Wind and Potatoes

There is a lot to catch up on! I must get right into this. I haven't had much time to write . . . well you'll figure out why

So we got to Yellowstone and had a day off exploring the park which was (wait for it) AMAZING!!! We saw like 250 Bison and even had a herd surrounding our van as carefully meandered down the street. It was crazy. We also got to see the beehive geyser (which is bigger than Old Faithful) and Old Faithful erupt while we were there. I was so close to the bee hive geyser that I got completely soaked. Turns out later you aren't supposed to stand under the water. whatever. We also got to drive out to the Yellowstone Canyon and check out the raging waterfalls there. Turns out, that's where the "yellow stone" is. I also started a tradition of putting stickers of all the cool places I've been on my bike. So if anyone has a Seattle sticker, or leavenworth sticker, or Spokane sticker, or Couer D'Alene Sticker or Missoula Sticker, you get the picture. let me know, it would be awesome if you could send that to me.

After leaving Yellowstone, the real fun began. We had 4 days in a row of 80 or more miles. The first day we biked into Rexburg and got the VIP treatment by one of the BYU-ID professors and his students. They made us dinner, gave us a tour of their brand spanking new renovated campus, even let me break the dress code and run on their track. Of course I went straight to my events. Turns out, I can still jump 5' 8" pretty easily with tennis shoes on. That surprised me. Oh and astonishingly, I got to weigh myself that day and every day sense. I thought, with eating 7000 calories a day, I would have maintained or gain weight, especially since I don't weigh very much arleady. False, I have lost 11 pounds since I first started. I found the secret guys, bike 70 miles a day!

Rexburg was hard to leave, especially after being treated so nicely. But Pocatello was awaiting us, and so was a 35 mph sustained headwind. 80 miles? try more like 100 with that wind. It was a terrible day. I felt like quitting. I couldn't breathe, I ran out of water every 5 seconds. It was miserable. That's really all there is to say about that. God got me through it and gave me strength and mental perseverance when i had none.

The next day was a 95 mile day into Utah, more specifically into Logan. I got to sweep that day because I wanted to relax. So i took it easy in the back. Fortunately, nothing bad happened with the riders and I was just able to ride. Although, there was a 55 mph wind at one point blowing us sideways. But Logan was a beautiful city! The church made us a huge baked potato bar with everything imaginable! (ironic that we didn't even touch a potato in Idaho) I didn't get to do much else in the city because I was so exhausted so I ended up just watching a movie with my friend and heading to bed at 8:30

And finally, yesterday, We biked the last part of the segment into Salt Lake City. It was quite possibly, one of the best days yet. There's nothing like riding into the Salt Lake mountains and having a gigantic lake to your right. There was even an 1000 ft mt pass that we climbed. I, of course, went as quickly as possible up the thing. I think we should have a polka dot jersey on this trip, as per the Tour de France. I love climbing mountains. Most of the rest of the day was biking through cities, since Salt Lake is so huge! When we got here ( at 2:20 pm i might add, we made good time ) we even had time to visit around the University of Utah campus.

We are planning on making the most of our day off today. Me and a friend or few will be walking around Downtown Salt Lake (where I can finally take pictures THANKS MOM) I have been dying to eat at Rio Cafe since we left Washington. So that is of course on the list. Other than that, thanks so much guys for supporting me and the fellow riders on this trip. We couldn't do it without your prayers.

If you would still like to donate to help me out in getting to Denver, click on one of the links in my last blog posts. I still really need monetary support to get to Denver in the next week. So far my support gets me as far as the Colorado Border and I just need about 300-400 more to get to Denver. Thanks so much for all of you who can. And if you would like something to pray for, please pray for a few of the friends I have met on this trip. They have never really had a relationship with Jesus from what I've come to know and I have been talking immensely with them about what it means to be a follower of Christ and the importance and priority that has in your life. There's been some great conversations. I'll keep you updated how things go with that.

Arrivederci