Day 11: Jenny Lake (Teton National Park) to Bridge Bay Campground (Yellowstone) – 76 miles
The whole first week of this trip was too easy. Good weather, abundant food and shelter...all good practice to get into the swing of things.
Today was more challenging. I was expecting to only ride 55 miles, so I took a leisurely start - it was cold and I stopped a number of times in the first 15 miles to switch layers and take photos and eat more breakfast (after the 4 pancakes and giant serving of scrambled eggs I had this morning at the JLLodge employee dining room - thanks Luke!).
Moral of the story it was 11 by the time I got to Yellowsto...
Monsoon likely to Arrive this Weekend
Nepal's Meteorological Forecasting Division (MFD) based in Kathmandu, Nepal, is indicating that the summer monsoon will likely begin within the next few days.
An abundance of moisture in the air in the northeastern part of the country makes thunderstorms increasingly likely in the near future, causing concerns about further landslides. [1. Meteorological Forecasting Division. “Special Weather Update.” Government. Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, June 11, 2015. http://www.mfd.gov.np/content/?id=131.] Already, landslides have been triggered by the ...
Day 10: Dubois to Jenny Lake, Teton Nat’l Park – 73 miles
If every day in cycling was like this one, everyone would quit their jobs to ride across the country. The weather was perfect (up until 5 minutes ago), the scenery is astounding and rapidly varying, and the people hospitable.
This morning John from Steamboat took off early. Jim and I got on the road around 7 after letting our tents dry out from the heavy dew and slowly climbed up Togwotee Pass. After Berthoud it really didn't feel too hard, or maybe it was the scenery distracting me.
A couple miles down from the summit, the road comes around a bend and BOOM- ...
Early June in Darkha
The work continues in Darkha preparing for the rainy season. Our Nepal Coordinator Gopal Tamang shared these photos with us, and we're passing them along to you. It's heartening to see members of the community working together like this, and it's nice to be reminded that, despite all there is to do, progress is being made.
Day 8 (rest day) And Day 9: Lander to Dubois, Wy – 78 miles
I'd like to start off by saying a MASSIVE thank you to the Crawfords, my warmshowers hosts in Lander for taking such good care of me for two nights! When I left this morning I felt like I was saying goodbye to a favorite aunt,uncle, and cousin- and not to random strangers I met on the internet.
After Mark cooked a delicious and hearty breakfast on Sunday, sammy and her friend Ryan took me up to The Sinks, where the PopoAgie (pronounced popozha) river misteriously disappears into holes in the limestone and travels underground 1/4 mile(which takes 4hours) before re-emerging ...
Little Feet Denver Blog: “We Recycle Shoes”
Little Feet, Denver has an interesting post on their blog describing their efforts at recycling shoes and the organizations they partner with, including us! We're so grateful to Little Feet for collecting shoes for our Shoes for Sherpas program, and for carrying our Darkha Relief Fund t-shirts!
Sadly, the April 2015 earthquakes and their aftershocks have caused us to temporarily suspend the collection of shoes for our "Shoes for Sherpas" program so that we can focus 100% of our resources on providing relief to rural Nepal. You can read more about the great work ...
Day 7: Baroil to Lander Wy -100.37 miles
I decided to set my alarm and get an early start this morning. It was overcast and breezy, and a couple miles past Muddy Gap it started to sprinkle. As I was putting on my rain gear at Split Rock Historic Site, another cyclist rode by and I worked hard to catch up. I spent the rest of the day riding with Joel, a software engineer from Denver who recently quit his job and is riding to Coeur D'alene, ID to compete in an ironman before starting his own company. The good conversation distracted me from the miles, and before I knew it we were only 40 miles (of mostly ...
Day 6: Saratoga to Baroil, WY – 81 miles
After a solid night's sleep on a comfortable mattress, I got an early start from Brandon & Sam's in Saratoga. They recommended I stop at the bakery, so I picked up some delicious pastries on my way out of town for a mid morning snack. Between Saratoga and Wolcott, I had to be driven half way through a 12-mile construction zone (wy law), which almost made up for the time I lost picking my way down the grooved pavement through the other half of the construction zone.
The 15 mile stretch on I-80 to Rawlins was actually pleasant- due to the wide, well-paved shoulder ...
Day 5: Walden, CO to Saratoga, WY – 69 miles
Couldn't ask for better weather today- clear skies and barely a breeze. This morning I rode with John from Steamboat and we caught up with the British couple shortly after the state line. They all stopped for lunch in Riverside while I continued on to Saratoga to meet my wonderful warmshowers hosts, Brandon and Sam, who are both teachers. After a nice afternoon nap and an ice cream cone, I'm feeling much refreshed, though still very sleepy and everything is sore.
Day 4: Fraser to Walden, CO -79 miles
If yesterday's mental hurdle was the physical battle of the hardest pass of the trip, today was certainly the first big emotional hurdle. Since I lived in Fraser all winter and spent last night on my own former couch (thanks ex-roomies!), yesterday felt like a hard ride with a good friend and I got to go home when it was over. Today, however, I set out on my own, riding off into the unknown (ok, not entirely unknown as I've ridden this stretch of road and camped in Walden before.) It was a hard and emotional departure from the valley.
Once I got past Granby and stopped ...
