Real bikers I have met

This is Charles who was heading west. He is from Boise and has just done Yellowstone and a whole bunch of other places out here.

This is John from Denver who is biking the Transcon route which runs from Oregon to Yorktown Va. and goes thru Yellowstone, Denver and points east. This pic was taken on Friday and we met again on Sat. at the Lochsa Lodge while we were both trying to get quarters for the pay phone so we could let our wives know we were still alive because there is no cell service in this area. Good man to talk to--we exchanged cards and I hope to run into him again.
John is biking with a total knee replacement which must cause some above average aches and the scar looks interesting.

This is Terry from San Diego who I met 10 minutes after John left to continue his trip east. Terry is also doing the Transcon and I am pretty sure he and John will meet along the way. We exchanged cards and I gave him John's info.
I believe Terry has a blog of his own www.crazyguyonabike.com/terrysmith and is an interesting guy.
Today biking up that torture chamber called Lolo Pass Terry passed me like I was standing still (which I was at the time trying to catch my breath). He looked strong and I wish him a great enjoyable trip.

This is Peter from the Netherlands who is heading west to Astoria after riding all over the country. When he told me he was from the Netherlands my first comment was "That's amazing" and Peter says, "why is that" and I had no answer--felt kinda stupid. Peter has biked all over Europe and I like his philosophy of handling cars--he takes his 3 feet on the edge and if that is not enough room for a car "then they will just have to wait". I am not that comfortable with all that yet.


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I have found that when you run into another biker who is touring (you can tell by how much gear they are carrying) you have good conversations. You can tell right away you all have something in common and when you are about the same age you usually have a lot more in common .

I get all excited about seeing/talking to guys like these 4 . I look at them as real bikers--they are fit ,look good in spandex and have regular cool bikes and equipment. I feel kinda like a chubby Neaderthal rookie biker around them but I am learning to deal with that and enjoy what I have to work with the best I can. When you are built like a fluffy brick (wife's term) and pack the weight I pack you can not even fantasize being Lance Armstrong for a minute. That is why I love talking to real bikers and hearing the stuff they are doing and checking what equipment they are doing it with.