Bob and I are EXTREMELY SAD today! Our trip on bikes has come to an end. We were hoping to get through the Rockies before we ended for this summer. However, Bob's knee has changed our plans. It has started to affect his ankle and hip also. We had talked to the doctors before we left knowing that he needed a knee replacement. They told us the best time to have the surgery would be after the trip because his muscles would be the strongest. It is the knee on his affected side from the stroke so we were waiting until he HAD to have it replaced. So our plans are to get it replaced with a bionic one and come back next year even faster and stronger. We will pick up our trip after Yellowstone. Amazingly, it never rained on us while we were biking other than a couple sprinkles where we didn't really even get wet. Out west, it seems, every vehicle is loaded with something whether it is bikes, kayaks, four wheelers, motorcycles, rafts, boats or any combination of the above. This morning we rode our bikes to the airport where there was a car rental. We had lined up a pickup truck. Anthony at Avis was very helpful in helping load our bikes. After loading our bikes we drove through Yellowstone. Bison walked right beside the car. I would have been freaking out if I was on my bike. Other cyclist were on the road going around cars to stay away from the bison. Yellowstone was fascinating however it made Bob nervous running around volcanic activity. The animals were amazing and tourist were crazy. Hats off to the Rangers
who were working very hard to keep everyone safe. We saw bison up close, elk , a fox, a bald eagle, mule deer and a bear across the river. We made a few stops on the way home so we will post some pictures of Mount Rushmore and the Badlands. We don't know how to thank everyone who has helped us along our journey. A big thank you to all of those who prayed for our safety! There have been so many people who have been so helpful, kind and generous. All we can say is THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Hopefully the blog has helped give you insight into our travels. We have said this the whole trip, IT'S ABOUT THE JOURNEY, NOT THE DESTINATION! Our journey has been amazing! We will never forget all the people we met and lessons learned. After being on a bike and living outdoors for over a month it sure gives us some new perspectives. If I could give you some advice, the next time you pass a cyclist please give them more room then you think they need. If you have something to drink, offer it to them. This reminds me of a story I forgot to tell. On one of the very hot days, we had pulled over to take a break when a well used car pulled up and asked if we needed something to drink. There were too teenage boys who in their words said, we have a crapload of Gatorade. Do you want some? I got off my bike, went over to their car, looked in and the floor was covered with 32 ounce bottles of Gatorade. Then they asked us what flavor we wanted. I told them we didn't care and they handed us two bottles. When we were going through Yellowstone in the truck, I was upset because it was too fast to take pictures. So the next lesson learned is, slow down and enjoy the moment! We are excited and anxiously awaiting next year's adventures! We were not looking forward to rumble strips again today. However, after 7 miles they ended. We were extremely happy. The rumble strips came back again the last 8 miles but the shoulder was wide enough they didn't bother us. So we went 40 miles today. It was raining all around us but once again it never rained on us. There are 12 map sections in the Adventure Cycling map system to get us across the US. We are now on map number 5 of 12. We are excited when we find restaurants because things are so spread out. However, the business hours can be varied. This morning we had heard about a restaurant and when we arrived they didn't open till 11. So we kept riding and heard about another restaurant but they closed at 2:00. We did make it to this restaurant and had a good meal. The next restaurant we passed didn't open till 4. West Yellowstone is definitely a tourist town. We stopped at the Information Center, asked a lot of questions and picked up some brochures. Bob and I stayed hooked as a tandem this whole day. While we were riding around looking for a place to eat supper, Bob's gear cable broke so he couldn't shift gears which made riding difficult. So I had to pull him! Haha! We stopped at a bike shop and the owner was a really neat 80 year old guy. He came right out on the sidewalk and fixed Bob's cable in no time. We got a motel for the night because the campgrounds were all out of town.
And some of the campgrounds had a 2 day minimum stay. We saw mule deer again today which I had never heard of before this trip. We passed an area today called Slide. In 1959 there was an earthquake and part of the mountain slid down and created a Dam and new lake which caused 26 deaths. Once again we saw gorgeous scenery! After getting a good night's rest in the motel, we headed out for a new day of adventures. This day turned out to not be such a good day. We hit rumble strips and hoped they would end but they never did. The traffic was busy so we couldn't be in the road. The berm was too narrow for our bikes to fit without hitting the rumble strips. So for 33 miles, we rode the rumble strips. It was a gradual uphill and the rumble strips slowed us down. At one point we had pulled over and noticed bolts were loose on the Burley. One was even missing. Before we left, we bought one spare bolt . Good thing, we needed it. It about gave us a stomach ache and headache being jarred all day long. Then it finally happened. I got my first flat tire. I have over 2000 miles on these tires and tubes and over 1000 for this trip. I had never had a flat on this bike. And guess what, it was a steel belt, again! We decided to call it quits for the day. Once again there were no towns or stores around us. The campground had a frozen pizza and microwave so that's what we had for supper. It did rain a little but our tent and bikes we're under a pavilion.
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