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

View Larger Map

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.




View Larger Map

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.


View Larger Map

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.



View Larger Map

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

Flagg Ranch, WY - Jackson, WY

It was a gorgeous day today.  In the low 70s, not a cloud in the blue sky.  I rode from Flagg Ranch through Grand Teton National Park, where I took a scenic road around Jackson Lake and Jenny Lake.  The Tetons were apparently named in the 1820s by French fur trappers.  The translation is fairly apparent.  It makes perfect sense to me, as frontier fur-trapping was surely a lonely business.

They are picture-perfect mountains, jaggedly rising straight out of the flat plain that is Jackson Hole.  The big lakes at their feet allow for some magnificent contrasts.  The road was wide and smooth.  Except for getting buzzed by a few RVs, drivers blissfully listening to The Best of Lawrence Welk, it was a pleasure.  There is a bike path that starts about 20 miles north of Jackson and heads straight into town.  

Miles away from town I saw a wisp of white smoke rising into the otherwise cloudless sky.  I thought there was a house fire in town, or perhaps a car fire.  Over the next hour-and-a-half it took me to pedal into town, the plume grew tenfold and turned a telltale shade of amber.  It was a forest fire, and growing rapidly.  It appeared to be directly behind the Snow King ski area which is right in town.  It turns out that it was a couple of ridges behind the ski area, but still very close to town.  I heard on the radio that some mandatory evacuations were in effect.  Later on, as I cruised down the road to my KOA accommodation, the highway was lined with cars and people gawking and taking photos.  There were three air tankers and a helicopter doing endless slow loops to and from the fire.  

There were lots of bicyclists riding into town all day.  Later I heard that it was a race from Logan, UT to Jackson, WY.  206 miles and 7000 feet of climbing.  That is unfathomable.  Some people were still coming in after dark.  They didn't look like they were having fun.  At all.

While in Jackson, I stopped a few places and got into several conversations.  An interesting one was at the bike shop, where I discussed recumbent bicycles at some length with a guy who looked like a hairy Bjorn Borg.  He had also ridden across southern Wyoming, and recommended a road.  Later he recounted the story, saying that the wind was so bad he had to walk his bike for fear of being blown into the traffic lane.  Great recommendation, dude.  Winds are forecast to pick up tomorrow and Monday, so I may take a break here in Jackson.  Tomorrow I think I am going to ride back to Jackson (10 miles uphill, unfortunately), and rent a mountain bike to take up to the Snow King ski area.  I'll bet there will be a lot of people up there watching the fire.  

Hero neighbor Mike sent me a down mummy sleeping bag and bivy.  I feel so confident in staying warm that I put the hammock up again tonight.

*updated yesterday's pics also

View Larger Map

Tetons from the north

Pretty good road

Strange caterpillar

As I got closer to town, this is what I saw

Downtown Jackson

Spectators lined the road to watch

Lake Lodge, Yellowstone NP - Flagg Ranch, WY

Every day has a story.  I awoke in one of the park's staff cabins before daybreak, and headed out. There was more of the park to see before heading south to Tetons.  On the way south, I walked through the West Thumb geyser basin, which is on the shore of Yellowstone Lake.  Deep pools and mudpots and mini fountains hiss and bubble next to the lake.  It was a gorgeous autumn-feeling day and the views across the lake were endless.  I think it was the most picturesque of the thermal features in Yellowstone.  The steam isn't even smelly.  Some of the deep blue pools looked very inviting for a soak, although that may not be the best idea.

After I left West Thumb, I spent a really long time trying to figure out some logistics.  Super-neighbor Mike shipped one of my good sleeping bags and a bivy sack to the KOA in Jackson.  He said he's slept in the bivy at 11,000 feet in a storm.  So I will regain my outdoor sleeping capabilities.  I'm still kicking myself for not packing warm enough, but three weeks ago it was a heat wave.  This morning people were scraping ice off their windshields.  

Leaving Yellowstone, I had mixed feelings.  The area has astounding natural beauty, and the idea that there is a vast magma chamber under your feet is mind-boggling.  I grinned ear-to-ear at the things I saw, heard, and smelled.  

The depressing part was that the park infrastructure was in poor shape.  Yellowstone is one of America's crown jewels which millions of people from all over the world visit every summer.  Yet the roads are in dire shape, the boardwalks are rickety, the bathrooms filthy, and the staff had an air of sad resignation.  The Xanterra company makes a killing renting rooms in the historic lodges that the CCC built, and sells Wonder Bread in the park grocery for $4/loaf.  It just seems that the place deserves better.  I guess there is no funding.  

The human impact on the park is significant. The constant stream of roaring cars and RVs, the crush of people jostling to get a good look at some feature, people throwing things in the pools and springs, human waste on the ground at roadside picnic areas… it can be disheartening.  Luckily the park is mostly closed in the winter and perhaps can recover from the human impact.  But to paraphrase my friend Austin's father, humanity isn't going to destroy the earth.  The earth has been here for billions of years and will be here for billions more.  Humanity might destroy itself, sure.  But what of it?  Humans have been here for a blink of an eye in planetary time.  The planet will eventually be fine after we've all gone away.  That's one way to look at it, anyhow.

Things got better later in the day after I'd resolved to enjoy myself in spite of my camping situation.  I reserved a cabin down the road at a place called Flagg Ranch, and saddled up to ride there.  It was a splendid ride along Heart Lake and Lewis Lake.  The low sun flashed through the trees as I sailed down, down, down.  I didn't realize there was such a descent.  In awhile I pulled into the ranch.  They directed me to my cabin.  For the amount of money I paid, I was sort of expecting it to have bedsheets, maybe a coffee maker, at least a heater.  It had none of these.  Just a cold log cabin with a bunk bed and vinyl mattresses.  Pretty disappointing.  But I remembered that I'm staying in the moment and enjoying it regardless, so I sighed and gathered my things to find the shower.  

Upon stopping into the camp host's office to ask directions, I got into a conversation with the gregarious fellow on duty.  As we were talking about the history of the ranch, he mentioned something about Vail Resorts.  My ears perked up.  I said that I work for VR.  He said "Oh, you didn't know?  Vail owns this place.  You're an employee?  Well what are you staying in that cabin for?  We'll have to upgrade you."  He clicked on his computer and put me into the "Deluxe" cabin which has not only a heater, but also has terry towels, coffee, Turkish sheets, everything.  Super swank!  I walked in and twirled around in the opulence.  This is good living!

Later that night at dinner I learned that everyone in the complex works at one of the VR properties in the wintertime.  Everybody treated me like I was some new cool guy who showed up to the party.  It was great.  I would stay here all day tomorrow but I must ride through Teton and Jackson.  It's not that far I don't think, maybe 40 miles.  There will be enough time to poke around.

No pictures this time because this place is way out in the middle of nowhere.  No cell, no radio, etc.  They have satellite internet but it's super slow and having problems.  I will have to post pics tomorrow.


View Larger Map

Deep pool at West Thumb geyser basin

Fumaroles on the shore

Steamy spa

Nice road out of the park

Lewis Lake

Upgraded accomodation