Recovery

7/11/06 Whoa man. My return trip from Yellowstone (100 miles in 8hrs, OY!), destroyed my left knee. This really killed my ego. How am I to be a bike hero if I can't handle 100 mile days? So I laid up in bed for three days trying to heal. Completely overstaying my welcome, bloody hell. Mike suggests a return to the land for some recovery which was ultimately the best thing I could do. Out there it was real chill. I'd sleep in late, eat breakfast and then just hang out on the rocks watching the goings on in the valley below. Nice veiw.

There was dead sage brush all over that pulled loose from the soil quite easily. On my last day I amassed a large pile in anticipation for a huge bonn fire. As the day wore on flies were getting to me and I needed some fresh water so I took the bike down to the creek and busted out the water filter. The thing must of been dirty because it took forever but it was well worth it. The return up the mountain was sweet, my knee was nagging but never screaming. I would be recovered by the next day. I crested the boundary of the land in time to see the gayist sunset ever. The light was long and orange and there was this shelf of clouds extending to the horizon, just falling short enough to allow for the setting sun to wash the land in golden light. My neighbor the hawk embarked on his twilight hunt, sunlight glancing off his white underbelly. It looked straight out of some New Age illustration, it was so cheesey. I half expected to see some translucent ambiguously native american man rising over the mountains across the the valley, but such nonsense only exists on chinsey collectors plates available from Parade Magazine.
That night the much anticipated bonn fire came to fruition. Under a huge full moon, a perfect ending for a perfect day. I rest peacefully knowing that I soon, finally I will embark on my journey for real. The Road to Whitefish awaits. I am ready.
P.S. I may be out of touch for a little while. I may not have access to intro-net for a while. Never fear. PeteyTrips shall return!

Independance For Us!

I saw some fireworks in the sky above Gardiner, standing on a hillock whilst the moon shone down. The wind was warm, a westerly, dryish and smelling clean. I biked and hiked across nothern Yellowstone, checkin' the sights and snappin' pix. 'Twas a shiton of flies and tourists as well. I guess Fourth o' July is not the best time to visit.

95 to Mammoth

Whoa! 95 miles and my ass is chafed! I need to invest in some bike shorts. I used to think such garments were for sissies. Now I'm singin' a different tune. I rode from Bozeman MT to Mammoth Springs in Yellowstone National Park in one day. It was rad, at first I didn't think I could rock that hard in one day but as I approached it looked more and more doable. I got to Gardiner outside of Yellowstone and it started to rain, thought I might need to get a hotel which I should probibly avoid. I decided to press on and rolled into my campsite after seven hours of hard ridin'. I was dog tired and hit the sac immediately.
The bivey sac is a strange bedding choice. AImagine being inside a person sized sock made of raincoat material. There's a pole creating a slight arch over your head but otherwise you're just inside another sac. The rain hits the surface and you can feel it but the moisture doesn't penetrate...we hope.

To the west as the light begins to fade, the overcast sky becomes illuminated with an eerie yellow-orange glow. The cliffs across the valley from camp reflect the luminescence with alien splendor. I am in another world. As soon as I wrapped my camera away in rain proof sheath a lady elk comes meandering through my camp. Completely uninhibited she dallied, nibbling at the undergrowth and raising her face to kiss the rain. I wanted to take her portrait but I had just finished putting the camera away. Let it be. Some things were meant to exist in the moment. Good night. 7/3/06

Trial Run Delta

7/1/06 Here I am up at Mike's land. Stokin'. The ride up here was arduous, especially the last two miles all steep and gravely. I walked most of it. After having trimmed some of the excess crap from my load the bike is a whole lot lighter, easier to manage. I'm diggin' this new bivey sac that I got to replace my tent. The Bikamper was a sweet idea but ultimately impracticle. Bivey sac is like a minimalist cacoon that fits just me. Its kinda neat. Last night I slept with my head pokin' out the flap just starin' up at the stars. I saw a whole lotta shootin' stars and these weird flashes like heat lightning, but no clouds...fascinating.
The ride back was sweet. Down hill the whole way and no headache. I think it took me an hour less to get home then to get there. Aww yeah, I like that.

battle ridge

There's nobody here. Two hours onna bike and 20 miles outta Bozeman and its completely devoid of human life. I'm at Battle Ridge cabin, all in all a pretty sweet place. Everythings locked up which makes me think that I may be here illegally. Nobody around to stop me...oh well.
The climb up here was brutal, I didn't think I was going to make it. I'm all right now. The flies are restless. I'm trying to relax, meanwhile the entire valley is buzzing. Its a sonic phenomenon. Time for a nap.
NEXT DAY
ouch, I'm hurtin'. Last night at the cabin some dude kicked me out, said he had rented the place. Fair is fair. I moved my camp under some trees and it was much nicer. Moving sucked becasue it had started to rain, I was worried and stressed out but it turned out fine. I cooked some rice in my camp stove which was remarkably quick and then I hit the hay.
Next morning (today) I woke up with a headache that didn't vacate until well after I made it home. It had rained through the night but my tent was mostly dry. I have this unique tent called a Bikamper which is essentially a huge sock that extends off your bikes handlebars. The front wheel is removed and used as a support for the other end. Pretty neat idea, doesn't require any tent poles so it packs small and light. I'm not sure it would've held up in harsher weather. Though I respect the innovations and design of the Bikamper removing that front wheel everynight is actually unappealing to me. Its a hassle trying to deal with all my packs and plus the process fucks with my brakes.
Riding back to Bozeman was no fun. The headache wouldn't go away and unbeknownst to me I was riding my brake pad the whole way. Shoulda got back sooner but the effort of hauling all this shite is bringin' me down. I'm having serious reservations about this trip. I don't know if I'm ready to tackle all these mountain passes, I might just burn out. Mike is eggin' me on, giving me advice about what sort of things to strip from my gear to make the whole unit lighter. All and all its a little rough on my ego. I hope something good comes from this.