White Knite 92

Spectacular view of the canyon after driving up here from Hurricane City earlier and after hiking the East Rim Trail first. Overcast clouds, 46°F, Feels like 45°F, Humidity 29%, Wind 3mph from ESE - by Klimat

Spectacular view of the Jolley Gulch after a 3-mile hike to get there. 100% worth it! 🤩 I used my Garmin satellite messenger for the first time and it worked perfectly with zero cell phone reception along the trail. No MTB riding any more due to my severe cold. 🤧🤒 Hiking at low energy level still manageable. Overcast clouds, 43°F, Feels like 41°F, Humidity 20%, Wind 4mph from ESE - by Klimat

Highly recommended by a local bike shop, this trail is nothing short of spectacular due to its scenery. Because of this, I rode this trail twice, first CCW, then CW. After the good news, I also have some bad news to share 😩: Unfortunately, more riding out here becomes very unlikely for me after I’ve got a severe cold 🤧🤒 now that has brought my energy level way down. 😱 I’d love to discover more trails but my body says 🛑✋😢 Fun fact: The village of Virgin is home of the Red Bull Rampage Freeride MTB competition each year. Clear sky, 46°F, Feels like 40°F, Humidity 37%, Wind 11mph from ENE - by Klimat‍ 🎷🐛 11.65 new kilometers - From Wandrer

For Part II of today‘s riding, I stayed off the trails except for part of JEM near the end. After riding up Mesa Road I tried to get closer to the trailhead of „Flying Monkey“ which is downhill only. Crazy Red Bull Rampage area is right next to it! 😎 There are no designated RBR trails marked anywhere - for a reason! 🤪 However, the 1-mile long dirt access road to the trailhead was still too soft to ride. Added a few bonus miles to Sheep Bridge trailhead that also included a section of JEM trail. Clear sky, 42°F, Feels like 36°F, Humidity 42%, Wind 11mph from N - by Klimat‍ 🎷🐛 14.69 new kilometers - From Wandrer

I kept moving eastward to the Hurricane Cliffs trail system with even more iconic scenery. 🤩 Started at JEM trailhead but had to avoid JEM trail as it was still not rideable (damp & clay❌🙀). Almost started freaking out again after last night‘s episode with clay but the other trails were mostly fine. 😊 Trails (3): Hurricane Rim, Cryptobionic, Gould Rim Clear sky, 44/47°F, Feels like 34/42°F, Humidity 54%, Wind 3/18mph from S - by Klimat‍ 🎷🐛 28.92 new kilometer - From Wandrer

Scenery is simply breathtaking 🤩 around here but the trails are challenging, nothing like SE Michigan. Afternoon riding took longer than expected not arriving back at my truck more than two hours past sunset. Trails (3): Dino Cliffs, Church Rocks and Prospector. Near the end, there was another (paved) trail „Highland“ that included a super steep section with more than 20% grade. 🥵 Keeping the front wheel down wasn’t easy. 🤪 Not-so-fun fact: No clue how I ended up being stuck in clay without any warning after dark on „Prospector“. 😤 Both wheels completely jammed. 🤯 Somehow I was able to get the wheels turning again and continue my ride. After returning to the trailhead, I immediately drove to the nearest car wash that had a nice power washer 🧼. 😅 Clear sky, 43/52°F, Feels like 40/49°F, Humidity 45%, Wind 5mph from N - by Klimat

Finally hitting the first trails in Utah after the chaotic travel yesterday. I stopped at a local bike shop to ask for recommendations for today due to trail conditions after overnight rain. This trail was sandy and very rocky, opposite of flowy. I take it as a first trail. 😃 Trails (short): Paradise Rim, Chuckwalla, Beck Hill, Scout Cave, Turtle Wall, Halfway Wash Few clouds, 49/51°F, Feels like 47/49°F, Humidity 74%, Wind 5mph from WNW - by Klimat

Not the beginning of my end-of-year adventure I was hoping for… 😕 There were people waiting at LAS airport WITHOUT CARS (me) and there were cars WITHOUT DRIVER driving along the Strip (ZOOX). 🤪 Total chaos at car rental counter: Dollar had NO vehicles despite reservation! 🤯 Fun fact: I was arguing with the Dollar agent the same way Seinfeld did in that infamous car rental episode on TV. Agent said to me: „You sound like Jerry Seinfeld.“ 😂 Eventually, they had mercy and gave me the BIGGEST vehicle in their fleet. I ended up being stuck at the airport for an unbelievable 5(!) hours! 😤 Basically, my experience on Day 0: No car, no trail, no drivers in Las Vegas! Final note: Lots of déjà vu‘s riding along the Strip two years after my last visit here by bike. Let’s hope tomorrow will be better - far away from Vegas! 😎 Light showers, 51/57°F, Feels like 49/55°F, Humidity 55%, Wind 8mph from NW - by Klimat‍ 💪 50.29 new kilometers - From Wandrer

Carpe diem - This 20,000th day of my life needed to be celebrated the ‘White Knite’ way, of course! 😅 The idea: Ride 20 meters for every single day of my life in 20 hours (or 1000 days in my life packed in just 1 hour 🤪) reflecting on my journey through childhood, college, coming to the 🇺🇸, my own family and so much more. Few fun facts about this ride: - Re-entered the 🇺🇸 exactly after 8987 days (~180 km) equivalent to the original date of Aug. 3rd, 1995 of me first coming to America. ☺️ - The Walpole Island ferry across St. Clair River is the only border crossing within a 300-mile radius that currently allows cyclists/pedestrians… until the Gordie Howe International Bridge will open in a few months. - Took (3) ⛴️ rides in 2 hours: Walpole Island to Algonac and round trip Harsens Island - While I had to wait 30 minutes for the first ferry 🇨🇦 to 🇺🇸, I had perfect timing for the other one in both directions. 😎 - No surprise to anyone… Roads in Ontario are so much better than in Michigan - First 400+ km (250-mile) ride since 2021 - Total pedal strokes: 66,463 (or 3.3 per day 😉) I will continue to make great memories 😍 until my final day comes. Mist at first, then sunny, 59/78°F, Feels like 59/78°F, Humidity 96%, Wind 3/10 mph from WSW - by Klimat

August 3rd, 1995 - Truly a LIFE CHANGING date for me when I first came to the 🇺🇸 as a young college student landing in Chicago. I even kept my original ✈️ ticket over all these years. 🤪 30 years with many, many Highs in my life (and a few lows, of course) and becoming a 🇺🇸 citizen only a few days ago being the most recent highlight. My motto throughout my life will never change: „Live your life without regrets.“😇 Celebrating this special day in the most memorable way… In the thumb 👍 of Michigan in the middle of nowhere. 😳 Planning this unique and fitting route was very challenging due to identifying the right road patterns 🧐, very few opportunities for resupply and overall ride distance. Few facts about the „30 USA“ route: - Started planning about a week ago. - Gravel roads were tough to ride (sandy, loose, chunky), especially the 3 hours after sunset 🌅 when you need to stay laser focused. - To put the size of this route in perspective , just riding the 3️⃣ is 88 km or 55 miles - I spotted five Amish🐴 buggies from the local community here. - Home of many Rednecks Clear sky, 55/80°F, Feels like 54/79°F, Humidity 70%, Wind 4mph from W - by Klimat