 Mira you got to let it go. You got to let it go Mira. Every day there's something new and magical. Nature is always putting on a show. Sometimes you just have to wake up early to see it. I don't know what kind of bird that is but it's amazing. What are you waiting for? Could it be this? Is this what you want? Okay. What's your favorite part about waking up in a situation like this? Besides the coffee? The coffee is good. Oh dude what's not to like? Morning mist, singing birds, all varieties, cranes, loons. Mira's so happy. I got a good pal here. Come on. Is that me? Yeah that's you. All right. Yeah it's pretty awesome to wake up here. Oh yeah this is what bike touring is all about isn't it? Yeah capturing these little moments. Oh yeah. Those little gems you wake up in the morning. Perfect. All right bye beautiful campsite thank you. Okay Mira time to go. Let's go buddy. That was quite the campsite last night. Really special spot. A lot of mosquitoes but it was worth it to have the lakeside view. It is 7 30 a.m. a nice early start Sunday morning and today we are in pursuit of my friend Kevin. He flew into Jackson yesterday to meet us for a little a little riding. You're gonna love Kevin. He's a great guy. I actually met him at Rag Brie two years ago. Really good dude. Crashies, no flaties, no whammies. Ah yes my butt feels a little sore today but at least my legs are feeling all right. All these washboard roads are like putting my butt into like a meat tenderizer. We just rode by this snow marker here and it goes up to 16 feet. I can't imagine 16 feet of snow in this area but maybe it gets that high sometimes. That's pretty crazy. I love how the seasons change in these areas where in summertime it's really really hot and then in winter time it's full on winter. Here's a fun fact you didn't know about John. He was once a pro bike racer in Canada and he knows a thing or two about riding bikes or maybe not pro but he rode for living. Right? Anyway give us some tips on riding washboards. Yeah so when you're out backpacking or just mountain biking on a dirt road and you're going downhill with sharp switchbacks or sharp turns the the drivers that are coming up tend to go to the inside of the hairpin bend and while under power their their suspension and the power will create hard washboard. So we normally on the road want to cut the apex of a turn but on the dirt we want to go to the outside of the turns. That way we'll have the smoothest line. It won't be all chattery. So if you're going down and you're turning to the left you're staying in your lane and if you're going down and turning to the right typically you're crossing lanes to the outside and then if they have a bit of a bank so much the better you can just ride that berm all the way around it's nice and smooth and you'll be in control. There you go. Stay tuned for more cycling tips from John. We are on the John D Rockefeller Memorial Parkway that's what the sign said back there which is funny because when I think of a parkway I think of like a raging interstate. This is better because we're going through a park. This is the parkway and riding right here brings back a lot of great memories because Ali and I rode through here on our trip across the country two years ago and I just remember being really happy riding through this area. It was so beautiful and even though Ali and I aren't together anymore I'll be forever grateful for the experiences we had riding across the country and our relationship and what I learned and it's all good now you know breakups are tough and they're heartbreaking and it's not what you have envisioned when you go into a new relationship but it doesn't always work out and that's real life and being back here is jogging some serious memories of some beautiful moments and I like that I'm holding on to all the good stuff and it gives me inspiration for the future for the next person I might meet to share another experience like this with somebody you know I'm sharing it with Mira and John but you know what I mean like a romantic partner that'd be cool it'll happen again someday no hurries no hurries no whammies life is good we are at flag ranch and there is a gas station our cars don't need gas because they're not cars they're bikes but this guy actually needs some gas it's for my camp stove and so my camp stove I can use gasoline that's very delicate gas pouring oh lips don't that's it put your cigarette out all right we are gonna be on pavement for quite a while riding past the Grand Tetons in a little bit and pavement is always a place where we need to be extra cautious lots of cars go away this is your first time seeing the t-tons I know you're in awe you're in total awe right you bud you've never seen him no I never seen before really nice reminds me of you being back home it's good beautiful lake easy access yeah I can see why they're so popular I just got enough cell service to be in touch with Kevin he's about 10 miles down the road waiting for us I'm excited to see him and I'm excited for you to meet him he is a force of positive energy ladies and gentlemen this is Kevin that's a new friend hi mirror hi mirror it's so exciting there's so much excitement Kevin lives in Minneapolis sea level how you feeling so far terrible come on Kevin you got it buddy just a little rocky mountain hill what do you think Kevin how you feeling great I love that I only have to do 20 miles today yeah we decided to end it a little early today we found a great little camp spot next to some water and mirror is ready with the sticks yeah yeah you see what I'm doing here I'm warming up this cinnamon roll in the afternoon sun and I'm so excited Dana would be proud of me she makes the best cinnamon rolls at her cafe this is probably not gonna be as good but I'm excited about it this is called a mountain washing machine you come in with all your clothes and you come out clean yeah feels great I'm really enjoying our camp spot because we can just hang out in the water and we're gonna go to sleep tonight with the sound of running water and it's hot here in Wyoming the last few days of Montana were pretty mild 75-ish degrees I think we're gonna we're gonna have a lot hotter temps going into Wyoming look at mirror waiting us for us to come over mirror will be over after dinner you're so funny she's got her pile of sticks all ready to go the cinnamon roll is pretty good sun baked so Kevin what made you want to drop your job for two weeks and come bike packing here in the continental divide it was mirror honestly the idea that I'd be a mirror I I wanted to do something that I've never done before first off to it's on my bucket list I have a list Kev does 101 101 things I gotta do in a thousand one days the reason I put it on there is because I think that on a trip like this you push yourself so hard you find new places within your own mind you find new places your body can take you and I also wanted to see the scenery honestly I mean I live in Minnesota where there's not mountains I've lived in Iowa for eight years before that there's not mountains so mountains also yeah how do you get into bike packing in general I think you played a part in that your videos definitely sorry no I love it how did I well I think I first got into cycling then I got into camping but I don't like walking I actually I detest just walking so the idea of backpacking wasn't as attractive to me but then once I found that about bike packing we can combine the camping with the cycling I said I was old love it man cool we're gonna have a great time yes we are we are glad you're here we are glad you're here and since I asked Kevin I don't think I've ever asked you how did you get into bike packing I got into bike packing well cycling in general German club in high school had a trip going to Germany a friend suggested we do it we bought bicycles the trip was canceled and so we just kept we just kept riding and eventually you want to ride somewhere further afield so it was classic you know on the road touring and then you look to go somewhere a bit more off the beaten path mirror we're trying to film you can stop digging a hole okay continue now that's great stuff up yeah so you wanted I wanted to go sort of places that were you know less traveled and yeah a little internet search next thing you know you're bike packing you know and now it's been yeah and then dog packing evolved from that so with another dog melon for a couple of years and then Mira now is three so we've she's been bike packing dog packing for three years now that's our little story a little tent talk to finish off the day a great day another great day every day really is it's been awesome and I'm really happy to have Kevin along he is a wonderful young man and I think we're gonna have a great time together now we've got a good crew we've got four of us I was like three no we got four we have Mira Mira's part of the gang as well and I'm feeling feeling like I've made some progress you know all the way through Montana Idaho and a little bit of Wyoming you know when you first start a tour and you're like three days in you're like wow I haven't gone very far but now I have so that's always a good feeling when you can look on a map and be like okay we're doing this all this peddling is getting us somewhere happy sunday buenas noches come on Kevin time to channel the little engine that could I think I can I think I can I think I can