an ode to google maps.

again, xkcd gets it right,:

http://xkcd.com/461/

enjoy

so, I just, like.... biked across a continent, man.


nope. still sounds ridiculous.

Vancouver is nice. Ive been hanging out with Robyn, having a blast visiting Bowin island and helping Robyn move into her new ( sweet) apartment. and NOT biking.

still cant believe i biked here.

ok, time for more napping. I'll be home Saturday.

Sandpoint, ID

so, here we are.... NOT in Montana!
So we had a half-day build today, here in Sandpoint, where I learned to install siding. I just keep adding to my skills list, yay. We've hit the cascades, now, and should be in them for the rest for the trip pretty much. the rest of the trip being..................9 days! including one more build day in Washington! Ack! I cant believe we're come so far, and that time has passed so quickly. I attempting to upload photos now, but i must admit i havnt been taking many photos. I'll just have to steal all of Erik's great photos at the end of the trip.
hmm, I seem to be having some difficulty.
I'll try to put a few up here if it works.
tata for now.

leaving Montana.

oh my goodness.

oh
my
goodness.

Glacier National Park.
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK!
GLACIER PARK!
GLACIER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wow.



Biking is going.... and going..... and going.... we've ridden 3350 miles. 650 miles to go, through the cascades. I CANNOT believe it has passed bye so quickly. we rode through Glacier national Park a few days ago and it was STUNNING. plus, now i can say i've biked over the Rockies!!! woo! it was such a sudden change from seemingly-unending wheat fields to being in the Rocky Mountains. a very welcome change too. ITS SO BEAUTIFUL!

we just finished deciding how to allocate the money we raised, and we're giving sizable donations to six really great organizations doing very interesting builds. I learned how to put up roof shingles with a nail gun. I have ridiculous tan lines. we have 11 days left, and i cant really comprehend that yet, since we have 650 miles left to bike.

and that's the news.

Chinook MT

hello? anyone still out there still reading my blog? Its been forever since I've updated it. lets see. so here's the run down. since Crookston:
wind, wind, then surprising tailwinds yay!!! and fields. lots of fields.

We were just on Hwy 2 to Minot, where we got a welcome day off to just relax. i did nothing. i slept and ate and slept and listened to music and made a significant dent in the amazing mountain of food sent to me in both Duluth and Minot.

Thank You!!!! thanks to Grandpa, I have enough Juicy Fruit gum to last a life time, and between him and my parents, I am feasting like royalty on every sort of cool treat imaginable.

After Minot we went to new town and then to the by-now-infamous Theodore Roosevelt national park. it was absolutely beautiful, until about 2 am when a thunderstorm proceeded to flatten our camp, thoroughly drench us all, and force us to flee to shelter in the bathroom. not the most comfortable place to sleep, but it worked. after that, we got back on to Hwy 2 and have been blessedly free of headwinds since.

there's really not that much to report: we've been pedaling ...a lot.... in mostly a straight line..... past fields..... and more fields.

the days are finally getting rather routine. but that should be shattered in just a few days when we get to ( drum roll please) THE ROCKIES!!
we're going straight through Glacier Nat'l park on the Going To The Sun road, and its going to be amazing. steep, but amazing.

PS, my odometer is going to pass 3000 miles tomorrow. woah.

Crookston, MN

Hello! well, I've passed the half-way point , both in time and distance. my odometer passed 2000 this morning. It was a long day, but perfectly flat, and blissfully windless, so I was cruising. It was so nice. We're on Highway 2 now, and will be... for ever. All through ND and MT As long as the wind isn't tooo punishing, it will be really nice.

the ride since my last post has been lovely. the bike path from St Paul to Duluth was AMAZING!!!!!! it was so beautiful, and it was so nice to never have to think about traffic or directions. Plus, my bike was riding better than it has since the beginning of the trip. I finally cleaned it out well, and In St. Paul, I got a new chain from the aptly named Bicycle Chain. Thank you guys soo much! it feels great, and all the squeaks and shifting problems have disappeared. YAY!

In Duluth we had a ton of fun working with the Land Trust, a great organization doing some really great work. they had a ton of things for us to do, including NOT DIRT! yay. I got to paint trim all day, which I loved. It was nice to work inside houses that were so close to completion. Plus the neighborhood they were developing was really interesting, with the mixture of normal market and Land Trust houses.

Also my phone finally arrived in Duluth after being found in a field along our rout in Wisconsin. Thanks! Also thanks to Tony, Grandpa and Mom for a massive pile of food that arrived there too. very very yummy.

ok, running to a presentation now, hopefully more later. Wish me luck for tomorrow!: 116 miles against the wind. oh, joy. North Dakota, here we come!

St Paul

Hello everyone. I've made it to St Paul, MN.  In one piece.  We just left Wisconsin, which was AMAZING. Such a beautiful state. I love it. Madison especially was nice. It reminded me a lot of Boulder, and had great bike paths.  leaving Madison was also an adventure. We had to get to gays Mills, WI after that, which was a saga. I don't have time to do it justice, so check out someone else's blog to get the details. Suffice to say I  DIDN"T get lost at all, and it still took me 12 hours.  My butt may never forgive me. 

I'm treating it well, tonight, though which might help make amends. We get to stay with  host families! in a real bed!!  YAY! They are super nice, and fill me with yummy things.  we get to be on a nice big bike path for the next two days, too, all the way to Duluth, which should also be wonderful .  

'ny way, I should go collapse in that bed so kindly offered.  Sorry I haven't posted any pictures, yet. I'll find a way eventually. maybe. 

sweet dreams!