Lee Vining, CA

Hey Everyone!!!

Nico and Calen reporting here from Lee Vining, CA. We made it over the Sierras! It took us two days of riding and one day of rest in between. The first day we rode from Yosemite Bug Hostel in Midpines, CA to Yosemite valley. Here we enjoyed a delicious burger and all the classic wonders of the valley, including way too many disneyland tourists. We spent the latter part of the day climbing from the valley (~2000 ft.) to crane flat (~6200 ft.) Surprisingly, we felt great and energetic the whole way up! Once we arrived at crane flat, we were very relieved to find many empty camp spots. We set up our tent, made some delicious pasta (mmmm... carbs) and quickly passed out. The next day, we took a breather and just hung out at camp and in a nearby meadow all day. We enjoyed some delicious brews and snacks from a nearby gas station. We made some more fixes to the bikes and prepared ourselves for the following big day. We woke up early the next morning, and hit the road. The ride started out just as hard as it ended with very steep grades and high elevation. We definitely felt the lack of 02 in the air. We road a total of 60 miles, most of which uphill and finally crossed over the pass at an elevation of 9945 ft. Just before the pass, we stopped at a serene creek looking up at Mt. Dana and took a nice dip in the frigid snow melt (Partially because we haven't taken showers for some time now.) The next twelve miles consisted of a 4-8% downhill grade where we broke our land-speed record at a whopping... 50mph! The Sierras were a blast! We saw marmots, bears, deer, and a few too many mosquitoes. We now sit at an internet info center and plan the next legs through Nevada and into Utah. Our main consideration four our route is WATER stops! The heat does not look to be to bad (70's and 80's) and there are possible thunderstorms which would be great! We'll keep ya updated soon but do not know the next time we will have internet or cell reception. Here are some pictures of our journey through the Sierras: