Playing Ancient Chutes & Ladders... I've arrived in Cortez, Colorado ahead of schedule thanks to a couple of ladies in Bluff, UT. While in a cafe there, they were asking me about my route. They suggested I take a road through McElmo Canyon from Utah to Colorado that would cut 1 to 2 days off my planned route. My map showed this road as unpaved, but they assured me it was paved all the way and was the route locals used to go to Cortez. This turned out to be ...

Along the Navajo Trail... Since shortly after leaving Flagstaff, I've been crossing the vast Navajo Nation. When driving through here in a car, it's easy to dismiss the reservation as boring and ugly with no place of interest to stop. But, something about bike travel, at 12 mph instead of 70 mph, brings out the beauty in even the most stark landscape. Most people at least know about Monument Valley. Today I did my best John Wayne impersonation as I road my stee...

First Bicycle Touring Lesson Learned - The first few days of my re-started tour have had an amazing variety of conditions. When I was dreaming of making this trip, the kind of day that went through my mind went something like this. Riding through cool air and pine forests, views of mountain lakes near by, no wind, good pavement, rolling terrain without any super long hills, some great downhill sections sprinkled in, and arriving at the end of the day in a great...

I'd Like to Use a Lifeline - Can I Phone a Friend?The day's ride started great! Cool air, sunny day, tailwind, flat road through farm land. The smells in farm country (hay, alfalfa, even the cattle feed lot) brought back lots of memories of growing up on the family farm in South Dakota.After about 15 miles the landscape changed dramatically as the Imperial Valley ended and I rode into the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. These dunes look just like they came o...

The first few days of riding has been an adventure with both ups and downs - figuratively and literally.Leaving San Diego at Ocean Beach, my route started pleasant and easy on bike paths and lanes for most of the first day. But the first physical challenge was the mountains between San Diego's beaches and the inland desert that stretches all the way to Phoenix. The route goes from near sea level to 4000 ft in about a 20 mile stretch. I broke the elevation gain in...