*How did i get to this point? Lots of bad decisions!*

Well, I sure am not proud of yesterday. I made many foolish decisions and ended up in a bad situation, and had to be rescued by my wife and two wonderful people.

The day started well with my phone fixed at the corporate ATT store. Thanks, Alex Herrera, Assistant Manager of Corporate Retail. I went to a Bass Pro shop to get a better phone holder and to a Greek restaurant to set up my phone. By the time I was finished setting up my phone and downloading all my data, it was about 3:30. I did a Google Maps search to see what the next town I should go to; I felt bad for not making progress during the day, so I wanted to move at least 60 miles farther. I picked the Town of Parachute, Colorado, and then typed that into Google Maps. Because I-70 goes through a canyon there, I needed to find an alternative to going on the interstate. Given the days I was behind in my trip, I had decided the night before that I would try to trace I-70 to Denver and ditch my small towns, small roads strategy so I could get to Denver and make up for some time.

I have learned earlier on this trip that Google Maps for bicycle routes can be hit or miss (running you into dead ends, private land, and impassable trails even for a HUMVEE), so I have made a practice of "flying" each route with Google Earth to understand the terrain and road quality. I also always try to ensure the backup battery for my cell phone is fully charged. This would be only 60 miles; the weather was nice, so let's go for it. I had a big Diet Coke and a smoothie for lunch, so I didn't need to bring any water or food. I didn't even need to check the battery status on my phone because I had a backup battery that I was sure I had recharged sometime on this trip…right? I had initially packed a space blanket on the trip, but right before I left, I pulled it out of my bag because I didn't have enough room. (I am sure I could have gotten rid of something else). I also did not have winter clothes or a hat to save weight. Why wear a hat when you have a helmet? So no bad decisions so far.

I took off from the Greek restaurant and rode for about 45 minutes to Palisades. That is where Google started heading up the Mesa road, trail, goat path, mud, and bog. The road headed up above the canyon where 1-70 snaked through and up over a 7500 mesa. According to Google Maps, it would be about a 3700-foot gain in elevation. Still, it looked like a nice road, so I had a few hours of daylight, and at a conservative 20 miles an hour, I should be over this road in about 2 hours.

The road climbed up and came to a gate that said no trespassing. A side pedestrian gate was unlocked, so I decided, what the hell? Google says this is a valid road; they are a large company providing many It services from search to mobile operating systems. They know better than this silly sign. So, I headed forward.

The road got narrower and steeper. I rode up a steep grade over loose rocks at about eight mph for about 45 minutes. I watched the battery on my unicycle start to go down quickly. My legs felt like I had been doing moguls for the whole day. I knew I could get recharged from the descent, so I pushed on. I ride with my phone hooked to my backup battery when I use Google Maps because it drains the battery. I looked at my phone and saw that only half a charge was left. I checked my backup battery, and it was dead. I stupidly pressed on.

The terrain shifted from arid to more lush. I saw several elk hop out before me when I moved along. I was crossing a large valley on what was now a jeep road at about 15 MPH when suddenly I found myself flying forward face-first into the dirt and rocks. The Nice dirt surface I was on was only dry on the surface and covered with a muddy underlayer. Unicycles require traction to self-balance fore and aft, so mud is not their friend. I got up, a little banged up, and continued forward. I knew that darkness would come eventually, and I did not have the skill to go down the rocks if I tried to backtrack because I had a street tire versus a nobby. I stupidly pressed on.

I went slower and tried to ride in the grass that was sometimes in the trail's center. I was now going about 10 mph, my unicycle was bogging down with mud, and every 5 minutes, it would cut out, causing me to fly face forward into the path. Each impact hurt. Google was pushing me higher to what I thought was the pass. I was now pushing my unicycle in the mud with a 30 lb pack up the hill. After 20 minutes, Google rerouted me back down the trail I had just pushed up and along a lower trail. I could not understand why it was rerouting me, I doubt it was because of traffic. I was happy it was at least lower because the snow from the previous night was only about 500 feet above me. I stupidly pressed on.

Google took me down into a wide valley, and the trail disappeared. I tried crossing it, but it was a bog. I looked again, and it started to reroute. I had to hike up for about a quarter of a mile, and there would be another trail. I looked at the map, and it appeared to be a wider "road" than I'd been on, so I had hope. I had trouble seeing how I would have to climb more, so hopefully, this would be the trail's apex, and I would start descending down a nice dry road to Mesa. Mesa had an RV park, and I could at least recharge there, even if it would be dark then.

The road I was on ended up being more mud. I tried riding my unicycle, but it was totally bogged down with mud. About every 40 ft, I'd have to dig out the fenders packed with heavy clay-like mud. I was sweating from all the work, and all my clothes and helmets were soaked with my sweat.

It was now about 7: 00, and the sun was starting to set; the temperature started to drop. I was feeling very dehydrated because I had no water. I was stumbling now as I was pushing my unicycle uphill in the mud. My boots had a thick layer of mud that caused me to slip around and made them feel heavy. I tried sitting and resting, but the sun was going down, and I was getting cold. I put on my jacket and continued forward.

At 7:30, I sent a text to my wife saying:

Kim immediately contacted the Mesa Police, and they were closed. She then called the Mesa County Sheriff's Department and figured out that I needed to call 911, and they could send search and rescue out for me.

I called her and told her I would be okay and that I would push further. About 10 minutes later, I could push no further; my teeth were chattering, and I was breathing l; like a freight train. I sat down and called Kim, telling her I would put on all my warm clothes, try to sleep by the side of the trail, and walk out in the morning. She said emphatically, “Call 911!”, so I did. While waiting, I had to take off my whole underlayer and put on some dry clothes in my pack. The total volume of clothes I brought on this trip would first turn into a tiny stuff sack. I did not have a lot of options. I told the 911 operator I needed help, but would try to keep walking out.

*Kim convincing me to do the right thing*

I was down to 10% battery on my phone. She told me to stay in place, and they would get someone to me. It was now fully dark, and the temperature was. I put my helmet on, closed the face mask, lay down, and tried to relax and sleep. I had the phone on my chest and saw funny texts fly by that I ignored as I waited to hear from those summoned to waste their time to rescue me from a self-created problem. I got a call from a deputy from the Mesa County Sheriff's department who was assigned to get me. He said they would be there soon. I anticipated a few hours, so I lay down and tried to sleep as I shivered. About 45 minutes later, I heard an ATV side by side coming down the trail. I got up, and it was the Sheriff and Josh, the landowner whose land I was trespassing on. They both helped me pick up my stuff. I tried to lift my mud-covered 100lb unicycle onto the back side by side, and they both helped. We rode for about 30 minutes until we got the sheriff's truck. As we rode, I apologized for being such an idiot and wasting both of their time. I asked the landowner if I could Venmo him $500 for his time and trespassing on his land. His response was typical of someone I've met on this silly Journey. "I want you to go on to Google Maps and flag this route as impassable. I rescue people who are lost on the trail all the time. I've contacted Google, and they won't do anything about it. It always seems like someone from California or Europe does this. Secondly, use the Anexmaps.com if I could give money to his favorite charity, and his answer was, "You wouldn't like my charities. Helping people is what we do here." He had just returned from his son's basketball tournament in Denver. He said, "If you had done this yesterday, I wouldn't have been here to get you." So here is some guy going out in the cold to retrieve an entitled California trespasser, and his only response is kindness.

We arrived at the sheriff's truck, and I got out and started moving my gear into the back of his car. I turned around, and Josh was carrying the 100-lb, mud-covered unicycle to the truck like it was a box of Kleenex. The sheriff was as kind as Josh. I never got a lecture or was asked, "Why did you do something this stupid?" He asked me where I wanted to be taken, and I wondered where he was heading. he said Grand Junction. I said “Great”, and we headed there as we talked about elk hunting ballistics. He had the heat cranked so I would stop shivering. He dropped me off at a Best Western in Clinton, about 10 miles East of Grand Junction. He looked at my helmet with the police stickers and said, “Wait a minute!”. He returned with two of them from the Mesa County Sheriff's Department that I immediately affixed to my helmet. He has two small children, but he did not get to tuck them in that night because he was late home helping me.

I went to check into the hotel, but it was full. My phone was almost dead, but I found the closest hotel was in Grand Junction. I dug with a stick as much mud out to the fender of my unicycle to get the wheel to turn. The tire still had about ½ an inch of mud on it. I put on my backpack, looked at my phone before it died, and headed to Grand Junction. I had 2 bars left of battery, which should have been enough to make it to Grand Junction. I started down the road, and it was emptier than I had thought. After 5 miles, I tried to turn on my phone, but it was dead. I was now down to one charge bar and decided to backtrack. I made it back to a McDonald’s that was still open. I walked in, and the only people in the two nice Hispanic men spoke Spanish in a booth, a down-on-your-luck couple with their belongings in a large, black suitcase. They were each taking turns going outside to smoke. The guy looked like he was suffering from meth addiction and had a strange tremor.

I dumped all my stuff from my backpack onto the McDonald's table and plugged my unicycle into a wall outlet. Dried mud was everywhere. I ordered a large Diet Coke and a large fry. Mcdonald's does not have a lot of gluten-free options, and the hot fries tasted so damn good. The guy with the pink suitcase asked if I had any money, I showed him my empty wallet but told him I would buy him some food. "He said that I looked worse off than he was and said they had already eaten. He walked out and said, "Good luck," and I said the same to him. Once my cellphone got a minimum charge, I called my wife. She sweetly answered, said reassuring things, and NEVER said, "Why were you so stupid? Why did you do this? Next time, you need to…..". That call made me feel warm.

With my phone charged up, I headed 8 miles to my hotel. I got there at midnight and checked in. I showered, got into bed, and thought about all the bad decisions I had made in one day, how irresponsible I was, and how lucky I was for people like my wife, Josh, and the Officer.

I need to reroute and go north of the high mountains. May in Colorado means snow, and I don't have the skills and the gear to deal with 11,000-foot passes. It will mean I must add a couple of days, but that doesn't matter. Until yesterday, I considered this a small town back road romp across America. I lost my way yesterday and decided that this was a race. I think I've found my path again, thanks to the assistance of others.

Rescued- From Myself

Context first, then the exciting stuff

Got Back at Midnight… From where I started