Done with one adventure, ready to start another (Mile 1949 + about 200 miles hitch hiked)

Dipping my front tire in the Mississippi





I made it home! After going 330 miles in 3 days, I arrived and collapsed on the driveway at my parents house in Mendota Heights Minnesota.

I was driven from Minnewauken, ND (an the western side of devils lake) to Fargo by a guy that I found while explaining my situation to some people at the local store. We drove about 200 miles through Grand Forks and he dropped me at a random street corner in the city. After putting my bike back together, I got my bearings and slowly rode to a pretty nice bike shop. Man was I glad that I didn't have to ride further that day. It was close to 100 degrees, extremely humid, and it would have been a very strong headwind. I heard from other riders later on the trip that that was probably the worst day that they rode on the trip.

That night, I had arranged a place to stay with the same family that I stayed with in Williston, but I also had two other strangers offer me a place to stay. One woman actually found this blog when searching the internet and wrote me an Email, telling me that she had read that I was going to be in Fargo that night and that I could stay in her place if I needed somewhere to go.

The next day, I got an early start. I used a pretty decent tail wind and a beautiful day to go 115 miles. I felt really good that day and was ready to continue on after that town, but I figured it would be nice to stay in a city. Plus, when I got there, I saw that the group that I had stayed with in Whitefish was in the same park. That day, I went off the path on a bit of a shortcut which brought me through some small towns in Minnesota. In Rothsay, I stumbled upon a parade for the 125th anniversary of their town.

The following day, I again had the weather on my side. I have noticed throughout the trip, that weather conditions completely affected my mood. With another good day, I went another 115 miles to Milaca where I met my dad.

On my last day, my dad drove ahead of me in his car to help me plot out the way to get back home. This was a great day to end the trip, sunny weather, beautiful path along the river... Even though I started out feeling a little sick, I ended up making it about 95 miles home. I arrived home and collapsed in the driveway, it felt so good. I can't believe that I actually made it. When I was going from the ocean, through the mountains, through the desert and prairies, I was always tempted to give up. I have seen the country. Now I feel like I can do anything!

I think the most surprising aspect of the trip was the conversations that I had with so many different types of people from different backgrounds. I learned how to listen and relate to so many people. I wanted to say thank you to everyone who helped me with encouragement, kindness and generosity along the way.

Now that I'm back, I am getting ready to start medical school. I am finally starting to come to the realization that I am actually going to med school, something I have been working for for such a long time for. I hope that I will be able to succeed. I think that this bike trip was a good way to clear my mind before starting, and to instill confidence in my ability to overcome obstacles.

Snag in the road (Mile 1624)

I have been biking like a madman through North Dakota, averaging around 90 some miles per day. Probably because the end is in sight, and I have been getting excited to relax at home, I have been pushing my limits a lot more. Anna (my bike) has been doing very well overall with only some minor problems. Besides getting I think 9 flats, going through a tire, and some minor adjustments, she has been carrying on. Last night however, I noticed that my back wheel was very out of true. When I tried to fix it, I noticed that one of my spokes had broken and that several of my other spokes were very loose (I think in response to the broken spoke). I biked to the next town called Minnewauken (just south of Devils Lake, North Dakota where I am now) and I figured that I shouldn't go much further so that I don't break down in between towns which would probably be a fairly big problem. I was going to have my dad mail me some new spokes but that would mean that I would be stranded here for the next several days. While I was discussing my situation with some regulars at the town store, one of them told me that he is going to be driving east tomorrow and that I could ride with him to Fargo. So I am going to be staying here and resting tonight, and taking off for Fargo tomorrow to find a bike store. After that, I will get back on the road, and I should hopefully be home in 3-4 days depending on the weather and such!

Cowboys and Indians (mile 1336)

I have crossed over into North Dakota and now have probably under two weeks to go. I'm getting excited to get back but I have been seeing a lot of interesting parts of the country. A few days ago, after a long day of riding, I arrived in a very small town expecting to set up my tent and have a nice quiet night. Of course, that night just happened to be the night of their big town event, a rodeo that apparently people from all over the area come to see and a street dance. Two days later, while I was traveling through a reservation (I was warned that I should try not to stay there because it has one of the highest murder rates in the country) I happened upon a pow wow which I decided to stop in at. They had beautifully ornate outfits and traditional dances to drums and dancing.

Today I crossed over into North Dakota and I am spending the day in Wiliston, ND with an old friend of my uncles. We had an amazing dinner at his brother's house and I was able to do some well needed maintenance on Anna. I need to make sure to make it to a bike store because I have gone through all of my spare tubes and I am almost out of patch kits (I think I have had about 9 flats so far...) So far, I have been surviving the terrible heat and the terrible swarms of mosquitoes and gnats which even get me when I am on my bike.

conquered the mountains and now trying to conquer the heat (mile 945)

Glacier National Park

So I am now completely finished with all of the mountains for the rest of the trip (whew). Yesterday I went over my final pass just south of Glacier National Park (that actual road through Glacier is still closed due to snow). Very interesting how, again, right after I got over the Marias Pass, everything turned brown, and the trees, and the mountains disappeared. So I have been out in the plains for a couple days now and it is HOT. Yesterday, it was about 100 degrees and there were no trees anywhere for shade. I finally found a tree to take a break under, and as I stepped into the shade, a swarm of mosquitoes attacked me so I had to keep going. I hope that the weather will cool off a little cause I am not very good with this kind of heat.

A couple days ago something pretty cool happened. I stopped into a town library to take a break and check my email before heading on to the next town. When I was in there, I was recognized by a couple of guys who I met earlier in the trip who were biking with a group raising money for an HIV charity. They told me that they were about to head up into Glacier Park to hike a bit and offered me a spot in their van. I figured that this was too good to pass up, and I would have been really disappointed if I had not been able to make it into to the park, I went with them. It was gorgeous, even though I was hiking in my bike clothing and my bike shoes. I even saw my moose! I was so excited. When we returned back to town, their group welcomed me to stay with them in the church that they had arranged and they gave me food. I hope that I run into them again.

Its been so interesting how a lot of the people that I meet along the way are so willing to open up to me. I don't know if its just that they don't really have anyone else to talk to, but I have had lots of very deep and candid conversations with complete strangers who have been very upfront with very personal things in their lives.

Done with the first leg (Mile 527)

I have made it through my first map and through the state of Washington. Although I had a lot of trouble with the cascades and kettle mountains, I feel like I have survived the worst of it. I have been on relatively flat land for the past few days and I've been able to easily make up lots of miles. Yesterday I treated myself to a day off and a hotel room in Sandpoint Idaho (the biggest city that I've gone through so far). It was so nice to pretty much veg around the hotel room for most of the day and rest my butt. Kinda funny that through all of the biking and stuff, my legs aren't really that sore, its just my butt from sitting on that seat for about 10 hours a day that hurts a lot. So, by either tonight or tomorrow, I should be into Montana which I'm guessing will take a long time to get through. Gotta conquer the Rockies first.

I have run into several people touring across the country so far and each town that I go through says that they get a very large number of people touring through. I spent several nights going along side a mother and father touring to Maine with their 8 year old daughter. Very nice people and it was good to have some traveling companions to talk to at night. I have also recently been running into a group of college guys who are doing a van supported ride to New York as a fundraiser for a Uganda charity.

In the desert (mile 261)

I am now past the Cascades and into the desert. Pretty amazing how fast the climate changed from very cool and moist with snow all around, and a day later, its in the 80s and there are Ranches and all. Its very hot and there are not many trees to find shade. Right now I'm in Tonasket resting a little bit before hitting my next two passes. After Sherman pass, I will have few days of flat terrain cruising into Idaho. I haven't been able to figure out how to upload pictures off of my camera but I will definitely try to do that soon.

going through these damn mountains (mile 189)

Heres the group of that I went through the cascades with and stayed with at night

Hello everyone from the road,
So I have been out here almost a week and man is this hard work! I am now in Twisp Washington, a small town in central Washington just before making my next climb. I finished my first major climb yesterday which was absolutely exhausting!!! I can't describe how painful it was to be climbing straight up a mountain for 35 miles pulling Tubby (my trailer). It is kinda a constant struggle to force myself to look up appreciate my surroundings, which are breathtaking, despite the pain that I am in. I have been meeting a several amazing people along the way. I actually met up with a group of cyclists who were doing a supported ride yesterday. They were so kind, giving me water, and food, and eventually offering me a place to crash on the floor of one of their hotel rooms. Other than that night, I have been camping, in state and national camp reserves, or on the side of the road when I see a clearing. For those of you who expressed your concerns, no, I have not been eaten by a bear yet. I haven't found many flat grounds yet so I haven't been able to find a good pace. I have either been going 3.5 mph going up the mountains, or like 30 mph going down. I am dreaming of a time when I can find some flat ground, but I don't think that will be for several more weeks sadly. I have to end this blog because I am running out of time on my computer. I have many more stories which I will try to relay when I find some more Internet, which has been pretty hard. I hope everyone is doing well. Post some comments, I would love to hear who is reading this.