Day 43
TAZ: We are in Lander WY. Today is our second full day here. We've hooked up with Jesse and Taisha and they've got some wheel probs. We are waiting on parts to arrive from ECBA (the shop where I work) so we can fix them up. They broke three spokes within 20 miles and had broken more the day before. After some investigating and talking with Les (my boss) we've decided that the wheel they built in KS was built incorrectly, so we are going to rebuild it here. Lander's population of 5600 and elevation of 6800ft is better than a whole lot of others we could have been stuck in. Even though the shop in this town couldn't help us at all, at least there is a shop.
So the "team" has grown. It is quite a parade as we go through town. We have like 1500 miles to go. It seems like so little compared to what we've already done. Dusty and I were talking the other day while riding. We think it's hard to believe we are seeing the things we are seeing. They can't be real, we can't be seeing this stuff! We are on our bikes! How could this be real? We've ridden our bikes right into another world! Sometimes what we're seeing looks like a picture in a book or a movie. Boy it's a long way between towns (50+ miles)!
Here in the next couple of days we will be getting into the Teton Mtns. More to look at! Once we get to Missoula MT we are thinking of taking the Lewis and Clark Trail the rest of the way over to the coast. It supposedly cuts a couple of days off and has even better scenery. For now I think I'll go hang out at the camping store and wait for UPS to arrive with bicycle parts! Later!

-Dustin
We have made it to Wyoming! Only 3 more states to go till we reach the West coast. We have made some new friends along the trail! Jesse and Taisha caught up to us in Walden and we have been together ever since! They are a happily married young couple as Bill would say. Traveling with these two make the "pack" look so much bigger especially since they are on a tandem (two seated bike). We now have other people to camp with ride with and talk to! The weather in Wyoming is great without humidity it makes for mostly mild days and cool nights. Although the sprinklers seem to get in the way sometimes... The terrain is still changing but it makes the day go by quicker. When you have amazing mountains with red rock and vast plains all in the same mile its really hard to keep pedaling because there is so much to see. Only a few more days in Wyoming then we are headed to Montana. I really don't know what to expect but I am sure that it will add to this great adventure. I would like to thank all of you who read these blogs and respond. Your support really keeps our spirits up and gets us through the tough times. Seven down three to go!!!

Check out Jesse and Taisha: www.jessandtaish.blogspot.com

Day 39
Jimmy; 2,414 miles

Getting on the bike Wednesday morning was tough after a luxurious stay at the Leopold’s. The comfort of great home cooked meals and even better company was a nice break from our rugged journey. They gave us the inside scoop on Breckenridge (9,600 ft.) as we all fell in love with this beautiful homey ski town. Wednesday morning thoughts of survival back on the trail and pressing on towards Wyoming filled our minds, Taz’s buds Bob and Anna came to our rescue! In their sweet pimped out motor home van they wanted to carry our bags for a day and share the adventure! Our bellies filled with Bob and Anna’s fine cooking, we retreated to their intricate hand designed van, which housed our evening pow wow. Parked next to the Colorado River, trickling down the steep canyons, I dove into the bone chilling waters for a quick bath and realized our Sag support would soon be yet another great memory on our journey. Today it was the three of us again; bags, tents and bikes. As we fell into stride surrounded by Colorado’s enormous cliffs we dreamed of Breck, recalled laughs with Bob and Anna and were again alone on the road. Camped at a nice park in Walden (8,200 ft) for the night we will pedal into the vast and unknowing Wyoming tomorrow morning. Our break could not have been more enjoyable, but now we bike. After all…biking is what we do.

Day 37
TAZ: I couldn't sleep last night I was so excited just to be in Breckenridge. I love this place. It is just one big playground! Like Massanutten and Harrisonburg but much, much bigger. But tomorrow we leave. We were hoping to get a package in from home with chains and brake pads in it so we could do some routine maint. here in Breck but the package has not shown up yet.
In the morning we are meeting with Bob and Anna Carts. They are friends from Northern VA that happen to be out here on vacation in their RV. They have offered to carry our bags for a day and camp out with us. It's really cool they are out here right now and even cooler that they willing to do that for us!
We are starting to head NW now up towards Wyoming. There doesn't look like there are many libraries for a while so we may be back to phoning in the blogs. As we continue through the Rockies we will surely be amazed by more and more beauty. Yet everyone around here tells us that OR is more beautiful. We wonder how?

Day 36
TAZ: It's Monday, 7-24-06. We've made it Breckenridge, CO. One of the big highlights of our trip. We are taking a couple of days off here. We skipped a day off last week so we could have an extra one here. We are staying with a friend of a friend. Basil from Massanutten gave us the name and # of his friend, Dave Leopold. He and his family have more than welcomed us into their home. They are so cool. They have lived here in Breck for 6 yrs after living back east and love it here. They've been very helpful in helping us find our way around town and letting us stay here and feeding us too. They didn't even know us! Dave, Jan and their boys- David, Michael, and little Colten are an amazing family. I am on their computer right now.
Saturday we rode from Florence to Guffey, CO. It was only like 40 miles. We stopped in Canon City at a Fiddle Festival and then started the climb up. Slowly climbing we went from around 5000ft to 8000ft in Guffey. Guffey was a cool little town. It was almost a ghost town. There was a bar, a restaurant, and this place that was sort of a rustic B&B. Bill was there to welcome us. We stayed in these cool little huts. We wanted to stick around the next day and check out the museum but we knew we were going to have a long day getting to Breck. We'll go back one day.
We rode into Breck by going over Hoosier Pass ( over 11,000ft). We were fearful of the climb but it turned out to be way easier than anything we've done back east. Then coming down we didn't get nearly the high speed we did back home. The scene at the top was so amazing. We have taken so many pictures in the past few days. We can't wait to get them back to you!!
On yesterday's ride, which was a 67 miler, we saw a herd of antelope. They were mingling with some cows in a wide open field near Hartsel. We also woke up to 40 degree temps on our first day in the mountains. We put on nearly every stitch of clothing we had and still froze for the first ten miles. Then little by little we started peeling stuff off. The afternoon temps got up to the mid 80's. This was a welcome change from Kansas!
Today was similar weather. An afternoon thunder shower came while we were out exploring town. We all love this town! Everything we love to do is here! The mountains surrounding the area are beautiful! There are bikers everywhere.

Day 32
TAZ: Well today we woke up in Eads, CO (pronounced Eeds) to something of a tailwind!! Thanks for praying for us!! We did 60 miles by 10:30 this morning. Ate lunch and now are waiting for the heat to die down a little so we can get 30 couple more in this afternoon and get to Boone, CO. Hopefully the wind will hang with us the rest of the day. Today has been flatter and more open than anything we saw in KS. This is true prairie stuff. We are around 4250ft elevation. By the weekend we should be around 9000. The towns can be seen a half hour before we reach them, or at least their grain elevator can be seen. We met some east bounders today that say we'll start to be able to see the Rockies tomorrow. We are excited about that. The air is getting drier everyday. Last night some of the courthouse lawn sprinklers came on after we put up our tents but by 4am our tents and our clothes that we had hung out were dry! We are planning an under 30 mile day tomorrow to Pueblo as a rest/tire change day. We've got some tires coming into a shop there from Brian at Serfas. Thanks Brian!
Also, if you haven't noticed we've got a new link on the main page to more photos. We are putting on as many as will fit. We may have to add another link later. Tomorrow while on our rest day we will try to make it to Walmart to get more photos to send back home. I have to admit with the heat we've not taken as many. You kind of forget the camera sometimes. We're making up for it now though!
We are all staying healthy for the most part. My age is showing a little. These flat rides have been giving my elbows, especially the right, one fits. Some kind of tendinitis something I'm sure because if I take some ibuprofen before riding it's fine. Dustin slightly strained a leg muscle playing on the diving board at one of the pools but also responds to ibuprofen. Jimmy just complains of his boney rump on this flat land and rough roads.
I want to say thanks to all of you calling us and emailing us. We've been looking forward to ducking into the libraries on these hot days. Hearing from home and about home always brings smiles.

ClICK ON "More Photos" ON THE MAIN PAGE TO SEE ADDITIONAL PHOTOS!

Day 31
Dustin: After waking up from a 15 hour sleep we decided that the eastward winds were not going to stop. So, we woke up and hit the road. Not having a good breakfast this morning really made me suffer throughout the day. Battling ferocious headwinds all day was another task that we had to over come. During our 50 mile ride we saw our first prairie dogs, jack rabbits, and past the Welcome to Colorado sign!!!! Only 56 miles for today but with the wind 56 miles feels like a great accomplishment. Its tough to find internet in these small towns but your emails keep us pedaling!

To my little cousin Sammy-
Hey bud,
Hope that you are having an awesome summer. I have now gone through 6 states and only a few more to go. Tell the family I said hello and maybe we can come to Pa when I get back home!

Day 30
Jimmy: Mile 1,935

As Taz said pedaling through the crazy heat and head-winds of Kansas began to get discouraging, so we spent a relaxing day at the Dighton pool, hanging out with our trail friend Meghan from Wales and napping in the shade under a pavilion. Around 3 AM this morning we jumped on our bikes with headlamps strapped to our helmets and hit the road in the dark. We crossed into our second new time zone and pushed on to Tribune, our last Kansas town before we will cross the CO border. We wanted to reach CO today but as other bikers on the trail have admitted Kansas, though flat, is not as easy as you may think. So with over 50 miles to the next town and just short of the CO line we will catch up on some rest and continue with our ‘headlamp’ adventures!

We are excited to cross the emptiness of eastern CO and see the Rocky Mountains. To us, it means cooler temperatures, hills that will get our sore behinds up off the saddle, and yet more of our country's landscape and people to experience.


PS. We saw a US map in a gas station this morning...MAN we have covered some ground!

Day 29
Taz: Today we are spending the day in Dighton, KS. We rode 32 miles this morning in hard, hot winds. We are going to try something new today. If it works we'll tell you all about it in the next blog.
The 105 degree heat and the wind has slowed our progress getting to Colorado, but we are still chipping away at it. Someone told us that we are going to run into 60 degree highs next week in the mtns. We are looking forward to seeing some new wildlife too. Yesterday we saw a couple of badgers, the hawks are getting bigger, and today we are pretty sure we saw a mule deer out in this thicket on the plains.
Yesterday we met a woman that we've been "chasing" since before the trip started. The "Princess of Whales", Meagan. She is very interesting and we enjoyed talking to her. We chatted while sipping on milkshakes in Ness City, KS yesterday.
Our buddy Preacher Bill is now a couple days behind us but still hanging in there. We check on him almost nightly and give him the scoop on what's ahead for him.
The other guy we met back at the KY/VA border, Ian is still on the trail as far as we know. We've heard from him once or twice on email. We left some signs to him cheering him on. Since we left the truck it's been harder to do. We left one for Bill and Ian the other day in the middle of a 40 mile stretch of nothing. Bill said he saw it. We have each other for moral support. These guys are all alone doing this trip. Now, THAT takes guts.
Well, we are going to hit the pool for a few hours---stay tuned for more adventures.