After our big bike trip through South America ended not at a beautiful Caribbean beach, in the hammocks, cocktails in our hands, but rather on an Austrian hospital surgery table because of my Colombian appendicitis, we were eager to start our new project within our big honeymoon on bikes- from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean across the U.S., taking in the most beautiful spots we can on our route from San Francisco to New York! On May 8th, we leave S.F. and our great hosts way too soon, but happy to be on the road finally...it´s a good day, since there is an annual event called "bike to work day" in S.f. with many people participating, bankers in suits looking funny with their bike helmets...and lots of free gimmicks like bottles or fruits, stickers etc. given away on the streets! Fun! We take the ferry over the bay to Oakland, the ride out of there is not beautiful, but at least fast. The first night we sleep in the garage of a nice lady, Mrs. Vieux-she also provides us with some eggs and other foodstuff which makes us very happy! The landscape changes quickly, soon there are more and more trees, and the road winds up endlessly into beautiful Yosemite....around every corner we are surprised with lakes, mountains, waterfalls, which makes us forget how hard work it is on a heavy loaded bicycle. We stop for lunch at a gas station, and talk to some of the folks that are interested in our bikes and fascinated by our trip. Brad "Lars" Larson even invites us to stay at his home when we pass through in 2 days in Bishop! Of course we will visit him there! But there is still lots of way between here and then, but the foresight to some nice company, showers and a bed for a night give us power to push on over the 3000m tioga pass. In Bishop, we enjoy a very warm welcome by our new friend Brad, and the time soon gets too short, but we have to move on-long ways to go to NYC! The next project is Death Valley- in Summer it would definitely not be possible to cycle, since not even during the night it cools down enough! The scenery is beautiful, and we are surprised by the abundance of colorful flowers here in one of the driest and hottest places on earth! To beat the heat, we try to get up as early as possible, but it´s unfortunately also the time we can sleep the best since it hardly cools down at night. The heat is worst once we get below sea level, at Furnace Creek, where we can just spend the afternoon in the shade of the Visitor Center and wait for the sun to set. The hot wind blows just like a hairdryer into our faces as we head out at 7p.m. to find a campspot.
As we leave the park the next day, we are happy to leave the heat and dryness behind us, but also happy for impressive and beautiful landscapes! We have been going now for 12 days without stopping so we are looking very much forward to get quickly to Las Vegas, where our Friends Greg and Dawn will host us for two nights. We desperately need a day off, but still, there is not much rest on such a day, since we have other kinds of work to do like, doing laundry, writing mails, the blogs, sorting out photos, etc.etc.... We´re looking forward to Grand Canyon now-stay tuned! for all the photos, check our...
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