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Grandpa Lost His Mind
A Journal - Crossing America by Bicycle

June 1, 2007      Miles 41      Total miles 1861

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Today is special. My youngest son, James, was promoted to US Navy Lieutenant. Congratulations James!! He is an officer aboard the attack submarine USS La Jolla. I haven't heard from him for a while so I expect he is under the ocean somewhere on the planet.
I met Jesse Palmer as I was leaving Kremmling. He has been riding from Richmand, Virginia and has averaged nearly eighty miles per day. He grew up in Eugene, Oregon and is from Berkley, California. His only complaint was about the dogs in Kentucky. He said they run in packs and the owners get a kick out of watching them chase people on bicycles. He said he is loving riding through rural America.
Today and tomorrow will be a series of ups and downs but mainly up, up, up.
The traffic was just terrible as I left Kremmling. There are no shoulders on the roads and I spent much of my day getting off my bicycle and pulling it off the road so I wouldn't get squished. It was not fun at all. This went on for a dozen miles. I took a detour around a lake for ten miles and there was no traffic. The picture on the right is part of a power plant. All these pictures were taken around the lake.






I stopped at this little store by the lake. There is a sign that says "food" so I went in. The only food I saw was some beef jerky and I bought it and a drink. The owner of the store told me that this past January they had only two days when the temperature was above -10 degrees.

When I met Mette and Stephen the traffic was terrible. We visited for half an hour. They are married and she is from Norway and he is from England. They decided to leave their professional jobs behind and travel by bicycle across America on the same route I am on. Then they will ride from Florence, Oregon to San Francisco. In July they will cycle Fiji and New Zealand. In August they will go to Australia. In the months of September and October they will be in Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Japan. What a delightful and energetic young couple. They too warned me about the dogs in Kentucky.

Need a place to hang your hat? I saw two farms with these cows today. They are all different colors but I liked this red one best.

I met Brother Nathanial at a very busy intersection in Silverthorne. I snapped this photo and went about my business. It started raining and I took shelter under an awning and watched as he kept dancing on the street corner even in the cold rain. I saw him later and talked with him. He is an Orthodox Christian monk who was a salesman for twenty five years. He retired and joined the monestary for eight years in Buena Vista, Colorado where they were dedicated to total quiet and all night prayer in the mountains. He felt a calling when the ACLU got involved with dismantling crosses, nativity scenes, and the ten commandments throughout the country. He wants everyone in America to renew their faith in Jesus Christ as their savior.

I ended my day early as it started raining. I wanted to get at least another five miles of riding before stopping because I was feeling strong. I am anxious to ride tomorrow. It will be my hardest day yet because of the steep, steep climb to 11,542'. I hope when I get up the sun is shining. If it is raining I will hold off on my ride.

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