Day 24
June 25th, 2007

So the other day I picked up a magnet for the state of Wyoming. On the magnet it had the words “The Exciting State.” ...They lied. Eastern Wyoming is possibly the least exciting area of the country I have ever seen. Today's ride was a long 102 miles though long harsh areas of nothingness. The good news however is they have nice smooth roads with wide shoulders. We lucked out a little bit with a great cloud cover for the first part of the day. Along the road we saw a lot of pronghorns. Pronghorns are antelope like animals that like to stare then run away. We also saw what I believe to be the larges bunny massacre of all time. I must have seen over 50 dead rabbits on the side of the road today. I don't know what their deal is but they need good bunny parents to tell them to not play in the road. I decided to not include a picture of this however, we did manage to find a live bunny. He was chilling in the shade next to this giant canyon. The canyon was really big. It was hard to capture its massiveness with the camera, even with the panoramic. I believe this town of “Hiland” sums up Eastern Wyoming well. Hiland apparently has a population of 10 but I'm not sure I believe them. I didn't see any Hilanderans? For lunch we feasted as usual on 2 slices of meat on some bread. Today's lunch was a little different though, we ate at a turnout that is a driveway to possibly one of the creepiest places on earth. As you can tell by the picture the farm is long abandoned by people and is now home to stray animals and ghosts I'm sure. Once into the metropolis of Casper Wyoming we unrolled our sleep pads at the lovely Kelly Walsh High School. For dinner we were treated to another great brisk by the local Kiwanis club.

Day 23
June 24th, 2007

When we got on the road this morning it was a chilly 40 degrees so we all bundled up. Little did we know before the day was over the temperature would rise over 60 degrees! Today's ride ticked in at just over 98 miles, another pseudo century! From what we have seen Wyoming has the best roads, which make for some great fast riding. At the beginning of the day we had a great tail wind that once again pushed us at a great 35 mph. The Day was full of small rolling hills which were not too hard. At the 50 mile mark we had to get off the road and wait for a while because there was a dangerous high speed chase in the area. For the second half of the day the only real hard part was the heat which at one point was 103 degrees. While in Cheyenne we are staying at the Senior Citizen Center but unfortunately they do not have a shower so we had to drive to Thermopolis. In Thermopolis we got to relax in the mineral hot spring pool. It is apparently the largest mineral hot spring in the world. We had dinner back at the senior center in Cheyenne, they are some really great women who have supported the Trans Am team for many years. The rest of the evening we got an opportunity to relax and play games in the center.

Day 22
June 23rd, 2007

To start off the day we loaded our bikes back on the vans to get back to the intersection in the Tetons. Then after about 5 miles of cycling we had to be racked once again for road construction. At that point in our ride we met a group of older cyclist who were out riding the same route we were. The ride at that point turned into a continual climb for the next 18 miles with an average 7% grade. After all this climbing we reached our final crossing of the continental divide at 9658 feet above sea level (Seattle). After the divide we had a down hill for a few mile to lunch but unfortunately we had to rack once again for construction. After we got back on our bikes we had an amazing tail wind and a smooth road that carried us at an average speed of around 37 mph. Before we knew it we were in Dubois. We had to slow down when we got into town because the speed limit was only 30 mph through town. After a much needed nap we were treated to a great dinner by the Wyoming Cattle Women's Association. The women were really nice and very interesting to talk to. We asked a lot of questions about raising cattle. The women also talked about a potential sponsorship for next year from Beef Check National.

day 21
June 22nd, 2007

The best day off!
Today started off great and only got better. We got to sleep in a little bit then headed to a breakfast buffet at the Teton Steakhouse. We met up with Micah and Tim who are friends of Jill, the woman who is taking care of us while we are in jackson. I sat at a table with Tim for breakfast. Tim actually works at the steakhouse and gave us a little insight into the best food. Tim was wearing a really cool karate gi. He also showed us some of his expert karate moves before we ate. The breakfast was great and we ate a lot of it! After breakfast we went across town to the Snow King ski area. The ski resort offers a lot of cool things for summer visitors. We got a chance to take the main lift up to the summit and see the amazing view. We then thought it would be a good idea to walk down the mountain to the alpine sled area and ride a sled down. Unfortunately we forgot a few things, we have sore legs and not much energy and the fact that in order to ride the sled down you have to sign the waiver... at the bottom of the mountain. We ended up having to walk all the way to the base. The alpine sled was so much fun! I had never even heard of such a thing, it is a lot like the luge but on a much smaller scale, on concrete and using a sled with wheels. For lunch Jill got us Subway. MmmmMMmm. After lunch a group of us went to the down town area of Jackson. The town is an odd mix of old western and millionaire ski village. The park in the center of the city had four arches at each of its corners that are made completely of elk antler sheds. I also found a mapping van! It is a van that takes video of city streets and creates a map that is fully interactive. For dinner we got a special treat of a dinner show at the bar J ranch. There was about 750 people there for the show. We had a great dinner of chicken and roasted beef.

Day 20
June 21st, 2007

Once again today's ride was made shorter. Today's was shortened for different reasons however. For some reason it is against the rules to ride out of the park? And we were also on a tight schedule to get to Jackson. Today's ride was amazingly beautiful. We rode through Grand Teton National Park. Cycling at the foot of some of the most impressive mountains in the word was a humbling experience. The ride was mostly flat with even a rewarding gradual down slope into Jackson. In Jackson we are lodging at the Presbyterian church. All of our activities in Jackson are arranged by a woman named Jill Quinlan. Jill makes Jackson an all time favorite stop for the Trans American route. After unpacking we head out for white water rafting! I have never been white water rafting before in my life so I had no idea what to expect. We rode in a bus down river to the rapids area, grabbed a paddle and headed to the water. At the water we are introduced to our crazy boat captain who reminds me a lot of Ben Wagner. (I think its because he had a big mountain man beard and he looks like he is 30 but is really 19) He asks us who would like to be the head paddler and for some reason unknown to me my arm shot in the air. Really what this meant was that I sat in the front of the boat and blocked the 40 degree water from hitting other people. I had the time of my life! Rafting is so much fun.

Day 19
June 20th, 2007

Today was such a jam packed day! Today I woke up very very excited to ride into Yellowstone. After breakfast we strapped the camera to my helmet and got ready for the ride. Today I swept, which means that I volunteered to be the last rider and make sure everything was alright in the back. Just After entering Yellowstone National park we crossed the Wyoming state border. Once in the park the first animals we saw were two big bald eagles. Bald eagles are so majestic and big. Today's ride was at a very slow pace which was great for enjoying the amazing views of the park. The weather was perfectly sunny and warm the whole day. Jacob Turner met up with us along the ride. Jacob is working in Yellowstone for the summer at a ranch. Throughout the ride we saw quite a few bison and elk. At the last portion of the ride it became very challenging. We had to cross over a range of mountains and cross the continental divide twice. At one of the last miles of our ride we came upon a long line of traffic. I had a strong feeling I knew just what the people were stopping for and sure enough it was a bear jam. A female grizzly bear and her two cubs had made their way up next to the road. It was really scary being so close to a grizzly bear with no real protection. After we made it to our lodging at Grant village in West Thumb Andrew, Jake and I unpacked our things and headed up north with Jacob Turner to see the area of the park that he works at. Jacob works at a dude ranch in the Roosevelt region of Yellowstone. Jacob takes care of horses, leads wagons and horseback tours and gets to live in a cool cabin in the park. For dinner we got a chance to see Jacob in action. We rode on a horse drawn wagon out to a site where we were treated to an amazing steak dinner. I love this place!

Day 18
June 19th, 2007

Today's ride started off with a pleasant surprise. The whole team had to rack their bikes for the way out of town due to poor riding conditions. This turned into a 40 mile drive because the roads were so dangerous. This lift turned our 90 mile day into a 50 mile day, the perfect relief for sore legs. Although the ride turned out to be a lot smaller distance than we had expect it turned out to not be much easier because of a head wind. The wind at one point got so bad that my group joined up with another group forming a larger group that was able to rotate more often at breaking the wind. This larger group gave each rider a longer break. At one point in the the ride the road dipped into Yellowstone National Park however, we did not see anything very exciting. Once into West Yellowstone we set up lodging at the local school that housed K-12 with a graduating class of 10. For dinner the team was treated to a great meal at a local establishment where I had a roasted turkey sandwich. After dinner a few of us went out wandering the tourist town visiting the shops and having ice cream. The traveling man lifestyle is starting to really set in for me. I have now become somewhat accustomed to the unique way that we are living this summer. Today Brent got another helmet camera for team members to wear during the ride. I will be wearing the camera tomorrow for our trip into Yellowstone. I am so excited to ride my bike through Yellowstone tomorrow.

Day 17
June 18th, 2007

The Big Sky continues...
Today's ride was intense. We finally got a real century, I rolled into the parking lot today with 102.27 miles. Not only was the ride our longest yet it also included some big climbs and long rolling hills. Originally we were scheduled to ride on I-90 today to Bozeman but we decided to take a different road that got us off the interstate. It added about 15 miles to our trip total but we were all more than willing to make the sacrifice. The alternate route also turned what was suppose to be a day with 3 summits into a day with only one. After our initial climb up the mountain we had about 20 miles of beautiful down hill. Although long today's ride was not bad at all. As far as fatigue goes I could have rode farther but there is no way I would want to sit on that seat any longer. After yesterdays blowout I replaced the tire and it seemed to hold up great today. After lunch we had an amazing tail wind the pushed us at a fast pace with little effort. Once into Bozeman the team went to a dinner at a place called Eagle Mount. They specialize in programs that get people with disabilities out skiing, horseback riding, biking and other things. They had a really great facility with a lot of horses. Many of the horses were retired racing and rodeo horses. We also got a special opportunity to ride a handcycle. The special cycle was designed to people who are unable to use their legs. It was a lot of fun to ride such a contraption.

Day 16
June 17th, 2007

Today we got to sleep in! So at 6:30 we woke up had some breakfast and hit the cold road. Today's ride started off with a climb out of the Philipsburg area. We climbed up a nice easy slope until we saw a daunting road winding up high on the mountain in front of us. With our luck this road was destined to be ours; sure enough it was. The final climb was not as bad as it looked from afar. Near the top the road curved along a waterfall that we stopped at to get a picture at. At the very top of the mountain was a lake with a mountain range off in the distance where we stopped again to take pictures of God's beauty. On our way down we noticed something strange was coming from the above. The sky was spitting snow at us! After our decent we passed through a small mining town called Anaconda. We then got back on Interstate 90. At this point we had received a major tail wind and were able to travel at a swift 25 miles per hour with little effort. The Interstate in this area had really big shoulders for riding but it had a lot of glass. Before the trip I did everything I could to try and minimize the flats I would have. I bought really thick tires and special slime tubes to fill small holes. Unfortunately all my planning was no match for today's road. About 15 miles from Butte my tire got slashed and blew out. Luckily I was able to stay on the bike after such a big flat and the speed we were traveling. With no spare tire to replace the torn one we had to improvise. I stuck a Cliff Bar wrapper in the tire over the rip and put in a fresh tube. This was enough to make it to Butte. In Butte we are staying at the new YMCA. A group of us immediately changed, rinsed off and hopped in the hot tub for a great relaxing soak. In the afternoon I took a trip to Wal Mart to pick up some supplies that I have run low on such as shampoo and shave cream. For dinner we were treated to a meal by a local organization that helps people with disabilities by helping them find housing and work. It was a great time hanging out with some of the people. My favorite person of the visit was a man named Ricky. Ricky was not able to communicate well but he sure did have some amazing amounts of energy.

Day 15
June 16th, 2007

After the usual early morning wakeup we were on the road for a little 80 mile jump over to Philipsburg, Montana. Today I rode with Chad Small, Chad Snyder and Britton Wall. Today's ride was at a slow easy pace and was great for enjoying the spectacular Montana scenery. For the first part of the day we rode on I-90. The interstate in Montana is not a bad road to cycle on because the shoulder is relatively clean and wide. About 50 miles into our ride we left the interstate for a much smaller road. Today was our first experience with cattle guards for the summer, they are kinda scary to ride your bike over. I am pretty sure Montana is one big farm. The picture shows one point on this road where we ran across some cowboys that were rounding up some cattle and in the process of taking them across the road. We were able to get by them before they let the cattle go. After about 30 miles on this road we reached the little town of Philipsburg. Philipsburg was originally founded as a 19^th century mining town. The town has a main street that looks like it is straight out of a western movie with cool old buildings. For dinner we had the best mean of our entire trip so far! We were treated to a BBQ competition by the Philipsburg Rotary club. I don't think I have ever had so much good meat. At the BBQ we met a lot of really cool people, one of which is our chapter president's grandfather. Swollen with food Adnrew, Wes and I did the only logical thing, we went out for ice cream and shakes! We went downtown to a really neat soda bar that served up some spectacular dessert for us.

Day 14
June 15th, 2007

Today was the first real relaxing day of the whole trip. We did not have anything on our schedule at all except a team meeting to review the following week. Today was our second day here in Missoula, Montana. I slept in all the way until 8:30 which was much needed. I was also able to get some laundry done. Later in the day some guys and I went to the local bike shop to get their bikes fitted properly to try and help reduce knee pains they have been having. For lunch we went to a pizza place and hand some really big slices of amazing pizza. We spent most the rest of the day just relaxing and helping our bodies recuperate. We asked some locals what the cool thing to do while we are in Missoula and a couple of them told us to hike the "W." So at sunset I climbed a path up the hill just past University of Montana. It was a lot higher up than it looked. Once up there I sat around on a giant concrete "M" and waited for the sun to set. It was a beautiful sight, I could see the entire town of Missoula. Missoula is a really great town, most of the people I have met are really nice. I have seen more cyclists in this town then anywhere else I have ever been, everyone seems to be an outdoor enthusiast. Plus from what I have seen so far the sky really is bigger in Montana.

Day 13
June 14th, 2007

Today was a great ride! We started the day off with a big climb up to the Lolo pass summit. It was a great climb that lasted about 5 miles. The pass was cold and a little bit foggy because it was 7am. At the top of the pass was the Idaho-Montana border. Going down the other side of the pass was the fun part, it was a good break from the climb. Although the decent was not as steep as the days in the past it was great to spread it out and enjoy the scenery. Montana is such a beautiful state. Todays ride was nearly 60 miles long. It has become a lot easier for me to ride longer and faster without getting as tired or as sore. In Missoula we are staying at Hellgate High school. For lunch we were treated to an extra special event. We had lunch at a place called Adventure Cycling. Adventure Cycling is a non-profit organization that helps touring cyclists with logistics such as maps. They plot out many routes including one similar to the route we follow. I believe they were the maps that Bruce Rodgers, the first man to ride Journey of Hope, used for his trip. They have a great facility where they publish a monthly magazine, generate cycling maps, and conduct guided tours. The idea for the organization was sparked by a cross country trip they made in the mid 70s called TransAm. This is where the name of our route came from. I picked up a sticker that says "I ride, therefore I TransAm." For dinner we went to a facility called Opportunity Resources where we met some really great people and had mexican food. The facility catered to a small group of older people with disabilities. It was great talking with some of them. I talked a lot with a man named Ron who was born in Helena, Montana. After dinner a few of us went to a really cool festival in the park that had live music and food. I am excited to spent one more day here in Missoula, Montana.

Day 12
June 13th, 2007

Ok I know I have said this already but today was possibly the most beautiful ride yet. We continued to ride east on highway 12 following the Clearwater river up toward Lolo pass. The day was a slight gradual climb which was not bad at all. The river was a great sight and kept the air cool even as we climbed and the sun came out. Marry from the Kamiah center told us that the road had developed over the years from a foot trail to a horse trail to wagons and eventually cars. This evolution of the path left us with a continual winding poorly planned road. The road still did not have much of a shoulder today but the traffic was a lot lighter than yesterday because most of the big trucks turn off onto a different road. Today's ride was once again just short of 100 miles. I rode most of the day with Brent Helsel, Mike Algazini, and Josh Donde. Our final destination was at Powell Junction. Our lodging for the night was in small log cabins at a facility called Lochsa Lodge. It was great to sleep in a real bed for a night. For dinner we ate at the only restaurant in the tiny village. After dinner we all relaxed after the long day. some of the guys started up a fire in a pit behind the main lodge. The cabins were really neat. They were originally built in 1929 as hunting lodges.

Day 11

June 12th, 2007

This morning Amanda and her sister treated the team to a great breakfast. Thank you! It was also the last time I will see her until D.C. which is sad, it has been great to see her along the way so far. Today's ride was possibly the most beautiful yet, however the road was also the scariest we have or will ever see. The road had narrow shoulders which made for some scary situations. Today I rode with Andrew and we decided to take it easy, be safe and enjoy the view. But for some reason we pulled way ahead of the rest of the other groups and ended up getting to lodging nearly an hour before the others. Once the team was all in town we went down to the park to have lunch with the Opportunities Unlimited of Kamiah. The visit was great, it was a real opportunity to see some of the amazing abilities of people with disabilities. One of the men there was able to draw with impeccable detail and realism. After lunch we all came home and took a much needed nap. For dinner we were treated to a traditional dinner of Indian Tacos. Marry, the woman in charge of the Native American center, gave us a really cool presentation about the heritage of the area and her tribe. Tomorrow is another 100 mile day so I had better get some sleep.

Day 10
June 11th, 2007


Our first century.
Today was the first day the team rode 100 miles. I guess that is kind of a lie because I actually rode 98 miles. Some of the guys rode up and down the street once they got to Lewiston to make it an even 100 miles. The day started with an early morning departure from the dome. Jake, Andrew and I decided to ride together today because we rode into Lewiston which is the closest city to Pullman that we will be visiting. We also wore our really cool cougar cycling hats under our helmets that Ian got for us. Thanks Ian! the ride was mostly rolling hills with smaller climbs followed by small down hills. However, the final hill on the way into Lewiston was a big one, it even had an elevation sign. Going down Alpowa Summit seemed to last forever and was great relief after the long day. Upon arriving at Lewis-Clark State College Jake and I were swept away for an interview with a local paper, the Lewiston Morning Tribune. After that jake, Andrew and I had interviews with KLEW the local news station. They really loved WSU students and our cool cougar cycling caps. Today was also our first true state line crossing (excluding our short, just for fun, drive to Oregon yesterday.) so we just had to take a picture. Some of the fraternity guys that had stayed in Pullman for the summer came to Lewiston to meet up and hang out with us at the dinner/friendship visit. Amanda was also able to come. Our friendship visit was at one of the Opportunitys Unlimited location in Lewiston. They work with people with disabilities to help them learn skills needed to live on their own. The friendship visit was amazing. The center had decorated for our arrival by putting up signs and posters. After an amazing dinner of seemingly endless portions we all went outside and had a basketball game. We ended up losing by a lot.

KLEW interview