tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30551676528146135942024-02-07T17:59:39.806-08:00Matt's Enormous TransAmerica Bike Ridewww.justgiving.com/mattbradyMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-76219194243993075862009-09-06T18:27:00.001-07:002009-09-06T18:27:24.468-07:00At the Pacific. . Note the lack of sun<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMHDHNHdNft4MqeJS_GvqNxj0AZiG6DqhDpoLieTMFltwCujwt3N0FmpxboHA2EPoi8WEBuckKxnBONh1L6ZDbynFtTSfW1MnKSLrGWrBK5LZqc7Tficx-EylCB2QbEVLvpzVZbNtP6dli/s1600-h/image-upload-22-742470.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMHDHNHdNft4MqeJS_GvqNxj0AZiG6DqhDpoLieTMFltwCujwt3N0FmpxboHA2EPoi8WEBuckKxnBONh1L6ZDbynFtTSfW1MnKSLrGWrBK5LZqc7Tficx-EylCB2QbEVLvpzVZbNtP6dli/s320/image-upload-22-742470.jpg"/></a><br /><span/><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-22448570236382506802009-09-06T18:25:00.001-07:002009-09-06T18:25:57.916-07:00We did tell him its not a good look. .<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTGuUjtilMsIupf9C6EyfMScs-sPDSLDKexxIqsh3hEhJrwU_z3Tf807Rq-BVE-AX19G16v5yYsWiCjBIxhO0HR0azBgFcjQL4J1QrIR0_Y-o2XfPCF0VTSjHGFoxiH3WdLlWm70yz-RT/s1600-h/image-upload-18-756129.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTGuUjtilMsIupf9C6EyfMScs-sPDSLDKexxIqsh3hEhJrwU_z3Tf807Rq-BVE-AX19G16v5yYsWiCjBIxhO0HR0azBgFcjQL4J1QrIR0_Y-o2XfPCF0VTSjHGFoxiH3WdLlWm70yz-RT/s320/image-upload-18-756129.jpg"/></a><br /><span/><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-47468413461235367702009-09-06T18:21:00.001-07:002009-09-06T18:21:38.928-07:00Teddy celebrated too. .<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYSBMF0IUeeusvxcz7RRIx55XQoCFaT3JhvIX8fVOFMK683rNXvQfx-RHI6yRVtwfRxiodvriwt_jfa_1nZyp6JvW5dPly4BUqi1zGl7CqESsHhJcn64xiwLJrDGGzrOh3Eo7ERa2W3tab/s1600-h/image-upload-19-797040.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYSBMF0IUeeusvxcz7RRIx55XQoCFaT3JhvIX8fVOFMK683rNXvQfx-RHI6yRVtwfRxiodvriwt_jfa_1nZyp6JvW5dPly4BUqi1zGl7CqESsHhJcn64xiwLJrDGGzrOh3Eo7ERa2W3tab/s320/image-upload-19-797040.jpg"/></a><br /><span/><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-84642430981259839052009-09-06T18:20:00.001-07:002009-09-06T18:20:44.074-07:00Callum needed assistance after cycling in his speedo trunks<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1dLrlcaIvurET8YcD2ZpaNzGKFOvpGun9pMzQUbUPpRMbWqXWQQaJ9Z63wJPIWqY4ccy-Bf6YkknqQ5yzAod1TtLFwHB4ck1lrhrB4NvGGi76PWvPCV0qkCXxv28C1nZxUy2jCBlDgX-3/s1600-h/image-upload-17-742476.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1dLrlcaIvurET8YcD2ZpaNzGKFOvpGun9pMzQUbUPpRMbWqXWQQaJ9Z63wJPIWqY4ccy-Bf6YkknqQ5yzAod1TtLFwHB4ck1lrhrB4NvGGi76PWvPCV0qkCXxv28C1nZxUy2jCBlDgX-3/s320/image-upload-17-742476.jpg"/></a><br /><span/><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-50732343652870371792009-09-06T18:18:00.001-07:002009-09-06T18:18:51.936-07:00The Lads being lads in Florence<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gF7slEXgOk7rgKlqCPvclirNsi9WO0EOfRsWhMdWbzfkHOHIL7AgdpUfdg0Rd6h4OnKMpMva_dvdyQ7fjByP6idh5lx4-PHS2kOTPQG622ArM53RyImAOAOOhHKswFXVgnT-T31iMSUE/s1600-h/image-upload-22-729922.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gF7slEXgOk7rgKlqCPvclirNsi9WO0EOfRsWhMdWbzfkHOHIL7AgdpUfdg0Rd6h4OnKMpMva_dvdyQ7fjByP6idh5lx4-PHS2kOTPQG622ArM53RyImAOAOOhHKswFXVgnT-T31iMSUE/s320/image-upload-22-729922.jpg"/></a><br /><span>We made it! Atlantic to the Pacific, the lads felt the need to get naked </span><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-48779922080080056582009-09-06T18:15:00.003-07:002009-09-06T18:15:21.487-07:00I'm pointing at the sign, i'm not in pain. .<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb78jxOV9AWUq60aS6-f85Vluhw7JNnNPMYU1qy_6-Wggr6GOaC_gKZuSaFIvvTjMDaztuhteM01nlbPJXK0n7H_mVuih_K8Fa3dtq5AC3IoyqcninS7Zv0sfUMwQ92332KRNEnED3JHWX/s1600-h/image-upload-23-719657.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb78jxOV9AWUq60aS6-f85Vluhw7JNnNPMYU1qy_6-Wggr6GOaC_gKZuSaFIvvTjMDaztuhteM01nlbPJXK0n7H_mVuih_K8Fa3dtq5AC3IoyqcninS7Zv0sfUMwQ92332KRNEnED3JHWX/s320/image-upload-23-719657.jpg"/></a><br /><span/><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-86039167960832159482009-09-06T18:15:00.001-07:002009-09-06T18:15:09.356-07:00Totally finished this time!<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvZBFl5bmTckkT2SUyax_jI3ksPAUijVO1yaQXDb_ZsFZFx54vGs5yLEkvKJTGHsvvirD217-RC45BaNrI1hSV83m4aUYafXEtObKL7IpSDrL4LzwoX5Dp0wyPO9VXsJ0oXs8r6-BYgpJ/s1600-h/image-upload-20-707344.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvZBFl5bmTckkT2SUyax_jI3ksPAUijVO1yaQXDb_ZsFZFx54vGs5yLEkvKJTGHsvvirD217-RC45BaNrI1hSV83m4aUYafXEtObKL7IpSDrL4LzwoX5Dp0wyPO9VXsJ0oXs8r6-BYgpJ/s320/image-upload-20-707344.jpg"/></a><br /><span>In astoria, no more biking</span><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-75071208850939733102009-09-06T18:14:00.000-07:002009-09-06T18:15:00.530-07:00Finished for real this time!<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7Gu9296C3vx6W3ddFGR9h07yAKMhyDGHdlNpj91dcCOnTei7z0rXD93DYl7axDDlS7sjfW_mYEAMHFqg_q3VvJQBHwIiffzZBDIfKYCYD8AKWbnjy4Q_QC26FataqyTGrAaUPBr3PIfC/s1600-h/image-upload-21-798132.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7Gu9296C3vx6W3ddFGR9h07yAKMhyDGHdlNpj91dcCOnTei7z0rXD93DYl7axDDlS7sjfW_mYEAMHFqg_q3VvJQBHwIiffzZBDIfKYCYD8AKWbnjy4Q_QC26FataqyTGrAaUPBr3PIfC/s320/image-upload-21-798132.jpg"/></a><br /><span>Finally in astoria. . Ye-ha. . </span><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-68171265075288574052009-09-04T22:57:00.000-07:002009-09-04T23:40:21.621-07:00FINISHED...sort ofIt's friday night, sat in a hotel room and we've all dipped our toes in the Pacific as we've made it to the west coast!!!! It was somewhat of an anti-climax to be honest as it took us ages to find the beach and when we got there the sea was bloody miles away....<br />So we left Eugene and most of us took the shorter but less scenic route. Mike and Lad Chris decided to do the long route for some reason, the rest of us just wanted an easy life. It was a crappy road for the first 10 miles or so but it was ok eventually. There were more of the big road works the Americans do so well - 19 miles of disruption but it's impressive to see them digging it all up and relaying it all in one go. And we did get to cycle through some tunnel with a 7% gradient without any traffic, so that was good.<br />Lunch was at some hippy hangout which would have been better if the 2 stoners running the place could have managed to remember all the orders and what was supposed to go in the sandwhiches. The Lads had previously decided that when they were going to hit the coast it would be in their Speedo trunks, so Callum and Mike duly got changed and sat on their bikes in their trunks. Not so bad for Callum who has trunks that fit. Mike has trunks that might fit a pre-pubescent 13 year-old. But we've seen them enough not to be too peturbed, but the general public haven't. With the addition of some reasonably tasteless graffiti on their backs courtesy of Lad Chris, we set off for the ride to the sea.<br />I think this ride was longer than Callum and Mike anticipated. As we got closer the temperature dropped and the boys no longer had padded shorts on. And saddle sores were already in existance. Nice. After 4000 miles you don't want to suddenly revert to unpadded pants. Callum got to the point of lubricating himself on the move with spit. Not the recommended option. I think Mike just suffered.<br />So we made it to Florence, hit Safeways for food and Champagne, then I decided to have a bit of a breakdown. It was a bit sad as I've had a great time but it's only happened because Ruby died so there were plenty of mixed emotions. From there we did the last 5 miles to the beach, then discovered the sea was miles away and we couldn't get the bikes to the sea for the traditional tyre dipping ceremony. So we trudged over the dunes with food and drink and finally made it.Mike and Callum charged into the sea and nearly died from shock at the temperature of the water. It was too cold to stand in, let alone swim in. Lad Chris eventually made it in too but the rest of us just watched, freezing. The Lads being lads, nudity ensued for a while, champagne was drunk, photos taken...it was good. We all have more miles to do though, so the celebrations were a bit less than if we had completely finished I think.<br />Next stop was a nearby campsite where we pitched our tents in a spot where we shouldn't have, then we were busted a couple of hours later, so we had to move elsewhere...tedious and pointless.<br />So today was the day when we had to split up, the Lads off south to San Francisco, the rest of us north towards Astoria. We all decided to go up the coast a few miles to see the worlds largest sea-cave which contains lots of sea lions, apart from it's not actually the largest sea-cave and the sea lions only go in their in winter and during bad weather, and the cave wasn't that exciting. But it was $11 dollars well spent...for the owners. Callum did give the woman on the desk a thorough questioning which she remained very good natured about, just. Very professional.<br />Then it was time for the goodbyes. I thought it was sad saying bye to them, they have been a great laugh to have around, shame it has to end. Most of the humour does involve Callum one way or another, I think the girls were particularly sorry to see him go. Hopefully they'll have enough cash and stay friends long enough to have a good time before their flights home in a couple of weeks.<br />We made it as far as Newport where we found a brewery that did dinner so we sat their for a couple of hours before sacking the idea of camping and deciding to get a hotel room. We're all in the one room, with our bikes, 2 double beds, Aaron is on the floor, I'm with Shaz. We've done our laundry and it's time for bed. It's supposed to rain for the next 2 days, which is a bit of a shame as the weather has basically been fantastic for us, so can't really complain. The next entry should be after we've definately finished all of it, right to the end. If I can get my wi-fi going I'll put the end of the ride pics on.<br />Night night.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-35895371121915003262009-09-03T08:14:00.001-07:002009-09-03T08:47:27.022-07:00Thursday 3rd SeptemberMorning...quick update before we set off. In Eugene, had a day off yesterday so we could recover from the night out we had the night before. It was our official farewell to each other as the TransAm boys will be heading off tomorrow to San Francisco and the rest of us will be going north to Astoria and Eugene is a real town with restaurants and bars.<br />We came over the Cascades on Tuesday and the scenery changed dramatically - we went from high desert type area of Hells Canyon, to more trees but still dry to the rainforest of the western side of the Cascades. The trees are huge - might be redwoods, I think they are the really big ones, and its all covered in moss. The best bit was the miles of downhill we had. I think it was 16 miles up the hill from the town of Sisters where we'd stayed then 70 miles downhill, with about 10 of those steep, winding with switchbacks through the forest. Nearly died but it was great.<br />The place we stayed in Sisters was fab. Some woman in a VW camper van pulled Man Chris over on the road and asked where he was staying, thinking he was on his own. Explaining there were 8 of us, she said we culd go to her place and camp - turns out she and her husband have been putting up cyclists for 24 years. The place was great - a ranch just out of town. We pitched the tents on the L-lawn (the lawns had different names) next to the lake, which we were able to swim in. They gave us a lift to town to buy food so we had a BBQ, sat around chatting and playing with the 6 week old labrador puppy. Very civilised. The couple were great - Pattie and Jim. Old hippies it seemed, late 50s but in good shape, to the point where some of the young lads fancied Pattie. Or perhaps it was her boob job they liked.<br />So today is the official LAST DAY...Florence and the Pacific is the target, its only about 50-60 miles off. The plan is to get some champagne and camp on the beach - we'll see. We're probably not allowed to camp on the beach and who knows if there is anywhere to get champers. I'm sure we'll manage to celebrate in some way, before the tears!! Well, I know a couple of people will be glad it's officially over but there are some of us who don't want to finish. It's still 3 days cycling to get to Astoria but as far as I'm concerned once I hit the sea the rest is optional. The TransAm boys have another 600 miles to go to San Fran so they have a way to go.<br />Right...I need to get to the bakery for breakfast, laters....Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-8172517308690271762009-08-31T12:40:00.000-07:002009-08-31T13:20:55.061-07:00Monday, somewhere near the end...Well, Prineville, Oregon to be exact. It doesn't strike me as very exciting.<br />Haven't had the opportunity to update this for nearly a week. Idaho has a lot of nothing in it, so no libraries, so no computers and the same is true for this side of Oregan so far. I'm surprised I've managed to find an open library on a Monday to be honest as it's usually a day off here.<br />So since last week, what's happened...the group is still together, just. I think Chris and Chris might be making an effort to escape but they'll be lucky. Having said that we'll be at the coast in a couple of days or so and that's where the lads will part company and head south to San Francisco so we'll all be going our separate ways very soon.<br />We made it through Hell's Canyon, just. It was well named. The road leading up to it was seeming guarded by lots of really ugly crickets, seemingly called Mormon Crickets (see picture). They are about 2" long and 1" high, jump about 6" and stride around the road eating the corpes of their mates that have been crushed under wheels. Lovely. As we decended into the canyon at breakneck spped, we were expecting a cooling breeze but instead it was like cycling through an oven. It was well hot. Over 100 degrees we discovered later. It was good though, quite enjoyed it. There were loads of big carp (possibly) in the river below the dam, surfacing and slowly swimming around...it was too hot to do anything particularly quickly. We eventually got out of the canyon and found a store with a porch where we crashed out for a couple of hours, till it cooled down a bit. For some reason I then decided to leg it 10 miles up the hill as I was full of energy and a sprint seemed like a good idea, at the time. I was battered the following morning though. So we made it to Halfway, had beer and dinner then went to a bike hostel where we stayed the night. It was run by a woman who said she had cycled 'a bit' but her son revealed she had competed in 3 Olympic games for the USA and come 3rd in the womens Tour de France. Inge Thompson. What was nearly as cool as that was that they had a semi-resident tree frog living in their bathroom. I was impressed. And they had dogs, a couple of which I actually liked - one was an Australian Dingo cross, which was pretty good. And horses, which were huge.<br />From there we went to Baker City, which was only 50 odd miles under an overcast sky but it was a nightmare. Possibly the hardest day so far. Drank all my water, couldn't get up the hills, was knackered. We all struggled, Shaz had to get a lift into town, but we ended up at an RV park with a pool and a hot tub so the hideous day was soon forgotten and we went out for Mexican food in the evening. Which was nice...<br />Where did we go then...? Mmm...still have no memory. We are back on long days, about 80-90 miles and we stayed in another bike hostel on Sat night, Maike and Chris cooked Thai chicken curry which was (a) cheap and (b) good so was a winner, especially as they also bought chocolate cake. The night ended up with a video, The Thomas Crown Affair, which is crap.<br />Yesterday saw us over another hill, which bored me to death. It's funny how some hills are ok and some are just tedious. I was so bored with yesterdays, it got right on my nerves. The scenery was ok, we went through a good canyon, called John Day. This made me laugh as I had a lodger with that name, who vanished, so he became known as Dead John. He's not dead though, he was just avoiding paying me money he owed. The downhill was good after the annoying uphill so that made up for it. We went passed a tree that must have had 50 pairs of shoes hanging from it. Not sure what this is about - we passed a similar one a couple of days before. It's not exactly recycling.<br />We ended up in Mitchell, at a very entertaining cafe. The woman running it knew exactly how to handle us - took the piss out of our accents, made us do as we were told and had a laugh. She was great. I told her she should go to see the old witch in Jeffrey City that mum had the run-in with, to teach her a few things. I was being quite tame by using the term 'witch' but they thought it was a bit much I think, although they did laugh. We were in town early, by 3.30, which is almost unheard of as we did 80 + miles I think, but it did mean we could chill out for once and not just arrive in town, put the tents up and go to bed.<br />Another early start today, up at six, 95 miles to do and we should be in Sisters tonight, again at a city park, so no showers again, unless we use the sprinklers. We haven't been told off for that yet but give it time...<br />Tomorrow will see us to Eugene and then it's only 70 miles to the sea!!!! This isn't a good thing, although it does mean Alex is nearly here. As Mick Cant said in his message after the last blog, it's supposed to have been arduous, a trial, etc etc and it's actually been a pretty good laugh most of the way. That's not to say it hasn't been bloody hard work but I have / am really enjoying it, and would quite happilycarry on for another few weeks / months. My knees and right thigh may have a different opinion but the painkillers I have are very good.<br />Although the coast isn't far off I think it will be next Saturday before whoever is left of us gets to Astoria. We cycle up the coast for a couple of hundred miles, it's not just a sudden stop when we get to the sea, so it's not quite in the bag just yet. But almost.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-23763371875566630062009-08-31T12:27:00.001-07:002009-08-31T12:27:16.568-07:00I'm not saying Americans can be fat, but they have weight limits on their toilets<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYpD7RCc1v4rYvHO0CMKK2umxHEAgc7Zn4lkDQ1QHOtp5q_DlWD7r0OYJGtA3nNKnz2JO__RufH7nHWeA-_1cm72-07SIyWwZiuV2birPxT1KPURdUIEscVNkCVOeAm5yyqXCCL48gZzlP/s1600-h/image-upload-218-734969.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYpD7RCc1v4rYvHO0CMKK2umxHEAgc7Zn4lkDQ1QHOtp5q_DlWD7r0OYJGtA3nNKnz2JO__RufH7nHWeA-_1cm72-07SIyWwZiuV2birPxT1KPURdUIEscVNkCVOeAm5yyqXCCL48gZzlP/s320/image-upload-218-734969.jpg"/></a><br /><span/><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-64907829054716643412009-08-31T12:24:00.001-07:002009-08-31T12:24:59.536-07:00They must have had big horses to pull those pioneer wagons<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRpGGfiKHmgO3JDHl9pjGS4A9AA82SW1e06GfegJx3roC9JjXPvSpKdS9_MDSAp6ZG3jeE2k-bKdEL4KolMoyqJypJPs2PKov1epxxX6tggglYsSDR5ATDG8AW4jjPEbUApo0PgENsyuu/s1600-h/image-upload-206-798202.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRpGGfiKHmgO3JDHl9pjGS4A9AA82SW1e06GfegJx3roC9JjXPvSpKdS9_MDSAp6ZG3jeE2k-bKdEL4KolMoyqJypJPs2PKov1epxxX6tggglYsSDR5ATDG8AW4jjPEbUApo0PgENsyuu/s320/image-upload-206-798202.jpg"/></a><br /><span/><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-24195525612831123472009-08-31T12:23:00.001-07:002009-08-31T12:23:45.629-07:00Recovering after Hells Canyon. .<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNF0nxRNi3eCwQLj9ppAF6bkQ-uENZMAjTPLMvx-SDKqCoYvJDCgveDNxIN0wIDpyhqGFPQN5f7YY5yYaVzDI4De6TM9Cjd986uKc-9DLXMDyWCMtMQ1oIur5slRDavpco6D0_HT8jn9im/s1600-h/image-upload-233-723993.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNF0nxRNi3eCwQLj9ppAF6bkQ-uENZMAjTPLMvx-SDKqCoYvJDCgveDNxIN0wIDpyhqGFPQN5f7YY5yYaVzDI4De6TM9Cjd986uKc-9DLXMDyWCMtMQ1oIur5slRDavpco6D0_HT8jn9im/s320/image-upload-233-723993.jpg"/></a><br /><span/><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-33188675980627862422009-08-31T12:22:00.001-07:002009-08-31T12:22:27.151-07:00Ahh. . The last state! Scary<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd72_1ke_K0Vpx5Lp_iI12izZl1jerFTc59lTjV8yWrm6xnfKNXJjHBy0FwLgh1XMon77O3SVAWMxE-XxmbARvOcedDvlFIeEnc8aT0fy6hNbvD1KuSwc9i_phAj2553lL_rCBRQnXw9dT/s1600-h/image-upload-240-745693.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd72_1ke_K0Vpx5Lp_iI12izZl1jerFTc59lTjV8yWrm6xnfKNXJjHBy0FwLgh1XMon77O3SVAWMxE-XxmbARvOcedDvlFIeEnc8aT0fy6hNbvD1KuSwc9i_phAj2553lL_rCBRQnXw9dT/s320/image-upload-240-745693.jpg"/></a><br /><span/><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-35083605555781734792009-08-31T12:21:00.001-07:002009-08-31T12:21:14.638-07:00A green lake at Hells Canyon. . Didnt swim in that one<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPfte2n96lNdjVTa1KwHiWEHhoM_G6lBZNJ86xoDvzb0q9QHGuvkg0M7VGeGGrvIJd3bBLPhQcRXa9fMwPHZk_kghAWFjk4DM0M09rTL_-DA4gQjuI9NM7wqm_JBKUKaXYp8FZ4XJ8UUq/s1600-h/image-upload-232-773254.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPfte2n96lNdjVTa1KwHiWEHhoM_G6lBZNJ86xoDvzb0q9QHGuvkg0M7VGeGGrvIJd3bBLPhQcRXa9fMwPHZk_kghAWFjk4DM0M09rTL_-DA4gQjuI9NM7wqm_JBKUKaXYp8FZ4XJ8UUq/s320/image-upload-232-773254.jpg"/></a><br /><span/><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-48512474783848711542009-08-31T12:19:00.001-07:002009-08-31T12:19:55.573-07:00A very ugly Mormon Cricket<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FBWOhcRNZDNcFT60ykuvqz3n9tRkYreyIzgqKiStA2rD97eBemv-S7Lhi-rCAzvYPK4PJPKTRk2tq4MRl0VXtByR_EqVwchchNGHKKXn646CrjXa6cEG6KPD9QHRSnjhojBcD-PLvEsG/s1600-h/image-upload-232-794138.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FBWOhcRNZDNcFT60ykuvqz3n9tRkYreyIzgqKiStA2rD97eBemv-S7Lhi-rCAzvYPK4PJPKTRk2tq4MRl0VXtByR_EqVwchchNGHKKXn646CrjXa6cEG6KPD9QHRSnjhojBcD-PLvEsG/s320/image-upload-232-794138.jpg"/></a><br /><span/><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-9450123380549891762009-08-31T12:18:00.001-07:002009-08-31T12:18:16.507-07:00Urban shower<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-c9Ot1XiAE_KsSnLNKlh2twOosNl3urcBqbvw4uKV057tKmhHjEoA6Khyphenhyphencvv6QZPrIMNO76KCfgfT9yTbY3D5JzYNX8PAbvoZ6SC_zRd9zRITF5NBsHHGW5q5qxVjPvFoYB8GMu74CeXy/s1600-h/image-upload-227-795027.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-c9Ot1XiAE_KsSnLNKlh2twOosNl3urcBqbvw4uKV057tKmhHjEoA6Khyphenhyphencvv6QZPrIMNO76KCfgfT9yTbY3D5JzYNX8PAbvoZ6SC_zRd9zRITF5NBsHHGW5q5qxVjPvFoYB8GMu74CeXy/s320/image-upload-227-795027.jpg"/></a><br /><span>Me having a shower in a sprinkler in a city park. . It was that or pay 7 dollars for one at the has station</span><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-21835805760738476802009-08-31T12:16:00.001-07:002009-08-31T12:16:12.605-07:00The lads, on the way to Hells Canyon<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvY4wm1LrH_sRBBUxLBichRFc8buA57OZmjClzcFeOziDSuan3eFHxg3g1IdC6hSW_ll5pFuuDph74cYCUvIygBZTqGg6yvfSHzjDshLOYkHewTqXiGKBBxbDtTHJ-hVgoRsuN4hhyphenhyphennezc/s1600-h/image-upload-215-770656.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvY4wm1LrH_sRBBUxLBichRFc8buA57OZmjClzcFeOziDSuan3eFHxg3g1IdC6hSW_ll5pFuuDph74cYCUvIygBZTqGg6yvfSHzjDshLOYkHewTqXiGKBBxbDtTHJ-hVgoRsuN4hhyphenhyphennezc/s320/image-upload-215-770656.jpg"/></a><br /><span/><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-79582501622724165782009-08-26T10:58:00.000-07:002009-08-26T11:35:07.579-07:00Wednesday 26th August - Riggins, IdahoWe are on our second-breakfast stop....<br />I'm getting behind again on the blog. I think Idaho is the least populous state so there aren't many towns to go through and libraries are thin on the ground, plus being on a school trip now means more time messing about. The TransAm boys might be pulling away from the rest of us today so the school trip aspect might be over.<br />So we left Missoula on Monday, eventually. I think it was a 1130 start which is bad even by our standards. We hit some cafe for lunch and some of us ate food we had with us rather than spend more cash. Perhaps me or Lady Chris (as she is now known) should have stopped Mike eating his turkey slices that he had in his pannier for 3 days, but we didn't. We've all been eating food that perhaps we shouldn't so it didn't immediately ring any alarm bells....<br />Several hours later we stopped for dinner at a very nice lodge where the was live piano music and even a harp being played and we ate lots..and lots. Mike agreed to carry Lady Chris' trailer instead of paying her the $70 he owed her, as well as all his own gear, which is something of a challenge but he is 21 and can do anything. We all headed off to the Hot Springs where we were going to camp. Me, Shaz, Aaron and Callum got to the turn for the springs and waited and after 10 minutes or so decided to go to the springs as it would be getting dark soon, presuming someone had had a puncture or something. The mile walk up to the springs was well worth it as they were heaven...once we had disturbed the lurve-making naked American couple who were in the next pool up. The temperature was perfect, just sat in a river, surrounded by forest. Bliss. We eventually decided something was wrong as the others hadn't appeared and headed back to find Lad Chris (as he is known) looking for us - Mike was pukeing and shitting for England it seemed. We got back to camp to find half the place was out of bounds due to the contents of Mikes guts being evenly spread about and him lying on the floor in his sleeping bag. Lad Chris had been an outstanding friend and washed Mikes shitty shorts in the river as Mike had been unable to co-ordinate the delivery of partly digested food out of both ends of his body at the same time. So once Mike was holed up in his tent we set about trying to hang our food out of reach of the bears which turned into a 3 act play as we were surrounded by the wrong kind of trees. It's very difficult when you're surrounded by conifers it appears. Broadleaved trees are best.<br />Having not been maimed by bears or mountain lions in our sleep as Callum thought we might be, some of us had a return trip to the springs then headed off again into Idaho, which was beautiful at this point. Tree lined valley, clean rocky river, sun, downhill all the way...I felt like I was in an extend 'Famous Five' story by Enid Blyton.<br />We found a sportmans lodge to stay in that night in some town I can't remember the name of. I actually had a bed again - yes!! So good. We bought a load of food and cooked a big meal, had a couple of beers, it was great. And there was even wifi...what more could you want? Another late start followed yesterday morning and we hit the road aiming to do 70+ miles, not all downhill sadly - a big hill in the way. Idaho suddenly became very dry and arable, with fields of wheat (?) waiting to be cut and lots of brown / golden fields. Even Kansas was greener than here.<br />There was a ridiculously suicidal hill to get down with far too many hairpin bends or an alternate route via the main highway. Callum had gone ahead so missed the turn off down the hairpin hill and we lost him for 2 hours...we were camped out on the side of the highway, Mike cycling back up the hill looking for him, us flagging down drivers asking if they'd seen him etc. We were outside some house and the guy came out to see what was up. Lost no time in telling us he was a conservative and brought his dogs up that way too (dobermans) but he was quite funny and he gave us cold drinks which was good as it was banging hot. Eventually he look Lad Chris up in his truck to look for Callum but to no avail. Finally we flagged another car down that reported a cyclist having dinner in the nearby town who was now on his way to us...<br />We didn't have too much food at this point so 3 of us went back to the gas station for supplies. Thought it was a good time for a restroom stop, until I got in there that is. The toilet and urinal were separated by a wall of glass bricks , no door other than to the corridor and the toilet seat on the floor in need of a good clean. I decided I could wait. So at this mornings cafe stop, the toilet did at least have a solid partition, but again no door. You couldn't come on this trip and have a problem about going to the toilet in semi-public. They aren't big on privacy.<br />So it should be 80 miles today to Council and tomorrow is Hell's Canyon...exciting. We may well melt going through there...Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-53507492801116144012009-08-25T09:40:00.001-07:002009-08-25T09:40:20.646-07:00Did someone die or move?<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_mpzG1ZTzxpTex3tErp9JCgkvQLDhNhgy_RamcS10ZS9N6kqgc2bzDcLOZ6YPz-bHBBiaNSD7WuQ0xFcQTKr3kwpy_GykUm6rEJ0d3kFsb2JLKCC1mzJLf12VUDL5u4wOvZt0wrW8-QNp/s1600-h/image-upload-22-719001.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_mpzG1ZTzxpTex3tErp9JCgkvQLDhNhgy_RamcS10ZS9N6kqgc2bzDcLOZ6YPz-bHBBiaNSD7WuQ0xFcQTKr3kwpy_GykUm6rEJ0d3kFsb2JLKCC1mzJLf12VUDL5u4wOvZt0wrW8-QNp/s320/image-upload-22-719001.jpg"/></a><br /><span/><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-38719412054572699152009-08-25T09:38:00.001-07:002009-08-25T09:38:36.497-07:00Relaxing in the hot springs<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Lsn6ASeu3V-61gYCLs31UQzuPrpxoa_v8TDNdkLTgwQ8q-sLTA1ewCF1joEns_kThBxBcGWtY5ofHCDOgDlb7vze4ujhhqbcJImaECIwtZk-75hkwOHdX5J0AhUV4o-6Be8bSoc3h-gF/s1600-h/image-upload-23-714879.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Lsn6ASeu3V-61gYCLs31UQzuPrpxoa_v8TDNdkLTgwQ8q-sLTA1ewCF1joEns_kThBxBcGWtY5ofHCDOgDlb7vze4ujhhqbcJImaECIwtZk-75hkwOHdX5J0AhUV4o-6Be8bSoc3h-gF/s320/image-upload-23-714879.jpg"/></a><br /><span>Hot springs in a river near where we camped. . This was at 8am prior to the days cycling. . A local couple were desperate for us to go so they could have a little loving we think. . </span><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-60115687484651712232009-08-25T09:34:00.001-07:002009-08-25T09:34:04.997-07:00Idaho<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiacIH4uWQXQmjTDHybw0_OxNV2dPZY7TZ48NYafwr_CDlkYaqkxvm_RFK_6K9YtjGHvN6VNnY6CYssuXwnMN_PKM-bL8bBkjckE8ptOTwcXtRMWypUNQOLNGsCKbB156wMNngcaLzvfWul/s1600-h/image-upload-14-743168.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiacIH4uWQXQmjTDHybw0_OxNV2dPZY7TZ48NYafwr_CDlkYaqkxvm_RFK_6K9YtjGHvN6VNnY6CYssuXwnMN_PKM-bL8bBkjckE8ptOTwcXtRMWypUNQOLNGsCKbB156wMNngcaLzvfWul/s320/image-upload-14-743168.jpg"/></a><br /><span>With chris and chris. . 2nd to last state. . Nooo!</span><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-70409813604197029112009-08-25T09:31:00.001-07:002009-08-25T09:31:47.170-07:00Glacier national park<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkh8jb_ROHvtmrMeNj39IKZK8zK8wEVVDYCkhwsWFDmQbrWqqZ26jX9sQFRBtw9xwBFjiWeESyGbc_gLer2iqCuOwavhb_YjN3randZwflK7ZOZhFf9KdtREBONDgomg_71bB6-Uw3o9k/s1600-h/image-upload-24-705760.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkh8jb_ROHvtmrMeNj39IKZK8zK8wEVVDYCkhwsWFDmQbrWqqZ26jX9sQFRBtw9xwBFjiWeESyGbc_gLer2iqCuOwavhb_YjN3randZwflK7ZOZhFf9KdtREBONDgomg_71bB6-Uw3o9k/s320/image-upload-24-705760.jpg"/></a><br /><span/><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055167652814613594.post-47847891385043373542009-08-25T09:30:00.001-07:002009-08-25T09:30:17.744-07:00Black bear<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmx76eBN-O3zdMv28G47lPeo9z3NN_Vfvy3vUGiwF_1tg5LvvW72J0s3F2SWsM5EEFtAMSNugyHOjkXzQzABD27n-eEvM-vr-dqCVxYzVmcYWjPmmBYt_1Sv3tHhg312SDDpD5jCOCJqF/s1600-h/image-upload-22-716110.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmx76eBN-O3zdMv28G47lPeo9z3NN_Vfvy3vUGiwF_1tg5LvvW72J0s3F2SWsM5EEFtAMSNugyHOjkXzQzABD27n-eEvM-vr-dqCVxYzVmcYWjPmmBYt_1Sv3tHhg312SDDpD5jCOCJqF/s320/image-upload-22-716110.jpg"/></a><br /><span>A little sacred black bear. . </span><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12726902631979338506noreply@blogger.com0