Walden, CO - Kremmling, CO

This morning I met an English fellow named Richard at the mini-mart.  After a chat, it turned out that we were both headed to Kremmling.  With Google Maps, I had earlier researched a route that would have been shorter (58 instead of 78 miles) and less wind-prone.  With hubris, I informed Richard that his route was poor and mine was better.  Never mind that Google Maps has led me astray several times now.  He was already committed to his route so we parted ways and said that we'd see each other in Kremmling.

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately -- who knows what misfortune I avoided), I missed my turn and ended up on the same route as Richard and his current riding companion Brian.  I didn't figure this out until 12 miles down the road.  At that point, I couldn't turn back.  The day just isn't long enough.  Cursing myself, I pedaled onwards.

It turned out to be incredibly scenic with minimal traffic.  The aspens are a brilliant gold now, and the road up the pass was smooth as it wound through the forest.  Richard was obsessed with seeing a moose.  The steady 25mph wind was mostly a crosswind so it wasn't so bothersome.  Later we had to turn west on US 40, which was much busier and headed straight into the wind.  That part wasn't as fun.

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be cold and windy and perhaps rainy.  It's 68 miles and includes Vail Pass at 10,662 feet.  I doubt anything could bother me, as I will be happy to sleep in my own bed.



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Pretty sure the horse is responsible for this sign

Entering scenic Rand, Colorado

Must be an Okie from Muskogee

Brian and Richard, my riding companions today

Pedaling up Willow Creek Pass

...and coming down

Different steeds

Saratoga, WY - Walden, CO

The best part of the day was the burger at the Walden bowling alley just now.  Everything else was pretty joyless.  I slept poorly and was exhausted even before getting on the bike.  Even though I kept telling myself to be happy and thankful, I had no energy and my aching legs felt like they were wrapped with barbed wire.  My skin is not faring well, with the relentless sun and wind and sunblock and heat.  My feet are raw where the seams of my shoes rub, my thighs are raw where they rub the seat.  My eyelids seem permanently windburnt and are always half-closed.

The hot, dry wind was stiff today.  Sometimes it was a crosswind, other times a welcome tailwind in which I pedaled languidly.  Crosswinds don't slow forward progress, but they blow me around and suck the breath out of my mouth.

Tomorrow is supposed to be about the same as today, although my 61-mile route to Kremmling runs due west into the headwind in a few areas.  Hopefully I sleep better and feel strong.




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Not sure what to think about me

Hello there

Entering vast North Park

Rawlins, WY - Saratoga, WA

Spent most of the day today lost, turning an easy 45-miler into an all-day affair.

Woke up feeling hung over, perhaps from yesterday's ride but more likely from last night's overindulgence of fast food from the plentiful bounty of I-80 Exit 214.  Went into Rawlins proper, which has a small downtown area.  Was looking for a bike shop to get some air/tire insurance, but it was out of business.

From there I tried to get back across town a different way but was stymied, having to backtrack numerous times.  It's a small town but it is bisected by the railroad and the interstate, with a big valley between the two.  It's hard to imagine being lost in Rawlins but I pedaled around forever, backtracking numerous times over hills.  Finally I got back to the eastern side of town where the obvious choice was I-80 east.  However (!), I had cleverly found a Google Maps route that would take me the whole way without going on the interstate.  I was feeling proud of myself because other bike journals say that a trip on I-80 is required.

I found a nice back road to the town of Sinclair, about five miles away.  The road was basically a service road for the Union Pacific railroad.  An unmarked pickup truck with lots of antennae passed me slowly, the driver giving me a long look.  I'm pretty sure it was the Pinkertons from the railroad.  But he must have been satisfied, because he U-turned and drove the other way.

Sinclair is home to the big oil refinery you pass by if driving along I-80.  The refinery is even more enormous from up close.  The myriad of pipes and tanks and stacks belching steam was otherworldly.  I took lots of pictures and moved down the road to a different vantage point.  A policeman pulled up and rolled down the window.  He said hello and was very friendly, just shooting the breeze.  But I'm coming to realize that they keep a watchful eye on the place.

The Google Maps route, if I remembered correctly, took me along the railroad tracks on the other side of the valley from I-80.  I found the road, which was gravel and dirt and headed out in a straight line toward some faraway mountains.  Eventually it was supposed to intersect with another road but it looked pretty forlorn.  Anything was better than I-80, I thought.  I turned onto the road, which was sand and gravel and deep ruts.  I pedaled ahead, a pit in my stomach as I was obviously going far away from civilization.  About 40 minutes later, the road was closed by barbed wire at some old rusty propane tanks.  Beyond that it looked like Jeep territory.  With a mixed sense of despair and relief, I turned around and headed back to the refinery.  Luckily neither the police nor the Pinkertons saw me.  Three hours and I'd made it five miles from Rawlins.

I turned onto the dreaded I-80.  It was actually not as bad as I thought.  The shoulder was huge and smooth, and people don't drive any faster than they do on any other Wyoming highway.  After about 15 miles I got to the next exit, stopped at a weatherbeaten gas station for insurance water, and headed down another 20 miles to Saratoga.

There are free public hot springs in Saratoga that are very nice.  The town has built nice pools, but I saw some young folks hanging out in the river which is also hot.  I joined them and learned that they were from Fort Collins, and were on a hot springs tour.  The sun was setting and a duck quacked at us from the other side of the river as we soaked in sulphur water.  It was great.  Tomorrow morning I will have to do another soak before heading to Walden.





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Waiting for the train

Wild, I tell you.

Main road past the refinery

Anybody know a plumber?

Miles of pipes

Atlas Shrugged

End of the line.  An hour and a half down the tubes.

Gave in and took the big road.  It wasn't so bad, although I wouldn't recommend it either.

Camp at Saratoga Lake.  Already looking forward to a shower and a soak at the hot springs tomorrow.  Supposed to be chilly but I will be cosy!

Lander, WY - Rawlins, WY

125 miles, 3750 feet of climbing.  Packed 10 liters of water (2.6 gallons), which weighed 22 lbs.  Total bike weight approximately 115 pounds.  Changed out a tire which was fried.  About 12 hours of riding/stops.  Crossed continental divide twice.  I will fill in the details later.

Got up well before dawn intending to complete this ride.  My hazy calculations indicated that just might be able to cover the distance before sunset.  I did pretty well, although I was slowed down by the disintegration of my rear tire.  Conditions were just about perfect, low 70s and blue sky.  Most importantly, there was little wind.  That's rare for Wyoming, and I was glad to take advantage of it.

It's really much prettier than the white empty space on the map.  There are mountains and buttes and weird rock spines.  I saw plenty of little pronghorn, but only from a distance since they spotted me also.  On the second half of the ride I got pretty tired, but then picked up my second wind for awhile.  There was a decent climb into Rawlins at the end of the ride, which was tough.

I listened to more of the Arab-Israeli war book and also the FM country station I could pick up on my phone.  Mainstream country music is terrible, terrible stuff.  It's like that cheese that sprays out of a can.

On the road into Rawlins I ran into Brock and Kathleen (www.ourfavoriteadventure.com) going the other direction.  They had come from Virginia.  It was a terrible spot to chat, as the road had narrowed and there was lots of traffic.  So we bid each other adieu before long.

Today I am going to go into Rawlins and maybe see the old prison,  Then I am going to head down to Saratoga where there are supposed to be hot springs.  Sounds pretty good.

Hard to tell, but this was the top of a big climb.

Huge open spaces

Downtown Jeffrey City, where the hills have eyes.

Could have stayed here.  This is their brochure:  http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51sMhQejwNL._SX500_.jpg

For awhile, the smoke burnt my eyes terribly.  I could only look out of one eye or the other.

Continental Divide and Wyoming's ubiquitous snow fences

There's uranium in them thar hills!

The Schwalbe Kojak finally surrendered.  Switched to the Marathon Plus, which makes a whirring sound like a tractor-trailer.

Ran into Brock and Kathleen on this stretch of road with a deplorable shoulder.

Video: coming into Rawlins at sunset

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Dubois, WY - Lander, WY

Busted out 75 miles today.  Rolled into town with a decent amount of time left before sunset, which bodes well for tomorrow's epic ride to Rawlins.  There were some hills today but nothing huge.  Winds started off calm but developed into a breeze which I was riding straight into.  It was manageable but certainly cut into my cruising speed.  As the day went on it got stronger, then shifted to a crosswind.  By the end of the ride it had turned into a welcome tailwind.

My incredible streak of zero flat tires came to an end when I ran over something that left a nice slice in my tire.  I patched it up, installing a tire boot over the cut.  It's time-consuming to change flats on this bike but I welcomed the diversion.  I noticed that the Kojak tires are starting to look pretty ragged.  At some point I may need to switch to the Marathon Plus tractor tires in my bag.

Most of the ride today was through the Wind River Indian Reservation.  I stopped at a little store in the middle of nowhere that sold gas and groceries.  There, I loaded up on snacks and then went outside to make a sandwich.  There was an elderly lady sitting on a bench who invited me to sit with her.  I did, and we talked for awhile.  Her name was Barbara and she used to work for the Shoshone tribe, getting grants for them from the government.  Deep lines crossed her face and she couldn't hear so well.  She was very sweet.  Just then, looking at her, I had the strangest feeling.  She looked uncannily like a girl I used to date, although 40 years older.  It didn't seem appropriate to tell her this observation, but it was a reminder of how quickly time passes by in life.

Rolled into Lander and got a room so I can sleep well in preparation for tomorrow.  I was just about to jump into the shower when I realized I needed another sandwich.  I ate a sandwich over the bathroom sink while the shower was warming up.  Still starving after cleaning up, I went over to Safeway and loaded up with bread and meat and cookies and bananas and extra water bottles.  I was honestly salivating as I walked around the store.  After paying for my things, I went to a Thai joint across the street and got a mound of pad thai noodles in a carry-out box.  Came back to the room and decimated the food; it didn't stand a chance.  I am satisfied for now, but I wouldn't be surprised if I got up in the middle of the night and ate about ten cookies.  So hungry all of the time.

Tomorrow I am going to make it to Rawlins.  It's 125 miles, longer than I've ever ridden a bicycle.  There's not much supplies along the way (zero, in fact), so I am going to pack eight liters of water and the food I bought at Safeway.  It will be quite a challenge, but I think I can handle it.  I set my alarm for 4:30am and I will be rolling at first light.  There will be no stopping.

Unfortunately, my Sirius radio has quit working.  I have an audiobook on my phone about the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which occupied me for about five hours today.  Looking on the Vail library website now for a couple more options.




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Without going into detail, I used about a quarter of this on the ride today.

Outside Dubois

Into the empty

Fixing a flat.  Several cars slowed down to stare at me while I was doing this.

Jackson, WY - Dubois, WY

This was one of those days when I wasn't feeling it.  I was tired from the get-go and wasn't looking forward to climbing from Jackson (elev. 6247 feet) over Togwatee Pass (elev. 9584 feet). But a howling tailwind and a wide, smooth road made the trek more bearable and I made it 86 miles to Dubois (DEW-boyz), which was the longest ride of the trip so far.

The light was gloomy all day with the clouds and the smoke, and the wind was chilly.  So I sweated inside my wind jacket and froze when I took it off.  If I got off the bike and stood up, streams of sweat poured out of the jacket cuffs.  I took a few pictures because I felt I ought to, but I wasn't paying too much attention to anything.  The scenery was nice of course, but I found myself on autopilot.  I cranked away listening to Led Zeppelin.  My mind was detached from my body and my legs knew what to do.

At one point on the pass, there was a pilot car leading traffic through road construction.  They didn't want me to ride my bike through the narrow gravel path with traffic, so I had to throw my bike in the back of a truck.  It's kind of nice to be hauled a few miles up the pass, but it's also a pain because I have to take all of my panniers off in a hurry.  The pickup took me about five miles and then I had to get my bike out and reassemble everything.  While I was parked on an embankment struggling to put my panniers on, my kickstand sheared off and the bike, the bags, and myself all started sliding down the hill.  One of the road workers came to help me and finally I got it sorted out.  All of this happened in front of a long line of parked cars waiting to go through the construction, so I put on a good show for everyone.  Not my smoothest moment.

From the top of the pass it was 30 miles downhill into Dubois, where I cruised into the KOA.  I said hello to my neighbors David and his son Garrett, from Missouri.  Before I could refuse I was given a plate of brats and potatoes.  We talked into the evening until our toes got cold.  The kindness of strangers can be unbelievable.

Tomorrow is 75 miles to Lander.  Then 126 miles across the big empty to Rawlins.  Might be able to make that push if I get after it early.  Apparently there is an abandoned uranium mining town halfway called Jeffrey City where bicyclists sometimes sleep, but it sounds like a place I'd rather avoid.


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Just took this photo to show what a tailwind I had.

Up on Togwatee Pass

Finally

Coming down the pass, some cool rock stuff

Things looking a little drier out east

Largest in the world!

Camp at the Dubois KOA.  Notice the trees in the wind.

Garrett playing a tune.  It was the most pleasant sound I heard all day.

Jackson, WY day 2 (rented road bike)

This morning I walked back over to Hoback Sports and rented a Specialized road bike.  It was very slick and fast, but the seat was rock-hard and I didn't have any padded shorts.  So I spent a lot of time standing on the pedals instead of sitting down.  I pedaled up Teton Pass, which is a steep grind.  There is an old road that is closed to motorized traffic, so I grunted my way up in peace.  At the top of the pass the winds were ferocious, pelting me with grit and gravel.  I hung out for awhile and took some pictures, then went down the main road.  It was wickedly steep and the gusts of wind required that I keep a tight grip on the handlebars.  The wind shot me back into Jackson, and I returned the bike to the shop mechanic who also loaned me his backpack for the day.  Nice fellow.

Before the ride I got a haircut, and the barbershop talk was all about the fire.  Although I have heard countless different rumors, the latest is that a guy was burning trash and it got out of control.  The fire has been producing a huge plume of smoke that drifts over the town.  Everyone walking down the street is looking up staring at it.  The winds were very strong and I saw little of the aircraft support I saw yesterday.  I can't imagine that firefighters would have much control over it.  Tomorrow is supposed to be slightly calmer but still dry and windy.

On first glance, Jackson looks like a rough-and-tumble cowboy town.  But upon closer examination, that's not quite true..  Everything is eye-wateringly expensive, and the people walking around are either tourists, big-hatted cattlemen (although they may have adopted the look), or jaded young ski-bum types.  There are surely plenty of nice people here who don't hang around downtown Jackson, trading climbing stories and growing interesting facial hair.  But I liked Missoula better.

Tomorrow is still going to be windy, but I am going to take off.  Still undecided, but maybe 287 to Dubois, Lander, Rawlins looks good.  There's a 90-mile stretch there w/o services, maybe I can dash across it.



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Passing the time

View of the fire from Teton Pass

Gotta look cool

Shabby chic in Jackson.  The Sotheby's sign is a bonus.

Jackson, WY day 1 (rented mountain bike)

Wyoming has a notorious reputation for wind, and the weather service has issued a wind advisory for today and part of tomorrow.  Currently it is raining lightly after a thunderstorm passed through, which is hopefully good for the fire.  It's not so good for riding a bicycle, though.

Yesterday I left the KOA after chatting with several racers from that 206-mile ride.  I pedaled back into Jackson which is uphill and 10 miles.  Along the way I watched the firefighters work.  They have a lot of aircraft working in such a small area.  They must have good communication.  

The smoke plume is enormous from Jackson and everyone is out watching it.  I rented a mountain bike from Hoback Sports in Jackson, and started up the Snow King ski mountain.  Up in the woods, I ran into a Forest Service firefighter who turned me back.  Then I went east of town up the Cache valley.  There were USFS closures on most of the good trails but I found one that was fun.  I heard that later in the day, a fire broke out in that area and now it's all closed.  

Last night I was thinking I'd rent a road bike today and attempt a century over Teton Pass, Victor, and back to Jackson.  But it's windy and rainy and strange outside.  Maybe I will ride it up Teton Pass and back.  Supposed to be a good climb.

I still am trying to figure out a route south of here.  There are several options, none appetizing.  I suppose I will just pick one.

Lane the bike shop guy