Yep. I got really sick. I've never felt so awful in my life. In fact, I think it would be less painful to die than to go what I went through. Diarrhea and Vomiting at the same time, Sweating, Freezing, Body Aches, Nausea, Disorientation, and Being Dizzy.
Anyway you slice it, it was tough, and I'm still not fully recovered.
On the good side. Catie and I saw a Moose last night.
I'll post pictures soon. My camera's acting funny.
Dave
Monday, July 21, 2008
Guess who else got the stomach flu in Wyoming? That's right! Dave did too. We're all about the solidarity on this trip. We spent an extra day in Riverside, Wyoming so Dave could be near a bathroom and have a place to sleep. It's been a few days and we're on the road again but we're taking it slow, taking time to recuperate. So we finally made it out of Wyoming and now we're in beautiful Colorado.
Colorado is very hot but incredibly beautiful. Last night we camped on the Western slope on Willow Creek Pass at about 9,000 feet. I washed my bike clothes in the river because they were getting kind of smelly. By the time I went to bed the bike clothes hadn't dried so I hung them on a line. When we woke up in the morning my spandex were actually frozen. FROZEN. Not frosty, not cold, but frozen.
Tomorrow or the next day we'll summit Hosier Pass which is our final big climb and then sweet, lovely, flat Kansas! Hosier is 11,000 feet. It's the highest pass on the trail. About a month ago I don't think I could possibly imagine being excited about biking over an 11,000 foot mountain but right now I'm really looking forward to it. Maybe it's that's legendary descent waiting for us on the other side that's so inspiring...
Love to you all! Looking forward to seeing Portland soon.
Yours truly,
Catie
Colorado is very hot but incredibly beautiful. Last night we camped on the Western slope on Willow Creek Pass at about 9,000 feet. I washed my bike clothes in the river because they were getting kind of smelly. By the time I went to bed the bike clothes hadn't dried so I hung them on a line. When we woke up in the morning my spandex were actually frozen. FROZEN. Not frosty, not cold, but frozen.
Tomorrow or the next day we'll summit Hosier Pass which is our final big climb and then sweet, lovely, flat Kansas! Hosier is 11,000 feet. It's the highest pass on the trail. About a month ago I don't think I could possibly imagine being excited about biking over an 11,000 foot mountain but right now I'm really looking forward to it. Maybe it's that's legendary descent waiting for us on the other side that's so inspiring...
Love to you all! Looking forward to seeing Portland soon.
Yours truly,
Catie
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Hello from Wyoming
Despite the incredibly gross past few days I've had (stomach flu and bike riding are a bad combination) we have managed to persevere and continue on! We've made it to Rawlins, WY. We're camping on the side of the interstate at an RV park that is made mostly of gravel but they have showers, laundry and a cyclist discount so we couldn't be happier. Getting here was an amazing feat involving winds that almost knocked us off the side of the road, diarrhea in the desert (I won't bore you with the details), the creepiest cafe I've ever seen, and a very kind man who came to our aid at the foot of a huge hill. I think (I hope) food is finally agreeing to stay in my stomach and the Colorado border is looming large. Sometimes super tough days are great because they all end eventually.
I have to go so Dave can shower but thank you for all your encouraging posts! I'll see you in August.
Love,
Catie
I have to go so Dave can shower but thank you for all your encouraging posts! I'll see you in August.
Love,
Catie
Monday, July 14, 2008
Sick in Lander Wyoming
Hello Everyone.
So we are still in Lander Wyoming. It's Monday around 9:30 am. We're normally on the road by now with 40 or so miles behind us but Catie is not feeling well. She was up all night last night very sick to her stomach and with horrible headache. We've decided after talking to Frank this morning that it's probably some sort of a stomach flu. We're just going to take it easy to day and try and bike about 40 miles or so to a little town between here and Larimie. We're a little behind schedule, but I'm confident everything will work out for the best. Thank you all for you posts, comments, and words of encouragement. They definitely keep us motivated to finish this trip.
Cheers,
Dave
So we are still in Lander Wyoming. It's Monday around 9:30 am. We're normally on the road by now with 40 or so miles behind us but Catie is not feeling well. She was up all night last night very sick to her stomach and with horrible headache. We've decided after talking to Frank this morning that it's probably some sort of a stomach flu. We're just going to take it easy to day and try and bike about 40 miles or so to a little town between here and Larimie. We're a little behind schedule, but I'm confident everything will work out for the best. Thank you all for you posts, comments, and words of encouragement. They definitely keep us motivated to finish this trip.
Cheers,
Dave
Sunday, July 13, 2008
My Favorite Part...
Hey Everybody.
Abigail asked me what my favorite part of the trip has been so far and I've thought and thought about it and I think it's the amazing people we've met. People have been so incredibly generous and kind in ways that I never could have imagined.
In Jackson, Montana at the hot springs we met Shana and Tye from Idaho who were traveling with their two daughters. Five or six days later, we were creeping up a big hill in Yellowstone and Tye and Shana spotted us from their car. They were going the opposite direction and turned around to give us cold water and words of encouragement.
Then we met Cait in West Yellowstone, a place void of anything good. We saw her come around the corner on her Surly Crosscheck with her t-rex tattoo and we knew she was someone we should probably talk to. As it turns out, she's from Portland and bike messenger. It was so nice to talk to someone from Portland, which when you're in West Yellowstone, seems like worlds away.
Terry, a retired police officer from Colorado picked us up when we were stranded on the side of the road in Wyoming with a flat tire, out of patches and spare tubes. He drove us all the way to Lander.
In Lander we met Ben who has been so very kind to us. Not only did he let us camp in his yard and cook in his kitchen, he's been a great friend. Thanks, Ben! We think you're great--come visit us in Portland!
And then there's all those people in Montana who wave and give thumbs up and then young woman who shouted from the window of her car as we were climbing up some ridiculously high pass, "you're almost to the top!"
Those are just the people who come to mind right now. We've met so many. So I think that's my favorite part of the trip so far.
That's all for now!
Love,
Catie
Abigail asked me what my favorite part of the trip has been so far and I've thought and thought about it and I think it's the amazing people we've met. People have been so incredibly generous and kind in ways that I never could have imagined.
In Jackson, Montana at the hot springs we met Shana and Tye from Idaho who were traveling with their two daughters. Five or six days later, we were creeping up a big hill in Yellowstone and Tye and Shana spotted us from their car. They were going the opposite direction and turned around to give us cold water and words of encouragement.
Then we met Cait in West Yellowstone, a place void of anything good. We saw her come around the corner on her Surly Crosscheck with her t-rex tattoo and we knew she was someone we should probably talk to. As it turns out, she's from Portland and bike messenger. It was so nice to talk to someone from Portland, which when you're in West Yellowstone, seems like worlds away.
Terry, a retired police officer from Colorado picked us up when we were stranded on the side of the road in Wyoming with a flat tire, out of patches and spare tubes. He drove us all the way to Lander.
In Lander we met Ben who has been so very kind to us. Not only did he let us camp in his yard and cook in his kitchen, he's been a great friend. Thanks, Ben! We think you're great--come visit us in Portland!
And then there's all those people in Montana who wave and give thumbs up and then young woman who shouted from the window of her car as we were climbing up some ridiculously high pass, "you're almost to the top!"
Those are just the people who come to mind right now. We've met so many. So I think that's my favorite part of the trip so far.
That's all for now!
Love,
Catie
Day 21 ( I think) - Lander, Wyoming
Hello All.
I know it's been a while. We've been through some remote areas. We're currently in Lander, Wyoming. Very nice place. We're taking the day off here.
The time has been going by very quickly. Can't believe we'll be starting our 4th week tomorrow. We're a little behind schedule but we're almost out of the Rockies, and bear country.
Haven't been sleeping well at night because everywhere there are warnings about grizzly bears. They have metal containers to put EVERYTHING in. The towns all have huge metal trashcans that are bear proof. Kind of unnerving when you're in the middle of nowhere and you hear the tent rustle in the middle of the night. All I can say is that it's nice to be sleeping indoors tonight.
Last night when we got into lander we met the manager of the bike shop, Ben. He invited us to stay in his backyard and use his shower and place to cook our food. What a great guy.
I haven't been feeling all that great recently. I think I haven't been eating very healthy. I think eating all these processed foods is making me not feel so well. Let's just say stomach problems to keep it simple. I really can't wait to get back to Portland and eat good, wholesome, unprocessed food, which is so hard to find on the road.
Catie and I slept above 8500 ft. the other night about 10 miles from the summit of Togotee pass and nearly froze. We subsequently found out that it had gotten down to 24 degrees. Thanks dad for the 20 degree sleeping bag. It was just enough to knock the chill off. I definitely wouldn't say I was warm though.
We've both been drinking lots of coffee in the morning. It's been really, really cold in Wyoming.
Yellowstone was a joke. Very expensive for everything. $12 per biker to ride through the park, $6.5o to camp, and $2 for 6 minutes in a hot shower and food marked up 20% or more. I'm sure that we didn't get to see the "real" Yellowstone, but mostly all we saw were RV's and people who we're not really friendly. We've seen more wildlife ( dead + alive) outside of Yellowstone than we did inside.
I think that's all for now. Please see the pictures below to see what kind of fun we've been having. All I can say is that this is such an educational experience. I've learned and am continuing to learn so much about people, America and it's history, and the landscape every day. This is the sort of thing you can't get anywhere else. I've traveled around a lot in the world, including America but never like this. This has truly been an amazing experience. I want to see the rest of the world by bike. You see, learn and meet so many more great people.
That's all for now. More to come later.
Cheers,
Dave
I know it's been a while. We've been through some remote areas. We're currently in Lander, Wyoming. Very nice place. We're taking the day off here.
The time has been going by very quickly. Can't believe we'll be starting our 4th week tomorrow. We're a little behind schedule but we're almost out of the Rockies, and bear country.
Haven't been sleeping well at night because everywhere there are warnings about grizzly bears. They have metal containers to put EVERYTHING in. The towns all have huge metal trashcans that are bear proof. Kind of unnerving when you're in the middle of nowhere and you hear the tent rustle in the middle of the night. All I can say is that it's nice to be sleeping indoors tonight.
Last night when we got into lander we met the manager of the bike shop, Ben. He invited us to stay in his backyard and use his shower and place to cook our food. What a great guy.
I haven't been feeling all that great recently. I think I haven't been eating very healthy. I think eating all these processed foods is making me not feel so well. Let's just say stomach problems to keep it simple. I really can't wait to get back to Portland and eat good, wholesome, unprocessed food, which is so hard to find on the road.
Catie and I slept above 8500 ft. the other night about 10 miles from the summit of Togotee pass and nearly froze. We subsequently found out that it had gotten down to 24 degrees. Thanks dad for the 20 degree sleeping bag. It was just enough to knock the chill off. I definitely wouldn't say I was warm though.
We've both been drinking lots of coffee in the morning. It's been really, really cold in Wyoming.
Yellowstone was a joke. Very expensive for everything. $12 per biker to ride through the park, $6.5o to camp, and $2 for 6 minutes in a hot shower and food marked up 20% or more. I'm sure that we didn't get to see the "real" Yellowstone, but mostly all we saw were RV's and people who we're not really friendly. We've seen more wildlife ( dead + alive) outside of Yellowstone than we did inside.
I think that's all for now. Please see the pictures below to see what kind of fun we've been having. All I can say is that this is such an educational experience. I've learned and am continuing to learn so much about people, America and it's history, and the landscape every day. This is the sort of thing you can't get anywhere else. I've traveled around a lot in the world, including America but never like this. This has truly been an amazing experience. I want to see the rest of the world by bike. You see, learn and meet so many more great people.
That's all for now. More to come later.
Cheers,
Dave
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