Bye bye Illinois, hello Kentucky!

I made it across the Ohio river! Despite the significant lack of crocodiles, piranhas, submerged logs, buried treasure, and tsunamis, it was a nice, relaxing, uneventful 5 minute ferry ride across. The Ohio borders Illinois and Kentucky, so I am now officially in dog attack country. I am going to be one with my pepper spray for the next 500 miles or so (although I hope I never have to use it). 

As an update to my last post, my tent is forever lost in the bowels of the American shipping system, so I don't think I'll ever see it. Oh well! I'll pray for a cold front and a lack of Mosquitos for the next 1000 miles. 

Incidentally, sometime tomorrow I'm hitting the big 3000! I don't even know how I'm almost three quarters of the way done. Man has this trip been going fast. Every day is another adventure. 

Speaking of adventures (if you're willing to stretch the meaning of the word), last night in Goreville I was trying to find a place to stay, so I asked one of the local churches if I could camp in their yard. They said yes, invited me to dinner, and before I knew it I was helping at the arts and crafts station of their church camp! It was absolutely wonderful. Besides the name that belongs to a bad horror movie, it's a great place! They had a really nice, tight knit community, and it was fun hanging out with all of them. 

 I stopped for lunch in Elizabethtown today, and met a wonderful man named Bill Anderson. A self-described "barefoot hippy", bill is 65, and has hitchhiked over 25,000 miles around the country. He went to southern Illinois university for 7 years, earning an absurd amount of credits in various majors. After college, he was addicted to drugs for 10 years, went to jail/prison a bunch, and lost his teaching license. However, he turned his life around, and now he does odd jobs around town, and most importantly, mentors a bunch of troubled youth, and keeps them on the straight path. I wish I wasn't on my ipod, so I could post a picture of him! He had a lot of really interesting stories, and I was glad to meet him. 

Anyways, my point is that regardless of where you go, you never know who's sitting at the picnic bench next to you as you enjoy a tuna cheddar cheese wrap. 

I am now in Marion, KY staying at a church that has been hosting people since the original bikecentennial!

I'm absolutely starving, so off to the kitchen I go to make pasta mixed with dehydrated potatoes. Mmmmmmmmh!

Love,

Malcolm

Out of Missouri, into Illinois, and almost out of Illinois

Hello hello from the Bike Surgeon in Carbondale, IL. 

I crossed the Mississippi river yesterday, which signaled the end of Missouri, and the beginning of Illinois! Right across the river, Chester is the first town you enter. It is the home of Popaye, so there are statues of him absolutely everywhere. It's also home to the Fraternal Order of Eagles, a tavern which lets bikers stay in their "bike shack" for the night. The bike shack, along with half the fried chicken I had for dinner, made for a great evening. 

I stopped for lunch in Carbondale today, went to the bike shop, and I'm having Gertrude's bottom bracket relubed because man, has she been creaking. 

Tonight's goal is Goreville, IL (not the name of a town where I'd usually choose to spend the night). I got sick of how warm and stifling my bivy sack has gotten in these temperatures, and I ordered a marmot limelight 2 to be delivered there today. Let's hope it hasn't been delayed! 

Illinois is almost done already - about 60 miles from Goreville is the ferry that'll take me into Kentucky!

There's a very ominous cloud coming up above town, I hope it rains before I leave, as opposed to right as I leave!

Love,

Malcolm

Edit: So it turns out, I need to replace my chain and cassette along with relubing the bottom bracket. Also, FedEx doesn't ship to post offices, so the tent is being returned. Aaaaaaaaaah! I talked to a nice amazon lady, and she might be able to delay it a the nearest FedEx processing station long enough for me to ride (or more likely, catch a ride) to it and pick it up! If not, I might have to order another tent since this one will be getting returned. 

Birthday Parties, Breweries, and Bottle Cows

Hi everyone! I hope you find today's post enjoyable. First, here's a few silly pictures, and then I'm going to talk about the past few days, which have been absolutely fantastic!

A sign in Frisco, Colorado

One of the first things I saw in Missouri. So many innuendos.

 In Fair Grove, MO, I spent a night through Warm Showers with Jay and Kelly Wood. That evening, their friends Jana and Anthony were having a birthday party for their son, Alex. Since they still wanted to provide me with a place to stay, they suggested I come with them to the party, and it was absolutely fantastic! Boy, have I forgotten how angsty 15 year olds are, though. As a matter of great personal pride, none of the boys had over two burgers, while I had four. Biking > adolescence when it comes to appetite.
Jay showed me around his metalworking shop and helped me fix one of my panniers, while Kelly gave me advice for post-graduate career options! They were wonderful hosts, and I'm really glad I got to meet and spend time with them!

Thanks again, Jay and Kelly

While hanging out at their house, they suggested I check out the Piney River Brewery, which was about 55 miles away, about 5 miles from the town I was planning on staying at the next evening. Boy was that a great idea.
The brewery is located about 4 miles away from the main road, and with about a mile to go, the tarmac ends and is replaced by gravel. Undeterred, I persevered down the road, regardless of the surprised looks I got from the trucks that kept passing me.
Once I arrived, the party immediately started. Everyone was really surprised that I biked over, none more than Joleene, one of the co-owners. She was kind enough to give me a complementary taster tray, and they were all amazing!

Thanks Joleene!

 Just to make all of you beer aficionados out there jealous (I'm talking to you, SUOC), their Float Trip Ale won the 2014 Beer World Cup gold award for best american style wheat beer. Also, they've only been around since 2010, and have already won several awards besides that one. I'll be keeping my eye open for them in the future. If you want to check our their website, go here.
.

Plus, they have really good artwork

One of their employees, Jonathan, was kind enough to show me their brewing area downstairs!

Why do brewers always have amazing beards?

I had an absolutely fantastic time! Everyone there was wonderful, kind, and couldn't get enough of hearing about my trip. Apparently I'm the first transamerica trail biker to take the time to bike down, and Joleene and Brian (the owners) were super excited about it! Everyone kept offering to buy me drinks! I need to go out wearing bike shorts more. Their tap room is located in an old barn that's open from 2 to 7 on Saturdays, and there's live music, a bunch of locals, and an amazing atmosphere!

Woops, Malcolm looks a bit drunk.

While at the brewery, I met Rock, who's working at one of the farms around town. he kindly invited me to his place, where I'm currently spending my rest day! So far today, I have bottle-fed a calf, fed the pigs, herded some cows, and put up a bunch of fencing. It's been a great rest day.

Baby cows can't get enough breakfast

Unfortunately, you missed the part where they saw us and all came running out of the trees about 30 seconds before I took this picture.

Om nom nom. Bananas, Oranges, nothing withstands their mighty jaws.

My steed for the day. Gertrude, you're dead to me.

Missouri has been more than amazing, and I'm going to be really sad to leave it!
While Kansas was an emotional rollercoaster, Missouri is a physical one. None of the hills are that tall, but boy are they steep. I love it. It's probably been the most fun riding I've had all trip! The Ozarks are gorgeous, the people are amazingly kind, and I've heard the rivers are super fun to float down!

Love,
Farmer Malcolm

More Kansas!

Hello hello from the Immanuel Lutheran church in Walnut, KS. Today has been great. 

After leaving eureka this morning, I biked around 40 miles in the beautiful countryside, when suddenly, the skies went dark. Within 30 seconds, black thunderclouds appeared from over the horizon and blanketed the sun. In my immortal wisdom, instead of "roughing it out" like I have been, I decided to stop at the conveniently placed farmhouse on the side of the road and ask if I could weather the storm there. Luckily, Steven and his mother Karen were in, and hey let me in to their wonderful home, fed me, and showed me around he house (it was awesome). Since the storm showed no signs of abating, and I didn't feel like biking in 60 mile winds, thunder, and hail, they were mind enough to drive me to this church, where I was planning on spending the night. 

Upon arrival, I met pastor Jay, and proceeded to have one of the best evenings I have had so far. Jay is 29, made us a delicious chicken/potato/cheese/cream/bread crumb dish of amazingness, and then we spent the evening talking about lord of the rings, religion, star wars, game of thrones, fiction novels, video games, belgian beer, meteorology, science, canning and growing your own food, and many other topics. 

It was very relaxing and enjoyable. 

Eastern Kansas really is a wonderful place. The people are amazingly kind, and the landscape is simple yet unassumingly beautiful  It's great how everybody here hates western Kansas too, it's a great thing to bond over. 

Love, 

Malcolm

Malcolm, your friendly Kansas weather expert

Did I mention how hot it is here?
Yesterday, we had a heat index of 115, and today it's a balmy 96 (feels like it's 104!). Boy am I glad to be inside a library. I made the mistake of starting around 7:30 this morning, and was biking shirtless within a few minutes. Some nice dude in a van was driving by in the opposite direction, stopped, and wordlessly handed me a huge chilled powerade he had obviously just purchased for himself. Some people are angels.
Tomorrow, wake up time is 4am! (if I get a good nights sleep - going to sleep in the Eureka city park tonight. Hopefully the temperature will drop below 90 sometime before midnight)

I can't seem to find a memory card plug-in to this thing, so I'm giving up on showing you pictures of fields (because I know you all reaaaaally want to experience Kansas after my last thrilling post).

Here is my to do list for the rest of the day:
1) Go shopping (If you thought I was a bottomless pit before, I'm sorry. I can't find a metaphor to describe my hunger at this point)
2) Find the city park
3) Hope the city park has a pool
4) Weasel my way into said pool by any means necessary, and stay there until they physically throw me out
5) Eat
6) Pray the weather cools down fast
7) Sleep, and have sweet dreams about all of you.
8) Wake up tomorrow, realize I have nothing to do but bike for the next month
9) Be incredibly happy
10) Bike

Kansas

 Eastern Colorado was great after Hoosier pass, as it was all downhill. However, in Eads, I encountered the mother of all thunderstorms and had to take refuge... In the park bathroom. Let's hope this isn't a trend I'm starting (fun fact, the night I spent in the other bathroom was the fourth of July, I forgot to mention that).

Kansas has been quite the emotional roller coaster. In my opinion, western Kansas is basically the worst place ever. It's flat, featureless, boring, ugly, worthless, and the wind blows constantly from the south from 8am to 8 pm. All you see is wheat, corn, fallow fields, oil pumps, and all that sees you are cows moronically chewing cud as they gaze at you with disinterest. It's basically Mordor, but instead of the tower of the eye, all you see are grain towers that taunt you when they raise up in the distance, and you think you're almost in town, but they just get bigger and bigger until 8 miles later you're at their feet, staring up at them as they tower over you. 

My worst day was yesterday - a 20 mile straight south stretch on rolling ground took me three and a half hours, rather than the hour and fifteen it should have. That, and the constant whistling of the wind preventing all rational thought almost broke me. Man was I hoping for someone to talk to, or even just to yell at the wind with me. Some citizens living off that road may have heard "FUCK KANSAS AND FUCK THIS WIND!" and animalistic screams of rage as they were enjoying a beautiful (if windy) Sunday morning. 

On the plus side, Kansas has gotten much better since then central Kansas is absolutely gorgeous. It's still mostly flat, but there are lots of rolling hills, trees, and actual greenery, not just corn or wheat. I'm in Newton right now, spending the night at the bike shop with 6 other tourers. 

Also, another fun fact, I reached the halfway point in eastern. Colorado. Woo! I'm at about 2400 out of 4000. 

Sorry for the lack of pictures, no access to a computer!

It's bedtime now, thanks for reading my rant about Kansas! 

Cheers,

Malcolm

Super fun mountain time!

Hello from Colorado (or as I have been calling it, awful mountain land)
I am currenty sitting in the lovely Katie Racette's appartment in Avon (which is about 20 minutes from Vail). She was kind enough to pick me up from Silverthorne yesterday, and will drop me back off there tomorrow so I can tackle the highest pass on the trail (Hoosier Pass - 11,542'). It's all (mostly) downhill from there!

Unfortunately, I didn't take too many pictures of Wyoming (it was all too pretty and couldn't afford to stop every 5 minutes to take a picture), but here's a few more from the Tetons!

Finally figured out how to use the camera timer!

Swimming in Jenny Lake

Bye bye Wyoming!

 Oh man - did I mention I had my first downpour a few days ago? I thought Wyoming was bad for thunderstorms, but Colorado gave me a warm (wet and cold) welcome!
Coming down a pass, it started pouring. Being the stubborn person that I am, I decided it would be a good idea, instead of hiding under a tree, to tough it out (keep in mind I had 30 miles till the next town).
At first, it was a drizzle. Then it was a downpour. Then a thunderstorm. Then hail. It was great.
Biking in the rain is like playing in the mud - once you accept you're gonna get dirty (or wet) it's a great time.
Picture this: Malcolm, completely blind due to the raindrops covering his glasses, speeding down a dark deserted mountain road, belting "make a man out of you" at the top of his lungs, soaked to the skin as lightning strikes all around. I must have made quite the sight.
Anyways, after about 10 miles of this I started getting really cold, and the first cars I saw since the beginning of the storm pulled over and asked me if I wanted a ride. I gladly accepted, we threw the bike on the rood (getting a 70 pound bike + gear on a roof rack is no laughing matter, especially in a thunderstorm), and they drove me to near Granby, where the storm mercifully hadn't gotten to yet.
We chatted as we drove, and it turns out these fine gentlemen were out for a day of fly fishing. The one on the far right, John Lennon (you read that right) had actually just met Gertrude's designer (she's an AWOL by Specialized), and was super excited to see an AWOL in action! He also happens to be an Ironman (Lake Placid 3 years in a row, so I may see him yet if I decide to do it next year!).

My amazing saviors

 That night, I camped in Hot Sulpher Spring's city park, and met an amazing couple, Bob and Mary, from Wisconsin. Bob retired two years ago, and they have been touring the country in their RV since, settling down somewhere nice and warm for the winter. We had so much in common, hung out all night chatting, and they were kind enough to share their delicous dinner with me.

Bob, Packer, and Mary

Meeting genuine, kind people like Bob, Mary, and my earlier saviors remind me of why I'm doing this trip. Landscapes fade, but the people you meet stay with you forever. You get to meet people that you would usually never cross paths with. Genuine kindness is everywhere, people are amazing, have wonderful stories, life experiences, and gems of wisdom to share.

Anyways, got to go! I'm heading to the store to get Katie and her roommate Johanna a 6-pack and some flowers (shh, don't tell!)

Love,

Malcolm

PS: I love you even more if you actually read my gibberish!

Wyoming, aka thunderstorm land

Wyoming is coming to an end! I am sitting in a McDonalds in Rawlins, poaching their Internet and recharging all my stuff. I camped 16 miles out of town last night, on some BLM land right off the highway. Due to it thundering all afternoon, my bags and I got covered in red dirt. Biking this morning I met some other tourers, who asked if I was doing to continental devide (probably due to my nasty scruffle, dirt coated panniers, and overall hobo-ish appearance. I wasn't sure if I should feel badass or disgusted with myself.

The last day Hunter and I spent together we kayaked on Jenny lake, went hiking somewhere up one of the Tetons (I was barefoot - bad idea), and braved countless Mosquitos (Hunter perfected the single-hand smash).

I lost my cycling computer somewhere in Hunter's car, which actually has been quite nice. I'm not constantly checking my speed, and it's a great feeling not actually knowing the mileage I'm doing. Biking has become a much more meditative process.

Today's goal is to get to Colorado!
Signing off.
Love,
Malcolm

Like No Place on Earth

Hello everyone, from Jackson Hole, Wyoming!

My friend Hunter just finished her NOLS Wilderness EMT course, and we decided to spend a few days together in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

Hunter enjoying Grand Prismatic Spring

She also brought her laptop, which provides me with the opportunity to show you some cool stuff that I have seen so far!

To begin at the beginning: Andre and I drove to the Oregon coast to start my trip!

What a man

My first big hill was Mckenzie pass, which took me over the Cascades.

The Sisters

After a few days, I was desperately trying to find somewhere to sleep in Oregon, so I decided to sleep off the road near a historical covered wagon, which just happened to be an amazing place for a sunset.

Stealth ditch camping

Strawberry Mountain

Entering Idaho, Tommy and I camped besides the Snake River, which was peaceful and fun to jump in!

The next day, we were on a bike path for a while, and found a great camping spot where it intersected with the highway overhead.

In Riggins, the lovely Jillian Hanson decided to stop by and spend the night with us. We jumped in the Salmon. It was cold.

Thanks for the guest post!

 Past Riggins, the scenery got ridiculously beautiful. I had to snap a few pictures because one wasn't enough.

 Later in Idaho, past White Bird we took the old highway 95 and went up white bird hill, which offered a great view of the valley behind us.

 Past that, we went up the Lochsa river, suffered some mild dehydration (67 miles without services), and met Arlo (unfortunately not pictured).

 Near the border with Montana, we stayed behind the general store in Powell, a self-proclaimed hippy commune, with 7 other bikers! Everyone's rig was different, but this was my favorite.

 Fast forward a few days - Tommy spent an extra day in Missoula, and Arlo was taking his time to get to Wyoming, so I blasted forwards to Twin Bridges, Montana because I heard it had a dedicated biker-only free campground with showers, bathrooms, and outlets. It was a long day, (135 miles), but around mile 110 the wind and rain got absurd, I almost got blown off the road by a truck, and a nice couple gave me a lift. I met Joe and Jessica, two tourers that were also spending the night. Joe is taking a week off to do a short tour, and Jessica is soloing the transamerica, east to west!

 The night after that, I was around 40 miles from West Yellowstone and couldn't find any free camping spots, so I went on a national forest road up to a trailhead to stealth camp. The heat/fly combination made me take refuge in the bathroom, which was incredibly comfy, cozy, and insect-proof.

Here's to a memorable night, Papoose Creek bathroom.

 The next day Hunter and I met in West Yellowstone, camped somewhere in northern Idaho, got a backcountry pass for Yellowstone, hiked into and spent the night at Mallard Lake!

We're so pretty

We are currently sitting in Cowboy Coffee in Jackson, planning tonight and tomorrow (camping, canoeing on Jenny Lake, and then parting ways as I blast through Wyoming and into the great unknown (Colorado and the midwest).

Until next time,

Malcolm

Riggins! (Guest Post)

I was fortunate enough to meet Malcolm and Tommy in Riggins. We had a wonderful time camping at a little spot on the Salmon River where we went for a very chilly swim, ate lots of food, and played dice (I won). Malcolm was in high spirits of course...

Here they are coming in from Riggins!

The camp.

Our chilly swim spot

Wild Belgian sighting

He ate all the pizza

A slightly blurry wild Belgian

He has been having lots of "big thoughts" since starting the trip

Giggly Belgian

                                                                  Breakfast Time:

Step 1: lots of almond butter (thanks to Andre)

Step 2: powdered milk 

Step 3: muesli

Step 4: raisins

Step 5: Pecans and Walnuts

Step 6: Banana

X2

Gourmet power food...

AND the other half of breakfast-- hummus&watermelon (bagel not pictured)

Excitement...

More excitement..

Flat tire. 

Tommy and Malcolm!

Good luck!!!! Love, Jill