It was 40ish degrees and sunny today, so I did a gravel ride from home. About half the distance of our planned Southern Tier ride days (30 miles vs 60+). Not much traffic, mostly good roads with a few mud and ice spots, being outside in the sun made it great. The pastries in South Lyon MI did not hurt either.
Saturday, March 7, 2020
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Southern Tier Gear - what do I think I need
My current packing list - I know it will be updated a few more times so I want to see what changes...
| Bike | Camping Gear | Clothing | Food Stocks | |||
| Spare Tire | Tent | Rain coat | Coffee 1lb | |||
| Spare Tube 2x | Sleeping bag | Fleece | Cliff Bars 6x | |||
| Spare front spoke 2x | Air mattress | Biking Socks 6x | Oatmeal | |||
| Spare rear spoke 2x | Stove/fuel | Biking shorts 3x | Coffee filters | |||
| Chain link 2x | Coffee pot | Biking shirts long 3x | Spice kit | |||
| Tool kit | Spoon / bowl | Sun leggings 1x | ||||
| Lube | Camel back (4 l) | Zip offs 2x | ||||
| Air pump | Trowel and TP | Shirts 2x | ||||
| Water bottles 3x | Shave Kit | Shorts 1x (sleeping) | Other | |||
| Panniers | First Aid Kit | Shirts 1x (sleeping) | Camera | |||
| Handlebar bag | Sunscreen | Camp shoes | Memory cards | |||
| Frame bag (repair kit) | Hand sanitizer | Handkerchiefs | Phone | |||
| Cycling shoes | Wipes | Sun hat | Charger (2 port) | |||
| Bike lock | Rope | Towel | Backup battery 15000mah | |||
| Radar | Flashlight | Underwear 7x | Cables | |||
| Headlamp | CampSuds | Tripod? | ||||
| Bungee cords | Day pack | 10 foot charger cables | ||||
| Gloves | 3-Way Plug adapter | |||||
| Helmet | wool gloves (hot pads) | |||||
| Cold weather gloves | Ear plugs | |||||
| spare screws | Headlamp | |||||
| Maps |
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Southern Tier - Cross Country Bike Ride - Taking the train - Southwestern Chief - to San Diego
After multiple years of talking about biking across the country for my 60th birthday, things have become real. This week train tickets from Dearborn to San Diego were purchased! A short train ride from Dearborn to Chicago and then we get on the Southwestern Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles and then a commuter down to San Diego - 56 hours end to end.
Full details on the train ride are here: https://www.amtrak.com/southwest-chief-train
One of the nice things about the train is we get to take our bikes with ous.
My next step is to figure out exactly what gear I am taking and find panniers that can hold it and a bit more.
I will be riding a Specialized Sequoia and will try to keep my total weight as low as reasonably.
More soon!
Full details on the train ride are here: https://www.amtrak.com/southwest-chief-train
One of the nice things about the train is we get to take our bikes with ous.
My next step is to figure out exactly what gear I am taking and find panniers that can hold it and a bit more.
I will be riding a Specialized Sequoia and will try to keep my total weight as low as reasonably.
More soon!
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Finding balance again - Coming out of darkness
The last two year have been hard, someone who means the world to me was diagnosed with a life altering disease and was very ill for several months. When I tried to update this blog, only darkness came out of me (and my Mom always said if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything). I have tried to be positive and enthusiastic for my friend and for all my family and friends while at the same time feeling like I was coming apart at the seams. Prior to the illness I had planned a Boy Scout trip to Great Smoky Mountain National Park, so one of my big challenges was to be present on the trip and present with my friend. I am so thankful for the great people in Scouting who are kind and supportive even when they don't know or understand what I am going through. The trip was good and thanks to modern technology I was also able to be supportive remotely.
Fast forward to now and the illness and all of its issues and costs are still present with my friends life, but he has shown strength, determination and self reliance that I know the burden is not mine nor is it his alone. He has moved forward in his life and is taking every challenge in stride, I feel his struggle, but it no longer burdens my soul, because I know he is strong. So now it's time for me to move forward.
Please be kind to everyone you can, you may not know what people are going through. One kind word may mean the world to them.
Fast forward to now and the illness and all of its issues and costs are still present with my friends life, but he has shown strength, determination and self reliance that I know the burden is not mine nor is it his alone. He has moved forward in his life and is taking every challenge in stride, I feel his struggle, but it no longer burdens my soul, because I know he is strong. So now it's time for me to move forward.
Please be kind to everyone you can, you may not know what people are going through. One kind word may mean the world to them.
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Heading to Shenandoah National Park backpacking with Boy Scouts
Tomorrow starts a new adventure! I am looking forward to backpacking and hiking with friends and fine young men.
Friday, July 8, 2016
Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park - I could do this full time!
So it's been a bit since I have written anything, this is for two simple reasons, our days have been overfilled with fun and internet is not a "thing" in the national parks. Today was our first full day at Glacier and we are staying at a KOA just outside the park, the internet is not much of a thing here... Grand Teton remains my favorite hiking park, Renee and I took the boat across Jenny Lake and hiked to Inspiration Falls and then up Cascade Canyon for an hour until the thunder drove us bake to the boat. We also took the Tram up to the top at Teton village (over 10,000 feet) and hiked for a while. I then joined up with Randy (met on the trail) and did the hike to the gondola, lots of rock scrambles for the first ½ mile, but a nice hike. Met back up with Renee at the bottom and headed to Jackson to do laundry and shop for groceries. There Renee met a French speaker and talked for a while and then (in English) I gave advice on where to camp in the UP (Michigan's upper peninsula). That was about it for the first week.
Monday we headed up from Canyon to Tower Roosevelt (north east end of the park) to do some hiking. Before we got there we saw a Grizzly mom and cub. We stopped a few 100 yards away and looked, me thinking I need a bigger lens for my camera. Another couple was watching with a scope and shared, which remedied me I received a nice scope for my 25 years with GM so I went back to the motorhome and garbed the scope and tripod. Great views of the bear and cub, who slowly worked there way down the side of the mountain and onto the road where lots of dumb people (snacks?) remained. At this point I was still well over 100 yards away, but got a few good shot with the camera. We then headed to Tower Roosevelt and took a trail, just as we got up to the ridge we came across 4 or 5 sheep and managed to not disturb them. Great hike were we saw more sheep more marmots that we could count, each sunning themselves on large rocks and giving us dirty looks as we walked by. We met another couple who had also seen and not disturbed the sheep at the beginning of the trail. Nearly back to the start we ran into a couple who had great photos of the sheep by walking up and disturbing them, I guss no one else got to see them that day (sad). Then onto Ma moth Springs where Elk were blocking roads and the main entrance to the visitors center. Here we got to see a disgusting man scream at a park ranger for telling him to move away from the Elk. He was escorted away, and I hope fined... It was well past noon local time (we stuck to EST so avoided crowds for a few hours every morning), so the sidewalks and walkways around the formations looked like rush-hour in New York. This told us it was time to head back to camp. Tuesday we did a quick drive of the north rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, great views, then drove to Old Faithful. Spent almost the entire day at Old Faithful, enjoying the geysers and doing a bit of hiking, followed by a good meal a the Lodge. Wednesday we spent the morning along the north rim of the Canyon and did some hiking. More annoying parents who did not parent. A child was running and pushing along a steep trail, followed by throwing rocks. I told him to stop and he continued, I asked the Mom to parent the child and got a dirty look. If it were not for Boy Scouts and the young adults I get to see, I would think this Country was in trouble. We then drove out of the park and all the way to Missoula Montana. Thursday we drove to West Glacier and did a few quick hikes and toured McDonald lodge, someplace we need to stay at some point in time. The lodge is a rustic and magnificent timber structure along lake McDonald. Today (Friday) we drove to Avalanche and then took the shuttle up to Logan Pass and hike the Highline trail, even with rain and low clouds the views were spectacular. We then did a quick tour of the visitor center, met with a summer camp group that had biked up to the pass (I want to and fear it) and Renee talked me into buying a 100 anniversary park shirt. We took the shuttle back down to Avalanche and then hiked to the Ceder trail and then onto Ceder lake, by the time we got down it was past dinner time, so we cooked in the camper and then headed back to our campground. That about catches up with things.
We woke up early on Sunday to head to Yellowstone and saw great post sunrise colors and took some nice photos. Then we were lucky enough see a mama Moose and Calf near Jackson Lake Lodge, we sat and watched ad photographed for 45 minutes or so. Then a mostly uneventful ride into Yellowstone where the crowds were just out of this world. Tried to get into Old Faithful but it took us an hour to get through the traffic and back out. We stooped at a few Geysers and hot springs and then did some quick shopping in West Yellowstone, it was a sad day for me, the bakery was closed. We found a nice cafe and had a quick dinner and headed to our campsite (Canyon Campground). The campground was nice but very tightly packed and unlevel narrow sites. I had to raise the back of the motorhome 4 inches to be near level (every block I owned). There was enough room for the slide-outs, but not for the awning. We were camped next to a mother and daughter (8 or 9) who were first time campers (and all and all amazing).
Monday we headed up from Canyon to Tower Roosevelt (north east end of the park) to do some hiking. Before we got there we saw a Grizzly mom and cub. We stopped a few 100 yards away and looked, me thinking I need a bigger lens for my camera. Another couple was watching with a scope and shared, which remedied me I received a nice scope for my 25 years with GM so I went back to the motorhome and garbed the scope and tripod. Great views of the bear and cub, who slowly worked there way down the side of the mountain and onto the road where lots of dumb people (snacks?) remained. At this point I was still well over 100 yards away, but got a few good shot with the camera. We then headed to Tower Roosevelt and took a trail, just as we got up to the ridge we came across 4 or 5 sheep and managed to not disturb them. Great hike were we saw more sheep more marmots that we could count, each sunning themselves on large rocks and giving us dirty looks as we walked by. We met another couple who had also seen and not disturbed the sheep at the beginning of the trail. Nearly back to the start we ran into a couple who had great photos of the sheep by walking up and disturbing them, I guss no one else got to see them that day (sad). Then onto Ma moth Springs where Elk were blocking roads and the main entrance to the visitors center. Here we got to see a disgusting man scream at a park ranger for telling him to move away from the Elk. He was escorted away, and I hope fined... It was well past noon local time (we stuck to EST so avoided crowds for a few hours every morning), so the sidewalks and walkways around the formations looked like rush-hour in New York. This told us it was time to head back to camp. Tuesday we did a quick drive of the north rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, great views, then drove to Old Faithful. Spent almost the entire day at Old Faithful, enjoying the geysers and doing a bit of hiking, followed by a good meal a the Lodge. Wednesday we spent the morning along the north rim of the Canyon and did some hiking. More annoying parents who did not parent. A child was running and pushing along a steep trail, followed by throwing rocks. I told him to stop and he continued, I asked the Mom to parent the child and got a dirty look. If it were not for Boy Scouts and the young adults I get to see, I would think this Country was in trouble. We then drove out of the park and all the way to Missoula Montana. Thursday we drove to West Glacier and did a few quick hikes and toured McDonald lodge, someplace we need to stay at some point in time. The lodge is a rustic and magnificent timber structure along lake McDonald. Today (Friday) we drove to Avalanche and then took the shuttle up to Logan Pass and hike the Highline trail, even with rain and low clouds the views were spectacular. We then did a quick tour of the visitor center, met with a summer camp group that had biked up to the pass (I want to and fear it) and Renee talked me into buying a 100 anniversary park shirt. We took the shuttle back down to Avalanche and then hiked to the Ceder trail and then onto Ceder lake, by the time we got down it was past dinner time, so we cooked in the camper and then headed back to our campground. That about catches up with things.
Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park - I could do this full time!
So it's been a bit since I have written anything, this is for two simple reasons, our days have been overfilled with fun and internet is not a "thing" in the national parks. Today was our first full day at Glacier and we are staying at a KOA just outside the park, the internet is not much of a thing here... Grand Teton remains my favorite hiking park, Renee and I took the boat across Jenny Lake and hiked to Inspiration Falls and then up Cascade Canyon for an hour until the thunder drove us bake to the boat. We also took the Tram up to the top at Teton village (over 10,000 feet) and hiked for a while. I then joined up with Randy (met on the trail) and did the hike to the gondola, lots of rock scrambles for the first ½ mile, but a nice hike. Met back up with Renee at the bottom and headed to Jackson to do laundry and shop for groceries. There Renee met a French speaker and talked for a while and then (in English) I gave advice on where to camp in the UP (Michigan's upper peninsula). That was about it for the first week.
Monday we headed up from Canyon to Tower Roosevelt (north east end of the park) to do some hiking. Before we got there we saw a Grizzly mom and cub. We stopped a few 100 yards away and looked, me thinking I need a bigger lens for my camera. Another couple was watching with a scope and shared, which remedied me I received a nice scope for my 25 years with GM so I went back to the motorhome and garbed the scope and tripod. Great views of the bear and cub, who slowly worked there way down the side of the mountain and onto the road where lots of dumb people (snacks?) remained. At this point I was still well over 100 yards away, but got a few good shot with the camera. We then headed to Tower Roosevelt and took a trail, just as we got up to the ridge we came across 4 or 5 sheep and managed to not disturb them. Great hike were we saw more sheep more marmots that we could count, each sunning themselves on large rocks and giving us dirty looks as we walked by. We met another couple who had also seen and not disturbed the sheep at the beginning of the trail. Nearly back to the start we ran into a couple who had great photos of the sheep by walking up and disturbing them, I guss no one else got to see them that day (sad). Then onto Ma moth Springs where Elk were blocking roads and the main entrance to the visitors center. Here we got to see a disgusting man scream at a park ranger for telling him to move away from the Elk. He was escorted away, and I hope fined... It was well past noon local time (we stuck to EST so avoided crowds for a few hours every morning), so the sidewalks and walkways around the formations looked like rush-hour in New York. This told us it was time to head back to camp. Tuesday we did a quick drive of the north rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, great views, then drove to Old Faithful. Spent almost the entire day at Old Faithful, enjoying the geysers and doing a bit of hiking, followed by a good meal a the Lodge. Wednesday we spent the morning along the north rim of the Canyon and did some hiking. More annoying parents who did not parent. A child was running and pushing along a steep trail, followed by throwing rocks. I told him to stop and he continued, I asked the Mom to parent the child and got a dirty look. If it were not for Boy Scouts and the young adults I get to see, I would think this Country was in trouble. We then drove out of the park and all the way to Missoula Montana. Thursday we drove to West Glacier and did a few quick hikes and toured McDonald lodge, someplace we need to stay at some point in time. The lodge is a rustic and magnificent timber structure along lake McDonald. Today (Friday) we drove to Avalanche and then took the shuttle up to Logan Pass and hike the Highline trail, even with rain and low clouds the views were spectacular. We then did a quick tour of the visitor center, met with a summer camp group that had biked up to the pass (I want to and fear it) and Renee talked me into buying a 100 anniversary park shirt. We took the shuttle back down to Avalanche and then hiked to the Ceder trail and then onto Ceder lake, by the time we got down it was past dinner time, so we cooked in the camper and then headed back to our campground. That about catches up with things.
We woke up early on Sunday to head to Yellowstone and saw great post sunrise colors and took some nice photos. Then we were lucky enough see a mama Moose and Calf near Jackson Lake Lodge, we sat and watched ad photographed for 45 minutes or so. Then a mostly uneventful ride into Yellowstone where the crowds were just out of this world. Tried to get into Old Faithful but it took us an hour to get through the traffic and back out. We stooped at a few Geysers and hot springs and then did some quick shopping in West Yellowstone, it was a sad day for me, the bakery was closed. We found a nice cafe and had a quick dinner and headed to our campsite (Canyon Campground). The campground was nice but very tightly packed and unlevel narrow sites. I had to raise the back of the motorhome 4 inches to be near level (every block I owned). There was enough room for the slide-outs, but not for the awning. We were camped next to a mother and daughter (8 or 9) who were first time campers (and all and all amazing).
Monday we headed up from Canyon to Tower Roosevelt (north east end of the park) to do some hiking. Before we got there we saw a Grizzly mom and cub. We stopped a few 100 yards away and looked, me thinking I need a bigger lens for my camera. Another couple was watching with a scope and shared, which remedied me I received a nice scope for my 25 years with GM so I went back to the motorhome and garbed the scope and tripod. Great views of the bear and cub, who slowly worked there way down the side of the mountain and onto the road where lots of dumb people (snacks?) remained. At this point I was still well over 100 yards away, but got a few good shot with the camera. We then headed to Tower Roosevelt and took a trail, just as we got up to the ridge we came across 4 or 5 sheep and managed to not disturb them. Great hike were we saw more sheep more marmots that we could count, each sunning themselves on large rocks and giving us dirty looks as we walked by. We met another couple who had also seen and not disturbed the sheep at the beginning of the trail. Nearly back to the start we ran into a couple who had great photos of the sheep by walking up and disturbing them, I guss no one else got to see them that day (sad). Then onto Ma moth Springs where Elk were blocking roads and the main entrance to the visitors center. Here we got to see a disgusting man scream at a park ranger for telling him to move away from the Elk. He was escorted away, and I hope fined... It was well past noon local time (we stuck to EST so avoided crowds for a few hours every morning), so the sidewalks and walkways around the formations looked like rush-hour in New York. This told us it was time to head back to camp. Tuesday we did a quick drive of the north rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, great views, then drove to Old Faithful. Spent almost the entire day at Old Faithful, enjoying the geysers and doing a bit of hiking, followed by a good meal a the Lodge. Wednesday we spent the morning along the north rim of the Canyon and did some hiking. More annoying parents who did not parent. A child was running and pushing along a steep trail, followed by throwing rocks. I told him to stop and he continued, I asked the Mom to parent the child and got a dirty look. If it were not for Boy Scouts and the young adults I get to see, I would think this Country was in trouble. We then drove out of the park and all the way to Missoula Montana. Thursday we drove to West Glacier and did a few quick hikes and toured McDonald lodge, someplace we need to stay at some point in time. The lodge is a rustic and magnificent timber structure along lake McDonald. Today (Friday) we drove to Avalanche and then took the shuttle up to Logan Pass and hike the Highline trail, even with rain and low clouds the views were spectacular. We then did a quick tour of the visitor center, met with a summer camp group that had biked up to the pass (I want to and fear it) and Renee talked me into buying a 100 anniversary park shirt. We took the shuttle back down to Avalanche and then hiked to the Ceder trail and then onto Ceder lake, by the time we got down it was past dinner time, so we cooked in the camper and then headed back to our campground. That about catches up with things.
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