S7s: May 8, 2016

1) With Ted Cruz and John Kasich officially suspending their campaign, Donald Trump is now the Republican nominee for president. I think:

• The Cruz-Kasich plan to split states will go down as one of the worst play calls of all time. Granted, they probably would have lost if they did nothing, but it seemed desperate and played into Trump.
• Carly Fiorina as the Vice Presidential candidate was another fumble for Cruz. As a friend pointed out, she brings nothing to the table. Her supporters were probably Cruz supporters anyway. And if Cruz is trying to pander to women, Fiorina did not help him with the female vote.
• The same friend pointed out that Fiorina is now a failed CEO, presidential nominee and vice presidential nominee. Maybe she'll be the next Lincoln.
  
• Trump is behind in most polls to Clinton and Sanders, but I think the election will be closer as we get to November. 
• That said, unless Trump finds a way to win over groups he has alienated such as Latinos and women, then I find it hard for him to win the general election. 
• But maybe Hillary is so unlikable that enough people don't turn out to vote and Trump steals the election. Clinton has to get out Hispanic, Black and women voters. If she doesn't she's in trouble.
• I think Trump is going to disappoint his base if he is elected president. He says off the wall things and certainly "speaks his mind", but he's smart and is way more moderate (even left) than many of his supporters want to admit or care to see. Plus, he's friends with many of the people that he and his supporters demonize (including Clinton).
• Trump has a chance. I wouldn't have said that two months ago. Running mates will make this election interesting. Unfortunately, no one is listening to policy. The candidate with the fewest gaffs stands a better chance. 

2) I've heard people lament that about the prospect of having to choose between Trump and Clinton. Some have said they are not going to vote, which is absolutely their right. But I still think it's important to make a choice. The problem is not that Trump and Clinton are our best candidates for the office, it's that they are the ones that want the office.

We the People, have created this. The office of the Presidency is not for the timid, shy or thin skinned. The office is so scrutinized, the campaigns so long and the spotlight so bright that it takes a certain person to want to be President. When you put yourself out there, you will be assailed on so many levels, but so will your friends and family. It's just not worth it for most people. It takes a certain ego, vanity and personality to embrace all the peripherals that are involved with running for any office, much less the President of the United States.

I said going back to 2000, that out of 300 million Americans, the best we could come up with were Al Gore and George Bush? They were not the best and we have had our share of underwhelming candidates but only because we're putting on the field the ones who want to play the game, not the ones who are the best at the game.

I think Joe Biden regrets not running. But I also believe that he's relieved he is not running, especially with all that his family has gone through. Very few people want to embrace the 24 hour news cycles, the lack of privacy and the critical opinion of the masses. In the age of digital communication and social media, I'm quite certain we would have villified George Washington and our other founding fathers that we hold in such high esteem.

3) Great weekend. Went camping Friday with Brian, Abel, Greg, Jordan and Tim. Good conversation and great weather. Mowed lawn Saturday, got a ride in with Dan, went to a 4 year old's birthday party, ate a Rocky's and saw my friends play music at Blue Ghost Brewery.

Today took the Ducati to Straightaway Cafe on HWY 9. Decent little place, nice to be out on bike. Tonight had dinner at Shawn and Amy's with the Ruiz fans. Amy showed us her bees, which a new hobby for her. It's really cool whenever you get to see people share their passions.

4) Happy Mother's Day. I miss my Mother but everyday I'm inspired by her and it's my goal that she would be proud of me.

5) We hosted the Conference Track meet last week. Boys finished 1st and won running away. It was a great meet for them. The girls had a great meet also. They finished 3rd, which was our goal. It was really close, there were 8 points that separated 3rd place and 7th place. On to Regionals next Saturday!

6) Best Sports moment in a while:


7) Keeping my neighbors up north in my prayers. This wildfire is massive and pictures heartbreaking. I have a feeling that we're in for a very bad wildfire season.

USA Today
BBC

Great Divide Superlatives

Favorite Campsite (remote/backcountry):

1)      next to Flathead River, BC

2)      near Indiana Pass summit, CO

3)      Desert between Cuba and Grants

Next to Flathead River, BC

Favorite Camground (developed):

1)      Merry Widow Mine and Campground, Basin, MT

2)      Lava Lodge, Wyoming- stayed in their cabin

3)      Bannack State Park, MT

Bannack State Park, MT

Favorite Lodging, non-camping:

1)      Llama Lodge

2)      Whitefish Bike Hostel

3)      Tie: Toaster House in Pie Town & Jeff Sharp’s house in Hachita

Llama Lodge, MT

Best free Lodging: Greg King’s in Breckenridge

View of Mt Quandry from Greg's porch

Favorite Towns:

1)      Whitefish, MT

2)      Salida, CO

3)   Steamboat Springs, CO

4)      Breckenridge, CO and Banff, AB

Bike Run at Whitefish Bike Hostel, MT

Best Breakfast:

1)      Atlantic City Mercantile, Atlantic City, WY

2)      Stray Bullet Café, Ovando, MT

3)      Columbine Café, Breckenridge, CO

Best Lunch:

1)      Anong’s Thai, Rawlins, WY

2)      Three Barrels Brewery, Del Norte, CO

3)      Elkford Motor Inn, Elkford, BC

Best Dinner:

1)      Ribeye at Wise River Club, MT

2)      Little Cambodia, Salida, MT

3)      tie: Red Bowl World Curry Haus, Steamboat Springs, CO & El Farolito, El Rito, NM

Cheryl and Dylan (top) and the great hospitality at Wise River Club

Favorite Brewery:

1)      Great Northern Brewery, Whitefish, MT

2)      Three Barrels Brewery, Del Norte, CO

3)      Wind River Brewery, Pinedale, WY

Favorite Climb:

1)      Richmond Peak, MT

2)      Marshall Pass, CO

3)      Pioneer Mountains Scenic Hwy, MT

4)      Tie: Elk Pass, BC/AB & Huckleberry Pass, MT'

Trail that wraps around Richmond Peak

Hardest Climb:

1)      Climb out of Abiquiu

2)      Two climbs out of Radium/Colorado River

3)      Section between Helena and Basin

4)      Climb to Brazos Ridge Overlook, NM

Colorado River Valley near Radium

Favorite Descent:

1)      Richmond Peak

2)      Conejos River from Platoro
     3)   Descent to Salida on County Rd 175

4)      Drop to Radium/Colorado River

5)      Tie: Galton Pass (until I flatted) & descent into Basin, MT

Descent along Conejos River

Prettiest Section:

1)      First 30 miles out of Banff

2)      Indiana Pass to Horca, CO

3)      Gila National Forest, NM

4)      Marshall Pass to Cochetopa to Carnero Pass

Spray Lake, Alberta

Hardest Section, non-climbing:

1)      Mud near Black Canyon Campground, Gila National Forest, NM

2)      Warm River Rail-Trail, ID

3)    Mud near Collins Park, NM

4)      Descent from Flathead Pass, BC

Backside of Flathead Pass

Scariest Moment:

1)      Running into bear on road in Montana

2)      Lightning storm in both Wyoming and New Mexico

3)      Random dude that parked and camped near me in Montana

Running from storms in Wyoming

Weirdest, Interesting or Most Random moment:

1)      Contact flew out of my eye before arriving Rawlins

2)      Being stared at by cows while eating beef jerkey

3)   Buying tamales from Roger in Del Norte, CO

4)   Attending the dance in Hachita, NM

Roger made good tamales

Section I’d was like to do over:

1)      Gila National Forest- without the rain/mud

2)      Eureka to Whitefish- getting rear tire fixed

3)      Entire Canadian section- so remote, rugged and beautiful and I flatted Galton

Best thing to wake up to:

1)    Rainbow near Middlewood Hill, WY

2)    Rain falling while in my bunk at Lava Mt Lodge, WY

3)    Anytime there were no mosquitoes in the morning

Cross Continent Superlatives

I've actually been off and on working on this for months, only never to finish. I figured that being snowed in is a good enough reason to complete my unfinished business.

These are the highlights and best of from my road trip to Alaska and back in July and August of 2009:

Best City:Madison, WI- University of Wisconsin, bike friendly, nice weather, scenic. Very nice people, good food, tasty beer. What's not to like?


Honorable Mention: Calgary, Saskatoon, Edmonton (below)


Best Town: Jasper, Alberta- near perfect town nestled in the splendor of the Canadian Rockies. Every turn is a postcard. You have glorious peaks, glaciers, sparkling rivers and picturesque lakes. Moose, bear, marmot, dall sheep and elk. Can't go wrong with Jasper, unless you don't like pretty stuff in nature.


Honorable Mention- Mineral Point, Wisconsin; Sitka, Alaska (below); Haines, Alaska


Best Campground (Public owned):Wasagaming - located in Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba. Run by Parks Canada, it is large, but it has clean facilities, close to the town of Wasagaming and pretty Clear Lake.

Honorable Mention-
Gordon Howe Campground, Saskatoon is run by the city of Saskatoon and simple and nice. I stayed in overflow and was the nicest overflow camping that I have ever been pushed to. Plus, how can you not like a placed named after a Gordie Howe?

Juniper Campground, Teddy Roosevelt National Park (North Unit). Isolated, quiet on the banks of the Missouri River with the bison.

Best Campground (Private owned):Robert Service- close to Whitehorse, it is clean, efficient and full of fun people. I stayed there twice. Most vagabonds that venture through Yukon end up at Robert Service sometime.

Honorable Mention- Garden City Campground, Skagway- Okay, it really wasn't that nice, but the owner was accomodating and pleasant, the showers hot. Plus, Emily made some friends the morning we started riding who fed us donuts and coffee.

Favorite Hostel: HI Edmonton- Great location, awesome staff, nice people staying there.

Honorable Mention- Maligne Canyon Wilderness Hostel, Jasper - No running water or electricity. And where else would you get awaken by the proprietor shouting, "There's a bear outside, don't panic if you hear a lot of noise!" Then he goes outside and starts banging pots together.

Favorite Quote:
"Everything sounds better with 'Photograph' ". -Jim Rome.
I was listening to "Rome is Burning" on an Edmonton sports radio station and Rome was talking about how if you put Def Leppard's "Photograph" in the background, everything instantly sounds better. He proceded to do that with some of the show's worst call ins. It worked. See for yourself, play something terrible and put this in the back:



Honorble Mention:
"North Carolina! Did you get lost?" - Random motorcyclists looking at my tag at a gas station in the middle of nowhere on the Alaska Highway.
"You didn't come all this way to sit at a redlight" - Emily's friend, Glenn (below, with Emma), as he sped through a red light in Juneau. Glenn picked us up on our ferry layover to take us to lunch and for a quick tour of Alaska's capital city.


Best Beer: Alaskan Amber - Juneau's best export. I snuck two cases home. The Smoked Porter is delicious.

Honorable Mention:
6060 Stout by Jasper Brewing Company. Tasty, especially after a day of hiking and golf. Plus, the bartender kept offering free drinks to us sitting at the bar.
Amber Ale at Brewery Creek in Mineral Point, WI. They brew good drinks but also serves up good food there too.

Favorite Road:Haines Highway from Haines Junction, Yukon to Haines Alaska. It was the most scenic. You had Kluane National Park as your view. It wasn't bad.


Honorable Mention:
Stewart Highway from Stewart, BC to Yukon. Lonely and Isolated, which I deem perfect.

Canada HWY 16: one of the trans-Canada Highways. Between Winnipeg and Edmonton, it's tiny towns and seemingly never ending canola fields. Beyond the Rockies, it is isolated ranches and large expanses of space between scenic little towns.

Best Meal: Frosty Freeze, Haines Junction- I understand that leather would taste good after 101 miles on a bike, but the fries and shakes and Frosty Freeze were divine.

Honorable Mention:
33 Mile Restaurant, 33 miles out of Haines, Alaska- not really the best food, but a great meal because of circumstances (cold, wet, tired), company (Emma and Aaron) and timing.

Innisfree Cafe, Innisfree, Alberta- tried pyrogy for the first time and had great conversation with the owner, Grant (below).


Favorite Cafe: Sticky Buns- near Carcross, Yukon. This alone is almost reason enough to come to Yukon.


Honorable Mention: Highliner Coffee, Sitka. Good coffee, the staff was nice and they had wireless for me.

Favorite Hike: Skyline Trail, Jasper National Park - 44 km (about 27 miles), most of it above treeline. Experience alpine meadows, glacier fed lakes and spectacular views of the Canadian Rockies. Hang out with marmot and goats. Get your ass kicked climbing up to the "Notch" (below).


Honorable Mention:
Verstovia, Sitka- lots of climbing to gorgeous views of Baranof Island and Mt. Edgecumbe. Plus, I had nice company on the walk.


Favorite Structure: Trestle at Lethbridge, Alberta:


Honorable Mention:
High Bridge, Edmonton


Spillway and Dam, Fort Peck Lake, Montana


Provenchar Pedestrian Bridge, Winnipeg


Favorite Church: Christ Church, Whitehorse- nice sermon and the priest remembered my name after the service.

Honorable Mention- City Church, Edmonton

Things I miss: CBC- like Canadian NPR, the canola fields of central Canada, the freedom of being on the road.

Would I drive 4,000 miles to Alaska/Yukon through desolate roads and isolated communities again: In a heartbeat.

The Golden Circle

Skagway and Haines, Alaska are only about 17 miles apart. By air. Or water.

Driving is another story. The scenic route known as the "Golden Circle" starts and ends in Alaska and in between is 360 miles of mostly road that takes you through 1 Canadian province (British Columbia), 1 Canadian territory (Yukon), 3 nifty towns (Carcross, Whitehorse and Haines Junction), thousands of feet of elevation gain and loss and a dozens of lakes, rivers and springs and dozens more mountain peaks.

Emily and I did it on bikes.

Here's the recap:

Day 1: Wednesday, Aug 5 - 65.9 total miles, 12.0 avg speed, 5:29 riding time (not including breaks)
Day 2: Thursday, Aug 6 - 43.4 miles, 15.7 avg, 2:45 riding time
Day 3: Friday, Aug 7 - 101.3 total miles, 12.8 avg, 7:54 riding time
Day 4: Saturday, Aug 8 - 65.5 miles (does not include the approx 8 miles we rode in the back of a truck through construction), 11.4 avg, 5:42 ride time
Day 5: Sunday, Aug 9 - 79.6 miles, 15.9 avg, 5:00 ride time.

The good:
- Sweet riding partner. We're close to the same ability. I'm probably faster, though Emma was always stronger at the end of the day than I was. Besides being a great riding partner, Emily was great company too. Not one moment did I think, "Man, I gotta get away for a while." I don't know of many people I can spend 5 straight days with and not tire of.
- White Pass. 3200 feet of climbing. Took us 2.5 hours to do 14 miles. But we finished and it turned out that all this dreading that I was doing for months was for nothing.
- Scenery. White Pass to Fraser is awesome. Haines Junction to Haines is spectacular.
- Emma's homemade powerbars. Secret ingredients that put em over: agave nectar and coffee.
- Met Koko. He's been biking around the world for the last three years. On his way to Argentina. I think Emily and I were both envious. Also, not 20 minutes earlier, Emma was just saying she would like to see some other cyclist since she we hadn't seen any yet. Wish granted.
- Weather. Day 5 was cold and rainy, but we had great riding weather. 4 out of 5 days of perfect weather is not bad. Plus, with the fires in the Yukon, the area needed the rain much more than we needed it to not rain.
- Mile 33 Restaurant. The food was okay. The service was very slow. But for two drenched riders on the verge of hypothermia, the first public place in nearly 90 miles was a welcome godsend. Best restaurant: Frosty Freeze in Haines Junction. Runner-up: Sticky Buns, near Carcross.
- Safety. I worried about cars. And falling off bikes and mountains. My biggest concern was not the ride, it was that one of us would get hurt. I am thankful for safety. A little soreness and tiredness, but no injuries. And we had no mechanic issues with the bikes. Pump, tubes, patch kit, spare tire went unused.

The could have been better:
- My trailer broke. It was still usable, but just sketchy. And it didn't belong to me.
- Baby powder. Should have packed it. I started chafing a little. Not going into details.
- Calories. Lesson learned is that no matter how much we ate, it was never enough. We were always famished at the end of the day. You should have seen us devour rice and beans after Day 1. If you are going to ride this far, you constantly have to eat.

Oil Town

I almost didn't come to Edmonton. I liked Calgary so much from my visit a few years back that I thought I might go back and skip Edmonton. I'm glad I didn't. Great city. It's clean, vibrant and rich in natural resources and history. Edmonton has the working class feel of Pittsburgh, the greenspace of Portland and the history of boom and bust of Chicago.

Within Edmonton is North America's largest mall (West Edmonton Mall- 800 stores, 5.3 million square feet, an indoor amusement park, the world's largest indoor waterpark, skating rink, etc, etc), the largest connected urban green space in North America (22 parks situated along the North Saskatchewan River suitable for running, biking, skiing), lots of golf courses in town, the University of Alberta and nifty little neighborhoods. Guess what Edmonton loves? Hockey. My first turn off of Canada HWY 16 took me onto Wayne Gretzky Drive and pass the Rexall Place where the Oilers play and just off Jasper Ave downtown is 99 Street, also know as Hull Road.


I am staying at the Hostelling International Edmonton, located in the hip, old and trendy neighborhood of Old Strathcona. Strathcona's reminds me of the Virginia Highlands in Atlanta. On a Saturday night, that's where people come to see and be seen. Punk, hipster, trendy all come out to Wythe Avenue on a Friday or, in my case, a Saturday night. Guys on motorcycles make lots of noise, while others arrive and park their bicycles. Men pop their collars and show their tattoos while women wear their tallest heels and most fashionable accessories. It makes for interesting people watching.


Other notes:

1) Had lunch in Innisfree, Alberta yesterday. Grant, the owner of the cafe/bookstore/video center/convenience store proudly tells me there are 223 people in town. He convinces me to try pyrogy, Ukrainian style. I liked. Gabe, who is a "newcomer" in town (he moved to Innisfree 6 years ago and just celebrated his 82 birthday) comes in and the main topic is how insanely hot it is outside (about 83 degrees). They should come to the south.



2) I've never actually been in a tornado. At least I don't think. I have a theory that there was one near me as I camped near Kearney, Nebraska. But I can't prove it. The radio the next morning mentioned the local twisters the night before. It was windy and rainy outside my tent. Of course, I slept through it all.

Last night, I was walking back along Wythe Ave and the night sky became even darker and more ominous. And then the winds came. Not just gusts, I'm talking gale winds (reported 104km/hr winds = 65 mph). The clouds alone were the most awesome: thick horizontal billows moving very rapidly. Blew over potted plants , signs and threw enough dust up to temporarily blind me. Pea sized hail starts to fall. Get back to the hostel and the attendant says that there are tornado warnings and tells me I can go into the basement if I want. It was intense. Power goes out and we don't get it back until about 10:00 AM.

In the morning, the streets are littered with leaves and branches. Power was still out. Apparently, the storm made a mess of downtown. The CN Tower sustained lots of damage. The storm made Canadian national news, though I doubt many American outlets picked it up.
Edmonton Journal Article




- Nerd Alert: I like history. I toured the Provincial Legislative building. I love the tours they give. They are FREE and offer so much information on history, architecture and politics. I always learn a lot. A lot more than if I walked through by myself. Today was the third legislative building I have toured (Victoria and Winnipeg are the others). My tour guide asked how many tours I have been in the US and I shamefully admitted none. Next time I'm in Raleigh, I'll have to try to do that.

- Terrible night of sleep last night. Those who know me know I am a heavy sleeper. Even that talent could not help me last night. It wasn't the wind and rain. It wasn't the heat of the room. There was a guy in our 8 bed room who must have sleep apnea. All night, it sounded like he was choking. The Japanese guy in the room was pretty happy to see that the guy looked like he checked out today. One of the downsides to hostelling.

- Edmonton is hosting "Taste of Edmonton" this week. My first "Taste of" experience was in Calgary. If Asheville is not doing this, it really should. A festival with Sunny Point, Tupelo Honey, Doc Chey's, Mamacitas, Barleys, Asheville Pizza, Flying Frog and even Grove Park would really showcase culinary Asheville. And you could have a Bier Garden with Highland, Greenman, Wedge, Pisgah and French Broad.