Dave and Gerry's Trans-Am Charity Cycle

Dave, Gerry, Trans-American, Charity, Cycle, DDS4OP


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Day 72 Eugene to Florence (part 2 )88 miles

Our warm shower host Elly showed us to the 7 mile cycle path that took us out of Eugene and from then on we weaved our way through forests and passed lakes and crossed rivers on our way to Florence,there was still a nasty little 1,000 ft climb just as a final reminder of earlier days.We reached Florence expecting just to roll into town and straight onto the beach and the Pacific Ocean,but no the beach we were told was another 4 miles but even then there were huge sand dunes,so we took one photo and headed back to town where Gerrrys friend Trish had arrranged for a supprise celebration dinner for us at a really nice restaurant ,plus a lovely bottle of champagne,what a great way to finish our adventure,needless to say we both were feeling a bit hung over this morning as we did find a part of the coast where we did take some photos. Difficult to put into words how we feel now that we have completed the 4,152 miles in 72 days of cycling,we did burn off 270,200 calories each but I think it will only really sink in what we have achieved and all the super people we have met along the way when we get home and sit down and look at the hundreds of photos ,our blog,messages of support and Gerrys own diary,so for now thank you all for you help and encouragement and I do hope we have managed to raise some funds for DDS4OP


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Day 71 McKenzie Bridge to Eugene 55 miles

Todays ride was a long leasurely slow downhill ride to Eugene along the McKenzie river.Weather was just nice for cycling with a nice breeze, we passed loads of nazelnut farms and a covered bridge built in 1938 ,these bridges are now protected and as we were looking at one Tony a local fire fighter stopped for a chat.We arrived at Eugene and were welcomed by our lovely warm shower host Elle,who runs a bike shop. Going for a beer and pizza tonight and ready for an early start tomorrow morning.


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Day 70 Sisters to McKenzie Bridge 52 miles

Forgot to mention that yesterday morning in Prineville we did an interview for their local newspaper. Today was our last steep climb,up and over the Cascade mountains at McKenzie Pass,Steve our warm shower host came with us to make sure we did’nt get lost and to be our guide.The climb started through a forest ,weather was very hot ,after 12 miles we reached Windy point and our first view of the 50 square miles of lava that slid down the valley only 1,500 years ago.As we sat looking out at this moonscape another onlooker kindly gave each of us a large cold can of lemonade,you cannot imagine just how good that tasted.Another 3 miles and we reached the spectacular summit at McKenzies Pass via a corridor of black lava,yet another complete change of scenary ,weve had so many of these during our adventure.We bid farewell to Steve and made our way down through the forest ,the descent had lots of bends ,some very sharp but we finally arrived in McKenzie Bridge where our supposed warm shower host was not available,so the nice lady who runs the local motel gave us a very good room rate.We clocked up over 4,000 miles today,two more days and one map to go before we hopefully reach the Pacific coast.


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Day 69 Prineville to Sisters 48 miles

We left Prineville and headed uphill but once at the top we were suprised buy the the sight of the Cascade snow covered mountains in the distance.As we progressed the three peaks locally named as Faith,Hope and Charity became clearer and more spectacular as we neared the town of Sisters,we will be climbing and crossing the Cascades tomorrow.I broke a spoke about 9 miles from Sisters but luckily there was a good bike shop that fixed it.Our warm shower hoasts Stephen and Karen gave us a great welcome with beer and lovely meal and great conversation.Stephen may even join us for tomorrows climb. Dont forget that if you have enjoyed our adventure please log onto dds4op.com and hit the donation button button,every little helps ,Thank you


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Day 68 Mitchell to Prineville 49 miles

We were glad to leave the very old town of Mitchell,not a great place,especially with both eating places closed on Mondays,we were soon out into pine covered hills and some green meadows,there was one stunning rock formation we passed after a few miles.8 miles out we started the long climb up to Ochoco Pass at 4,720 ft not an easy climb as the temperature was very hot and some heavy traffic.We met Russell and Peggy on the way down from the Pass,they are from Kansas City and heading for LA.We passed by Ochoco resevoir on the way into Prineville where we are staying with lovely warm shower hosts Dennis and Kim,they have a small farm one mile from their house which we went to visit,they have also arranged for some of their friends round to meet us and play a bit of music.At this stage me need to get a manager !!!


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Day 67 Dayville to Mitchell 39 miles

Yesterday Richard Rhodes an American camping near Dayville Church came to see us as he had heard that the "two guys"from Ireland were in town.We were persuaded to go to the camp site and sing a few songs for them.We left Dayville at 8 and were once again cycling through the green fertile strip between thd hills.After 5 miles we entered the 5 mile Picture Gorge a fantastic rock formation formed by volcanic action millions of years ago, a wonderfull piece of nature and a real pleasure to cycle through.Along the route we stopped and chat with local rancher Michael and his dog Chelsea and halfway up a small climb there was a tree covered with shoes of all descriptions.At 32 miles we reached the summit of Keyes Creek at 4,369 ft and then there was a great 7 mile descent into Mitchell a really small old town with very little restoration and both cafe’s closed on Mondays.


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Day 66 Prairie City to Dayville 44 miles

Had a bit of a late start this morning as we only had 44 miles to Dayville and mostly downhill.I always thought that Oreron was a very lush green state but East Oregon is very desert like with a strip of green area about a mile wide supporting Ranches and farms overlooked on both sides by juniper covered hillsides.Our route took us through the John Day river valley.passing through John Day City beside the John Day river,passed the John Day memorial and onto John Day business centre and John Day school and of course the John Day vetenarian clinic.Apparently John Day was a adventurere and frontier man and a bit of a story teller,lots of stories were about him fighting bears and indians.So we arrived in the small town of Dayville where we are staying in the Presbyterian church which has been hoasting cyclists since the 1970′s.it has a shower,fully fitted kitchen wifi and places to sleep,a fantastic establishment.As a help with the "guess the weight "of my bike competition I have added a picture of my bike fully laden,remember that the 3 water bottles are all full.


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Day 65 Baker City to Paraire City 70 miles (July 13)

We enjoyed our day off in Baker City ,its a very nice place even with 4,000 Bikers in town , we managed to get our washing done,Gerry photographed several bikes and bikers and I had my hair cut.We left after an early breakfast and our route took us along the Oregon scenic highway.at 15 miles we entered the Wallowa Whitman National forest ,lots of fir trees and a winding road.We had three passes to climb the first was Sumster Pass at 5,082 ft this was after 21 miles,14 miles later it was Tiptom mountain pass at 5,124 ft and 15 miles later Dixie pass at 5,2777 ft, we coped with these 3 climbs pretty well,the day off must have been good for us,we even managed to eat some blueberry pie and ice cream at Austin junction just before Dixie pass.It was dowhill into Prarie City ,an old mining town with lots of character and a long front street.When we arrived a local cycling club were very interested in our adventure and were amazed that our bikes were so heavy,so we asked them to log onto our web site and guess the weight. We may be having a vew drinks with them this evening ,in the photo I took of them they held their bikes up to show how light they are.


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Day 64 Halfway to Baker City 52 miles

Tough day today, we left Halfway at 7-30 and began the 5 mile climb to a pass at 3,653 ft after that it was onto the small town of Richland where we met fellow Trans amers Rick and Cissy who were on a tandem.From there we went down and travelled along another part of Hells Canyon,into a head wind and not a very inspiring part of our ride.We finally came out of the Canyon and into a 4 mile climb up to Flagstaff Hill at only 3,684 ft.By this time the the temperature was over 90 and sapping our strength so we wearily arrived at Baker City which is hosting a motor cycle weekend.We will be having a rest day tomorrow and be ready for our next three peak passes which lay in wait for us.


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Day 63 Council to Halfway 80 miles

We left Council very early at 7 in an attempt to beat the heat.We soon made the 22 miles to Cambridge despite 10 miles of road works,we had breakfast in Cambridge and then followed route 71 which took us up over PIne creek at 4,131 ft and then into another one of those instant change of scenery as we reached Brownlee Dam and the aptly named Hells Canyon,its deeper than the Grand Canyon and equally stunning,a total beautiful wilderness,just grey mountains with nothing growing and the Snake river providing the arterial water feature.We crossed the Snake river into Oregon ,our final state and again the scene changed ,we cycled through a corridor of green trees, some with fruit hanging from them,from there we accended away from the river and up to Oxbow.By now the temperature was over 100 but we decided to push on the extra 17 miles to a town called Halfway where we are tonight.You may remember that i had my bike weighed back in Missoula so we have decided to give a special prize for the person who guesses the nearest,all you have to do is go to our web site www.dds4op.com hit the contact button,fill in your details and your guess in the comments section, either Kgs or Pounds will be ok.The prize will be something very special that Gerry and myself have had with us for all of our adventure so please go and take part and thank you all once again for all your support and comments.


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Competition Time!

Competition Time!

At the adventure cycling headquarters in Missoula Dave had his bike and all his gear weighed. He hasn’t told us the total weight. Have a guess – there’s a wee prize coming home with the boys for you if you’re correct.

Here’s what to do….
Click on the link below….
Click on CONTACT at the top of the page and add your details. In the ‘comments’ put the weight you think – pounds or kilos – whichever you want!

http://www.dds4op.com/


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Day 62 Riggins to Council 61 miles

Riggins is the rafting and fly fishing capital of this area,so lots of places to have breakfast.We joined the Little Salmon river as we headed out of town the road took us very steadily upwards through trees and rocks.then after 24 miles we cycled up between two large rock faces and there infront of us were open meadowlands with cattle,corn and farms,its like some one had just opened a curtain at the top of the climb and said "and now for something completely different" We rode through these meadowlands which then brought us into Payette national park with its very narrow road,lots of logging trucks again today so it was no supprise when we passed a logging factory complete with logs being kept cool by water sprinklers.We crossed the 45 th Parallel which is half way between the Equator and the North Pole.There was a steep end of the day climb to Council which is our destination for today,wonder if there is a local council in Council…?


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Day 61 Grangeville to Riggins 45 miles

When we woke this morning it was dull ,overcast and had been raining,just the weather we were looking for,just like home.Eager to enjoy the conditions we climbed up to the top of White bird hill and enjoyed the 6 mile 7% downhill through a lunar type of landscape.lots of logging trucks on the road,the smell of cedarwood when they passed us.We were soon in the spectacular Samon river Canyon,with a rock wall on our left and the river on our right.we were caught between a rock and a wet place !!!.As the morning went on the temperature once again rose to over 85 and suddenly we came across a fruit oasis in the middle of nowhere,Fiddle Creek Fruit.Lots of fresh local fruit,we both had a slice of huckleberry pie and ice cream and bought some apricots and peaches,a friendly butterfly landed on my hand,(see photo).We arrived into Riggins through this lovely Canyon and we will be teaming up again with the Salmon river tomorrow.As we crossed the Salmon river into town we entered another time zone.


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Day 60 Lowell to Grangeville 50 miles

As we left Lowell we met Irishman Ed , a motocyclist whose parents live in Killarney. We set off still in the lovely forest but after 20 miles the trees were gone and we were into a more rugged hilly enviroment which led us to the Nez Perce Indian reservation,we went through a really nice town of Kooskia which had lots of saloons and a theatre,from there we went to Hapster where a long 5 mile climb at 7% started ,this was a very hard climb not only because the 7% but the temperature was over 80 and with very little hard shoulder .At the top of the climb we entered a plateau of farms and wheat before finally making our way to Grangeville the main seat of Idaho County.


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Day 59 Powell to Lowell 66 miles44

We were up early and headed out into the 66 mile ,no services,route through the Bitterness Wilderness.Trees up to the sky,the cascading Lochsa river on our left ,the road weaved its way through the woods.We saw a few people fly fishing and a group of people rafting the rapids but apart from that this part of our journey was very quiet with little traffic.a welcome relief after the road in and out of Missoula.Lowell has a population of 23 one motel/restaurant and a shop,the weather is very hot.


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Day 58 Missoula to Powell 56 miles

We did’nt see our warm showers hoast at all last night,we, and a lot of others just slept in his big house,most strange.We called into The adventure cycling headquarters in Missoula this morning, we had a tour of the facility, bought a few T shirts ,had our photos taken and were given a free ice cream.I had my bike and all my gear weighed , guess how much ??.I broke a spoke a couple of days ago, luckily we had brought spares so we replaced it a and the bike shop in MIssoula checked that everything was ok.We finally left Missoula at 10-30 and went 8 miles back up the road we had come in on yesterday,turned right onto road 12 which we will be on for a few days.The road took us along the Lolo Creek,,we passed Fort Fizzle where in 1887 the US army tried to stop the Nez Pierce indians from leaving.after 22 miles we began the 7% 4 mile climb up to Lolo summit at 5,235 ft which is also the last time we will cross the Continental Divide and is where Montana stops and Idaho starts.As soon as we began the descent into Idaho the road surface changed ,very rough with pot holes and bad filling.just like home !!.The road weaved its way between mountains of huge pine trees, both sides of us and very close to the road.There was also a river bubbling down beside us.We reached Powell where we are camping tonight.Dont forget to guess what my bike and gear weighed


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Day 57 Darby to Missoula 65 miles

Our warm shower hosts Patrick and Haley had 8 guests last night,we all had a great meal and lots of mead ,which is the buisiness that Patrick and his family are in.The 65 miles to Missoula was through a very commercialised part of the Bitterroot Valley, we rode a bike path alongside the busy road ,not very interesting ,lots of traffic ,and very hot. We will visit the Adventure Cycling headquarters here in Missoula tomorrow morning before we head off into Idaho.We will also be crossing another time line and putting our watches back another hour.

 


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Day 56 Wisdom to Darby 55 miles

Davids birthday party last night was great craic,lots of drinks and lots of singing .Today started with getting away from the mossies in Wisdom, the road took us through a wonerful BIg hole battlefields and then through a lovely fir tree forest for the first 25 miles.,then we climbed up to Chief Josephs pass at 7241 ft.and down to Bitteroot Valley .This Valley was a gentle down hill with mountains ,farms and holiday chalets .Along the route we met Dug from New Zealand going to New York and Ellis and Stuart who were going as far as Hot Springs. We are staying with warm shower hoasts Patrick and Haley in Darby .I weighed myself today ,i have lost 10 lbs

 


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Day 55 Dillon to Wisdom 67 miles

Very tough day ,two big climbs ,Badger Pass followed by Big Hold Pass,normally these kind of climbs would have been reasonable but with temperatures hitting 100 before 11 in the morning made it very difficult.The terrain was still very green and fertile,we saw lots of cows and large ranches but the higher we went the more desert like it became with no shade at all.In Jackson we met Morgan and Rick who were going to the Rainbow festival in their bus,not really hippies just dislike the 4th of July celebrations.Rick is an actor and has a small part in the new Lone Ranger movie.There were millions of mlsquitos waiting to welcome us when we arrived in Wisdom,luckily we were fully protected with our insect spray and sun cream,to slippery for the buggers to land.We just met David again, last time we saw him was in Canyon City,its his birthday today so were off to celebrate, lots of Trans amers in the motel.driven in by the mossies,no body camping .


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Day 54 Ennis to Dillon 72 miles

Today started with a tough 10 mile 7% climb out of Ennis,once at the top we descended into Virginia City,the site of the Montana gold rush which took place from 1863 to 1865.There are still 237 of the original buildings remaining ,many are still in use , a lot selling antiques.We met Dick and his wife Barbara outside the ice cream shop,he may be able to get us on the local radio station.From there it was onto Navada City where we had some strawberry pie.The terrain was very green and lush,completely different from Wyoming or Kansas ,but we were still surrounded by mountains,the smell of fresh cut hay was very noticeable..15 miles from Dillon we saw the famous Beaverhead Rock a well known landmark in local history.We finally arrived in Dillon a bit tired because of the 90 + temperatures.Tomorrow we will have to face the biggest mosquito location in this state and have to contend with over 50,000 hippies descending on a small town for a Rainbow festival.Forgot to mention yesterday that we have now passed the 3,000 mile marker..Please keep your comments coming , we love to hear from you.


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Day 53 Yellowstone to Ennis (June 30 th) 73 miles

We left the Madison Hotel at 7-30,West Yellowstone is a fine place but quite expensive because of the influx of tourists.We left town along a forested road and after 9 miles we turned along Hebgen lake ,site of the 1959 earthquake which hit 7.5 on thd Richter scale ,in one minute 80 million tons of rock plunged into the narrow canyon blocking the river and forming the lake,luckily for us everything has now been cleared away and the lake with the mountains behind it looks like we could be in Austria.Fly fishing is huge in this area,the river was full of people waist high in the water fly fishing,others were fishing from boats.11 miles from Ennis we stopped for lunch at Cameron and met up with fellow Trans amers Ben and Joanns who we had not seen since the rattlesnake killing incicent 4 weeks ago. Rod a motor cyclist from New Zealand who we had been chatting with yesterday also stopped to wish us luck for the rest of our trip.We had completed the 73 miles into Ennis in good time as most of the journey was either flat or down hill,but we know that tomorrows ride will be a different story.


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Day 52 Grant Village to West Yellowstone 51 miles

What a fantastic day.After 6 miles we crossed the continental divide for the 6 th time and then after 12 miles we crossed it again for the 7 th time.The weather was very hot as we turned into the Old faithfull tourist area ,we saw Old Faithfull gush steam high into the air , this happens every 70 minutes,and this was watched by hundreds of tourists ,we also watched a movie giving the formation on how these geysers are formed.Further up the road we stopped at many other spectacular geysers,some large pools of clear blue boiling water,others had very colourfull edges and some were spewing hot yellow water into the Madison river .No photos can really reflect how magnificant these geysers are ,but i did try .At one of these stops several people came up to us to ask what we were doing, some even wanted to have a picture taken with us .Next we were heading for Madison junction when we spotted a Bison grazing close to the road,Gerry got pretty close but what a magnificant beast.At Madison junction we parted company with Frosty,he had been with us for 6 days he was heading North to Canada.He had been a wealth of knowledge on cycle touring,camping and any subject you could mention,he had given us 6 days of non stop information ,we had made him laugh. He ,and us were quite emotional when we said good by ,nice man.We rode the last 14 miles along the Madison river which was also going West , we crossed into Montana and our final destination of West Yellowstone,a fine town with a lots of shops and things to do.We are having a rest day tomorrow and plan to get all our clothes washed.


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Day 51 Colter Bay to Grant village Yellowstone 41 miles

Great cycle today as we went through Grand Teton national park with the smell of pine trees, then through the John D Rockerfeller Parkway and then into the famous Yellowstone Park with so many magnificent views ,the lakes ,rock formations,treelines,rivers,waterfalls and of course the animals.The road was up and down but with very little breeze it was a great days cycling.We are camping in Yellowstone park tonight,hope the bears are not around !!!!


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Day 50 Dubois to Teton National Park 67 miles

We left the fine town of Dubois and once again we had a serious head wind as we headed up through much greener mountain ranges and fine forests,soon the Teton mountain range came into view,what a spectacular site.Because of the head winds it took us 5 hours before we finally reached the top of Togwotee Pass at 9585 ft 30 miles into our days cycling.from there it was 17 miles down hill,but even this was difficult.At Moran Junction we entered Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks at a fee of $18 , there are major roadworks happening here so our bikes had to be put on a truck to be brought across the road works.We are staying in a cabin in the park in view of the fantastic Teton mountains,a very peacefull and uplifting place.The last 3 days cycling have been very tough because of the winds but we have battled away and feel guite proud that we have overcome natures best efforts to stop us getting to ouf destinations.


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Day 49 Lander to Dubois 75miles

The 3 of us departed from Lander and travelled through the Wind River Indian reservation ,lots of ranches,horses and a few trading posts,the country side was green and looked very well looked after. After a few miles we were back to the desert and bleak mountains.Yet again the head wind suddenly started and we battled against it for the next 33 miles.The terrain changed very dramatically when we were about 20 miles from Dubois , huge red rock formations came to greet us,stunningly beautifull with the Wind river running beside us,what a pleasure it is to see these dramatic feats of nature.We arrived very tired into Dubois but still found time to to ride the Jackalope and have a great meal and a few drinks.Big climbing day tomorrow


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Day 48 Jeffrey city to Lander 59 miles

All 4 of us left the very sad looking Jeffery city and the first 18 miles was a gradual climb going through desert and scrub grass flanked by mountains and hills.When we reached Beavers rim the view was spectacular.Frosty climbed a high ridge and took some photos of myself and Gerry descending.The road continued to go downwards towards Lander but the head wind again stopped any real speedy progress,those winds are bloody terrible.10 miles before Lander Wayne had a fall and a passing motorist took him to hospital,we heard this evening that he has a cracked shoulder.We arrived in Lander a little late ,but in time to visit the local bike shop for new tyres.Still have no telephone service and wifi is sometimes difficult.


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Day 47 Rawlins to Jeffrey City 70 miles

We left our warm shower hosts Kevin anc Lucy and met up with our new biking mate Frosty and his mate Wayne.So four of us headed off through what can only be described as a desert surrounded on both sides by mountains and hills.16 miles of road works was a bit of a problem as there was no hard shoulder,but the scenery was spectacular,the road was almost flat and there was very little wind. At 38 miles we stopped at Lamont for breakfast and then turned left and into a stiff wind.We passed through Muddy Gap and stopped to look at Split Rock where the pony express went through.,the wind was now quite fierce so we were glad when we reached Jeffry City,a City where in the 1980’s had a population of 6000 , sadly it is now a ghost town and very delapidated .We are camping here tonight


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Day 46 Riverside to Rawlins 61 miles

Yesterday evening in the local store me met Frosty Wooldridge who has been cycling all over thd world for over 30 years, we invited him back to our small cabin for a shower and went for a meal and he slept on our floor.He has written books on various subjects including cycling and is at the moment on his way from mexico to canada To cut a long story short he has sort of adopted us and wants to cycle with us for the next few days. So all 3 of us set off this morning from Riverside with no wind after 10 miles we stopped and Frosty showed us some exercises that he uses to keep his body relaxed while on a long cycle ,only takes 3 minutes so we both joined in,this was repeated another 2 times during the day ,much to the amusement of the passing lorry drivers.Had lunch by the river in Saratoga but as soon as we hit highway 80 a fierce head wind suddenly arrived which made cycling nearly impossable.We struggled on for 21 miles in these terrible conditions,stopping once to avoid a sand storm .We finally arrived at thd home of our warmshower hoasts Kevin and Lucy Noorwood, a lovely couple who made us a steak and fish dinner and a nice place to stay.There is no phone coverage for us here in Wyoming and the wifi is not that good so im not sure when our next blog will be available.


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Day 45 Walden to Riverside 49 miles

We left Walden with no wind but with a few miles the wind was firstly with us then within seconds it changed direction and was buffeting us from the side.After 21 miles we arrived in Wyoming ,the road number changed from the 125 to the 230 and there was a larger shoulder for us to cycle on.We met two very nice couples who stopped to take some photos ,and a father and son who were cycling from West to East .The wind continued to hamper our progress into Riverside ,along the way we passed several large ranches and saw some deer running across the plains.We eventually arrived in Riverside ,our stop for today,but what will the wind be doing tomorrow ? Windy Wyoming awaits.


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Cycling Day 44 Hot Sulphur Springs to Walden 61 miles

Early 7-30 start after our rest day.The last 2 days we had been heading East and after 7 miles we turned left and headed north going up through 35 miles of fantastic forests ,rivers,,rock faces and teaming with wild life,there was very little traffic and only the ocassional logging trucks.Several ranches were scattered along the route,some with cattle and horses some with logging equipmet.At 30 miles we had a stiff 2 mile climb up to Willow Creek Pass at 9863 ft,this is also our second crossing of the Continental Divide. From there we gently decended to Rand and the terrain changed completely,we were in wide open country flanked on both sides by mountains and signs telling us to be aware of very strong winds, but for once the winds were behind us and we were flying along at over 20 mph without peddling on a high plateau,fantastic.We sat on the roadside having lunch when Phil a local ranch owner stopped for a chat.we were then joined by Blain ,a ranch manager,the craic was great as they explained what life is like in this area.We flew into Walden the Moose viewing capital of Colorado .Gerry had shot a lot of short videos,unfortunately his phone had no coverage in this area,so he will send them as soon as he can..We head for Wyoming tomorrow but the last four days in Colorado have been absolutely fantastic.


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Day 43 Silverthorne to Hot Sulphur Springs 58 miles

Another great days cycling ! We bid farewell to Silverthorne with the wind at our backs ,after 15 miles our route took us up and around the very scenic Green mountain reservoir,no photos could really show how beautiful this 10 miles was, the small town of Heeney was at the most westerly end.From there it was onto Kremmling,a typical western cowboy type town,we had lunch in the local saloon before following the Colorado river towards Hot Sulphur Springs,,just before the Springs we cycled through the most amazing Byers Canyon,with huge red rocks towering each side of us and a road,river and railroad all running through this magnificent piece of nature. We met Ian from Warrington ,who has run out of time and has to go home in 2 days and Kevin who was travelling from West to East. We may take a rest day tomorror but if the wind is in our favour we may not.


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Day 42 Fairplay to Silverthorne 43 miles

When we arrived in Fairplay we asked a lady where we could find accomodation,she asked if we were from Ireland , we said yes, she said her mother was from county Meath and we were welcome to stay in her hotel The Valiton .She took us to the hotel and charged us very little.what a nice lady.Our day started with a 12 mile cyclists only paved road to Alma ,a fine old towm,the weather was sunny if a bit cold,from there it was to the bottom of Hoosier Pass and the 4 mile accent to the top ,the view from the top was spectacular,at 11,542 ft this is the highest point of our entire journey.Having spent 15 minutes ,taking photos,savouring the moment,feeling pretty good that we made it to the top we then decended thd next 7 miles very very quickly into Breckenbridge a large town set up for winter and outdoor activities with hundreds of bikes for rent.From there we took a marvelous 15 mile cyclists only paved road all the way to Silverthorne,the road took us through forests and along by the Dillon Resevoir,this was great cycling,along the way we stopped for a chat with local cyclist Dave who was very interested in out bikes ,maps and equipment. We have now crossed the Great Divide which means that rivers now flow to the Pacific Ocean. This has been a great day , we even avoided two thunder storms and the wind was kind.


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Day 41 Guffey to Fairplay 45 miles

Last nights accomodation was something we will never forget,we had breakfast in the Bull Moose in Guffey ,they were all interested in how we survived last night.Guffey is a real funny place its mayor is a cat,the previous mayor was a dog. We got back onto our route through the Rockies a lovely sunny morning and we were surrounded by lovely scenary as we made our way gradually up to Currant Creek Pass at 9,400 ft.This was at 11 miles into our days cycle and the view from the pass was stunning as we had the snow capped Rockies directly in front of us.From there we made our way to Hartsel were we had lunch and avoiced a thunder storm,but after that the weather changed.The final 17 miles into Fairplay was so windy that twice we had to stop as we could make no headway,the wind did drop slightly and we eventually made it to Fairplay and very glad to get out of the wind.Tomorrow we climb up to Hoosier Pass at 11,500 ft,the highest point of our entire journey,hope the wind will have died down by the .

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