The last few days have been a whirlwind. I only have time for a brief update: I biked through Yosemite thanks to the yeoman welding efforts of Randy Kuenkle, in Mariposa, who repaired my rear derailleur hanger. I made it partially through Nevada when the mended hanger broke (Randy- I had to grind down some of the meat and had to bend it a little as well) leaving me literally stranded in the desert.
A kind soul took me Tonopah, NV where I shacked up for the night, planning to wait there until the replacement hangers arrived. Another incredible helpful local at High Desert Cycles went all-out to help me try to find a replacement hanger and we even found a welder in Tonopah but we were unable to recreate Randy's welding magic on the aluminum derailleur hanger.
Instead of waiting days for the replacement hangers to be shipped in, I hitchhiked to Las Vegas, home of th nearest bikeshop (210 miles away!). Howard, from New York, kindly gave me a ride and dropped me near Las Vegas Cyclery, a great great bike shop. Howard embodied a wealth of knowledge about things to see and do in the West, particularly national parks as he worked planting trees in national parks. Howard has created a poem in the form of a map of Manhattan that was featured in the New York Times- you can see it and buy it at http://www.wordmaps.net/
Las Vegas Cyclery was a godsend. They had a compatible hanger and were able to fix my rear wheel, which sustained a broken spoke in Yosemite. I went into the shop in shambles and left with a fully functional bike, ready to hit the road the next day.
The "next day" is today- I took a shuttle to St. George, Utah (Nevada is not suitable for cycling without a support vehicle!) and today I went through Zion National Park.
The ride was great and I am somewhere near 100% on my health, for the first time since day 1. I will be taking it easy for the next couple days and then hope to consistently increase the mileage and start making up for lost time.
Next up will be Bryce Canyon and Grand Staircase-Escalante, as suggested by Howard. Visiting these parks will be a bit of detour, but I will just bus a less exciting part of the trip (likely in the Midwest).
So, all is well! Woo hoo!
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