(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.