Dillon to wisdom

I caught up with the others at a gas station where they were having breakfast. Today has us going over two passes then down into the big hole valley. I heard from the guys in front that these passes were more difficult than yesterday's, just cause combined they were longer. After the passes was supposed to be one of the worst mosquito stretches yet.

Turns out both were true. The first pass was short and not to steep but the second one hurt. I think just the cumulative effect of 5000 ft or so just wore me out. The mosquitos didn't bother us while riding but when we stopped in town they were everywhere. Luckily wisdom had setup a nice shelter provided by the American legion with mosquito netting. That gave us a place besides the bar to hang out and eat. Which was desperately needed cause they had freshly baked pie in the bar and I was going to go broke if I lingered there too long.

Storm dodging

Back to the ride again! One of the main reasons I was taking time off in Ennis is the big pass once you leave it. So I wanted to have the cold beat and coughing under control before starting. Mission accomplished. There was still a little coughing but a cough drop quickly got it under control.

When I was about a mile from the top I stopped at a scenic point. When looking uphill to the pass I saw this bright yellow thing on the road. Since it wasn't moving I decided it was a road sign of some sort. Nope it was the britts and flag wearing Americans. One of the Americans had a tire blow and was replacing it. Luckily someone in the group had a spare or he would have had to hitch to Dillon to get a new one.

We cruised over the pass and down to a little town where we got inside right as it started to rain. The others had breakfast while I just lurked before going to the next town 5 miles away that had a bakery for breakfast. Once again I got inside right as it started to rain. Instead of going for the lemon bars they were known for I tried out their newest concoction which was a lemon bar combined with a strudel. The pastry to filling ratio was off and slightly over cooked but for a first attempt at a new dish I had to give it a thumbs up.

Next up we cruised 10 miles or so into a headwind into the town of three rivers/forks/something where we did a 160 degree turn and headed back up the far end of the valley to the town of Dillon. This time we had a tailwind and we were cruising. The others went to stealth camp in a graveyard while I decided to get another motel room since I'm still recovering. Glad I did cause they had mouse issues with one of their tents getting a hole in it.

Ennis zero

Ennis is a cute little tourist town seemingly entirely devoted to fly fishing and selling ranches to billionaires. Other than one bar and maybe a real estate agency nothing was open after 7pm.

After spending the night in town I was still coughing so I decided to take a zero. Then I took a second one and visited the local doctor. He said it was just a normal cold going around with a lingering cough for up to 3 weeks. He gave me a steroid allergy shot and sent me on my way. While hanging out Jim and Keith caught up and we spent the day hanging out. But they rode on while I was taking the second zero. I should catch up to them since Jim is going to spend the 4th in Missoula with his girlfriend. I wouldn't see Keith again in this trip : (.

Earthquakes and tailwinds

I got up feeling much better. Only coughing a little and no sore throat. So instead of taking a zero in the campground with its huge temperature swings I decided to ride on.

It was chilly again, so much so that I stopped at a fishing resort to warm up with some coffee and a giant pancake breakfast. Next up was a tour around earthquake lake. Back in the 50s there was an earthquake and landslide here that ended up damming the river causing flooding and a few deaths. The landslide is really impressive. A giant chunk of the mountain just came off and slid down into the valley below. It's still damming the river but is getting eroded slowly. The lake it created still has dead trees sticking up out of it. The best part of it for me is they were repaving the road around the entire lake so I had 10 miles of brand new road all to myself except for when the cars from one side or the other would pass by.

After leaving the lake I had 50 miles of a downhill grade following the Madison river to the town of Ennis. This might be the easiest ride yet. The entire way had a good shoulder, well not counting the 10 miles or so that they put rumble strips in the shoulder, and there was a nice strong tailwind. I wasn't pedalling hard, I know cause I wasn't triggering any coughing, and was averaging over 17mph. When I finished the day my average was at 14.6 which includes my slow roll around earthquake lake.

Yellowstone zero

I was still feeling badly but no longer hada sore throat just a buncha coughing. So rather than aggravating the cough by riding the bike 75 miles we decided to go visit the part of Yellowstone we missed.

The main attraction of the day was Yellowstone falls. This was fantastic. The Yellowstone river was flowing strongly right over these 200+ ft falls and we got all the way right next to where it goes over the cliff. Like 2ft. or less from the edge. On top of that the water was crystal clear so you could see through it as it's going over. I was more impressed by this than old faithful.

We drove around for a bit more seeing different hot springs and waterfalls before heading back to camp and sending my sister home. It was a great visit, unfortunately I later found out that I got my sister sick which I was trying to avoid but I guess was inevitable after spending a day in a car with her.

Tetons to grant

What a chilli morning. I was off early since I had read that the traffic in Yellowstone was lighter if you go in early. Unfortunately Jim and Keith were not coming with me. They wanted to spend a day exploring the tetons, and who can blame them, while I was looking forward to seeing my sister in Yellowstone tomorrow. So for the first time since Kansas I had to ride solo. Leaving those two behind was hard since we had such a great time together but I should see them in Missoula or something so it's not goodbye for good.

Most of the morning was spent with my head cranked too the left so I could stare at the mountains. Every clearing I found had me stopping to take another set of pictures. I need to come back here sometime and see if there is more to those hills than visible from the road.

Since I was now solo I started to get the bearanoia going since I had stories from guys riding the other direction about encountering grizzlys in the parks. So I swung by the Teton lodge to pick up some beer spray and while there I decided the best way to warm up was to eat an all you can eat buffet there.

I was back on the road and eventually left the Tetons behind and crossed into Yellowstone proper. So far the traffic had been average and there was a nice shoulder to ride on so I was beginning to wonder if the reports of bad riding in the parks was outdated info. Supposedly they were working on improving the shoulders to allow safer conditions for cyclists and to encourage more people to ride.

Well they still have a ways to go. Once I got 5 miles in and started climbing up the hill to grant village the shoulder disappeared, the traffic got heavy, and I stopped having fun. I later learned that it was actually a good idea to come into the park in the late afternoon and leave in the morning since you would be going against the traffic rather than with it. The cars were actually very polite and there were no jerks that flew by without giving enough space. I was trying my best to let the cars pass by pulling off the road when I could but there wasn't that many opportunities since the road was along a canyon with a guard rail and a 1000 ft. drop. I was riding well into the center of the road for that section. It wasn't that I was afraid of the cliff I just wasn't confident in my ability to not fall off it on my bike.

While going up I started coughing like crazy and thinking it was my old nemesis cough I tried my usual remedy of slowing down, taking medicine and drinking lots of water. That didn't work. When I made it to grant village I setup camp and did laundry and had a shower for the first time since Silverthorne. This was by far the longest stretch I've had in this trip without one.

Most difficult day

Today sucked. By far the hardest riding conditions of the trip. We had to do 80 miles to get to Dubois with only one convienece store at mile 30. The rest of the way was Indian reservation land with no stopping. We were going uphill all day and there was a strong headwind, like 15mph constant with 30+ gusts.

We tried drafting which actually was easier  than anytime in the past since it was a headwind rather than a crosswind for once. But with my hamstring I had a hard time keeping up. I'd fall off just a pedal or two but couldn't burst hard without straining the hamstring to catch up. At which point the headwind would hit and I'd lose the draft. This was the closest I've been to hitching into town.  If the guys hadn't been there slowing down and letting me draft I wouldn't have made it.

We were so tired that when we reached the beautiful canyon before Dubois that was exactly like Bryce canyon we barely took any time to admire it. Seeing that canyon made me truly appreciate our national park system. Cause here was a canyon with the same coloring, rock formations, and beauty as bryce canyon but it was ruined by these big ugly houses. These houses were built all over the cliffs just totally detracting from the gorgeous scenery. But thanks to the parks system we have places like Bryce canyon that haven't been destroyed by millionaires and billionaires wanting exclusive rights to it. Anyway if you pass by the canyons are worth visiting even with the eyesores.

We did make it but we were all extremely dehydrated. Keith and Jim each drank 2 pitchers of water at dinner and I had one. None of us got up in the night to pee.

The Winds but no wind

So the leg felt better, it was still sore and a bit tight but the knot from yesterday was gone and I could walk normalish. Today's forecast had no wind but high temps. With that in mind everyone got up and moving. The brits and flag wearing Americans were gone by 6 and we went over to the bar for breakfast.

That was a mistake I'm pretty sure I caught a cold from that damn bar. Still it was necessary since I got my first flat of the trip and the mosquitos were relentless. A tiny piece of tire metal had made it into my tube. Not bad considering this is the first flat in over 2500 miles.

So I figured out why there are so many mosquitos in the desert. Apparently this entire area is a frozen marsh. The pioneers would cut blocks of ice and take it down to Utah to help with the heat. It doesn't usually thaw until late July or August. With the lack of wind the mosquitoes were vicious. This was only the second time I've been forced to use deet.

The ride was uneventful except for the heat. We got up close and personal with The wind river mountain range. I tried explaining how amazing they are to the guys but until you get 20 miles into the backcountry you can't appreciate them. They'll just have to go hike them to see for themselves.

The final 9 miles into Lander was terrible. I was limping along with my sore hamstring in 98+ temps. We made it but there was a cow pond I was seriously considering jumping into. When we got to Lander we stopped at the first place with a.c., a McDonalds. This might have been the first good experience I've had at McDonalds. An all you can drink sweet tea for a dollar and 55 cent ice cream.

Once we were cooled off enough for us to leave McDonalds to find somewhere we could get edible food I got my second flat of the trip. This was a bad one my tire didn't even hold air for a minute. The bike shop, best one on trail btw free ice cream and beer, said it was due to the liner that keeps my spokes in place rubbing the tube. The mechanic said it was because the liner wasn't glued down and once he replaced that on both tires I had him due chain maintenance since he did such a good job and Jim hadn't finished his beer yet. We eventually got dinner then camped in the city park.

Up up and more up

So begins the climbing. We started out the day with a nice easy climb up the 8 mile hill. Follow shortly by another hill that felt much longer than 8 miles. After that was another hill or two. Even with all the hills I wasn't tired since the grade was so gentle. There were also the views to distract me from the times that I did get worn down.

Although to be honest what probably was the actual reason I wasn't getting tired was because I had given my paineers to Paul for the day. It's not a big difference in terms of my total weight but the psychological boost was legit.

It's good to have friends

Ina cooked us another great meal with all the leftovers from the last couple days. Then Steve showed us an unmarked and imo a much better route out of the city. The Transam just follows highway 95 out of the city. However the nice side of pueblo has a beautiful bike path along the river up to the reservoir. Which connects us right back to highway 95. Unlike some of the paths I've taken in the past which have been on gravel, this one was paved the whole way so there is no reason not to take it.

The bike path dumped us out right in the middle of a hill. Once we crested the hill, wow, the Rockies were there and in our face. We had a great view for what musta been 20 miles into our future leading up to the foothills of the mountains.

The riding today was even easier than the past even with our first real hill since Missouri. That was because one of Jim's friend's, Paul, had flown up to Denver, picked up Jim's truck, and started to provide us support and gear (SAG). I only opted for him to carry my food and spare water since it was thin on this section but Jim and Keith had their bikes fully unloaded and it showed. They were riding circles around me and Jim was keeping up with Bobby with ease. The best part was when we got to the spot we decided to meet at for lunch Paul was there with 5 folding chairs setup in the shade for us.

Our final stretch into Canon(canyon?) City was rough. The terrain was no worse than this morning but the heat got bad. On top of that we finally left highway 95 that we'd been following since the middle of Kansas and the new road sucked. We got too Canon city where Jim's friend Martin met us and took us back to his house.

Martin took us up to the local attraction which was some bridge over a canyon which they wanted to charge us 26$ each to cross. We all declined so Martin took us to the next local attraction, skyline drive. That was amazing. It was a knifes edge car road up above the city. There were even dinosaur footprints up on the ridge.

Pueblo zero

Jim, Bobby, Keith, and I took a day off at Steve and Ina's house. This was the first day off for Jim and Keith and we all needed it after our long rides across Kansas and Missouri. I didn't need a day off but I had some slack in my schedule so I decided to stay with the guys. Riding with other people is so much better than going solo. The problem is finding compatible people to ride with.

Bobby started out riding with a guy from the internet that is doing the Transam and had a terrible experience. They were not compatible at all. I've always thought that trying to do a long distance trip like this with another person requires a marriage level commitment. With the guys I know that we are having a great time and want to hang out but if someone gets bit by a dog or run off the road by a coal truck we can all go our separate ways with no hard feelings.

Anyway the zero was very relaxing. Mostly spent hanging out and talking with the seemingly never ending stream of friends that came over to visit Jim. I guess living in Singapore for 7 years will do that.

The only activities I did all day we patronize the neighborhood girls lemonade stand, great idea since it was in the 90s, and get a hair cut. Since bicycling is a civilized sport I need to maintain a reasonable haircut and shave regularly.

Green chili sauce I've missed you

Another great day of riding. It started out with a southwest classic green chili breakfast burrito. Other places try to sell them but Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona are the only places that can make a really good green chili sauce. As soon as I saw it on the menu I decided to try eat green chili every day in Colorado.

The ride was uneventful. As we got further and further into Colorado the hills started and the mountains got bigger. We even had an afternoon thunderstorm that just barely missed us. It's good too be back and see nothing had changed in Colorado. Well that's not entirely true. Everything is green. Very green. Eastern Colorado in my mind is supposed to be a flat desert type place. This is the first time I can recall seeing sagebrush growing instead of just barely surviving.

We got to the city of pueblo which is the biggest city on the trail and its one of those cities with two faces. The eastern side is a rundown shithole where even the library has guardsand metal detectors. While the western side is a pristine American yuppie paradise. The whole thing is separated by a restored downtown and the river. We went to a friend of Jim's, Steve and Ina, that he knew from college when he lived in Colorado. We are going to be taking a zero here tomorrow.

Belgian tries riding another steed

Yesterday's storm cleared out and left us a beautiful day. After breakfast at the local diner, that was kind enough to open up a half hour early for us so we could get on the road sooner, we moved out.

I'm starting to sound like a broken record but the ride was as easy and uneventful as yesterday. There was no rush except for Alex who wanted to get to town so he could finally pick up those bike shorts I mailed him last week.

When we got to town Bobby had arranged a stay at the local warm showers place. A nice lady from New Zealand, Gillian, had a farm with a camper trailer setup for us to use in exchange for a quick bit for work on the farm. While talking with her I found out she sometimes puts people on her horses. My sister had a horse growing up so I passed on the experience but Alex had never ridden one before.

We go round up the horses and teach Alex the basics like how to walk behind the horse without getting kicked. Then we got Alex to mount the horse bareback. Surprisingly he made it up on his second try. Gillian led him for a nice little trip around the yard and Alex seemed to be having a good time. Gillian the tried to have him spin around on the horse. He made it halfway before losing his balance and slid off almost like a normal dismount. They then tried it again starting with Alex sitting on the horse backwards since that is where he failed the spin. I got some good pictures of him facing the wrong direction. He successfully pulled off the spin this time so on to the next trick.

There was a small dirt mound close by which Gillian led the horse and Alex up. This was a bit much in my opinion but they pulled it off perfectly. They then went to try it again this time with me video recording it. Unfortunately it didn't go as smoothly. When they got to the top of the hill the horse gave a small buck and Alex fell off. Not a bad fall and he didn't get hurt but the horse stepped right next to his leg and he refused to get back on. Alex was a good sport about it after watching the movie but I don't blame him. Ending your trip over something like that would suck.

Here is a link to the fall video:
https://youtu.be/0UnOhl9_d8Y

Leoti to Eads

We're not in Kansas anymore. Not that you could tell by the terrain. Remember how I said I didn't know how it could get flatter? Well it did. Seriously how can anywhere be this flat. I love it. Views to the horizon in all directions, not a tree, hill,  or even a creek in sight.

We crossed into Colorado which is bitter sweet since Kansas was so nice. Wide shoulders, flat lands, no traffic, and even a tailwind. Still the mountains are calling and I must go.

So far my impression of Colorado isn't a good one. First off the biting flies are everywhere and aggressive. Thankfully they are slow but I think I stopped for 10 minutes max all day outside. Secondly Colorado welcomed us with a nasty hailstorm. We had already reached our destination and caught up to Alex again, he left us a few days ago to ride a 100. He told us the local motel only charged 40$ for a 2 bed room. We all decided it was too good a deal to pass up. Thankfully we did. A nasty hailstorm reached us as soon as we all got into our rooms. I don't think my tent would have survived that storm.

Ness city to Leoti

After yesterday's surprisingly hard day of riding we all agreed to take it easy. Easy it was. Possibly the easiest yet as the terrain got flatter and the wind was favorable. I don't know how that was possible but it keeps happening.

There really isn't much to say about today the guys all hit their 2000 mile mark, I'm a bit ahead of them since I've taken a few more detours than them.

Racing to Ness city

After a light breakfast and a quick stop at a fantastic coffee shop we got on the road. There were very limited options for resupply today so everyone was carrying a little extra weight but it didn't matter. We had a tailwind and the terrain was the easiest yet. Shortly after we left town I hit the 2000 mile mark.

There were two points of interest on today's route, the Santa Fe trail historical center and Fort Larned. Unfortunate the historical center was closed but the fort was open. It is the best preserved fort in the west. Except for some names carved into the stone walls it was in really good shape. We had free run of the place and had our own tour guide.

After wasting a couple hours there we got back on the road. Thanks to the ease of the road we started cruising along at 15mph. At 15mph Alex and I were soon left in the dust. We could see Bobby about 200 yards in front of us and the other two about a half mile away. Alex says to me let's go catch up to Bobby. I agree and we are now doing 18mph and gaining on Bobby until we get about 10 yards away. At this point Bobby starts going faster so we can't catch him. I eventually caught him after hitting 22mph but Alex never did. Bobby and I were now within range of Jim and Keith so we decided to go catch them and start a game of tag. Catching those two were much easier as we didn't have to push too hard before tagging Jim. At this point I was tired so I just settled in drafting off Jim and Keith while Bobby kept going.

A few minutes later Keith says lets catch up to Bobby who is now about 40 yards ahead of us. He starts pushing hard to catch up with Jim and I drafting behind. Bobby sees us coming and stays just far enough ahead of Keith so he can't catch up. When Keith finally gives up I go. I'm pedalling harder than I have all trip and slowly gaining on Bobby. Right when my legs are burning so much that I'm about to give up I catch him. I didn't have a chance to see how fast I was going. But now I was resting at 20.

We kept this resting pace up for another 10 minutes before Jim started gaining on us. So off to the races again. Another 10 minutes later Jim started fading so we slowed down and let him catch up. At this point we were basically at town. 

Kansas has marshlands?

After watching a gorgeous sunrise over the baseball diamonds we got moving early. Today is yet another "big" day of 80ish miles. Somehow these "big" days in Kansas just don't feel all that big. Maybe its the company, maybe its the tailwind, but I suspect its how relatively flat the terrain is. We rolled out of the flint hills into more hills and prairies. Of course all these hills and prairies were covered in fields of wheat to the horizon.

What was really nice was right around the middle of the day we entered a national wildlife refuge which was actually a marshland. This is supposedly one of the best places to see migratory birds in the early spring as they use this area as a stopping point on their migration route. The open fields and marshlands provided the birds refuge and the trees provided us the same. I've taken to taking pictures of the trees as they have started to become sparse. Outside of peoples houses there are little to no trees to be found. Supposedly it is going to get even worse, or better?, the further west we travel.

On our way to the next town we caught up to the Belgian. I told him I'd catch him ah well I'm not the one with only one pair of bike shorts,  (actually I only have one pair as I use underwear half the time). We finally made it to the little town of Larned, Kansas which had another city park with a pool and pavilion we could use.

Kansas has hills?

Today was such a nice easy day. We spent the entire day riding through the Flint Hills of Kansas. While they are called hills what they actually are are just little bumps that break up the miles of endless wheat, corn, and cow farms. To give an idea of what riding in this hills is like first you just ride at the slightest possible incline, so much that shifting isn't even nessasary for about 2 miles before reaching the top of a hill. Then you ride downhill at the slightest possible decline for about 2 miles. Repeat this for 70 miles and call it a day.

After a few hours of a nice easy cruise along these gentle hills we came to the little town of Newton, Kansas. The main attraction for us was the doughnut shop. Now I'm a fan of doughnuts and would definitely ride 35 miles by noon to get some but these were supposed to be special. This was another one of those small town shops that had been open since then 1950s. Additionally today is National Doughnut day. A day set aside to recognize the greatest pastry ever created. Unfortunately this doughnut shop has some odd hours we were not aware of. They open up at 12:01pm and close at 11:59 am. We had arrived at 12:05. Additionally since today was National Doughnut day they had sold out of doughnuts a long time ago. Luckily the owner saw us by the door looking sad and dejected and took pity on us by offering to sell us bags of frozen day old doughnuts and sandwiches if we so chose. We so chose, picking up a bag of chocolate cake and a bag of cinnamon rolls.

Right across the street from the doughnut shop is an infamous bike shop on the trail. So infamous that I had never heard of it. The other guys filled me in saying that it was featured in a documentary on the Trans America Bicycle Trail Race documentary that was released recently(I never heard of it). The shop was neat and the owner was very enthusiastic about meeting us and let us sign his wall of cyclists.

We took off and rode a nice uneventful ride to the little town of Buhler, Kansas. Buhler had just finished a $20 Million renovation to its park featuring some beautiful new baseball fields, tennis courts, and a fitness center to complement its pool. They had just opened everything up yesterday and today were running a baseball tournament with local teams and some from down in Wichita.

A century

100 miles today. I had a semblance of a tailwind and a town 99 miles away to camp at so I went for it. I added 3 miles at the start by grabbing donuts from a 50 year old shop. The wind was blowing from the south with a slight westward direction added in. But I had over 25 miles heading north so it counts. Honestly as long as it isn't blowing against me it counts. Not much to say since it was a long grinding day
Perfect temperatures for being on my bike for 8 hours. At the end of the day I finally caught up with Keith, Jim, and Bobby. It was nice having company again. I'll probably be with these guys the rest of Kansas since there are limited options unless you start doing 100 mile days.

Mistakes were made

Mistakes were made today. Actually it started yesterday when I got a message from Alex the Belgian asking if I was past the town of Pittsburg. Since that was where I was I let him know. It seems he left a pair of really expensive bike shorts at a motel in town and he wanted me to grab them and mail them to him. No big deal but I told him I'd get them to him faster than the post office. Since he didn't believe me I picked them up and mailed them ahead to Colorado for him.

Mistake 2 was my fault for believing the weather man on tv rather than my own eyes. My eyes were telling me there was a bad storm on the horizon right on my path. The weather man said it was only a light shower. After getting 6 miles out if town and being 8 miles from anywhere I got enough signal to confirm that the light shower was a dark red storm which was heading my way. However it was localized enough that of I just rode 5 miles north I'd be out of the worst and into light showers.  Since Kansas is laid out in a grid it was very easy to just jump on the next road north. The next gravel road north. The next big loose gravel road north. I made it about 4 miles before the storm caught me. Luckily I had made it outside the lighting and hail so it wasn't that bad. However it turned my nice gravel road into a muddy gravel road.

At this point I had reached the next paved road heading west which was a US highway and Kansas highway combo. Mistake bidder number 3. My nice big shoulder lasted for about a quarter mile.  At which point the US highway went south and so did my shoulder. Unfortunately my traffic flying past me at 65+ mph kept heading west. So I my choices were follow the US highway south back to route for 5 miles then head 5 miles back north shortly there after, keep following this busy highway, or take a gravel road. Gravel road it is. Thankfully this one was well used or groomed cause it was nice riding. I got to the town and went straight to the cheap motel. After all that gravel I was sore and the storms were still coming.