Day 60-64: (8/5-8/9/2008) Whitehorse to Beaver Creek, YT

Day 60: On our day off in Whitehorse Julio surprised us by flying in from Austin to finish off the ride with the team. His ankle was still broken but his doctors said he was clear to ride with us. He was slower than normal for him but he was still faster than I was for the rest of the trip. This picture was after our Julio surprise dinner.

The next several days we had this really gross cloud cover that prevented us from seeing some mountains that were probably beautiful. According to a local this area was the second highest populated grizzly area in Canada. Later the same day three of our riders saw a grizzly and her two cubs and decided to chase them on their bikes. Luckily no harm was done to either party.

At a rest stop in front of this lake many riders took nap time on the beach.

Day 55-59 (7/30-8/4/2008) Dease Lake, BC to Whitehorse, YT

The city was named because a single store was there. The owners mine their own jade and then sell it. I bought jewelery as souvenirs for my family from here. We camped behind the store and they allowed us to use their personal shower in the store.

Yukon Territory, Canada

Day 57: One of the girls first successful pace lines!

We were lallygagging because we were tired of being on our bikes. We did not usually waste time on the road but it was a hard day and we were all in goofy moods.

We stopped on a bridge to take pictures of the amazing views. The picture above is from the bridge, the picture below is from my bike looking down at the water through the bridge. We rode over several of these bridges, they were not a friend of mine. I really hated being able to see the water below me...it was very scary.

Mucluck Annies campground. The guys are playing battle ship in the two boats on the lake behind us. This place was absolutely beautiful.

Day 59: This was the last morning we were riding as just the Rockies team. We were on our way to Whitehorse, YT to meet up with the Sierra team. Mj wrote down all the names for the people all of our teammates were riding for. It was a pretty emotional ride dedication circle. I read the letter Mj's mom wrote to her brother Kyle after he passed away from leukemia. There were many people that truly inspired me this summer, Mj was one of them. She has seen more in her 19 years than most go through in a lifetime, she is such a strong person.

Day 46-54 (7/22/08-7/29/08)

This is a picture from the back yard of my hosts in Burns Lake. Their view was amazing, they had horses and a dog and they were incredibly generous to the five of us that were staying with them. They made us awesome breakfast and the whole team got sack lunches from the hosts. It was great eating lunch that day, we all traded food like we were in grade school again.

I love these signs.

Scotty A and I are enjoying the view. At this area in the river many natives were salmon fishing. We arrived two days after they kicked off salmon season. The natives would tie themselves to the rocks and simply stick large nets into the water. I saw several fish pulled out of the water within 20 minutes.

We are getting close to ALASKA!!

Day 36-45 (7/12/08-7/21/08)

We saw many of these fields in Alberta, Canada. They were quite amazing, we could see them from miles away because they were as bright as a yellow high lighter. They were fields of cannola.

It was quite ironic that someone had written why on the side of the road with rocks. That day at that rest stop our 15 passenger van stopped working. I made the trip in the minivan between Banff NP and this place (20 miles away) 5 times. We had to have AAA tow the van and trailer to a local shop only to find out the next day that there was nothing wrong with the van. It just decided it didnt want to start...it was a long day. In addition to the stress of this situation I charged ~$100 in roaming charges as talking on my cell phone now costs 69 cents a minute.

My birthday in Banff NP. This place is probably the most beautiful place I have seen the whole trip.

Banff NP

Lake Louise, Banff NP.

The road you see in the picture is where I was before I climbed the mountain I was on top of taking this picture. The climb was 9 miles long and steep.

Icefields, Banff NP

Day off in Prince George. Stella, Amy and I are all tubing. Shortly after this pic was taken Stella and I both went flying off our tubes. Although the water was freezing we had so much fun out there.

Day 30-35 (7/6/08-7/11/08)

The sunset in Bozeman, MT from my hosts house backyard.


Stella and I stopped to take pictures of the valley we were riding through.

Waiting at a rest stop we were restless waiting on a rider who took a wrong turn and created the T4K tree.

The ride through Blackfeet Nation, an Indian reservation, on our way to Glacier NP.

Glacier NP

Leaving the United States entering Canada.

Day 30 may have been one of the hardest days of the trip. It was 115 miles and the last 30 miles there was a terrible headwind. Before the headwind I was moving, I was ready to get off my bike and eat dinner. The headwind destroyed me and MJ had to pull the remainder of the day while I drafted off of her.

Montana was the hardest stretch we have had on the trip. We had 5 days in a row that were between 80 and 100 miles. Three of the days were 98-115 miles. By the time we reached Glacier NP my legs were spent and in need of a rest day.

Day 35 was not only exciting because it marked the halfway point of our trip but it also was the day we entered Canada. We stopped in Claresholm, AB where a local restaurant provided us with amazing dinner, we had showers at the RV park we were staying and had amazing weather.

Update

It has been quite a few days since I have had reliable internet connection and the time to post a blog. I am now in Bozeman, MT. The scenary here is absoultely amazing. The farther north we are in our journey the more beautiful the country is. My favorite day of riding was when we were entering Teton National Park. The moutains were breath taking and the ride was amazing. The team camped for the first time this past week. One night in Teton and two nights in Yellowstone National Park. I would like to visit Yellowstone again when it is not so busy...being fourth of July weekend it was out of control.

Today we rode 98 miles from West Yellowstone, MT to Bozeman, MT. We were decending for most of the ride and were following a river. The breeze coming off the river was about 10 degrees cooler than the air outside. It was a great ride even though we had a head wind. MJ and I rode together the entire day and we averaged over 20 mph for the majority of it!

I am currently collecting pictures from my teammates for the past week because when I was uploading pictures from my camera to my computer for the past 5 days my camera memory card decided it needed to be reformatted which means I lost all my pictures. Teton and Yellowstone pictures will be coming soon...

6/26/2008 Day 20: Fort Collins, CO to Laramie, WY 65 miles

Mikey trying to get down from some rocks he was napping on at a rest stop.

Peter is clearly upset about the rumble strips. Although they are great when you are running off the road and they make drivers aware of it they are not pleasant when you are on a bike. the area we where in had rumble strips all the way across the shoulder...there was no escaping them. Luckliy the sign was wrong and they lasted for less than a mile.

Todays ride was difficult, we climbed about 2000 feet with hills that lasted for several miles. Just when you thought you were reaching the crest there would be more. Most of the hills were long and gradual but lasted for the first 40 miles of the ride. As soon as we crossed the state border into Wyoming the road was pretty flat but wind was awful. My host, Janice has told me that the winds are constant in WY...something none of the team is looking forward to.

Stella and I are staying with Janice. She made us homemade ground buffalo and veggie lasagna which was amazing. We had a large variety for our salads and a boston cream cake with cherries on top. We were able to do laundry, take a long shower and talk with an amazing person. Janice has much knowledge and insight on life and Stella and I truly enjoyed spending time in her home.

Today I rode for a man I met this morning in Fort Collins Tim Ricketts. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer five years ago and had just gotten back from MD Anderson last night. He also just found out that yesterday was his last chemo treatment. His story is amazing, he inspired everyone on the team that was able to hear his story.

6/25/2008 Day 19: Boulder to Fort Collins, CO 43 miles

This bike was on the wall at the brewery. It turned around a chain ring and produced energy to power the lights in the room. It was pretty neat to watch it spin until we all started getting dizzy from it.

Todays ride was short and sweet. The weather was cool enough to keep us from sweating too much during our ride. Upon arriving in Fort Collins half the team headed to New Belgium Brewery to take a tour. It was really neat to learn about the company and see how some of my favorite beer is made. After the tour we headed back to our hosts house Margee and Bills house for dinner. they had roasted turkey and chicken, lasagna, homemade ice cream and blue berry cobbler. They also had a local massage therapist and bike mechanic. Most of the team received amazing massages and a tune up for our bikes. After dinner and dessert three of our teammates gave a presentation followed by many questions from the neighbors that helped with the festivities. I am truly amazed and appreciative at how each community we stop in is supporting us in this journey we are taking. This trip has helped me realized how giving people can be.

Today I rode for my teammate Katherine's mom. Her mom died when Katherine was only eight years old from a brain tumor. Over the past few weeks I have gotten to hear more about her moms fight and Katherine's quest to learn more about her mothers life. I know Katherine has been thinking about and missing her mother a lot this summer. I also know that her mother would be so proud of what she is doing for her.

6/24/2008 Day 18: Boulder, CO 0 miles

elk

a yellow bellied marmot

At the top!

My dad flew in to meet me in Boulder for our rest day. This morning we went to rocky mountain national park and drove up above the timber line. It was a great day, Bill and Mary Jo hosted dinner for half of the team. They have done so much for us the past few days and the team is truly appreciative of their generosity. I love Colorado, everywhere we go is beautiful, it will be sad to leave this state but we have a lot to look forward to.

6/23/2008 day 17: Denver to Boulder, CO 40 miles

Although todays ride was only 40 miles it seemed much longer. Driving through downtown Denver would be stressful but riding our bikes through it was incredibly stressful. Once we made it out of downtown we were still in a high traffic area for the majority of the ride, but we all made it safely to our destination tired from all the stress. Half of the team participated in "Rockies challenge 2008." Which consisted of a 140 mile ride from Denver to Boulder but also climbing Mt. Evans. All 10 riders made it to the top of the mountain and it then started snowing. They were not able to ride down the mountain for safety reasons and had to catch rides with people who were descending the mountain by car.

Today I rode for a Robs girlfriends dad who passed away from cancer last year.
MILES TO DATE: 1228

6/23/2008 day 17: Denver to

6/22/2008 Day 16:Colorado Springs to Denver, CO 60 miles (drive day)

Stella riding

Another group of riders

We stopped to take pictures of our beautiful surroundings 

Dane and I working at a rest stop. Dane decided to spice things up

by wearing a speedo and goggles!

Although driving is a welcome rest for my body I find I dread drive days because I would rather be on the road riding my bike with the team. 

Today I rode for Papie, my moms dad who died from kidney cancer.