Category Archives: GDMBR

Bike Touring, Camping, Cycling, GDMBR

Guest Post: Jim Hogue (Rachel’s Dad)

11 Comments

We, Jim and Jeanette, aka Rachel’s parents, spent 6 days riding on the GDMBR with Rachel and Chris; we laughed, we cried, it moved us!

Chrachel has given you a lot of the details, so I will just focus on a few odds and ends from the trail.

We spent 6 days and 6 nights on the trail with them and covered 240 miles, which was way more than any of us expected.   A huge key to this was my cousin Sydney Anne, who dropped us off and then picked us up, removing all issues around, “How do you get back to your truck?”  She and Jack also fed us delicious meals for the 2 days after, assuring our fast recovery.

Continue reading Guest Post: Jim Hogue (Rachel’s Dad) →

Bike Touring, Cycling, GDMBR

GDMBR Week 4

6 Comments

Our 4th week on the GDMBR began at Holland Lake and brought us to Butte. As was the case with week 3, we had rest days on both ends of the week. We have been fortunate to take so many rest days in Montana with Rachel’s family. Although our riding began and ended in Holland Lake and Butte respectively, we technically began and ended the week in Lakeside and Bozeman, thanks to Sydney, Jack, Jim, and Jeanette once again for extracting us from the route to their rather posh accommodations.

Continue reading GDMBR Week 4 →

Bike Touring, Cycling, GDMBR

The Things We Carry: Drink Additives

2 Comments

On our cross country trip, we stuck to drinking only water until we reached Barstow, California, where a trail angel pulled over to give us frozen water bottles and Monster energy drinks. That initiated an energy drink addiction for the rest of the trip!

On this trip, we have had a few interesting items that we have added to our water. At a cyclocross race this past year, I won some Skratch Labs apple cinnamon drink powder that is supposed to be consumed with hot water. For the first week or two, while Chris sipped his coffee, I sipped that. Additionally, for Christmas, Chris’ brother, Casey, gave him some Skratch Labs mix that was lemon and matcha flavored that is supposed to be consumed with cold water. It took me some time to get used to that particular flavor, but Chris loved it. He added one scoop a day to one of his water bottles until it was gone.

Continue reading The Things We Carry: Drink Additives →

Bike Touring, Cycling, GDMBR

Wildflowers

2 Comments

It has been a very wet year, so lush green grass that is normally brown by this point in the summer has decorated our route. Many beautiful wildflowers coat the forests and meadows: there is the purple of the lupine and the fire weed, the white of the trillium and the columbine, the yellow of the daisies and the buttercups, the pink of the Indian paintbrush, and so many more whose names I do not know.

Continue reading Wildflowers →