I liked that title but really nothing too wild is happening. Tonight (Friday) I'm in a little place called Ten Sleep (it took ten days for people to get here from someplace, is why it's called that). Camping in a great RV park, trying to get to bed so I can get up before the dawn and tackle the big-ass mountain I need to climb to get to the next destination: Buffalo. That's where I get my rest day, yay, and watch the World Cup final in a saloon on Main St.
It's been soooo hot - and the past couple of days there really isn't any shade at all alongside the road. There isn't really anything along the road but gravel, and - I kid you not - the skeletons of animals. Small ones, so far. There aren't even many towns between my destinations. It's been a challenge to carry enough water but I'm managing.
Last night I stayed at this place outside of Thermopolis, the home of the World's Largest Mineral Spring! (the sign says so). The RV park had its own mineral baths, so I went in - it was neat, but to be honest I wasn't that much in the mood for hot water, given my day in the hot sun. It was also the home of vicious mosquitos, many of whom dined on me. Happy to report that the Ten Broek RV park seems to be mosquito-free (maybe because of the stuff they were spraying earlier this evening).
The coolest thing in Thermopolis, actually, was the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. I expected it to be really hokey (which is why I went a whole mile off-route to visit - I need some postcards) - but actually it was lovely. Really great displays of fossils and dioramas. I took a ton of photos which probably will be impossible to see, but I was happy I went. (Wyoming has tons of fossils and dino digs, is why that's here.) It affirmed my decision to leave the group and ride on my own - so I could have time to do stuff like that. Check it out: www.wyodino.org/museum/
Now I need to get to bed! But for those of you who have been clamoring for More Pictures, I spent a lot of time downloading & organizing some which I hope to post this weekend. It all depends on a reliable internet connection, which I hope/expect to find in Buffalo.
(And yes, I am excited that I get to go through Buffalo WY *and* NY.)
Friday, July 9, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Catching Up - in Riverton, WY
Wow! What a day! I realize I say that every evening, but sometimes it's more about exhaustion. Today was really fantastic - and I'm finally catching up to the chronology of things. (Thanks to free wi-fi at the Wind River RV Park, where I'm camping.)
Today I rode my personal record distance with a loaded bike - 84 miles, many of them following the Wind River through the rolling foothills and then valley leading from Dubois to Riverton. It was really gorgeous and exciting, not to mention I had a tail-wind for much of the ride - whoo hoo! (Unlike my Cycle America group friends, one of whom I talked to on the phone - they did that whole ride with the wind against them, the day that I rode into Dubois.)
It was also warmer, yay - summer's back. It was just a great day to be on a bike.
The other fun part was seeing the yellow arrows on the road painted by the Cycle America router - they go out a day ahead of the riders and paint small yellow directional arrows, to show the turns. They also mark what they call "comfort arrows" - which are simply there in random places along the highway, which in fact are kind of comforting. I ring my bicycle bell every time I see one (also every time I go over a bridge, and lots of times just for fun - or to talk to cows and horses, and occasionally note an especially-interesting specimen of road kill).
Then out of nowhere the yellow arrows said turn right, at a place I was planning to go straight. So I checked my map carefully and realized they were routing onto a country road off the highway, that lead into town from a slightly different direction. I decided to go with the arrows - and what a treat! Wow! It was called "Riverview Road" and followed the Wind River again into the south side of Riverton - it meandered through farms and then a few neighborhoods, with hardly any traffic. (One hay truck, one pickup truck, and a guy driving a tractor on the road.) It was fun to ride but also a kind of social thrill, knowing my friends had been there just yesterday...
With the RV Park's unexpectedly great internet connection, I've also been able to get phone numbers and call ahead to confirm campgrounds through Sunday. I've made a quick adjustment to this "lifestyle," realizing that the RV parks also offer tent sites with hardly any people in them (I'm the only one in a tent here), and have showers & laundry rooms. They also tend to be close to the main drag, stores & restaurants - so RV parks are my new best friends.
Now it's off to maybe even read a magazine article before I go to sleep! Wow! I haven't read anything but maps & route sheets for over 2 weeks!
Today I rode my personal record distance with a loaded bike - 84 miles, many of them following the Wind River through the rolling foothills and then valley leading from Dubois to Riverton. It was really gorgeous and exciting, not to mention I had a tail-wind for much of the ride - whoo hoo! (Unlike my Cycle America group friends, one of whom I talked to on the phone - they did that whole ride with the wind against them, the day that I rode into Dubois.)
It was also warmer, yay - summer's back. It was just a great day to be on a bike.
The other fun part was seeing the yellow arrows on the road painted by the Cycle America router - they go out a day ahead of the riders and paint small yellow directional arrows, to show the turns. They also mark what they call "comfort arrows" - which are simply there in random places along the highway, which in fact are kind of comforting. I ring my bicycle bell every time I see one (also every time I go over a bridge, and lots of times just for fun - or to talk to cows and horses, and occasionally note an especially-interesting specimen of road kill).
Then out of nowhere the yellow arrows said turn right, at a place I was planning to go straight. So I checked my map carefully and realized they were routing onto a country road off the highway, that lead into town from a slightly different direction. I decided to go with the arrows - and what a treat! Wow! It was called "Riverview Road" and followed the Wind River again into the south side of Riverton - it meandered through farms and then a few neighborhoods, with hardly any traffic. (One hay truck, one pickup truck, and a guy driving a tractor on the road.) It was fun to ride but also a kind of social thrill, knowing my friends had been there just yesterday...
With the RV Park's unexpectedly great internet connection, I've also been able to get phone numbers and call ahead to confirm campgrounds through Sunday. I've made a quick adjustment to this "lifestyle," realizing that the RV parks also offer tent sites with hardly any people in them (I'm the only one in a tent here), and have showers & laundry rooms. They also tend to be close to the main drag, stores & restaurants - so RV parks are my new best friends.
Now it's off to maybe even read a magazine article before I go to sleep! Wow! I haven't read anything but maps & route sheets for over 2 weeks!
Decisions, Luck, and Dubois, WY
Wow, what a nutty day Tuesday was. Most of them are, but yesterday I found a series of unexpected conditions and opportunities, which turned out great but were really challenging.
First off: good thing I decided Monday *not* to ride over Togwatee Pass and camp at the top...! I knew there was construction happening on that road, but it was in much worse shape than I'd realized, and really difficult to ride (gravel, to go along with a really long, steep climb). Not to mention it was unseasonably cold (there was still snow up there!), no bear boxes, lots of bears, and the road to the campground was dirt and steeply uphill. I would have been miserable trying to get there, and being there - not to mention scared all night.
The construction crew wouldn't let bicyclists ride through some of the sections they were working on (note: impossibly big trucks, driving on crazy steep hills - working to widen the road at the pass) - we had to wait for the pilot car/pickup truck to ferry us through those two sections. "Had to" - to be honest, I was glad of it - the whole roadway was gravel, and really narrow, with lots of truck & RV traffic.
The guy driving the truck I was in told me the other day he saw a grizzly bear chase a group of elk and take down a baby one - going right around the truck as it did so. So now I'm really glad I played it safe and stayed down below the pass.
The next unexpected condition was the whole 25-or-so mile ride into Dubois was against a fierce wind - much to my dismay. I rode as hard as I could, racing to get to town in time to watch some of the Uruguay v. Netherlands game. I managed to get to the Whiskey Creek Saloon and catch the last 20 minutes of the game, which was a treat. There were four other people, all older-than-me women smoking & gossiping and completely ignoring the TV, which was funny.
As I sat there recovering from my hectic and strenuous day (nursing a mid-afternoon Snake River IPA, which was great) I decided to call it a Motel Day - after three nights of camping in the cold (frost on the tent!) I was ready for a warm bed, real pillow, and fluffy towels.
I ended up staying at the Branding Iron Inn, across the street from the Jackalope exhibit at the Country Store. Ate a big hamburger at the Cowboy Cafe, too - this trip has turned me ravenously carnivorous. Though also craving vegetables. Today I ate half a head of cauliflower, half a cucumber, half a carrot and a whole bell pepper - for my afternoon snack, before I went to dinner!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Riding Solo!
That's an exciting title - and an exhilarating feeling, especially since I managed to conjure up a day of perfect transition from riding with the group to being on my own, with a little of each. It was hard and a little weird to see my group riding off to breakfast Monday morning, as I slept in a little (on purpose) and then loaded all my gear on my bike. Which, given the insane amount of stuff I'm hauling, took a while. I had breakfast with a few of the crew staffing the group, then took off on a slightly different route - taking a nice short-cut they couldn't get a group permit for, through the western entrance to Grand Teton National Park. Which meant that later in the morning I managed to catch up to a few people from the group, and even got to have lunch with people at the Picnic stop! (Picnic always being a highlight.)
One of the things I was challenged by (ok - worried about) as I set off on this Big Day was the fundamental question of where I would sleep this night. My original idea was to camp at the top of the Togwatee Pass, which is also along the Continental Divide (which I think I've crossed three times in the past week). But this is Grizzly territory. As in, big mean bear. I couldn't get confirmation anywhere that the campgrounds up there have bear boxes to protect your food... and the rangers in Teton Park told me about a camp before you get to the pass that does have boxes. So I decided to stay there. Note to those of you who are worried about me: see how thoughtful and careful I'm being?
This also meant I had to ride "only" 50 miles - a lot less than I've gotten used to, and a good opportunity to get used to how the bike handles carry so much stuff. (It was mostly flat, too, which helped.)
And a great thing about the campground (a little rustic place managed by the forest service) became evident as the afternoon wore on: in the evening there were eight of us camping there, seven of us on bikes! Turns out it's on the Adventure Cycling Trans-America route.
So this was another part of the transition - being on my own, but with friendly company. I hung out and had tea & dessert with four other riders, two from Holland, and two from Texas. I'd expected this to happen at some point along the trip, but not the first night - so that was a great gift.
My goal for Tuesday is to make it up and over Togwatee Pass and then down to Dubois in time to watch the Uruguay v. Netherlands game - let's see how that goes.
One of the things I was challenged by (ok - worried about) as I set off on this Big Day was the fundamental question of where I would sleep this night. My original idea was to camp at the top of the Togwatee Pass, which is also along the Continental Divide (which I think I've crossed three times in the past week). But this is Grizzly territory. As in, big mean bear. I couldn't get confirmation anywhere that the campgrounds up there have bear boxes to protect your food... and the rangers in Teton Park told me about a camp before you get to the pass that does have boxes. So I decided to stay there. Note to those of you who are worried about me: see how thoughtful and careful I'm being?
This also meant I had to ride "only" 50 miles - a lot less than I've gotten used to, and a good opportunity to get used to how the bike handles carry so much stuff. (It was mostly flat, too, which helped.)
And a great thing about the campground (a little rustic place managed by the forest service) became evident as the afternoon wore on: in the evening there were eight of us camping there, seven of us on bikes! Turns out it's on the Adventure Cycling Trans-America route.
So this was another part of the transition - being on my own, but with friendly company. I hung out and had tea & dessert with four other riders, two from Holland, and two from Texas. I'd expected this to happen at some point along the trip, but not the first night - so that was a great gift.
My goal for Tuesday is to make it up and over Togwatee Pass and then down to Dubois in time to watch the Uruguay v. Netherlands game - let's see how that goes.
(Still) Alive in Wyoming
My sister Peg wrote up some of the adventures we weathered in Montana - weather itself being one of the wilder elements. Besides the crazy thunderstorms and hail (and nasty wind that tends to come with) I actually really loved Montana. Big sky, indeed, big mountains with snow on top, long rolling roads following rivers rushing down from the hills... I found myself saying aloud that I would love to live in Missoula and get to ride those roads all the time.
Friday we crossed into Idaho, and then Saturday into Wyoming, over the insanely steep Jackson Pass (10-11% grades). It was grueling, and I had to stop a couple of times to let my pounding heart settle. Just as I thought I'd have to stop again, I heard whooping and hollering from around a bend in the road - and clanging bells! People had carried bells all the way for this reason, to cheer the rest of us as we got to the top. It was really fun (and gave me the oomph to get myself up that last little bit).
Then came a glorious 5-mile descent - whoo hoo! My Sunday rides in the Marin Headlands have paid off, I think - this wasn't quite as scary as Conzelman Road (that goes from the Golden Gate Bridge out to the Pt. Bonita lighthouse) but it was a lot longer! I could smell my brakes starting to melt...
And Sunday we had a rest day in Jackson! Well, a rest from biking. A bunch of us took the bus from our campground into town, which is a major tourist spot. And it was the 4th of July, so there was a parade, a million people, and lots of hub-bub. I managed to avoid all that and filled my day with getting camping supplies, doing laundry and - I'm sort of embarrassed to admit - buying a little notepad-style computer - which I'm writing this on. It has been next to impossible for me to access the internet without having a computer; I think this will be only a little easier, and I might regret it still. The idea is to be able to post photos & more frequent updates, but I'm not sure if that's going to work out (I still have to ride 60-70 miles a day, and figure out how to feed myself too.
Sunday evening I crashed the group's dinner (with permission) - I'm not officially part of the Cycle America tour anymore, but I'm still camping with them. After dinner I became the evening entertainment for a bunch of folks, who came by to watch me sort through all my stuff and pack up my panniers (bags that attach to racks over my front & rear wheels). I had to box up a bunch of things to get mailed back to SF because they just wouldn't fit. Mostly people were making fun of how much stuff I have and wondering aloud how I could possibly carry it all, but a few folks were more helpful (e.g. brought me beer). All in all in was a great send-off.
Friday we crossed into Idaho, and then Saturday into Wyoming, over the insanely steep Jackson Pass (10-11% grades). It was grueling, and I had to stop a couple of times to let my pounding heart settle. Just as I thought I'd have to stop again, I heard whooping and hollering from around a bend in the road - and clanging bells! People had carried bells all the way for this reason, to cheer the rest of us as we got to the top. It was really fun (and gave me the oomph to get myself up that last little bit).
Then came a glorious 5-mile descent - whoo hoo! My Sunday rides in the Marin Headlands have paid off, I think - this wasn't quite as scary as Conzelman Road (that goes from the Golden Gate Bridge out to the Pt. Bonita lighthouse) but it was a lot longer! I could smell my brakes starting to melt...
And Sunday we had a rest day in Jackson! Well, a rest from biking. A bunch of us took the bus from our campground into town, which is a major tourist spot. And it was the 4th of July, so there was a parade, a million people, and lots of hub-bub. I managed to avoid all that and filled my day with getting camping supplies, doing laundry and - I'm sort of embarrassed to admit - buying a little notepad-style computer - which I'm writing this on. It has been next to impossible for me to access the internet without having a computer; I think this will be only a little easier, and I might regret it still. The idea is to be able to post photos & more frequent updates, but I'm not sure if that's going to work out (I still have to ride 60-70 miles a day, and figure out how to feed myself too.
Sunday evening I crashed the group's dinner (with permission) - I'm not officially part of the Cycle America tour anymore, but I'm still camping with them. After dinner I became the evening entertainment for a bunch of folks, who came by to watch me sort through all my stuff and pack up my panniers (bags that attach to racks over my front & rear wheels). I had to box up a bunch of things to get mailed back to SF because they just wouldn't fit. Mostly people were making fun of how much stuff I have and wondering aloud how I could possibly carry it all, but a few folks were more helpful (e.g. brought me beer). All in all in was a great send-off.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Dispatch #2
Our intrepid cyclist phoned in a update this morning from West Yellowstone, MT. Unfortunately, the Dispatch Center wasn’t (wo)manned at the time. While I’m sad I missed the chance to talk with her (and answer the phone with “Ann Arbor Dispatch Center” just to hear her laugh), I am glad that I have the message on tape so I can fact check the report before publishing it.
Ruth’s message started with a chuckle and a hearty “Just calling to say ‘I’m alive!’” She was hanging out with some fellow riders watching the World Cup during and after breakfast. She added that they were going to have to “ride like crazy” to catch up with everyone else in Ashton, ID at the end of the day. She went on to describe her week in Montana.
The trip this week has been "VERY EXCITING (yes, her voice was in caps!) with really crazy weather – crazy thunderstorms in the morning and afternoon” with rain, lightening, “HUGE HAIL” and high winds. "Lots of people needed to be rescued” during one hailstorm; they arrived at the camp with red scratches all over them.
On Tuesday, Ruth and another rider were 'rescued' as well. The winds were blowing hard enough to force the two cyclists into the middle of the road, then lightening started so they dumped the bikes and stood in a ditch so as not to tempt fate by pretending to be lightening rods. A very nice woman pulled over and yelled “C’mon, I’ll give ya a ride!” before loading up their bikes for an easy last five miles to the day’s trip (into Townsend, MT).
The trip so far this week has been super exciting and a lot of work. Friday’s route is “fairly easy – supposedly” and takes them on mostly downhill, but very windy, route into Ashton, ID. Saturday is a “huge climb” up over the pass into Jackson, WY. Sunday brings a rest day and gearing up to set off on her own through Wyoming.
Internet access remains difficult and cell reception very spotty. She hopes to find a computer in Jackson so she can update us all herself.
Submitted by her sister, Peg, who's been following along using maps and lots of imagination.
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