with excellent views of the mountains we had climbed in the far distance. It amazes us to see how far we get in a couple of days bicycling.
And after going over the top, comes the downhill. This one is a long and in some places dangerous one: the road gets narrow, the traffic picks up during the day and sometimes we had to get off the road to let the RV's and cars with boats go by. Sofie is carrying some bright yellow colors on her bicycle now - making her more visible. The ride down is almost 20 miles long with lots of curves. Going down means getting warmer and by midday we needed a rest along the small Logan River, where we snacked on nuts. Before getting into the town of Logan there is this BUMP to climb... It feels odd arriving in a big town again, with big stores (books!!!)> We now have the habit of parking our bicycle inside the store - noone has ever told us we couldn't do this!
We moteled that evening - and watched the Tour de France on TV... with commercials in between.
There wasn't too much traffic on the road yet and the temperature was still pleasant - even for a 10 mile climb.
Yes, this was Sofie's first long climb and it wasn't an easy one. I remember when I had done this ride for the first time, I had said to myself "never again"... but you know how it works with the word NEVER! Now, I can enjoy this climb, since I know every curve that's coming. I love the view when one gradually gets higher, overlooking the lake. I had fun this year on the climb! Almost on top there is a visitor center with information about the region and with excellent views of the mountains we had climbed in the far distance. It amazes us to see how far we get in a couple of days bicycling.
And after going over the top, comes the downhill. This one is a long and in some places dangerous one: the road gets narrow, the traffic picks up during the day and sometimes we had to get off the road to let the RV's and cars with boats go by. Sofie is carrying some bright yellow colors on her bicycle now - making her more visible. The ride down is almost 20 miles long with lots of curves. Going down means getting warmer and by midday we needed a rest along the small Logan River, where we snacked on nuts. Before getting into the town of Logan there is this BUMP to climb... It feels odd arriving in a big town again, with big stores (books!!!)> We now have the habit of parking our bicycle inside the store - noone has ever told us we couldn't do this!
We moteled that evening - and watched the Tour de France on TV... with commercials in between.
July 18th: raspberries or strawberries?
Another day on the bike! Breakfast was a busy happening where some people found out how small the world can be. We didn't take any eggs with us, although we had permission. The waffles were freshly made and tasted excellent.
Today was almost like riding in our farmland: almost level flat. We cycled along marshes where birds were having a feast on the bugs, we watched the rollmops making of hay, we found out that Paris has no Eiffeltower and we had a rest stop at a very bus small store in Fish Haven, where lots of people have won the lottery (according to the signs hanging on the ceiling).
Today we entered UTAH (life elevated) and we will be staying in this state for a long time. Our destination was the KOA in Garden City and this time we had a perfect tent place in the shade. In the afternoon we scooped out the little town and found out that there is a very nice store where they sell great sofa's - too big to send home. We ate a famous raspberry shake which tasted like a straberry ice-cream.
Later at the campground we had a good time getting as dirty as possible cleaning our chain. This was a first for Sofie, so she gets another badge for completing this task.
After that we headed for the swimming pool, but two teenage boys were "fighting" in there and spitting in the water... that was the sign for us to leave the pool and go for dinner.
Camping these times is not as difficult as it used to be: microwaves are almost everywhere available, which leads to making some strange dinner combinations - but they always taste good to us.
Laundry had to be done and then we could relax and enjoy watching the other campers arrive in their big cars towing a boat. This place is next to Bear lake, a huge recreation complex for all kind of watersports as long as it is motorized.
We hit the sac rather early, having the next day in mind. The perfect campsite spot didn't seem that perfect anymore, since we were right at the entrance where all the activity was going on. Despite this, my eyes soon became too heavy and I fell asleep.
Today was almost like riding in our farmland: almost level flat. We cycled along marshes where birds were having a feast on the bugs, we watched the rollmops making of hay, we found out that Paris has no Eiffeltower and we had a rest stop at a very bus small store in Fish Haven, where lots of people have won the lottery (according to the signs hanging on the ceiling).
Today we entered UTAH (life elevated) and we will be staying in this state for a long time. Our destination was the KOA in Garden City and this time we had a perfect tent place in the shade. In the afternoon we scooped out the little town and found out that there is a very nice store where they sell great sofa's - too big to send home. We ate a famous raspberry shake which tasted like a straberry ice-cream.
Later at the campground we had a good time getting as dirty as possible cleaning our chain. This was a first for Sofie, so she gets another badge for completing this task.
After that we headed for the swimming pool, but two teenage boys were "fighting" in there and spitting in the water... that was the sign for us to leave the pool and go for dinner.
Camping these times is not as difficult as it used to be: microwaves are almost everywhere available, which leads to making some strange dinner combinations - but they always taste good to us.
Laundry had to be done and then we could relax and enjoy watching the other campers arrive in their big cars towing a boat. This place is next to Bear lake, a huge recreation complex for all kind of watersports as long as it is motorized.
We hit the sac rather early, having the next day in mind. The perfect campsite spot didn't seem that perfect anymore, since we were right at the entrance where all the activity was going on. Despite this, my eyes soon became too heavy and I fell asleep.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
July 17th: Idaho potatoes
Today was a big day: there was going to be no new water supply along the road, so we had to stock up. Next to that we had to passes to cross.
We started immediately with a gentle climbing warm up for about 10 miles. Sofie had her speedy engine going while my diesel needs some time. I enjoyed the sun slowly climbing over the mountains, sending its rays to the pasture where cows or horses were grazing. Some cows got so interested in Sofie cycling along that they were still coming when I passed.
The first climb brought us to the top of Salt River Pass, where pioneers crossed years ago, pushing there handcarts. The road surface wasn't that great: chip sealed they call it here. But that couldn't take away the joy of the downhill: YIHA! The ride to the Idaho border was a breeze.
Just before the town of Geneva there was a sign along the road: ICE- water and free jerky tasting. A man was sitting there and of course we went over to have a talk with the old guy. He was very interested in our ride and gave us some advice, Sofie got free ice-water (I bought a liter of Powerade - ice cold) and I tasted some jerky (after all this years I finally got myself to do this): this is dried beef, or elk or bison meat.
The town of Geneva has no lake... it has hardly any people leaving there. Going out of this town is a killer climb - especially if you cycle it on a warm day. Sofie and I grunged and puffed and took deep breaths and we both made it: HURRAY - and I took my hot water (I could almost brew some tea) and threw it over me. Couldn't convince Sofie to do the same - she missed out on that cooling effect!
The downhill went fast - even the road work at the end of the ride wasn't too bad.
We had made good time today and could enjoy the afternoon walking (in the heat) around town. We waved to the webcam, walked to a recommended restaurant (which was closed), walked to Butch Cassidy's restaurant where we ate Idaho Mashed Potatoes... but the ones in Yellowstone tasted better.
We started immediately with a gentle climbing warm up for about 10 miles. Sofie had her speedy engine going while my diesel needs some time. I enjoyed the sun slowly climbing over the mountains, sending its rays to the pasture where cows or horses were grazing. Some cows got so interested in Sofie cycling along that they were still coming when I passed.
The first climb brought us to the top of Salt River Pass, where pioneers crossed years ago, pushing there handcarts. The road surface wasn't that great: chip sealed they call it here. But that couldn't take away the joy of the downhill: YIHA! The ride to the Idaho border was a breeze.
Just before the town of Geneva there was a sign along the road: ICE- water and free jerky tasting. A man was sitting there and of course we went over to have a talk with the old guy. He was very interested in our ride and gave us some advice, Sofie got free ice-water (I bought a liter of Powerade - ice cold) and I tasted some jerky (after all this years I finally got myself to do this): this is dried beef, or elk or bison meat.
The town of Geneva has no lake... it has hardly any people leaving there. Going out of this town is a killer climb - especially if you cycle it on a warm day. Sofie and I grunged and puffed and took deep breaths and we both made it: HURRAY - and I took my hot water (I could almost brew some tea) and threw it over me. Couldn't convince Sofie to do the same - she missed out on that cooling effect!
The downhill went fast - even the road work at the end of the ride wasn't too bad.
We had made good time today and could enjoy the afternoon walking (in the heat) around town. We waved to the webcam, walked to a recommended restaurant (which was closed), walked to Butch Cassidy's restaurant where we ate Idaho Mashed Potatoes... but the ones in Yellowstone tasted better.
July 16th: Snoopy and the Red Baron
It had been a cold night and as I opened my tent Sofie was standing there - hat on. I almost had a fight with Sweet Machine: he didn't want to go up the steep hill but I showed him who's in charge! An oatmeal cookie and a delicious hot chocolate made us strong enough for the long ride to Afton. We followed the Snake River downstream, bend after bend - sometimes cycling on the wrong side of the road to view the people rafting. Maybe one day...
Alpine is my gas station stop: it wasn't a very peaceful stop since roadwork was going on. Even the webcam was taken down so we couldn't wave to Celine.
At the general store - post office of Etna we took a water break. Boy... it was a hard job to convince Sofie to throw water over her to cool her down.
This valley is called Star Valley (what's in a name) and is known for it's cheese factory in Thayne. Ha... cheese factory... let's visit and taste some cheese we thought. Wrong, buddy - no cheese tasting nor touring the factory, but we could buy ice cream and who can resist to that! The one scoop we got, is the same as four scoops in Belgium.
Finally the last leg to Afton, where we shopped in the Dollar Family and got some good deals. At our motel we went swimming and played with an inflatable ball (yes, Dollar Family) like kids. Then, we crossed the street and ordered food in the Red Baron, some sort of old fashioned fast food joint where the waitress comes up to the cars... except we were on foot.
Having our orders we rushed back to the room, ate and wrote post cards.
Alpine is my gas station stop: it wasn't a very peaceful stop since roadwork was going on. Even the webcam was taken down so we couldn't wave to Celine.
At the general store - post office of Etna we took a water break. Boy... it was a hard job to convince Sofie to throw water over her to cool her down.
This valley is called Star Valley (what's in a name) and is known for it's cheese factory in Thayne. Ha... cheese factory... let's visit and taste some cheese we thought. Wrong, buddy - no cheese tasting nor touring the factory, but we could buy ice cream and who can resist to that! The one scoop we got, is the same as four scoops in Belgium.
Finally the last leg to Afton, where we shopped in the Dollar Family and got some good deals. At our motel we went swimming and played with an inflatable ball (yes, Dollar Family) like kids. Then, we crossed the street and ordered food in the Red Baron, some sort of old fashioned fast food joint where the waitress comes up to the cars... except we were on foot.
Having our orders we rushed back to the room, ate and wrote post cards.
July 15th: Elvis is gone!
This was going to be an easy day: just 15 miles of riding. We slept in a bit and enjoyed an all-you-can -eat cowboy breakfast.
We know now that sending a package to Belgium can be more expensive than you can imagine... but it was for a good cause! Also in the post office I bought lots of stamps for the postcards we need to write.
Then it was off to Albertsons for food: but the shop has been redecorated and ... Elvis is gone again! I couldn't believe it. I went over to someone who works in the shop and told him I had two questions: firstly, what is an eggplant and secondly, where did Elvis go? Boy, did he give me a strange look then! But I insisted and then he remembered Elvis had been in the shop and he did not know where he was now. If anyone in Jackson Hole can help me out...
We finally took the rollercoaster bicycle path to Hoback Junction where we camped just next to the Snake River. No shower for me that night: the river did just fine! And I even got Sofie in there!
Our dinner was soup with beans and that tasted almost better than our dinner from the previous night. Sofie is trying out all the various beans... I do not have to tell you what the consequences are!
We know now that sending a package to Belgium can be more expensive than you can imagine... but it was for a good cause! Also in the post office I bought lots of stamps for the postcards we need to write.
Then it was off to Albertsons for food: but the shop has been redecorated and ... Elvis is gone again! I couldn't believe it. I went over to someone who works in the shop and told him I had two questions: firstly, what is an eggplant and secondly, where did Elvis go? Boy, did he give me a strange look then! But I insisted and then he remembered Elvis had been in the shop and he did not know where he was now. If anyone in Jackson Hole can help me out...
We finally took the rollercoaster bicycle path to Hoback Junction where we camped just next to the Snake River. No shower for me that night: the river did just fine! And I even got Sofie in there!
Our dinner was soup with beans and that tasted almost better than our dinner from the previous night. Sofie is trying out all the various beans... I do not have to tell you what the consequences are!
July 14th: There's a hole in my bucket...
There's a bear in the park, Sofie, Sofie
There's a bear in the park and what should I do?
You talk to the bear, Renee, Renee
You talk to the bear very quietly Renee
And what should I say, Sofie, Sofie
And what should I say to the bear Sofie?
... I didn't get any further than this singing while cycling, but I imagine I will come up with the rest one day.
So before leaving our nice wooden cabin, I asked Sofie:"what if I open the door and a bear is standing in front of our door?" "Ah," she answered "you have to check before you open the door! Look trhough the peeping hole..." I must say that when we finally left, Sofie just opened the door as if nothing could happen.
Breakfast was great: sitting in front of the general store on a bench, face in the sun, hot chocolate in one hand and a bagel with a banana in the other. What more is life about?
We bicycled up to Jackson Lodge - the fancy lodging place - but inside there is this huge sitting room where everyone can just plunge into a sofa and enjoy the view of the mountains (yes, there was still snow on them!). Outside we watched two young prairiedogs playing with each other. As we left the lodge, Sofie read that someone had seen a bear two miles from the lodge. I thought for sure: this will be the moment.
Alas, the trompeter swans were gone fishing in some other river - not the Snake and the bear went berry picking on another mountain. We saw hardly any wildlife. Guess we had to do with the wildflowers along the road. If you are ever there, take the ride along Jenny lake and cut in along the campground. It's wild and there's hardly anyone there - this in contrast with the crowd at the visitor center at jenny Lake.
This year we could enjoy the awesome bike path from the center to Moose - just outside Teton park. We hopped inside the new visitor center of the park: what an enjoyable experience and we were lucky 'cause authors were sitting there signing their work... which I coudn't resist. People were standing on the bridge across the Snake river and I hoped this was going to be IT... well - seeing a moose grazing next to the river was also awesome.
Moose has an outdoor outlet shop called Moosely Seconds and Sofie got herself a new hat - for the cold days in Utah!!!
The road to Jackson Hole will get much nicer when the bikepath will continue on until town - at the Dairy Queen, where I got my first coke float of the trip!
Sofie and I had our bicycles checked in the local bicycle shop... what a friendly people we met!
In the evening we walked to town and I guess we ate in the most fancy place - I almost asked the waiter if we could do the dishes instead of paying.
There's a bear in the park and what should I do?
You talk to the bear, Renee, Renee
You talk to the bear very quietly Renee
And what should I say, Sofie, Sofie
And what should I say to the bear Sofie?
... I didn't get any further than this singing while cycling, but I imagine I will come up with the rest one day.
So before leaving our nice wooden cabin, I asked Sofie:"what if I open the door and a bear is standing in front of our door?" "Ah," she answered "you have to check before you open the door! Look trhough the peeping hole..." I must say that when we finally left, Sofie just opened the door as if nothing could happen.
Breakfast was great: sitting in front of the general store on a bench, face in the sun, hot chocolate in one hand and a bagel with a banana in the other. What more is life about?
We bicycled up to Jackson Lodge - the fancy lodging place - but inside there is this huge sitting room where everyone can just plunge into a sofa and enjoy the view of the mountains (yes, there was still snow on them!). Outside we watched two young prairiedogs playing with each other. As we left the lodge, Sofie read that someone had seen a bear two miles from the lodge. I thought for sure: this will be the moment.
Alas, the trompeter swans were gone fishing in some other river - not the Snake and the bear went berry picking on another mountain. We saw hardly any wildlife. Guess we had to do with the wildflowers along the road. If you are ever there, take the ride along Jenny lake and cut in along the campground. It's wild and there's hardly anyone there - this in contrast with the crowd at the visitor center at jenny Lake.
This year we could enjoy the awesome bike path from the center to Moose - just outside Teton park. We hopped inside the new visitor center of the park: what an enjoyable experience and we were lucky 'cause authors were sitting there signing their work... which I coudn't resist. People were standing on the bridge across the Snake river and I hoped this was going to be IT... well - seeing a moose grazing next to the river was also awesome.
Moose has an outdoor outlet shop called Moosely Seconds and Sofie got herself a new hat - for the cold days in Utah!!!
The road to Jackson Hole will get much nicer when the bikepath will continue on until town - at the Dairy Queen, where I got my first coke float of the trip!
Sofie and I had our bicycles checked in the local bicycle shop... what a friendly people we met!
In the evening we walked to town and I guess we ate in the most fancy place - I almost asked the waiter if we could do the dishes instead of paying.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
July 13: Snow in july!
Hurray! The monster eye is almost gone.
Today Sofie earned her ribbon as a bike mechanic: she took out the front wheel and had to replace her tube for a new one. This was her second flat... just when we wanted to have an early start to beat the traffic. At the breakfast place we met 4 older guys from Brugge: "zie junder van de vlanders?" was their question.
As we were about to leave it rained a bit - it was also rather cold but weather expert said times would get better.
Sofie started like a rocket and I had to scream at her to stop for the sign of the Continental Divide. I guess she was desperately looking for relief in a toilet. Meanwhile I enjoyed the ride along Lewis Lake, Lewis Falls and the Snake River canyon. Just before leaving Yellowstone National Park you get a view of the snow covered Tetons far away.
In Flagg Ranch we had lunch and I couldn't resist to buy some cheese. We needed our energy for the next climb into Teton National Park. Some cyclists had warned us that the road sucked, but I thought it was great to ride while all traffic was halted by the flagmen - even though we had to ride on hard packed surface with rocks and gravel. On the downhill into Teton Park we had a good talk with this flagman. We waited there almost an hour and he showed us pictures of bears he had seen while working there. Sometimes it's hard to think that bears can just jump out on the road.
Teton Park describing is hard: I love the view of the blue lake with on the other side the sharp snow covered mountains. Along the road the alpine flowers bloom, giving the green grass spots of yellow, red and white.
At Colter Bay village it was time for us to do laundry. We were warned again for bears in this surroundings.
At Colter bay
Today Sofie earned her ribbon as a bike mechanic: she took out the front wheel and had to replace her tube for a new one. This was her second flat... just when we wanted to have an early start to beat the traffic. At the breakfast place we met 4 older guys from Brugge: "zie junder van de vlanders?" was their question.
As we were about to leave it rained a bit - it was also rather cold but weather expert said times would get better.
Sofie started like a rocket and I had to scream at her to stop for the sign of the Continental Divide. I guess she was desperately looking for relief in a toilet. Meanwhile I enjoyed the ride along Lewis Lake, Lewis Falls and the Snake River canyon. Just before leaving Yellowstone National Park you get a view of the snow covered Tetons far away.
In Flagg Ranch we had lunch and I couldn't resist to buy some cheese. We needed our energy for the next climb into Teton National Park. Some cyclists had warned us that the road sucked, but I thought it was great to ride while all traffic was halted by the flagmen - even though we had to ride on hard packed surface with rocks and gravel. On the downhill into Teton Park we had a good talk with this flagman. We waited there almost an hour and he showed us pictures of bears he had seen while working there. Sometimes it's hard to think that bears can just jump out on the road.
Teton Park describing is hard: I love the view of the blue lake with on the other side the sharp snow covered mountains. Along the road the alpine flowers bloom, giving the green grass spots of yellow, red and white.
At Colter Bay village it was time for us to do laundry. We were warned again for bears in this surroundings.
At Colter bay
July 12th: outrun the bison!
Last night the coyotes were yipping and howling. But bears... no sign of them. They must be on holiday! And the monster was still in Yellowstone. Yes, I could open my eye maybe 3 mm this morning. Wait till you see the pictures. It's as if Sofie gave me a black eye.
I was excited today: Bison day. A ride through Hayden Valley in Yellowstone is almost the same as a 100% chance of seeing Bison... real close up. This year they seemed to be scattered all around the place instead of staying in a herd. Those 1 ton animals look scary when you are on your bicycle and they are sometimes only 5 meter away. Round every bend we thought a bison was standing there. Luckily not one thought we were good meat - I did have bison meatballs teh day before for dinner!
We walked around Mud vulcano and the smell was so disgusting - rotten eggs!
From Fishing Bridge on we cycled along Yellowstone Lake... most of the time. This is not really my favourite part of the ride. But at West Thumb we could walk around crystal blue basins again.
At Grant Village we ate at the lake house while a thunderstorm blew over. The mashed potatoes tasted so awesome that we had some for desert. It was another great day in the park.
I was excited today: Bison day. A ride through Hayden Valley in Yellowstone is almost the same as a 100% chance of seeing Bison... real close up. This year they seemed to be scattered all around the place instead of staying in a herd. Those 1 ton animals look scary when you are on your bicycle and they are sometimes only 5 meter away. Round every bend we thought a bison was standing there. Luckily not one thought we were good meat - I did have bison meatballs teh day before for dinner!
We walked around Mud vulcano and the smell was so disgusting - rotten eggs!
From Fishing Bridge on we cycled along Yellowstone Lake... most of the time. This is not really my favourite part of the ride. But at West Thumb we could walk around crystal blue basins again.
At Grant Village we ate at the lake house while a thunderstorm blew over. The mashed potatoes tasted so awesome that we had some for desert. It was another great day in the park.
Monday, July 20, 2009
July 11th: monster in Yellowstone ...
Sofie woke up and as she turned to me she screamed: "there's a monster in the tent"! She said I looked like the guy from the Notre Dame in Paris! My left eye was completely closed and thick from ... the nasty mosquitoes! Whatever I tried... I couldn't open it. Went to the bathroom and scared two girls there... resulting in their mom coming back - she was a nurse and gave me all kind of good advice like no driving for me! Well, a bicycle is ridden, so that didn't count. That day we walked the South rim of the Grand Canyon, walked to the brink of the upper and lower falls of the Yellowstone river, walked to inspiration point. Too bad I could only see half of it. Our succes of hitching a ride back was zero. Even here at a trailhead a man came up and gave me a bag of ice cubes to put on my eye. Anyways: the canyon is a formidastic place to be with rainbows over the water and the yellow, pink and orange steep walls, carved by the Yellowstone river. On our way back we saw elk next to the road.
Showers in the National park cost 3$25!! One can either choose to drink a beer or have a shower!
Sofie has over 20 bites of mosquitoes but for the rest... all goes well!
Showers in the National park cost 3$25!! One can either choose to drink a beer or have a shower!
Sofie has over 20 bites of mosquitoes but for the rest... all goes well!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
July 10th: What's lurking behind the trees?
A cold night - even in the cabin but at 7 am the sun was already warming up the air. Breakfast this time was a banana nut muffin and mint thee, sitting on the stairs before the shop. At 9 am we started our 4 mile climb out - and lucky slow me: I saw an elk wandering over the road about 7m ahead of me. I even stopped an upcoming car, making sure neither the persons in the car nor the elk would get hurt. The top of the climb is called the Golden Gate - as the walls of the canyon are yellow. The steady uphill towards Norris (yesterday's ride reverse) went well but the bison were off wandering somewhere else. We ate lunch at a spot overlooking Norris basin. Further down the road we took the scenic one-way ride to see the Virginia cascades: a tough but short climb. I had all forgotten about that other climb along the main road, but I knew a screaming downhill into Canyon Village was coming up. Tent spot B 36 was our home for 2 nights. The visitor center about vulcanoes was very interesting and the displays were awesome. The geology explained there made everything more understandable. After dinner I wanted to see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Lucky us - a man gave us a ride to the start of the North rim. It was very quiet there - it being late already. Sofie and I both started to walk faster - especially when we took the shortcut through the woods, which seemed to take forever. Instead of being chased by a bear we had to battle musquitoes. Not so fun. Sofie looks as if she has some disease with red spots on her body.
July 9th: Where are the mammoths???
A night in a tent in Yellowstone National Park has always been something to remember. In the middle of the night I heared a thumping noise and my imagination added some sniffing too! I woke up Sofie , but then it stopped. Later in the night, Sofie woke me saying there is a beast running around. I heared nothing and went back to sleep. That morning looked grey with clouds still hanging over the top of the pine trees. It was cold and I took out leg warmers, sweater and gloves. My packs were suddenly a lot lighter. Breakfast was our usual oatmeal cookie - this time sitting on a fallen tree, trying to catch the first rays of the sun. Riding out we knew we were going to get warm very soon, since we had to climb along the Gibbon river. A flagman (a person with a sign in her/his hand showing STOP or SLOW) made us stop for almost one hour - right before Gibbon Falls. Our next stop was a visit at the geysers in Norris Basin. Then came the final part of the ride to Mammoth Hot springs: dangerous, we were told... because of the traffic. Roaring mountain was still fuming and the bison was standing a little further down the road. We finally reached the upper terrace of Mammoth Hot Springs. Here we walked the wooden boards again to view the hot springs, dead trees and yellow flowers in the bright white sandy like earth. Beware - it's no sand! We slept in cabin C9 on top of the hill. After dinner we walked around the lowest terrace, viewing white and grey and orange colors on the ground. That evening we wrote postcards (yes...)
July 8th: to see or not to see!
I felt excited today and the plan was to leave early, until I saw my battery of my cell phone was low. We postponed our departure for half an hour. Then it was into Yellowstone National Park. Sofie raced off, leaving me behind in my usual slow but steady pace. Ha, she missed the scenic route along the river. The eagles nest was empty and even the trumpeter swans were on holiday. Madison Campground was our first goal that day. Here we pitched my tent and put all our bags in the bearproof box. Second part of the day we bicycled up along the Firehole river and falls to the lower and middle basin. The smoke of the hot water coming from the hot springs or mud holes or geysers were in contrast with the cool mountain air. Dark clouds were gathering and I let Sofie decide if she wanted to go on to Old Faithfull (seeing that geyser is THE attraction for most of the tourists) with the chance of getting hit by a rain storm or heading back to the campground. Well, the second option was taken ... giving Sofie a reason to come back to see Old Faithfull! Told her she wasn't the first one who didn't see it. On our way back we saw bison and elk along the road and we just hardly made it into camp before the storm hit. I sat in my tent (cosy sleeping bag) while Sofie was standing in a small room (1m by 1m) watching the hail fall (she said they were almost the size of pingpongballs). We had our dinner after the storm: yes - salmon, something bears like! No spilling Sofie! Another storm rolled in and once again Sofie didn't make it in time for the tent. At last the sky cleared somewhat, but the temperature had dropped a lot. It was definitely time to hit the sack.
July 7th: plan D
The first view out of the tent were the morning clouds hanging over the mountains. It was going to be a beautiful day - for sure! Instead of going into Idaho and then to the KOA, we took the more scenic route along Earthquake lake and Hebgen Lake. This made the ride somewhat longer, but the scenery made up for it. Arriving at West Yellowstone we did our errands: visit the post office to send to much weight to our final destination, visit the bicycle shop Freewheel and Heel, we bought ourselves a National Parks pass - I wanted to donate but in the end we got it cheaper than buying our tickets apart! Sofie found herself a good pair of sandals - with toes! We had dinnere at the brewpub and spent the rest of our time repacking our bags, while we watched the Michael Jackson's memorial on TV.
July 6th: Ride the wild wind!
Our aim today was to reach West Yellowstone KOA. But after plan B comes plan C. We bicyled slightly uphill along the Madison River. It was surely into the wind. Along the road we met a Belgian couple heading towards Seatlle: they've been on the road since april when they left the east coast of the USA. At the junction heading towards Idaho we decided to call it a day. There was a campground and we would be sleeping next to the Madison river, close to Earthquake lake. Before dinner we rode our bikes to the visitor center and learned all about the landslide which happened in the middle of the night in august 1959. I must say I felt very comfortable sleeping at this spot!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
July 5th: First day cycling and already plan B
Advice from insiders and locals is never to be ignored. So instead of cycling through the narrow canyon leading to Big Sky, we set of to the small cowboy town of Ennis, MT. Well, not exactly set off... 'cause after a mile of 6, at the gas station of Belgrade we noticed a flat back tire. This meant taking off all the packs and for Sofie finding her instruction book on "How do I reapir a flat tire". Together we managed to fix the problem ... even though we cursed a few times (riding without breaks is not an option) - I even thought we were going to go to plan C already!
On the bikes again, pedaling now over the hills. Suddenly a dog ran out of the garden and Sofie's heart rate jumped to maximum. A yell "STAY" kept the dog from following us.
Soon we were heading towards the Madison river. Ask Sofie all about rivers and she will be able to tell you lots about them now. Hey, Lewis and Clark needed them to get around! There was a lot of activity on the river: floating and fly fishing. I saw pelicans in the river, but Sofie thought they were fake! No way!
Norris gas station is a relief post where we got new fuel to tackle the hill of 3 miles 6% up and the headwinds. On top a small rainstorm came over. This was very cooling!
The rest of the trip to Ennis is along a flat road. Once the sun was back, we had to deal with the wind also. We stayed at a log cabin, since there is no campground in Ennis.
That evening I introduced Sofie to eating at Subway.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
A day in the air
July 2nd was mostly spent in the air. Driver Eddy rang my bell at 4.45 am. In no time were we at the airport in Zaventem. Meanwhile I know a lot more about Eddy... We were too early to check in and had the bright idea to eat breakfast. Suddenly, Emma, Marie and their mom showed up: they have their own story to tell about Emma's departure to Canada! After checking in (yes, Sofie gave the right answers) we headed for the gate and waited...and waited. Disappointment all over when we noticed that our plane did not have the individual screens. The flight to Atlanta went smooth - the landing in Atlanta wasn't the applause worth..We bumped and skidded all over the place. Going through customs and immigration was a breeze, although Sofie got scolded at for not staying in line! Our bicycles were already at the luggage carousel and in no time we got our bags also. It is a hassle checking the luggage back in, but these are American rules. Our second flight took us to Salt Lake City: I just remember it was colder and that I slept a lot. Had to wake Sofie while the plane was landing. In the airport we had plenty of time to eat and to walk some miles, before we got on the small plane to Bozeman, Montana. Hurray: both bicycles and all the bags made it with us. This is a great start.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Almost on the road....
Tomorrow is the big day. Today madness was all over the place ! The first big drama occured when I couldn'ot find my bankcard: gosh I went over my actions the last couple of days and couldn't remember the last moment I had used it. Finally it appeared when I looked more thouroughly. Second panic attack stroke when I couldn't open the drawer where my pasport and money was: something was stuck and I almost ended up with my hand stuck too! At last I took a screwdriver and punched a hole in the box which was the cause of all this commotion.
Sofie came over with her bicycle box and had to do a second taping job - physical therapy on the box, I told her!
I'm very anxious to get there now... nervous about what I will have forgotten this time.
Eddy, our chauffeur tomorrow, came over to see the boxes! He seems like a nice guy - with lots of humor! Asked us if we'll take care of the breakfast tomorrowmorning. Yes, it's gonna be an early start (getting up at 4 am) and a very very long day (and not too much sleep).
Hopefully I'll write again on the 3rd of july!
Sofie came over with her bicycle box and had to do a second taping job - physical therapy on the box, I told her!
I'm very anxious to get there now... nervous about what I will have forgotten this time.
Eddy, our chauffeur tomorrow, came over to see the boxes! He seems like a nice guy - with lots of humor! Asked us if we'll take care of the breakfast tomorrowmorning. Yes, it's gonna be an early start (getting up at 4 am) and a very very long day (and not too much sleep).
Hopefully I'll write again on the 3rd of july!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
A saturday afternoon at the Boarebreker
Sofie and I sat in the Boarebreker this afternoon. This is one of the elderly homes in our city. It didn't start very well: no one at the reception and I did not bring the recommendation letter along. We took the elevator to the 4th floor - hoping to see someone there we know! No luck! Then the nurses asked us why we were there, and I had a hard time to formulate our goal. At last the guy asked me what I really wanted and I answered:"a table ... and some chairs to sit at the reception downstairs". This guy (with long hair in a ponytail) took us down again and helped us to get organised. The first person that entered the building gave us nothing, so we changed our lines a bit and started immediately with the goal: The Flemish Alzheimer League. It worked! This was a very very good afternoon! Fun part was when the guy from upstairs came back down and I went over to him and did my whole explanation again... not recognizing him, until he turned a bit and I noticed the ponytail again. Sofie was chocking with laughter, 'cause she did recognize him! A lot of people were really interested in our ride... one guy in particular who was going to make a cycling trip next summer. Some people also told us they couldn't ride along... Anyways, we thank everyone again for being so generous!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Fundraising on a saturday afternoon
The hospital AZ St. Jan campus Serruys was our goal today. Sofie and I sat at the entrance. The whole afternoon we asked people who entered to give us money - in exchange they will recieve a postcard from us while we are in the United States cycling our 2200 kilometers. We found it surprising that many people gave us money! Thanks to everyone who donated.
Sport workshops in Ensorinstituut
Friday 29th of May we held a sporting event in my school. Not too many people subscribed, but we decided to go on with the event anyways.
First of all the students of the 1st year of Middle school played some kind of softball against the teachers. The students of 1 B were the real champions: they crushed everyone! The students of 1 A did well but by now the teachers were wamed up and knew how the game iw being played at school. The teacher of English (Mr. Calcoen) was the first teacher to score a home run! The game was fun and even some of the older students from high school said "hey, this is great - we should do this also!"
From 5 pm till 9 pm we organised 3 work shops - all of them given by a teacher of the school. Just anybody could join as long as they paid 2 euro for the good cause. The first session included karate moves... some people were already 'dead' after this one. The second session let us work out on the step, aerobics, ropejumping (what a killer!) and, of course, abs! Salsa was the last session, which was rated high by everyone! I say thumbs up to all the participants and thank you for helping us raise money!
Antiques market
My street celebrates an annual "Belle Epoque" market. Most of the houses in my neighbourhood were build at that time. This year I decided to try to sell some of the stuff I never use anymore. Also, our school had a bunch of French books and an old encyclopedia which they gave me (they were too old!!). But... on May 24th I was on my way home from Barcelona (a schooltrip). So Sofie was so good to arrive early at my place. I must say: when I finally arrived just after noon (from a night sleeping on the bus), I found her sitting there looking rather cold. The sun just started to appear and it was finally getting warmer. We had a good time looking at people passing by or just counting how much our neighbour was eating...I had some old books of Physical Education out - it looked rather silly, but at least two persons were interested in teh book "Learning how to Swim". We had some fun trying to get rid of all the old French books... no one was interested in them. In the end we urged people to take a French book when they had bought something else. Some people found it very difficult to decide how much they wanted to give us: our rule was "we do this for the Flemish Alzheimer League, the Ensorinstituut and the Vloedlijn... You may give whatever you want to give..."
Thanks Sofie (and your mom) for sitting there in the cold morning!
Photoshoot
On the 16th of May we had an appointement with the press in front of Design Bike Shop in Oostende. It wasn't sunny at all :( but we took our pictures with Sweet Machine and Zulma, wearing my school t-shirt with the back in front.
Monday, May 11, 2009
The Giants of Flanders - De Reuzen van Vlaanderen
Last Saturday (5/9) both Sofie and I started the 75 kilometers of the cycling tour called the Giants of Flanders. This was a first serious test for Sofie's knee... and she did pretty well, especially considering the fact that she had been living on a farm for three days - an excursion trip with her school - and did not sleep a lot. On the market of Ronse we felt like two outcasts... neither of us wearing the proper cycling shirts nor having the sophisticated bicycles. Nevertheless we set out on the route... and almost missed our first turn. The first hill, Fiertelmeers, was already a tough one. "Is this how the ride in America will be" was Sofie's unspoken question. The Schapenberg came next... Those 2 hills made us already sweat - time to take off the pants. The next hills were not as bad: Kraaiberg, Le Horlitin and Kluisberg. On the downhill we could see Avelgem - we've been there to play volleyball. The route gave us a bit of a chance to catch our breath before attacking De Oude Kwaremont. Along the road one can still find some evidence of the Tour of Flanders. Next killer was the Paterberg: the cobblestones are not my thing and about halfway I jumped of Sweet Machine and pushed my way up (yes, push because even that is work). The easiest hill is the Waaienberg - it was a breeze to reach the top. Last hill before the foodstand was the Koppenberg... yes... too steep for many cyclists... also for me and Sweet Machine. The cookies, water and fruit were very appreciated. It's now definite: Sofie doesn't like bananas and I love bananas. Keeping Sofie's knee in mind we decided to make our own route now - back to St. Martens Latem (visit my relatives there). Using the maps I had brought along, we managed to follow the numbers of the network. Flanders still has some big cobblestones lying around! We followed the Schelde (river) for a while. There we made a pit stop break at Mac Pudding: what a name for a tea room! The ice cream was a great idea! Overall we cycled about 80 kilometers, setting a new distance record for Sofie!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
WATA...
So, what's all this about?
Needed to celebrate my 50th birthday! Do something special in my life... I spent my summerdays cycling in the USA for many years. At the end of August 2008 the idea took shape: the love for cycling and being outdoors could be combined with fundraising.
Next step was setting a goal. That didn't take too long: the Flemish Alzheimer League and my school Ensorinstituut Oostende. As Sofie got enthousiastic about cycling with me this summer, we added her school, MPIGO De Vloedlijn, to the list of beneficiaries.
How will we raise money?
The party on december 12th where villains and murderers met in the farm Buitengoed, situated at the outskirts of Oostende was our fir
st project. With the help of Céline, Friedel and Sofie we got the house ready. A quiz, a cheese plate and dance made this an ejoyable evening. Thanks to everyone who donated to our cause!
On december 19th, we joined our first session with the family group region Oostende of the Flemish Alzheimer League.
During the first months of 2009 Sofie and I got together to plan other actions. We came up with a plan to make a poster announcing our trip. We went to different shops and friends who were so generous to sponsor us.
The poster mentions that everyone who donates at least 7 EUR to us, will receive a postcard from us while we are cycling. It also shows the route we will follow: from Bozeman, MT through Yellowstone and Teton Nat'l park to Salt Lake City in Utah. From there we keep cycling south (Provo, Nephi, Manti, Richfield) and partly east in order to reach Torrey and Capitol Reef Nat'l Park. We will then head into the desert of Boulder and Escalante. Bryce is the next nat'l park on our list. The finale of our trip is a visit to the Grand Canyon,Zion Nat'l Park and a reunion with friends of Cycle America. Our last riding days will be in the surroundings of St. George, UT. In total we should be cycling around 2300 km - every 7 EUR covers 10 km of our trip.
It's now almost May... 2 months to go before we leave Belgium for 2 months. There are more actions to come: a yard sale on May 24th (but I do not have a yard), teachers of my school will initiate sportactivities (May 29th), visits to hospitals. After our trip we plan to give a presentation about our trip. That should be the conclusion of our fundraising. To be contiued...
Needed to celebrate my 50th birthday! Do something special in my life... I spent my summerdays cycling in the USA for many years. At the end of August 2008 the idea took shape: the love for cycling and being outdoors could be combined with fundraising.
Next step was setting a goal. That didn't take too long: the Flemish Alzheimer League and my school Ensorinstituut Oostende. As Sofie got enthousiastic about cycling with me this summer, we added her school, MPIGO De Vloedlijn, to the list of beneficiaries.
How will we raise money?
The party on december 12th where villains and murderers met in the farm Buitengoed, situated at the outskirts of Oostende was our fir
st project. With the help of Céline, Friedel and Sofie we got the house ready. A quiz, a cheese plate and dance made this an ejoyable evening. Thanks to everyone who donated to our cause!On december 19th, we joined our first session with the family group region Oostende of the Flemish Alzheimer League.
During the first months of 2009 Sofie and I got together to plan other actions. We came up with a plan to make a poster announcing our trip. We went to different shops and friends who were so generous to sponsor us.
The poster mentions that everyone who donates at least 7 EUR to us, will receive a postcard from us while we are cycling. It also shows the route we will follow: from Bozeman, MT through Yellowstone and Teton Nat'l park to Salt Lake City in Utah. From there we keep cycling south (Provo, Nephi, Manti, Richfield) and partly east in order to reach Torrey and Capitol Reef Nat'l Park. We will then head into the desert of Boulder and Escalante. Bryce is the next nat'l park on our list. The finale of our trip is a visit to the Grand Canyon,Zion Nat'l Park and a reunion with friends of Cycle America. Our last riding days will be in the surroundings of St. George, UT. In total we should be cycling around 2300 km - every 7 EUR covers 10 km of our trip.
It's now almost May... 2 months to go before we leave Belgium for 2 months. There are more actions to come: a yard sale on May 24th (but I do not have a yard), teachers of my school will initiate sportactivities (May 29th), visits to hospitals. After our trip we plan to give a presentation about our trip. That should be the conclusion of our fundraising. To be contiued...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
