Destination: Unknown

Legs and bike have rested, recovered, repolished and refueled. Gear has been loaded back on the bike, and I have no idea where my legs are going to lead me to this time. Probably to Spain, maybe to Africa, maybe to Italy, maybe back north. Maybe I'll be gone for a month, maybe 2, maybe 4. I won't know until I get there, and when I get there, I'll inform you!

I'm leaving for Paris tomorrow (that's the only destination I have so far), and I'll write something here every now and then.

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye.

Over and out (for now)

I'm home! Completely jetlagged (going to bed in the evening, waking up in the middle of the night, then going back to sleep in the morning, to be woken up in the afternoon again) I'm not even experiencing a big culture shock. Dutch food IS as good as I remembered it.

First thing I did was ride my city bike around the block. That did make me feel like a complete stranger. I'd better assemble my touring bike so I can ride a decent one!

It's time now to relax a little, watch the Olympics, then decide where I'm going next. Hopefully it's going to be an adventure like this one!

Fourteen

Thinking the trip was definitely over, I rode into Niwot (after having had a peak of Denver through all the haze) to find myself invited by Robyn& Mike, whom I had met a month before in Idaho. Instead of giving me some rest, they got me interested in this road that calls itself 'the highest paved road in North America'. After being disappointed to find out that Rocky Mountain National Park didn't have the highest road, my legs started itching again for some more climbing.

So once again I took off, leaving some stuff behind to make myself a little lighter. I just took my basic camping gear, some warm clothes and some food. Soon I found out that I took my camping gear for nothing, as I rode into Idaho Springs and headed into the library to check my e-mail and escape the heat.

When I headed out, a man was checking out my bike, wondering about the handlebars and light. Not much later I rode into his property, where I was invited by his wife. Lenny & Laurie offered me a bed and a big meal to be well prepared for the climb of my life the next day.

Fourteen isn't really an interesting number to most people, but here in Colorado it's sacred. There are 54 peaks in the states higher than 14000ft, so called 'fourteeners'. The only fourteener that is accessible by a paved road, is Mount Evans. The climb is 28 miles long, divided into two 14-mile long segments. After 4 hours of riding on one of the worst pavements I've ever seen, I managed to complete the ultimate ride of this trip of a lifetime!

If anyone is still doubting if this trip was a success, I'll be short: yes.

The highest restroom in North America

After 5 weeks of cycling, I've finally reached Nederland! Nederland, Colorado that is. The only Nederland that won't flood when the water level rises.

I've managed to achieve my ultimate goal: riding the highest highway in North America. Exhausting as it was, I rode up and up and up, looking for the sign that says I'm at the highest elevation of the road. Trees started to disappear, the sign for me that the altitude finally started to affect my performance. Climbing the road, which was finally narrow enough with no barrier at the sides to be called 'a little scary', I finally found myself going down. Wait, did I just miss THE sign of my trip?

Apparently not, after asking around for a bit. There appeared to be no sign at all. Was this whole mission wasted? No, I got myself a picture of me standing in front of the highest restroom in North America. Fair enough.

With just one more day of cycling to go, and having reached this 'home away from home' (Nederland should have been my final destination!), it feels a little weird to not be making progress anymore every day, finding myself as cheap a spot as possible, meeting other cyclists on the road and sharing experiences, and looking forward to the next challenge. Although there is going to be a challenge: getting back to the real Nederland and trying to survive living at sea level again!

There's one thing I'm looking forward to: Dutch food!

Why Wyoming is worth one visit

• The wind doesn't just spread itself over the day and night, but instead kicks in at noon and gails until the evening. In random directions.
• The shoulders are awful. It's like you're crossing train tracks every 5 seconds.
• Dead animals on the road are plenty. Not just dead, but completely overrun. I almost added two prairiedogs to that total.
• The wind.
• The amount of trucks on a saturday. I saw more that day than I'd seen on my whole trip.
• The haze limited my views to basically plains for 4 days. But that was actually caused by the Californian forest fires.
• The wind.
• The mosquitoes don't care about the wind.

It's not that Wyoming isn't worth a visit, as it has some nice canyons, but for now I've seen enough of it. Luckily I'm in Colorado!

Some statistical updates:

• Days cycled: 26
• Distance cycled: 2400km/1490mi in 117 hours
• States visited: 6
• Highest altitude: 2944m/9658ft (Togwotee Pass, Wyoming)
• Scariest moments: Truck getting puncture just after it passed me - Car almost running over a deer
• Most religious campsite: Church in Jeffrey City, Wyoming
• Cutest animal seen: Baby squirrel
• Craziest cyclist: Pierre from France, who cycled at night one time and camped in a graveyard

One month later

My first opportunity to update my log in a while, and boy, have there been some events in the past week!

This story was supposed to be about how I had to hitchhike through Yellowstone because the RV's in the park were playing a game of 'who can get closest to the bicyclist'. Fortunately, I can write something different. In fact, I can write about something much more exciting!

As I got closer to the park, I heard all kinds of things about the ridability of the roads in the park. 'The roads in the north are too narrow and have no shoulder!', 'If you know how to ride a bike, you should be fine.', 'It was so crowded, we had to hitchhike.', 'Start early in the morning to avoid traffic and see wildlife.'

I decided that I wanted to see wildlife and avoid traffic, so here I was at the park entrance at 7. After seeing a bunch of elk crossing the road and gazing at me ('geez, just take a picture, will you?'), I thought it was pretty exciting already. Little did I know...

The great thing about travelling by bike as opposed to by car is that you don't just see more, you also smell everything. And I can asure you, the smell of rotten eggs in the morning isn't the greatest breakfast one can think of. Luckily, it doesn't come from rotten eggs, but from the amazing hot springs that are all over the park. That sort of makes up for it!

At the campground I met up with Marga and Kees, whom I had first seen a week before and who are also cycling to Denver. We lost track of each other after a few days, but miraculously bumped into each other again! To end the day in style, two bison came over to the campground and checked if the trees were strong enough, and if the campsites were nice. Poor people who camped next to them...

I had by then found out that there are two rules in Yellowstone: 1) Don't stop on the highway, 2) Stop on the highway when everybody else does. Between 2 and 3 in the afternoon (remember, 'early in the morning for wildlife'), I had to stop for a grizzly, a black bear, a moose and a black bear mother with a cub. Who said it's too dangerous to cycle all around the park?!

The Tetons are awe-inspiring as well. Joshua, how the hell did you climb that peak?

Right now I'm in Wyoming. The wind (there's a reason Wyoming starts with a W) seems to be helping me a great bit, blowing me to Colorado at great speed. Not today though, as I'm recovering from the most beautiful views I've seen in my life!

"Rest!"

I decided to go for luxury and stay in a motel for 4 nights (shower + real bed!), to get some rest and experience 4th of July.

That's what I said. It ended up being two nights at a motel, two nights at Joshua's, and half a day of resting.

I went to a bike 'shop' in Missoula, where you can use tools and used components for free to repair your bike. The owner is trying to improve the situation for bicyclists in Missoula, so when he found out I'm from Holland, he started asking my opinion about all different kinds of traffic situations and solutions to them. He also told me there was a short bike tour through Missoula that night.

After the bike tour we ended up in a bar and I got to talking to Joshua and Emily. Once again my being Dutch made me instantly popular (why doesn't that work in Holland?), and upon asking where I stayed, I answered 'in a motel'. Joshua immediately told me to cancel my motel reservations and stay with him for the rest of the week. That was the end of my break...

We ended up mountainbiking and hiking for the remaining two days. By mountainbiking I mean climbing on an off-road trail for 9 miles, then walking, crashing, and 'riding' on a trail that's barely walkable. By hiking, I mean walking to snow level, falling behind and losing track of the trail. Instead of wandering about in the snow, I decided to make it a rest day and just walk back and lay in the shades for an hour.

My 67 mile bike ride the next day was an easy day compared to staying with a complete stranger in a progressive city that lies in a state that doesn't seem so progressive at all.

Rest!

After cycling for 9 days straight (not counting the day that I left Portland by car and rode 20 miles), I've reached Missoula, Montana! I decided to go for luxury and stay in a motel for 4 nights (shower + real bed!), to get some rest and experience 4th of July. The weather isa littleunstable at the moment, low clouds and afternoon thunderstorms. Riding into Missoula I could see lightning hit the mountains, pretty amazing.

It's funny to see how events have turned out. The other day I met a couple who offered me a beer (which, by the way, everyone does). They live close to Denver, and invited me to stay with them when I arrive there and they'll make sure I get to the airport safely!

I ran into two Aussies who were also headed for Missoula. We rode together for about 20 miles, whensuddenly my left SPD plate (that's the thing I click onto my pedal so my feet are mounted) came loose. For some reason, one screw was completely gone. The Aussies carried a spare screw just for this situation and gave it to me. Luck keeps helping me out!

Facts about my trip so far:

Distance covered 822km/510mi

Time cycled 39h52m

Highest altitude 1595m/5235ft (Lolo Pass)

Maximum speed 78.5kmh/48.7mph

Wildlife count: Dozens of squirrels,two skunks, a moose, two deer, lots of dead animals on the road. Wasn't able to get a picture of the moose :(

Dutch people seen: 1

Cross-country cyclists seen: 13

Driest night: Wilderness Gateway Camp Ground, Idaho. The water pump broke down.

Wettest night: Camping in Kooskia's City Park, Idaho. The sprinklers go off at night.

Hottest day: 100F/38C in the shades at Lochsa Historical Ranger Station, Idaho

Friendliest town: Pomeroy, Washington (as the welcome sign stated)

Times ID'd when ordering alcoholic drink: 0 since I left Portland