jasonglaspey.com

Well, it’s been 24 hours in Utah so far. I’ve ridden some slickrock, had a cold beer in a campground, been into 3 bike shops, coffee at a Hood River style coffee joint, almost been in a wreck (one block from our house none-the-less), been pulled over by a cop (thank you Officer La Grande for being the coolest ever), and slept in a grass strip in the middle of a business park somewhere in Boise, Idaho in my sleeping bag for a few hours in the middle of the night.

All in all, fantastic trip. We even have a theme for the trip. 30-year-old guys on nice bikes: Go Small AND Go Home. We’re not going to be pushing any limits this year, however, I’m sure I’ll be pushing my bike uphill plenty.

A picture of the slickrock trail. Rider in image is not me, and may be closer than they appear.

The only bummer so far is that less than a half-mile into the first trail, Steve’s crank arm stripped out and his pedal fell off. Not something you can really fix. And when you start to replace cranks, it becomes a whole drivetrain. $400 in shop bills later, Steve’s bike should be ready for pick up in about two hours. Supreme bummer. However, his bike will ride like new again.

I’m taking pictures, and I’ll get them up when I get back, as there’s not really a way to do so here.

As for Officer La Grande? Well, we were driving through eastern Oregon and were running low on fuel, and Steve was confident we had 100 miles left. About 35 miles later, the gas light came on. We were 20 miles from La Grande. So, coasting down hills, driving slow, praying for the best we finally pull into La Grande and go through the residential area; with all gas stations closed. We go a bit further and see two signs pointing back to the highway, Turn Left and Go Straight. BOTH? We didn’t know what to do, so about two and a half illegal u-turns in the middle of an intersection later, we were going the same direction we started, but now, there were pretty red and blue lights behind us.

Of course Steve doesn’t have his registration OR proof of insurance, and I was driving. The officer walks up and asks first thing “You fellas lost?” We chat with her for a bit, and she is super cool. Checks us out and checks DMV records for our insurance and registration, tells us how to get to the nearest gas station, asks us not to do any more u-turns, and gives us a warning for not carrying proof of insurance. Then wishes us a great trip. HOLY CRAP! Thanks Officer La Grande.