Category: Ramona

Placerville, CA to Sacramento, CA

54.2mi, 1508 ft

The Spokies awoke one by one in what started off as a slow, bum morning in a church in Placerville, unaware of what the day ahead had in store. Previously someone had made plans to do a scavanger hunt one of these days and Ruth had now convinced Greta that today was the day. So, after calls home, breakfast and packing, we lingered a bit longer in the lot by the church, while Greta flushed out the hunt. Once Greta was done with her scoreboard, we split off in teams for the competitive spirit and after some brief scheming set off. 54.2 miles with very little climbing created the perfect atmosphere for a unserious day full of side quests.

I was teamed up with Ruth and Joseph. Our plan was to hit a CVS in Skinners to get hair dye and enact a break-up, then go to rest stop 1 to jump in a lake, maybe find a secluded area for skinny dipping and choreograph a dance. Then find a car wash, hopefully neighbouring a gas station to wash our bikes and get that winning scratch-off. Finally, get some ice cream with sun glasses upside down, introducing yourself as Latvian and grabbing the ice cream by the scoop. For on the way tasks we could do the secret handshake, stranger selfies and other bits. At the end of the day we would run the last 0.5 miles. Writing this all down, it sounds like way too much, but at the time it seemed completely doable. Our cycling days were always long, so what’s a little side quest here and there?

Well, we ended up arriving to our first rest stop 19.4 miles out a whooping 5 hours later. But, Ruth and Ishaq met a bunch of strangers and took selfies with them. My team (the best team) staged a couple’s fight in a CVS, got some merch from a dollar store and acquired an additional team member – Tian. The other team (the second best team) had gotten some ice cream and probably went on some other side quests I have not been briefed about. Anyway, at the first rest stop – a cafe, where the lovely barista filled all of our bottles with ice water – Greta instated a time limit for the next stretch. That’s really when the day picked up pace. It was time to pedal and be efficient about completing our tasks. 

We schemed some more, performed a choerographed dance, Joseph chugged half a gallon of oat milk, Charles downed three cans of Sprite and we struggled to land a bottle flip while cycling. Then we set off to find a place to swim. But on our way we first ran into a car wash and a gas station, so that was nice. Eventually we made it to a park, where we found a nice swimming spot, jumped in the lake and went skinning dipping. Then we pedaled off in a hurry to make it to our second (and final) rest stop in time.

Despite the high pedalling output to keep on schedule, the ride was very enjoyable. The warm weather had stopped bothering me after the swim and snacks from the car kept me fueled. I honestly am not quite sure anymore what tasks we tried to do afterwards, or what the other team was up to. It was a day overflowing with events, a whirlwind that made us forget time, blew us up in the air to land someplace else with a different agenda. Everyone was in high spirits when we finally arrived in Sacramento to our hosts Ray and Judy.

After showers we rewinded with pasta dinner, completed with tomato sauce and vegetables grown in the yard. The hunt dominated the dinner table discussion, everyone was excited to share their adventures. Judy and Ray’s home was stunning, which I will be able to confirm the next morning, when it was light outside again. An absolutely soul-filling experience – a day to fly through and an evening to feel grounded again.

Afterwards, I basically crashed into the bed, but some Spokies stayed up and discussed next day’s plan’s. But more about that in the next blog which Charles will be writing up soon!

Escalante, UT -> Bryce Canyon National Park, UT, 51.5 mi, 4290 ft

This was in many regards a standard Spokes day. We took our time in the morning, rested well at rest stops, but somehow made it to the end before dark. So, without major events to recount, I will show you all the pictures I took this day.

Starting off, headed out from Escalante with Ruth ❤ after saying bye to our lovely hosts and their dogs <3. My sealant fixed a puncture, but made a weird blob. We rode like this for a while.

At some point people caught up to us and we peloton-ed our way up the first climb (out of two) to a viewpoint. The peloton was great for efficiency in the face of headwinds. It was a good time (at least for me, drafting behind :D) This stretch of the day also featured some nice signs. Unfortunately, saw no Elk, and the steep grades for us were downhill.

Here are the views from the viewpoint, featuring weird rocks and some mountains in the distance. And here is Tian eating a sandwich? and Ishaq admiring the view.

I tried to take some pictures of the info plates, in case someone is super curious, but the sun made my efforts difficult.

The next reward (after the viewpoint) for climbing that climb was the downhill! Look at Ishaq speeding away! After zooming down, we met up with Ruth, Tian, Charles and Greta (I think….) and chatted for a bit. I think Charles was trying to bike with Ruth this day, a decision which he had mixed feelings about. The most important bit of the conversation centered around finding a measurement for people’s behinds. When biking we spend a lot of time with people’s butts in our sights, so it is a very relevant question to research. In the picture Ruth and Tian are discussing this question of metrics, comparing different options, like waist to butt ratio or height to butt ratio. (Spoilers, in the end Ruth implemented two of these in the evening, creating a Spokes buttocks ranking, which will not be published due to privacy policy. The chosen method of measurement also ended up receiving some criticism, so the study might need to be redone.) Anyways, back to the story.

We made it to our next rest stop – a great, green, shaded lawn, where we had some food, and I took some paparazzi style pictures through the leaves. Tian’s one is my personal favourite. Notice me struggling to get the leaves out of her face. We layed on the lawn for a bit and Greta read us some horoscopes, which was quite entertaining. She had also made around 8 sandwiches that morning for herself and other Spokies. This is a strategy (I’m guessing introduced by Charles?), so that people don’t have to make a sandwich every single day.

Getting to the next rest stop was pretty chill. Here’s Tian by some nice rocks. The middle one is a great image. Observe Ishaq cruising downhill in the least aero pose ever and Ruth (way more aero) struggling to keep up. Finally, there is Ruth entering civilization, where we would find our next and final rest stop for the day – a cafe. I did not take any pictures there, but people got some lattes, Ruth tried, but did not quite succeed at reading a book in German, and I was stressing over what to make for dinner tomorrow (since I am not driving, I am not usually in charge of picking a dinner, so I was having too many thoughts). The cafe had a cool ice machine OUTSIDE the cafe, which was interesting and very convenient for us.

After the refreshments we were faced with our final climb – getting up to Bryce. We entered the National Park territory, Charles stopped to take a picture of the sign. (I did not stop to take a picture of Charles taking a picture.) There was a winding road leading us up, and while I was too busy climbing to take pictures (there is one singular photo), you have to trust me the views were great!

Up there it was flat again and we made it onto a bike path that lead us to our campsite. Me, Ruth, Greta and Charles also stopped for some ice cream / milkshakes, but we all collectively forgot to take pictures. It was a great time though.

After we made it to our campground and were setting up, we learned that there will be a fire ban, starting at midnight, so after showers and dinner (pasta with salad and Italian sausage, thanks, Sarah!), we sat by the fire and collectively did not do much. Contemplating life, being tired, doing an Instagram post, tidying up, watching a baseball game, listening to music. We were lost in thought, small under the night sky, brought together by the fire.

Vega State Park, CO -> Grand Junction, CO, 60.9mi, 1551ft

I woke up after Ishaq but before everyone else our cosy campsite overlooking the Vega Reservoir. I biked to the bathroom and saw a bunch of geese going for their morning swim in the reservoir. I sat there for a bit. The sun kissed mountains, the geese in the water and me. I couldn’t imagine needing anything else.

Of course I did not have my phone to take a picture for you guys, however Ishaq came in a clutch with these pictures from the morning.

After some food, we packed up our stuff and I headed out with Ruth, my trusted companion. We attempted to speak only German for the first part of the day, an idea we had the day before. It was possible to string together sentences, but it definitely limited our conversation.

- Wie hattest du geschlafen?
- Gut, gut... aber leider habe ich keine Träume.
- Ah, ja. Träume?
- Träume. Dreams.
- Ah, klar. Ja, ich habe auch keine Träume.

The conversation was also made difficult because after we got out of the park, it was all downhill for quite a while. That also meant that the first rest stop came super quickly. We filled up on ice at a gas station and spent some time scheming how to make up for a deficit in water bottles (some were lost in battle with gravel yesterday) and electrolytes.

Soon after we headed out, we missed a turn, going fast downhill, but we saw a deer and then corrected our course. I drafted Ruth until the next major turn, but Ruth was without navigation, so then Ruth drafted me. It was still downhill, but there was a fair bit of headwind and the road was fairly busy. The shoulder was good, but lots of debris. Was good, but tiring.

Then we turned on i-70, which was even more busy. So I was glad when we turned off it, only to be faced with a gravel hill and after that something that could only be described as not a road and very steep.

Me and Ruth let others know about this scam, but ultimately decided to climb the hill in hopes that there would be an existing road somewhere on the top of the hill. It took us solid 20 minutes to climb the less than 0.2 mile long stretch. There were times I thought that if my foot slipped, I would probably roll back down with all my bike, hit the prickly bushed and I was not sure I would have it in me to try again. But we persevered and made it up. And, guess what, there was a gravel road up there after all.

And to make it better, the gravel soon turned to asphalt and we were back in business. The next rest stop was in a sweet little ice cream place in Palisade that was also space themed, called the Milky Way. I got some coconut and some peach ice cream, the latter of which was very good. But the rest stop soon turned a little sour by a discussion about budget and Spokes spending. The team ended up giving Charles and Tian space to discuss and headed further. They were there for over two hours. Poor ice cream shop. But these are conversation to be had in a project like this, so huge thanks to Tian and Charles for taking it on.

Then we arrived at a rest stop by the Colorado River and what I think was Corn lake, where we took a dip first in the lake and then in the river for the full experience. The current in the Colorado really is powerful, as we have found out on multiple occasions. But it was also more refreshing than the lake. After this we were almost exclusively on bike paths and continued so up until Grand Junction.

At the very end, we climbed a hill, short but not easy, only to find out from Steph that its the wrong house and we did not need to climb the hill. Once we descended and got to right house, we met Greg, who showed us the house they had been renovating for 3 years, which featured a frige full of fruit and electrolyte drinks, so we successfully rehydrated. Greg and Steph made us some amazing vegan burritos, let me tell you, I was so happy about the veggies, it’s always difficult to get enough of them on the road. And their friends, both of whose names started with K, but I cannot recall them exactly, brought us brownies!!! After nourishing our bodies, we spent the evening talking with Greg about our trip and hearing his incredible stories from travel and work. At some point I did all my evening tasks and went to sleep. I could hear Greg starting to talk about peaches and how they need cold temperature, but not too cold, and how in Palasade the geography makes it possible with Million Dollar Wind and the gas law and … I dozed off. I later heard the conversation continued about peaches and travel. Laying on my sleeping pad, I was thinking. I aspire to have that amount of wonder and awe for the world around us that Greg seems to have. A perfect peach, a solar eclipse, a beautiful road. All the things beautiful things in life I so often take for granted, that are actually quite remarkable. I think most people actually have the wonder, the interest in the world around, I definitely have had it, but somehow it tends to get burried in school, college, the future, plans, the past, whatever else and generally trying to do the right things in life. But it is also something that this trip is helping me find. Appreciation for the things around me right where and when I am.

It was during this train of thought that I fell asleep.

The next day, somewhere during our 115 miles, many of which we spent looking at a bleak, dry and flat landscape around us, I did a redo of a famous poem as a way to say goodbye (at least for now) to the Rockies, which we officially exited when we left Grand Junction. Here it goes.

Whose lands these are I do not know.
The mountains vast, the river cold.
I stop mid climb, awe fills my bones;
If I stayed right here, could i skip the low?

These peaks and valleys
They make me dream,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

/Robert Frost messed up by me

Colorado Springs, CO -> Denver, CO, 66.4m, 2974ft

Hi, hi! This might be the latest I’ve published a blog yet. Various other things were occupying my mind, things like leaking tires and the learning festival in Denver, and upcoming Hors Catégorie climbs, and going to the sauna… I’m sorry! Regardless, I still remember day 41, because it was one of my favourite cycling days and I have LOTS of pictures, so let’s get into it!

I started the morning by checking the crossword puzzles some people had done the previous night. I came to the conclusion I would most definitely have not been able to solve them, but crosswording is a skill I do wish to acquire. However, me and Ruth did some easier ones, such as a word scrabbler. But she soon headed out on her side quest of getting her hair done. The rest of us did not start the ride particularly early, but at some point I stopped thinking about it, because it should have been a pretty short, easy day – almost 67 miles and reasonable elevation with no major climbs. The views were incredible, truly, I was still filled with awe whenever I noticed the mountains in the distance, even though we had been seeing them for the past two days.

Getting out of Colorado Springs was kind of annoying, with its many traffic lights and watching for cars, but then we made it on the trails. The trails! New Santa Fe Trail, Greenland Trail, some city bike paths on the way, Plum Creek Trail, Daniels Park trails and then bike paths in Denver. Many trails. Some gravel, some paved, with nice turns, little hills here and there and great views of the fields and the mountains. I have way too many pictures and none of them do the scenery justice.

Somewhere in between those pictures was one of the best rest stops we have had, topped only by Buc-ee’s, maybe, it was a whole lake! While most people were paddleboarding or in boats, we feared not and got in the water. It was great!

But the adventures did not end there. Around mile 33 we found out that a road found on Ride with GPS does not exist in reality. Some of us, including me made the decision to continue on the highway, but others were determined to find the trail and instead went off road. So, while Tian, who had headed out first, was enjoying her boba at the next rest stop in Castle Rock, Greta, Charles and Ishaq were in some field, somewhere.

Anyway, after that we we were heading to a viewpoint in Daniels Park, which involved a short, but suspicious stretch of highway and then a category 3 climb. We got hit by a some slightly stormy weather, but it stopped raining before I got to the top. Tian mostly escaped the rain and Sarah hid to wait it out. But at the top we were greeted by some more incredible views.

With that we were heading into Denver. That was a combination of paved paths and crossing 6 lane streets (which truly scare me, there is almost no gaps!). At the end everyone successfully, although slowly had made it to Denver, where we were welcomed by Maud and Dave, had some great food, before getting ready for the learning festival the next day, examining our slowly leaking tires and going to sleep.

Uncharacteristically, I have no pictures of that. But this day with its adventure and a bit of chaos probably goes into my top 7 Spokes days so far. It was full of awe inspiring views, challenging in unexpected ways and I got to spend it with some great people. Could not ask for anything more.

St. Louis, MO to Jefferson City, MO, 125.1 mi 3840 ft or 74.1 mi 2239 ft

The sun rose at 5:40am over St. Louis; me and Greta rose at 5 am sharp. We had a long day ahead of us. 130 miles ahead of us. No joke.

I did not get a picture of the sunset, because I was busy getting ready: losing a glove, finding my other pair of gloves, then finding the lost glove again and other stuff of that sort. But we rolled out at 6am sharp. It was surprisingly warm, but we were optimistic. The plan was for us to bike self supported for the first 50 or so miles, then meet up with the rest of the group, who would leave afterwards and shuttle ahead to reduce the milage. (Huge thanks to Nora and Alex for making this happen!)

The team with our hosts in the morning ->

So that’s what we did. We started off going through St. Louis, seeing more parts of the city we explored yesterday, when the sun went away and it started raining. Not heavily, but consistently. This was new. We were used to the afternoon thunderstorms, but now we finally got a simple rainy day. At around mile 27 we got on the Katy trail… where we would continue for the rest of the day. The Katy trail, which used to be part of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (also known as the Katy, this is where the name comes from) at 260 miles total distance, mostly by the Missouri river, is the longest developed rail-trail in the US. It is fine gravel, used by cyclists, runners and walkers, with occasional bathrooms and benches maintained. No water fountains, but we asked for some at a restaurant and also realised that we don’t really drink nearly as much in the cool rain. In the rain, the gravel got nice and mushy, which had the effect of reduced speed and muddy backs.

Despite this gloomy atmosphere, we had a great time! We chatted, played some tunes on Greta’s legendary hanging speaker, including The Sound of Music soundtrack in its entirety, as well as playing the Picnick game – a great invention and amazing way to pass the time. (If someone already explained it in their blog or if you know what it is, feel free to skip ahead.) The way it works is one person comes up with a criteria to decide if a noun is YES or NO (eg. is alive?, had more than 8 letters?, etc.). Then the game alternates between them saying something they can bring and the other person asking if they can bring something else. The goal is for the other person to guess the criteria. I struggled on Greta’s criteria for more than 10 miles and did not get it. You can ask her about it. She got mine much faster, so I can tell you that the criteria was all words with and even number of syllables.

We also took in the scenery, saw some crazy blue birds and tackled a fallen tree. Mud was everywhere. (I later found sand in my washed bibs.)

Anyways, I think it was around mile 60 when we met up with the car for some lunch. We had packed a bunch of snacks, but its really nice to have actual food (dinner leftovers!). Time until lunch had flown very quickly, but afterwards it slowly started to slow down. Luckily the sun came out for a bit and Ishaq and Tian – our driver and passenger for the day – brought Greta some (lukewarm gas station) coffee.

We kept meeting up with the car until around mile 108, when Greta shuffled to our destination to take a call and I was left on the trail with my own thoughts. The sun had dissappeared again, my butt was hurting and my legs were done with this. The air was eerie and my podcast (about espionage) did not help (and there were way too many ads). But I persevered – changed my hand position on the handlebars too many times and worked on my leftover snacks.

Last miles went by slowly. Occasionally I thought I would be on this wet trail forever and contemplated making contact with the birds or bunnies. But that was not neccessary, since I did, in fact, make it to Jefferson City. Surreal. Crazy. Iconic.

The sun set at 8:40pm over Jefferson City. I rolled in at around 8pm. Not that you could see the sun – for the most part, I could not be sure it was there. But I was sure that there was me, outside, on the Katy trail, scaring squirrels, frightening bunnies and thinking too many thoughts. Maybe I was the sun. My sun for that day was me. (read again: thinking too many thoughts)

Our rest for the night was Sarah’s place. And it was an amazing place for resting. I got hosed down, devoured dinner, got cuddles from Barbara (see below), showered and fell right asleep. I know some people stayed up to play some game, but I actually have only a very vague idea about how the rest of the team’s day had been. There is only so many hours in a day. And today, I spent them all biking.

(I don’t think a dog had ever cuddled up to me like Barbara did, missing her already.)