Farewell to the Wild Wild West

No longer will men be walking the streets proudly in cowboy hats. No more will we be seeing guns hanging above the ice cream ordering window being raffled off by the local fire department. Corn will be filling our horizons rather than open fields filled with cattle and horses. No longer will we be seeing museums commemorating the exploits of train robbers and sheriffs. No longer will we ride into town to the sound of a friendly howdy. It has been a good place to ride, the places and people have been welcoming but it is time to ride on to the East. I'll be back for sure, but for now the Mid West demands our attention.

We are growing used to slightly bigger towns (the town we're in now has a Home Depot!!). Minnesota has lovely parks and we're looking forward to going through some lake country. We hope to get into Wisconsin by Friday and into Michigan by Monday. We are on schedule to be home by our August 20th deadline =)

Below are some pictures of our past couple days.

This is a picture from a lovely little town called Beuhal, outside of Sturgis SD. We slept at the local campground along this creek and soaked in the amiable company of a family that was on vacation from Nebraska.

This is a picture from Spearfish Canyon. It's not a place that lends itself to being captured by photography, so I can only suggest that if you're in the area take a drive and enjoy the rambling stream through this canyon.

This is coming out of the Black Hills. Directly in front of us is Bear Butte (not Butt as some people would pronounce it, but rather Bute). If you'll notice something really exciting to the right of the Butte. No Mountains!!! Wow was I happy about that, if it hadn't been for a loss of daylight I could've ridden another 100 miles on the adrenaline that came from seeing such gloriously open land.

Have you seen this man? His name is Andrew Dolan and is known to frequent bakeries scowering for cinnamon buns. He is on a 30 year old bike but can still outrun a horse. He was last seen riding through the Great Planes of America, but by now he could be anywhere. If you see him no need to worry, just remind him to call home and say hi to his totally awesome siblings Erin, Sarah, Miss Molly, and Mr. James.

 Ok I have a confession. I have acquired a trail name...I don't like nicknames, let alone trail names. They always seem to be less than complimentary. Why can't I ever get a name like "Chainsaw" we met a couple who had a friend who they called Chainsaw, now that's a name I could roll with, but no I have "Taco Man" as bestowed by Andrew. You'll notice from this picture that my hair does a little wave. It doesn't go away. I've showered, washed my hair multiple times and the holder stays. Andrew saw it about a week into the trip and he thought it looked like a great taco holder and that morphed into taco man.

Well that's all for now folks, I have to say I enjoy writing these little blogs. Don't hesitate to comment, we love hearing from everyone.

Riding on,

Nate (aka The TacoMan)



Woohooo!!!

We are in the prairies! and holy cow are they big! We spent a day riding through Spearfish canyon on the suggestion of one of our biker friends from Idaho and a great couple, Peter and Marissa, we met in Greybull Wyoming. The canyon was beautiful, I have a picture below, but I'm afraid to capture the beauty of the stream rambling through the canyon you'll just have to go and check it out =)

Ok, so we were riding along at a nice relaxed pace, enjoying the vast open spaces that occupy the north western part of beautiful South Dakota. We rolled into the town of Dupree, hungry and ready for a night of rest. The waitress, Cindy, graciously offered her front yard as a campsite (Thank you!) and we spent an uninterrupted night sleeping beneath the stars. Yesterday morning we awoke, did laundry, and started out towards the local church, and that's when we noticed something. Andrew's tires that had been rotated the day before because of excessive wear on the back tire were now both very underinflated. The tire that was worn could not be relied upon to be ridden on, we needed a new tire that we didn't have. This was a problem. We were 240 miles from the nearest bike shop going East, the shop is in a town called Watertown.

 So we walked into Dupree Baptist Church looking forward to fellowshiping with fellow believers. We slid into the back row a couple minutes late and were instantly and warmly welcomed. They asked about who we were and where we were going and if we had any prayer request. Well we told them and then we told them we needed a ride to a town 3.5 hours away =) Our plan was to go to the gas station and try to thumb a ride, doable but less than ideal. After the pastor, Lonnie, who unbeknownst to us was going to Watertown the next day and lived an hour West of the city, got up to speak he offered us a ride, and that is how we found ourselves an hours car ride from Watertown last night eating pizza and enjoying good conversation. This morning we drove to Watertown, talked with the bike shop guys and they were able to fix everything up for us. So today we're spending catching up on life stuff, watching a movie tonight (Captain America!) and sleeping at one of the local churches.

After the service yesterday we were invited over for a cookout celebrating one of the kid's birthday. It was nice to relax and see the joy that this large family obviously gained from each other's company. The food was good and plentiful and the company was very amiable. Andrew and I, over the last couple of hours, have learned a lot about farming, ranching, and even a little bit about the sport of rodeo. All in all it has been a full couple of days.

Posting pictures right now has proven difficult, actually impossible would be a better term, but I promise that at the earliest opportunity I will post some from the last couple days. We plan on riding for the next week or so in Minnesota and Wisconsin then going up into the UP of Michigan.

As always your comments and suggestions for how to make the blog better are appreciated.

riding on,
Nate

PS We've pedaled over 2000 miles!! and we're on track to finish the trip =)

* 80% of all funds go to the Christian organisation Living Water International. They bring sustainable water sources to impoverished communities.

A Question of Time

I have been asked several times how long we spend riding each day. The answer is as varied as the people we meet. The truth is I very rarely will make an accounting for the time spent on the saddle for the simple reason that it won't matter. I don't have a watch on me (thank goodness) and the only reason I ever ask Andrew for the time is to make sure we have enough daylight to get where we are going. Miles are what matter. To think that we spent 11.5 hours going 130 miles yesterday is not nearly as motivating as to think that we went 130 miles fighting a stiff wind that persisted in going the wrong direction for most of it.

I met a man named Red who has also given up the constrictions of a watch. I hope that I can live similarily after this trip. Quality work is rarely associated with being overly conscious of time.

This post will be short due to the fact that one I just wrote something yesterday, and two I would like to go get something to eat =)

We will be spending the night in a little town just West of the South Dakota border tonight called Beulah. For those paying attention you will notice that we are no longer going to be visiting Mt. Rushmore. We held a council last night and decided that it would be better to visit Spearfish Canyon in SD and then start booking it across Rt. 212. Hopefully today will be the last day we spend on the interstate. As much fun as it is to have a lot of trucks going by you at 70+ mph I prefer quieter avenues of travel.

Here are some pics!

This is me resisting the urge to get up and go. We stayed behind some half abandoned building in Gillete. We were going to stay in the park but then found out from the local skater crowd that the park was patrolled by very uncool law enforcement, but they pointed us towards this building up the street where we were sure to be left alone =) This led to a new realization, if you want to know where to not be bothered by police, ask the skate park crowd.

Does no one else see the irony of having a cultural extravagance (Starbucks) next to a place where you can get a Cash Advance? Andrew didn't laugh, but I thought it was humorous.

This is Eastern Wyoming. You'll notice the little towers. These are filled with water. They use it for cooling purposes (I believe). You can see on the right an oil pump working away. After this picture a big coal train went across the train tracks (the black line across the middle of the picture). What you can't see are the horses hanging out in the shade of a tree to the right. It's a beautifully sparse land that is run by coal/oil interest, and local ranchers.

And we're off,

till next time,
Nate

A day on the road

A lot of people have asked about the logistics of this little trip we are on. It's interesting because it is a point on which I did not spend much time considering when deciding whether to go or not. Things like where we eat and sleep didn't occupy my mind, but I've found that now that I am actually on the road I think a lot about it =) So here's a brief rundown on a typical day.

The sun peeks into our tent, I open my eyes a crack to make sure the light isn't coming from headlights or a flashlight. Once it is determined that it is indeed morning I turn to my traveling partner, Andrew, and ask about the time. Typically it's around 7. At this point there is a crucial decision, do I overcome inertia and get myself out of my comfy sleeping bag and start the day, or do I shut my eyes for another half hour. So far it's 50/50 on which decision wins out, the best days are when we are forced out of bed, this morning it was by a man running irrigation on the local football field.

After we get up, pack up our stuff, and generally start feeling good about life and the ride ahead we determine where the nearest source of food is. A lot of times we like to get to the next town (10-20 miles away) and get breakfast there as cheap as possible. A four pack of blueberry muffins, poptarts, or McDonalds usually does the trick. By this time we are beginning to think about where we are going to stay for the night. It's best to have a town in mind. Today we've set our sites on getting to Gillete Wyoming. It's a 120 mile ride, but we need to make up for not making our goal yesterday.

After breakfast we ride for awhile (30-50 miles) and stop at a town of some substance (substance: a town with a library, food, and park) for lunch and a break. Then we go till we hit our target or find a nice place before it that makes for a good place to stay. This happened last night when we came over the Big Horns we found a whole party of bikers camping out at the local highschool so we decided to join them.

Once we reach the town that we had set as our goal we ask around about sleeping in the park, hopefully this proves to be an acceptable option, in the cases where it is not we go to the churches, when this doesn't work, Andrew starts talking about wanting to keep riding and finding a place on the side of the road. When this happens I start eyeing the local campground and deciding if I want a good night's sleep or not. I typically end up deciding to pay for the campground instead of chancing it on the road (as mentioned I like grass, trees, and picnic tables).

Once a place to sleep has been secured we spend our time reading, I also write about the day's events. Throughout the day we are running into a whole lot of people. The vast majority are very friendly and helpful. The reason we are where we are is because of the helpful people we've come across, everyone from the person who gives Andrew $20 to help out with trip expenses, to the couple giving us road advice going into South Dakota, to the motorcyclists just shooting the breeze asking about the trip and talking about life.

It's been a very freeing way to live, after this trip I don't think I will ever worry about having a place to lay my head =)

The big news of the day is we have made it past the Big Horns!!! After a grueling 18 mile uphill climb of over 4800 feet we made it up Granite Pass and road down to the little town of Dayton Wyoming. Below are some pictures of where we were.

These mountains were in our way. A large wall of rock obscuring the path of progress, but through sweat, a little tears, and a whole lot of positive thinking we made it to the top and got down in one piece =)

This is up at the top of the pass. A storm was rolling in so we didn't sit around to chat, but as you can see the top was rolling pasture land. It was kinda cool to be biking along herds of cattle at 9000 ft.

This is our campsite for the night on the East side of the pass. The storm that had been brewing all day came in at night with severe winds and gave us cause to be proud of our little tents structural stability =) though the winds did keep us from having a nigh of uninterrupted sleep.

Well the road beckons, more specifically I want an icecream bar from across the street so I must bid you all farewell until next time. Thank you for your comments, and as always if you think of anything that would make the blog better  or have any questions don't hesitate to let me know!

Riding on,

Nate

PS I saw antelope today! Hopefully we get to see buffalo, people keep telling me about these giant beasts of the plains but I have yet to see proof of their existence.

* 80% of all funds donated goes directly towards Living Water International. You can either donate through the blog or mail a check to Kevin Dolan at 11 Daylily Dr. Mt Laurel NJ 08054, write Living Water in the memo line.

Beautiful Wyoming

Teddy Roosevelt once said that the 50 miles connecting the East Gate of Yellowstone to Cody is one of the most beautiful roads in all of the US. Having now ridden it on a bike I am inclined to agree.

We made it up over Teton Pass and dropped down into Jackson. Once in Jackson we immediately began to miss the open roads of Oregon and Idaho. There were so many people going so many different directions my immediate instinct was to try to find the nearest road heading out of town. Thankfully Andrew suggested that we stop at the visitor's center. New rule: always stop at the visitor center. These wonderful places have people there who want to help you! It's such a great idea. At this one, we find a man by the name of Bill who told us about the Bike and Hike camping available in Yellowstone and Teton National Parks. This was a great boon for us, because I really didn't want to spend $20 for a campsite and they don't like people tenting on the side of the road in National Parks (dumb, I know, but true). So that first night we spent at Jenny Lake (see photo below), the next night we spent in Yellowstone at Bridge Port.

One thing I'm beginning to notice is that it matters how I view the trip in relation to myself. Do I view it as something that adds to my pride and ego, do I just passively accept that I'm riding for thousands and thousands of miles, or do I look at it as a privilidge? I read a book this past Spring about a man who road his bike through the southern route, he was an older dude, and one thing he kept saying throughout the book was what a privilidge it was to be able to ride. I didn't understand when I was reading it what the big deal was, but as we've gone on in this trip I've begun to understand. If I look at as just something that somehow adds to the Nate Dolan reputation as a matter of pride I will quickly become annoying to be around and anything gained from this trip will be for naught. A passive response is pretty much impossible for me, but if I look at riding as a privilidge it opens up the world. I'm able to wonder at everything around me. I'm able to learn from what's going on. I'm able to enjoy life =) So I feel that this blog would be incomplete if I did not say what a privilidge it is for us to do this trip. Not only to have the time, resources, and health, but also to have the desire. It truly is a privilidge.

Currently we are in Cody Wyoming, Rodeo Capitol of the World. We had the good luck to run into Mr. Reeder when asking for a place to put our tent he had the good graces to call his wife who works at the KOA and ask if we could stay the night for free. It was such a blessing to have showers, do laundry, and a free pancake breakfast!!

We hope to be at Mt. Rushmore in about a week. Below are some pictures from the last couple of days. My sister, Erin, has suggested that I include more human interest photos so you'll notice an increase of pictures with us or people we meet =)

This is at the beginning of the pass. If you'll notice the sign in the background says 10% grade. This translates to very steep, so far on the this trip I've yet to see anything great than a 10% grade sign.

This picture was taken at the top of Teton Pass, there was snow off the road =) Down in the valley is Jackson Hole.

This is a picture of the Tetons. This is definitely a place I will be coming back to.

This is Andrew taking a much needed bath in a snow fed lake. It was cold.

This was in Yellowstone National Park. Everything from here on will be downhill =)

This is the view coming down the East Gate. The ride down was one of the most beautiful of the trip. Thankfully whoever maintains the roads up here does a great job.

This was at the KOA last night. Andrew and I are now big advocates of KOAs.



So that's all for now, we look to be in Shell Wyoming tonight (just East of Greybull)

Best,

Nate

Trees!!

We have reached bonafide timber!! and along with it some rather large and intimidating mountains called the Tetons. We haven't seen forest since the beginning of Oregon, and as mentioned earlier I like trees.

Today we find ourselves in a little town called Victor just West of the Wyoming border. The town is nestled in the Teton valley and promises to host us comfortably. We have a concert in the park tonight and a good dinner of hamburgers and fries to look forward to. Tomorrow will require some climbing in the first 20 miles to get to Jackson. We've heard some bad things about this pass, regarding its steepness, lack of a shoulder, and just general undesirable nature, but we met an older gentleman coming off of the pass who didn't blink an eye when telling us what he had climbed. So the thinking is if he can do it, surely two young guys like us can do it, besides the fact that Andrew isn't going to let me wimp out and take the bus.

Well, alright, the last couple days have been busy. Alot of miles have been put on and we've met many people. I'll give some of the highlights. The first is an officer of the law in the small town of Kimberly. If I had been thinking I would've gotten his name, but as circumstances were less than ideal it slipped my mind. Andrew and I had spent the afternoon in the town's park talking with the local hoodlums, conversing with a young family, and in general enjoying the levity of a timeless corner of the world. We had asked around about staying in the park and everyone was totally fine with it. Well we looked around the park and saw the place we wanted to stay. It was a fortress in the sky, a refuge against all the enemies of a touring bicyclist (namely bugs and watersprinklers). This stronghold was none other than the playground (see picture below). So we put our bikes underneath and brought our sleeping bags upstairs and settled in for a much needed night's rest. Around 11 PM the man in blue shines his terribly brilliant flashlight and interupts all manner of attempted slumber. He informed us that a neighbor had called us in, so stumbling bleary eyed down the oversized purple ladder and fumbling for our IDs our protector of the peace checked to make sure we weren't felons. After telling him what we were about and trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation he graciously let us stay in our makeshift Hilton for the remainder of the night. So it goes.

The next morning we were riding into a town called Burley to get Andrew's bike new wheels. As we're riding into the heart of this town an elderly man pulls alongside me in a Cadillac DeVille. He asks me where we're going, I tell him New Jersey. His next question was if we planned on stopping by the newspaper office. I told him no but if he led the way I'd be happy to follow. This led to the meeting of one of Idaho's most generous citizens. His name is Dale Wipple. After taking us into the newspaper office and introducing us to the owner he asked him to do a story on us. It then came out that I really wanted business cards, to which Dale simply asked to have them made at his expense. He then took us to the bike shop and paid for Andrew's repairs. I could add a lot more detail to the story, but suffice to say we are very happy to know Col. Dale Wipple. He has graciously sponsored us through his organization, National Pioneer Hall of Fame, www.nationalpioneerhalloffame.com/news . We look forward to a mutually beneficial partnership.

One other highlight was the by chance staying in a little town just outside of Idaho Falls called Iona. I've never felt so at peace in a town as I have in this little community. We pulled up to the town hall after riding around 84 miles and after the police incident we wanted permission to sleep in the park. We talked to a couple of very helpful individuals who ended up calling the mayor to ask for permission, to which he generously acquiesced. They then contacted the park maintenance supervisor to check on the sprinkler schedule for us. After that we enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon in the park watching a softball game where the Ninja Turtles triumphed. All in all it was very nice to spend time in such a warm community.

Okay, so I have one more thought, then I'll put up some pictures then I'll get off this thing and get some dinner =) Having grown up on the East Coast, specifically in New Jersey, I have often felt that life is a dog eat dog affair, that people are primarily only concerned with themselves. This trip has proven otherwise. It has been such a joy to bike through small town Western America and experience the hospitality and generosity of those we pass. I think the key is to break down all walls of self sufficiency. I don't know how to articulate the openness that people feel when you ride up on a bike but it's real. People that would normally pass by behind their tinted sunglasses stop and talk to you. People who mom and dad would normally tell you not to talk to come up to you and start asking about what you're doing. Some are just curious, some want to give advice or local information, and some just want someone to talk to. I don't know how to capture the openness that comes with bicycling without a bicycle but if I can figure it out I'll definitely write a book about it. To bridge the communication gap between the elderly couple on vacation, the local trouble makers in the park, and the middle age parents out with their kids, that is something worth knowing. People, I believe, are for the most part intrinsically good and generous it's just a matter of bringing that out of them. With some people it's closer to the surface than others =) but I really think that there's vast potential for cross generational and demographic communication that is not being taken advantage of for the simple reason that we don't know how to go about getting the best out of people. I do hope that makes some sense, it's a first go at writing my thoughts and it is in need of revision, but I think the heart of the matter in its rawest form is there.

Below are some pictures from the last couple of days. This first one is of one of homes away from home. Kimberly's playground =)

This is a picture of one of the many wind farms we've passed. I've talked to some of the locals about it and they haven't seen a drop in their utility bill...but they are really cool looking.

This was at one of our campsites. Looks really picturesque right? Well over the horizon is a windmill, over our heads are high voltage lines, a hundred meters behind us is the local sewage plant, 300 meters up stream is a hydroelectric plant, and over the river is a bridge over which trains frequented at all hours of the night, but honestly we slept like rocks that night and couldn't have cared if we were sleeping a subway.

These mountains are in the way of progress. We got over them. We are currently facing larger mountains. Hopefully we get over them tomorrow =)

That's all for now, thank you for all your comments and support. If you're new to the blog we are raising money for Living Water International. 80% of all donations go directly to them. You can either donate through the donate button or mail a check to 11 Daylily Dr., Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054. Please make the check out to Kevin Dolan (my first name) with Living Water in the memo line.

Till next time,

Nate

Responses to Previous Post (for some reason I couldn't post this as a comment)

Bruce and Dan: Thanks for the posts!! It was a joy for us to run into you guys!

Christian: Thanks for the advice, we plan to take a picture up at one of the passes that he took a picture =)

Mr. James: We've only seen road kill rattlers, though we did see one snake that we almost ran over =)
Depending on where we are the stars are beautiful, but most of the time I'm asleep by the time they really come out. We've pedaled almost 1200 miles, and traveled a little over 1400. When not riding we eat, read, and sometimes play cards =) Love you James

Mr. Wallin: Thanks for the encouragement! If you have any ideas for how to make the blog better don't hesitate to suggest!

Liz: Glad you're enjoying the ride with us! Haha nope we didn't know them previously, they were a great group to meet though. I didn't realize you were back in the states. You can have fun at Wendy's =) Though admittedly Andrew and I have made McDonalds our fast food joint of choice.