I made it! I arrived at home about 1 PM today after riding 62 miles from Brigham City, Utah. Since leaving home 58 days ago on June 28, I’ve traveled 2847 miles by bicycle.
Here are some pictures from my arrival:
After that, I showered, napped, unpacked, and had some dinner. That’s about all I could accomplish the rest of the day.
I set a personal record this week in my attempt to get home by August 24. In the last seven days, I’ve ridden 494 miles. In the seven days previous to that, I rode 425 miles. I’ve also ridden every day since August 8, the day I rolled my bike off of the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry in Bellingham, Washington.
That I’m tired goes without saying, but in the last few days I do feel like I’ve been recovering well each night and feeling reasonably fresh in the mornings. I think the difference is first of all the heat. Or, more correctly, the moderation of it. Those hot days coming across Washington and Oregon were very difficult. Now that the temperatures are in the low 80’s instead of the high 90’s, plus I’m having some tailwinds, I’m doing much better.
In my last post, I mentioned two possible routes I might take for my ride from Burley, Idaho to Snowville, Utah. One was the short way on Interstate 84. The other was on very remote secondary roads, but a little longer (87 miles versus 75 on I-84). I decided to take the longer route. It worked out well, especially since I had a tailwind almost the entire day. Here are some photos from yesterday’s ride and from the campground where I stayed in Snowville:
I’m afraid I don’t have much in the way of photos from today’s riding. I think it’s a symptom of getting closer to home — as you get closer, familiarity with the terrian makes it seem less interesting.
Tomorrow is the last day of my Alaska bicycle tour. It’s about 65 miles from the campground I’m at in Brigham City to my home in Salt Lake City.
It looks like it’s going to be a hot day (mid-90’s) with a headwind. I think the last day is going to be a tough one. I should arrive home at about 2 PM. After that, I’m taking a nice, long nap.
I slept in until 6:30 AM this morning. I had a ride of just 50 miles planned for today so I felt I could affort a late start. I was pretty foggy and half-asleep as I went about packing up and having some breakfast. The 94-mile ride the previous day must have left me foggier than usual because I was already about three-quarters the way through a bagel — one that had been stashed in my panniers for a few days — when I noticed the mold. That got me thinking: this bagel tastes kind of funny. In my sleepy state, it took me a couple more seconds to decide not to eat the rest of the bagel.
In Twin Falls, I stopped at a grocery store to get lunch and the rest of my breakfast. I went inside and came out with two bagels, carefully inspected to be mold-free, a few slices of monterey jack cheese (for the bagels), some trail mix, and a Starbuck’s Frappuccino. Yes, that’s right, 12 ounces of sugar-laden water, milk, and, I can only assume, some coffee, probably just as flavoring. This is an example of something I wouldn’t even think about eating normally, but I’ve been able to enjoy occasionally because I’m exercising 4-8 hours every day on this tour. That’s the power of exercise!
Here’s a map of my ride tomorrow:
This is the same route I took on my way up to Alaska. It’s 76 miles and about 54 of it are on Interstate 84. Not fun, but I remember there’s a very wide shoulder, so it’s at least as safe as any other highway. There’s one alternate route I might take, but it’s an extra eleven miles on an already long day, there are absolutely no services available as far as I can tell, plus I’m not sure what the road conditions are like. I’d have to be very careful to carry enough water with me for about 60 miles of riding. I haven’t decided which route to take. I’ll probably wait until morning to see how I feel.
Now that my tour is nearly over, I should probably introduce you to my riding partner on this tour. My apologies for not introducing him earlier.
I met him on July 12 on my ride from Prineville, Oregon to Welches, Oregon. That ride took me about 4000 feet up Mt. Hood. I had just started climbing at the base of Mt. Hood when I met him. I had stopped for a rest in the shade and to test my blood sugar.
I was just getting ready to leave when I saw him. He was face down in a puddle and didn’t look well at all.
I decided to give him a new home and on the way there, I’d take him to Alaska. So, I picked him up, brushed him off, and took him with me. That night, I ran him through a wash cycle and then I dried him out. He’s been dry and attached to a pannier zipper ever since.
He doesn’t say much, but the goofy look on his face keeps me smiling so I keep him.
I had to do some surgery on him the other day. The “hair” (that’s singular) on his head is how he’s attached to the pannier zipper and his hair was wearing out. I got out the sewing kit I purchased in Ketchikan, Alaska to repair the strap on my camera. A few stiches to hold his hair on better and we were good to go.
I rode 95 miles today! Early in my tour, I rode from Twin Falls, Idaho to Mountain Home, Idaho in two days. Now, on my return to Salt Lake City, I reversed that Twin Falls to Mountain Home route and did it in one day instead of two. Tonight, I’m staying in a KOA just outside of Jerome, Idaho which is about 7 miles north of Twin Falls. So, I didn’t do exactly the same route, but pretty close. I’m tired, but pleased to know my fitness level seems to have improved over the course of the tour.
Near Bliss, Idaho today, I met some people in a support van for a fund-raising bike tour which was taking a similar route as I was today. The ride, in its second year, is raising funds for something called the Genesis World Mission. All proceeds from this ride go towards underwriting dental care for the less fortunate in the Treasure Valley (essentially, the Caldwell, Idaho area) and launching a dental center in Kenya, Africa.
They invited me to lunch, but no offer of free dental care. Oh well. I guess that means my biike tour hasn’t been too taxing on me…or my teeth.
Lunch was just outside of Hagerman, Idaho, where they were spending the night. They seemed like a fun bunch of people. It was a small tour (maybe fifteen riders), but people from all over the country had come to Idaho to participate. Being a free lunch and a free lunch with cyclists enjoying the great outdoors and working for a cause they believe in, I couldn’t refuse. I didn’t stay long though because I still had about 35 more miles to ride today.
Here are some photos from today:
Comments(8)