Biker rides up the mountain without a phone

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Normally, we chat with Valerie Angulo, 24, every Tuesday evening where she recaps the past week of her Bike & Build trip, an 11-week, service-oriented cycling trip that benefits affordable housing across the country. Angulo, of Old Brookville, is one of 36 volunteers that biked out of Yorktown, Va., in May for Portland, Ore., which they expect to reach by mid-August. However, after not hearing from her at all during the week of July 10, we started to get worried.

But, Angulo was okay; she had lost her phone in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Without her cell phone it was more difficult to keep in touch, especially since she was coming to the end of

her trip.

We got back in touch with her the week of July 24, where she gave us a full three-week recap.

While in Steamboat Springs, the group was able to go camping and visit Strawberry Hot Springs where they spent time at night.

They also hit another mountain range: The Rockies. The group rode up over 12,000 feet on Trail Ridge Road to cross the snow-capped mountains. Angulo said it was one of her favorite rides of the whole trip.

After Colorado, Angulo and several riders rode through the deserts and canyons of Utah and arrived early to the campsite in Flaming Gorge. “It was amazing to see the red rocks and geography of the area,” said Angulo. Because they arrived early, the group was able to swim in a nearby lake and even go cliff jumping.

The Tetons

From Utah the group traveled to Wyoming through another mountain range: The Tetons. They rode along a path called the Teton Pass, which took them over the mountains and into an 8-mile descent into Idaho.

Angulo said the Teton bike trail was extremely steep, but beautiful, and was another one of her favorite rides. “I was initially reminded about how it used to feel, and how much stronger we are as a team this time around,” said Angulo, recalling the group’s first mountain ride over the Appalachians.

“That ride day from Jackson, Wyo., to Idaho Falls, Idaho, was particularly difficult because after taking about 20 miles to cross the mountains, we still had around 80 miles to go,” said Angulo.

On that day Angulo and her group had woken up at 4 a.m. and were still on the road at 5:30 p.m. It had been a long day, they had been riding in the sun, and she and her teammate ended up riding seven miles past one of their turns. They had to call one of the vans to pick them up.

While biking, the riders don’t use a GPS, but have trip computers that count their miles. For example, if they know at mile 25 they have to make a right turn, having the computer count the miles allows them to gage when that right turn will be. Additionally, the first group tries to chalk out the directions on the road.  

When they got to Idaho Falls, the group was finally able to “relax,” or their version of relaxing which is having two build days. The bikers worked with Habitat for Humanity ReStore, a thrift store run by Habitat for Humanity that helps fund some of the projects in the area. Angulo and the group helped remove and replace insulation the back part of the shop so eventually they would be able to expand.

After the build days, the group rode 70 miles into Arco, Idaho, but stopped at a nuclear power plant-turned-museum along the way. The museum, Experimental Breeder Reactor I, became one of the world’s first electricity-generating nuclear power plants in 1951. The group had heard from past Bike and Builders that it was an interesting break spot during their ride through the desert.

“The terrain today was fascinating, because you would see a mountain rising up out of the desert and plains,” said Angulo. “And you’d see the same mountain for miles and miles even after passing it cause the terrain is so flat.”

As Angulo’s bike trip is coming to a close, she has made an effort notice the little things along the way. However, it’s not over yet. Check back next week for the final recap in this series, and to hear about how Angulo’s trip ends.