The Sunflower State

I'll try to keep this as short as possible cause we are really behind time and need to get on the road again quick! Since the last post we have crossed the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and most of the great plains of Kansas. Suprisingly the Rockies were a lot easier than we expected. The worst thing about them was not the hills but the storms! There were two high passes that we had to cross and in between them was over 100 miles of flat valley. The first of the passes, Wolf Creek Pass, was the highest and steepest. After Durango we started going up quite a bit but not too steeply. We got to the town of Pagosa Springs by the evening about 20 miles short of Wolf Creek. We had lunch there and by the time we were ready to leave it was starting to rain and there was a huge thunder storm approching. Just as we were starting to get wet, a really nice family (Bill and Angela Kinston) who we had breifly been talking to earlier in a sandwich shop, offered us a place to stay for the night. Of course we accepted and loaded the bikes and ourselves into the back of their pickup truck and they drove us to their house a few miles off the main road. We really cant describe how well Bill and Angela treated us. Bill even took out his quad bike (or ATV as they call it over here) and let us drive it around their 30 acres of forest land in the mountains. Way more fun than cycling! That night they gave us ice cream and popcorn while we watched a movie with them. The next morning after a great breakfast Bill dropped us back into town where he picked us up and we set off for the big hills. We couldnt believe how nice they were to just take us into their home like that! Definately one of the best nights of the trip so far.


Forest Fire in the mountains


Bill and Angela Kinston in Pagosa Springs

Wolf Creek Pass from about a third of the way up looking down

Another storm on the way
????


Compared to the Sierra Nevadas, Wolf Creek pass didnt seem all that bad. It was higher and steeper but we didnt find it all that tough. At the top we were around 10500 feet above sea level! I think we are just more fit now than we were a few weeks ago. Anyway we went over the pass and down the other side. Took a two days to cross the valley with bad weather, then over La Vita pass on the other side and that was the Rockies done! Another day or two of cycling through Colorado and we were into Kansas. The west Kansas is so flat you can see for miles around. Our last morning in Colorado as we were taking our tent down we noticed quite a few other touring cyclists passing by on the road. This was unusual as we had really seen any other touring cyclists in America so far. We stopped in a diner for lunch we got talking to two of them and they told us we were on the Trans America Cycle Trail. We had never heard of it but it is a well know cycle trail across America that goes from Virginia to California and we had just stumbled onto it by accident! So most of the way through Kansas we kept meeting other cyclists travelling from east to west who would have stories from their trip and info on what was ahead. All the towns on the trail let cyclists camp for free in their cuty parks and use the showers in the swimming pool for free also! Its amazing!

Jeff and Conor (two other cyclists we had lunch with)

Kansas has definately been one of our favourite states so far! One night as we were arriving into the small town of Tribune we noticed a car driving behind us very slowly. It was dark and we were about 3 miles from the town. The headlights of the car were shining on us and the road ahead of us. Not really sure what was going on or who this person was we pedalled fast as we could to get to the town. When we were nearly in the twon the car finally overtook us. It was was the town Sherrif! He was escorting us into the town! As we were passing through the small town of Dighton they were having their county fair. There was a big party in the park so we rode in on our bikes and pitched the tent their for the night. The local people of Dighton were so friendly to us and we were instantly invited to join them. The next morning we even did an interview and got a picture for the local news reporter so we are going to feature in the next issue of the Dighton Herald! They are going to post a copy back to Ireland for us! She came to our tent at about 9 in the morning when we were not feeling too well after the long night partying so im not looking forward to seeing the picture she took of us! Darletta made us pork and beef sandwiches for breakfast which brought us back to life! The night before a guy called Chadrup gave us directions to his house and told us he would take us shooting if we dropped by the next day. That was an opportunity we were not going to miss! Chadrup is a gun dealer and has a huge collection of guns. He loaded them up into his pickup truck and drove us off to his friends farm where we took aim at rocks and trees and stuff. I cant remember the exact names of the guns but we fired a standard pistol that the cops carry, a magnum revolver, a 12 guage shot gun, some russian made semi automatic assault rifle, some other rifle with a big scope on it and a big massive sniper rifle that could pierce 3 inches of steel armour from a mile away! It was so cool. Coencidentilly that day was also Daithis birthday! Guns were way better than cake! That night we stayed with Chadrups family. Had dinner with them and slept in their house. Again another really nice family. It feels like we know Dighton really well now and if we ever went backwe would have loads of friends there!

These guys won a few prizes in the BBQ cook off

Me with the magnum

The Russian Assault Rifle it even had a Bayonette on the top for stabbing!

Its impossible to miss with that one!

Now thats a gun!

The next night we ended in a tiny little town called Bazine. We had heard from other cyclists that there was a lady in Bazine who ran a little B&B in her home just for cyclists only! It was called Elaines Bicycle Oasis. We decided to stay the night there. We met another two cyclists there who were also staying the night, Dave and Catie from Portland. Elaine cooked us huge meal. A lot of the vegtables her husband Dan grows himself on their farm. It was a feast and exactly what we needed. Dave and Catie were the first cyclists we had met that were going in the same direction as us so the next morning, after another feast of a breakfast from Elaine, the four of us travelled together. It was so great to have more company on the road and we got on really well with Dave and Catie. Only problem was that we have to go to New York which was north and they had to go towards Virginia which was south so we couldnt stay together too long. We spent the next two days cycling with Catie and Dave heading due east so neither of us would be going out of our way. The cycling time really went by fast having someone differnt to talk to and Dave and Catie were a lot of fun. We stayed with them for two days and nights but eventually we had to part company this morning. They are hopefully coming to cycle around Ireland and Europe in 2010 so we will definately meet again!

Dinner in Elaines Bicycle Oasis with Dave and Catie

The sign outside her house

One last photo with Catie and Dave before we go our separate ways

Off they go!

So right now we are still in Kansas. Im in a library in some little town who name I cant remember. We stayed way too long in Kansas but we met so many really cool people that it was definately worth it. We are quite far behind schedual now so we really need to make up time. We are going to cycle through the night tonight and hopefully make it to the State of Missouri by morning tomorrow where we will get a motel for the day.

Another big long essay for you to read!

Before I start thanks to everyone who has been emailing us and posting comments. We get very little internet time so cant reply to everyone but all are greatly appreciated. I was saying how friendly American people were in the last post, a few people need a special mention. Firstly Steve Lowry. We got talking to him at a roadside gas station/cafe in the middle of nowhere in Nevada. Our digital camera had just broken so he gave us a lend of his digital camera for the rest of our trip. He said just to post it back to him when we get home! An unbelievably generous and trusting guy! Also he told us if we are in trouble anywhere to call the operator, get the nearest DEA (drug enforcement agency) office and tell them we are friends of Steve and they will come pick us up pretty much anywhere in the country! We havn't needed them yet but its nice to know we have the option. Also need to thank Leo the climber for giving us a full road atlas of the States. We havn't got lost once since then thanks Leo!

Once again it has been really hard to get internet access. Didnt find a single place in the whole of Arizona! Almost a month in America now and still going strong. Right now we are in a town called Durango at the foot of the Rockies in Colorado, our fourth State. We are still camping rough on the side of the road most of the time but stayed in a motel last night so we could get our weekly shower. So we were still in Las Vegas last time i posted. Seems a long way away now. Vegas was a lot of fun. By the end I was $200 down but when you take into account the amount of free beer I drank over 5 days, I think I got value for money. Daithi on the other hand was $450 up at one stage from playing Blackjack. Our 2nd last night in Vegas we were in Circus Circus playing Blackjack again. The Cocktail waitresses were firing the beers at us. A few hours later Daithi had lost all his winnings and $100 more. $550 in one sitting! We now know why they dont bother charging for their beer. In fairness to him the next day he managed to win back some money and left Vegas $5 up. Overall a great few days in Vegas. Heres a few pics of the crazy looking casinos on the strip. I only got the camera going on the very last day of Vegas so just took a few shots as we were leaving on the bikes.

The Stratosphere (not sure how to rotate the pictures!)

The Venitian

The Colleseum (part of Ceasars Palace)

This ones pretty obvious part of the Paris casino

Excalibur, look like something from Disney land

I might have mentioned already Vegas was HOT. Even at night it felt like the sun was shining on you. I think it went up to 45oC one day. We left in the early morning to avoid the worst of the heat. Made it to the Hoover Dam by midday. Twas a pretty impressive sight. We spent a few hours sheltering from the sun and wandering round the dam before taking to the bikes again and crossing into Arizona, our 3rd State. We lost an hour crossing from Pacific time to mountain time.

We headed south towards the town of Kingman battling a strong headwind. The 150mile journey from Vegas to Kingman took 3 exhausting days. Luckily we climbed some hills after the Dam so the temperature got a lot cooler. 30oC actually felt cool after the scorching heat of Nevada. We didnt even need to shelter from the midday sun. We arrived in Kingman at about 3 in the evening. That day was a beautiful day. Blue skys, sun shining and a nice cool breeze. We took a break bet as it was still early in the day we were keen to get a few more miles behind us before dark. Until someone informed us that it was monsoon season and there was a storm coming tonight. We didnt really believe them but we booked into a motel just to be safe. Dumped the bikes in the motel and headed to the nearest Subway for some food. Within the space of 15 minutes the weather turned from a amazing to a full blown thunder and lighting storm with gale force winds and torrential rain. We had just paid for our sandwiches and filled up our Coke cups when the power went out. We couldn't even get our free refills! The previous few nights we had camped in the huge storm darins on the side of the highway. Lucky the storm didnt come a day earlier or all our stuff and maybe even us would have been washed away.

Quite a spectacular sunset

Apparently they have a Temple Bar in the Mohavae Desert

Arizona is a lot greener than Nevada

The next day we headed off down Route 66, the old historic highway across America. It was actually quite a pleasant cycle with lots of little towns along the way. We went as far a Williams. The next day we headed north up to the Grand Canyon. We arrived there late in the evening but didnt really get to see the sun set as it was pretty cloudy. The next day we wandered round the South Rim of the Canyon for a few hours before heading off to the east side of the park. That night there was another monsoon storm but this time we were just in our tent.

Made it before dark!

More shots of the Canyon

I didnt know the Amish went on holidays!

Next morning we headed off downhill out of Grand Canyon National Park and into the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation. We had never been in an Indian Reservation before and had heard mixed reports from people as to how friendly the locals would be. It took us about 2 and a half days to cross the reservation and pretty much every Indian person we met was just as friendly as every other American person, with the exception of one guy! In the town of Kayenta while standing outside a shop this guy came over and warned us not to go down the road we were planning on going down. He said its very narrow and 10 cyclists have been killed there over the last few years. We assured him we would be careful but he told us we should call our familys and friends and say bye before we set out. Didnt really pay much heed to him cause he seemed to be a bit of a nut. So of course we went down that road towards the small town of Mexican Water. The road turned out to be pretty similar to every other road we had been on so we agreed he was just a nut. By the time we arrived in Mexican Water it was nearly dark so we were looking out for a good camp spot. Who did we meet in Mexican Water but the same guy. We hadn't told him we were going to camp but he started warning us about camping in the Navajo Nation. He was a lot more angry this time and he went on about terrorism and respect all kinds of crap and said he drives around every night looking for tents but didnt say what he would do if he found one. As we are in America and any fruitcake can easily buy a shotgun in the local Wallmart we were more than a bit worried. We had already done 100miles that day, it was dark and we were 44miles from the border of the Reservation. Not sure what was more dangerous, cycling at night or the Indians, we put our lights on and headed a few miles up the road till we found a good spot hidden from the road by bushes. We didnt bother pitching the tent that night, just rolled out the sleeping bags and slept under the stars with the pen knife drawn within reach. As we suspected that guy was full of shit and we weren't bothered all night.

Another Arizona shot


Dinosaur foot prints in the rock




Fossilized Dinosaur Poo (or so we were told...)



More Arizona shots

Next morning we left that reservation quite promptly. Stopped at the Four Corners monument. Its the point where the corners of Arizona, Utah, New Mexcio and Colorado meet. We met a guy there a from Greystones there who was traveling round for a few weeks. We had a burger and a good chat with him in Utah. He gave us something important that we had forgotten to bring, some Irish ribbons for our bikes! Then we refilled our water bottles from a tap in New Mexico and headed off into Colorado. We reached the town of Cortez that night and camped a few miles outside it. The next morning we set off for Durango stayed the night there in a motel and here we are now in an internet cafe!

Standing in the 4 corners with stupid looks on our faces

By now we are a good few days behind schedual so we have made a few changes to our route. We are not heading up to Aspen or Denver as it would mean going over lots of mountains and would take ages. Also we may not be going to Chicago or Toronto as they are too far out of the way. Basicly we dont really know exactly what road we will take after the Rockies but we do have a map (thanks to Leo) so we will find some way through. At least we are through the desert so it wont be so hot!

Hope you didnt get too bored reading all of this!

Cormac

Las Vegas

Hey everyone I know it has been way too long since I have updated this but believe it or not it is actually harder to find internet access in America than it is to cycle across it! But anyway we did make it to Las Vegas alive. In the end we decided not to take the Death Valley route. It meant a bit of a detour and a lot more of the Nevada Desert but at least it was a bit cooler, 39oC as opposed to +50oC. So far the trip has been amazing. It was so hard to leave San Francisco but it has been getting better ever since. American people are so friendly. Every time we stop anywhere people come over and talk to us and give us stuff! People offer us food, maps, water, everything! One couple even offered to let us stay in their house. They said their daughter was just back from a cycle across Aisa so they knew how we must feel. We had more cycling to do that day though. One guy I talked to had never heard of Ireland. Another guy thought Ireland was inbetween Scotland and England! All very nice people though. The cycling hasnt been too tough so far. We would be quite tired every night but legs aren't too sore. The most we have cycled in a day so far is 145km but we usually do about 110km. We mostly camp rough somewhere on the side of the road every night. Local people are really friendly and dont seem to care where we camp. Except one night someone saw our bikes and reported us as a road accident. The cops came out to investigate and moved us on but they showed us somewhere else to go. One night we camped beside a railway track and the tent almost collapsed the naxt morning cause of the wind from the HUGE trains over here. Already our journey has taken us through some pretty exciting places including mountains with bears and mountain lion, black ghettos, the Nevada nuclear test site and possibly Area 51! The day we left San Fran we had to go through the black ghetto of Oakland. We asked a cop (who turned out to be Irish) for directions and he tried his hardest to convince us not to go that way. He even offered to drive us through! Of course we declined and made it through in one piece but did get a lot of stange looks from the locals. We crossed the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. It turned out to be much higher and farther and farther than we thought but eventually made it. Our first major stop was Yosemite National Park. It basically took us 4 days to get there. 2 of those day were climbing steep winding mountain roads. It was totally worth it though when we arrived in Yosemite. It was an absolutely spectacular place. Unfortunately there have been a lot of forest fires in California recently so the views of the mountains were quite hazy with smoke. We arrived in Yosemite valley in darkness. All campsites were full and the offices were closed. You cant camp rough in Yosemite cause of the bears! Not really knowing what to do wandered through Camp 4 and got talking to some really cool climbers who immediately put a bottle of whiskey down in front of us and let us stay with them. We pretty much spent the next few days climbing mountains and drinking whiskey round the camp fire with them. There are so many bears in Yosemite park that all food has to be stored in special bear proof boxes. About 3 or 4 times every night a bear would invade the campsite and get chased out by people. Our first night we didnt bother pitching the tent cause it was warm enough so just slept outside. Daithi nearly got trampled on by a bear that was being chased out of the campsite. He could have reached up and smacked his ass as he went by! After a few brilliant days in Yosemite we hit the road again. It was a steep cycle back out of the Valley and another days cycle to get out of the park. The road went to an altitude of nearly 1000feet.

This was the road to Yosemite. Not easy!



The ground was too hard to peg the tent so we tied bungee cords around the bikes to hold the tent up.

Daithi inside a giant redwood in Yosemite

This is a bear even though the picture is terrible

At the top of Half Dome Mountain

Coming over Tioga Pass with snow on the surrrounding mountains

After the long descent from the Sierras we hit the desert for the first time. I clocked a speed of 74km/h going downhill, my new personal record! The desert was hot, but not too hot to cycle like everyone had told us it would be. The biggest problem is carrying enough water. Between the two of us we can carry about 15 litres at full capicity which is enough to get us about 80 miles without a refill. is We have only had one real water emergency in the desert so far. In the town of Benton we filled up about 6 litres of water in the morning between us thinking we could fill up again up in the next town of Bassalt about 30 miles away. Bassalt turned out to be a ghost town so we had to continue on to the next town, Coaldale about 20 miles away. By the time we got to Coaldale we had less than a litre left and it was about 350C outside. Coaldale also turned out to be a ghost town. And the next town, Tonopah was 40 miles away. Oh shit! We took shelter in one of the abandoned houses till it cooled down a bit. Luckily we managed to flag down a car a the people gave us another 3 litres of water. We were still a bit short but set off for Tonopah anyway. We were very relieved when we found a rest area with a tap about 10miles from Tonopah! A lesson learnt, don't just assume a town exists just cause there is a dot on a the map, always ask local advice! We camped rough about 5 miles from Tonopah that night. The next day it was agreed that we needed a day off to recover. By then we hadn't showered in about 10 days (there were no showers in Yosemite) and had't washed our clothes since San Fran. We booked into the Clown Motel in Tonopah and spent the day lying on our beds watching TV and eating food.

Thats what most of Nevada looks like

Our Motel room in Tonapah

A spikey desert tree

We actually went quite close to Death Valley but didnt go in

Tonapah was about 200miles north of Las Vegas. It took us two and a half days to get to Vegas from there. It got progressively hotter as we went farther south and dropped in altitude. As you might expect there eally isn't much to see in the Nevada desert just the odd Casino and Brothel every 50 miles or so. Even though we were going down hill all the way we had a strong wind in our face which slowed us down a lot. Not a lot goes on in the desert. We passed by the place where they tested the atom bomb for the first time but all it was, was a plaque. Sounds way more exciting then it actually was. Was also passed the military base in Indian Springs where the Americans launch and control their Predator aircraft. These are the little white unmanned planes that fly all the way to the Middle East, drop their bombs and return home all controlled remotely by a guy in a trailer!

Anyway we are in Vegas now! We are staying in a cheap motel just off the Strip (the main street with all the Casinos) beside the Stratosphere Casino. This place is crazy. Beer in the Casinos is free if you are gambling, or pretending to gamble! You can sit at a 1c slot machine for 5 minutes and a cocktail waitress will bring over free beer all you pay is a tip. After 5 minutes in a Casino Daithi had signed up to a $60 poker tournament. 10 minutes later he was out! But since then he has actually gotten pretty good at Blackjack. After a day and a half in Vegas he is $100 up. I was $30 down last night on the way home but won it back on $5 Blackjack in the last Casino before we got home. So right now im breaking even! We hit an all you can eat buffet in the Sahara Casino for Breakfast yesterday. We noticed that to go to the bathroom you had to leave the buffet so they gave you a ticket to get back in for free. So after our breakfast we got a bathroom ticket when leaving and got back in again for free at 7 for dinner! They say the house always wins, but I think we won that round!

Anyway we have another 2 days in Vegas before we set off for the Grand Canyon. The next stage of our cycle will probably be the most difficult. We will be going farther south than Las Vegas so it will be even hotter than here. Its over 40oC here right now, I hear its raining in Ireland!

Later
Cormac