I don't have much to say about my ride today. I didn't take any pictures, although the ride was very scenic. We rode along a busy highway, a bike path lined with cherry trees and along side vineyards and hazelnut groves. This climate seems to favor flowers, especially petunias and roses, but also many other species I don't recognise. The farmers are harvesting wheat and the fields have more of a golden color than the grain fields at home.
Tomorrow I will see the Pacific Ocean for the first time, and we will travel over the headlands overlooking the sea. We have 3 big hills to climb, but not mountains, and all three of us are traveling at a more relaxed pace. We only have to do about 50 miles per day to finish Tuesday morning. When we reach Astoria, we will take each other's pictures, I will go to a bike shop and arrange to have my bike shipped home, and then make my way to the Portland airport. By Wednesday or Thursday morning I'll be home.
I did not get much sleep last night, I've found that I sleep much better in my tent than in a strange motel room. I tossed and turned most of the night thinking about my trip. I met so many nice people on this trip, and only a very few jerks. I've made some very good friends in Pat and Charlie. Pat and I have traveled together for over half the trip, and Charlie for only slightly less. I feel extremely lucky to have shared my ride with them. I could not have hoped to to have teamed up with a more compatible group. I think I would have finished the ride without them, but it would have been a long and lonely road.
I plan to have some post cards made from the picture of myself at the finish, and send them out with a note of thanks to a long list of people I have encountered along the way. I hope I can express how grateful I am to them.
Saturday, July 22, 2017
Friday, July 21, 2017
July 21 update
It's been over a week since I posted on my blog, and I've covered a lot of ground. I'm only about 200 miles from the finish at Astoria. Between not having internet service, and just being to tired to post, I have gotten way behind on my posting, but I'll briefly try to catch up.
On the fourteenth we got to Baker City, a town of about 10,000 people. We stayed in a very nice hostel just opened this year by a very hard working couple who seemed to have a lot of irons in the fire. We were pretty tired and the hostel was so nice that we decided to stay an extra day. The town was having a big celebration and parade the day after we got there so that was extra incentive to stay. We got so excited about the event that we entered the bed race after the parade. This was a one block sprint pushing a bed on wheels with a pretty girl in the bed. We took second place in the event and our picture and the trophy bed now resides in a place of honor in the hostel. To be honest, there were only two entries, but we had the prettiest girl in our bed.
The next morning we had a long ride of about 75 miles to John Day, Oregon, where we camped in a park. Then on the seventeenth, we had a short ride of about 40 miles to Dayville, Oregon, where we stayed in a Church hostel. The town did not have any restaurants open, but the hostel had a kitchen, so I cooked cowboy stew for dinner. I guess it turned out okay because we consumed a huge pot full.
On the eighteenth, we had another short day to Mitchell, Oregon where we stayed in one of the nicest hostels of the entire trip. The hostel was run by a middle aged couple who were members of the Assembly of God Church. They had felt called to reopen this failing church as a Church for the locals and as a hostel for bikers and other passers by. The have done a wonderful job with the hostel upstairs in the old sanctuary and a kitchen and new small sanctuary downstairs. The couple, while not seeming to be overly zealous, seemed to have a very strong sense of purpose.
One kind of funny thing happened while we were in Mitchell. The only open restaurant in town sold beer, but could not serve it, however, the town allowed open containers anywhere outside in the town. We bought a six-pack and went across the street to the park to drink it. While we were there, a guy in a pickup truck drove up and went in to the restroom shouting for, what we thought at the time, his dog. He drove empty handed back down the street, and returned walking and shouting a few minutes later. As he approached us, he shouted "have you seen my wife", and with his hands spread out wide, said " she's A big girl". As he seemed a bit distraught, we denied any knowledge of her whereabouts. She finally showed up, and with a less than stellar display of marital bless, they walked away. Well, it was funny at the time.
On the Nineteenth we had a long ride to Redmond, and on the next day we made our last big climb up to McKenzie Pass. This was one of the best rides of the entire trip. The 15 mile climb up from Sisters, Oregon was on a scenic road with vehicle size restrictions that allowed bicycles to use the entire lane. The last five miles to the top ran along side a lava field from an eruption some 1500 years ago. There were great views of Oregon 's big snow covered peaks. Then, at the top, we climbed to the old observatory where there were 360 degree views of the lava field and peaks.
For me, the best part of the day was the 3000 ft descent over 20 miles to the McKenzie river. This was a fast hairpin fall through what became an increasingly dense and shaded northern rain forest. The mostly huge pine forest of the East side gave way to spruce/for and western red cedar and then, on the lower scoops gigantic redwoods.
After the long descent, we camped in a National Forest Campsite beside a good sized stream. We were surrounded by the tallest trees I have ever seen. The campsite did not have showers, so we bathed in the cold creek, and I ate ramen noodles for dinner.
Today we rode 87 miles to Corvallis, Oregon, a big college town with motels and lots of good places to eat. By our standards, it's quite luxurious. We only have about 200 miles to go and should be finished by Tuesday. I may be at coffee at Ellie's on Wednesday morning!
On the fourteenth we got to Baker City, a town of about 10,000 people. We stayed in a very nice hostel just opened this year by a very hard working couple who seemed to have a lot of irons in the fire. We were pretty tired and the hostel was so nice that we decided to stay an extra day. The town was having a big celebration and parade the day after we got there so that was extra incentive to stay. We got so excited about the event that we entered the bed race after the parade. This was a one block sprint pushing a bed on wheels with a pretty girl in the bed. We took second place in the event and our picture and the trophy bed now resides in a place of honor in the hostel. To be honest, there were only two entries, but we had the prettiest girl in our bed.
The next morning we had a long ride of about 75 miles to John Day, Oregon, where we camped in a park. Then on the seventeenth, we had a short ride of about 40 miles to Dayville, Oregon, where we stayed in a Church hostel. The town did not have any restaurants open, but the hostel had a kitchen, so I cooked cowboy stew for dinner. I guess it turned out okay because we consumed a huge pot full.
On the eighteenth, we had another short day to Mitchell, Oregon where we stayed in one of the nicest hostels of the entire trip. The hostel was run by a middle aged couple who were members of the Assembly of God Church. They had felt called to reopen this failing church as a Church for the locals and as a hostel for bikers and other passers by. The have done a wonderful job with the hostel upstairs in the old sanctuary and a kitchen and new small sanctuary downstairs. The couple, while not seeming to be overly zealous, seemed to have a very strong sense of purpose.
One kind of funny thing happened while we were in Mitchell. The only open restaurant in town sold beer, but could not serve it, however, the town allowed open containers anywhere outside in the town. We bought a six-pack and went across the street to the park to drink it. While we were there, a guy in a pickup truck drove up and went in to the restroom shouting for, what we thought at the time, his dog. He drove empty handed back down the street, and returned walking and shouting a few minutes later. As he approached us, he shouted "have you seen my wife", and with his hands spread out wide, said " she's A big girl". As he seemed a bit distraught, we denied any knowledge of her whereabouts. She finally showed up, and with a less than stellar display of marital bless, they walked away. Well, it was funny at the time.
On the Nineteenth we had a long ride to Redmond, and on the next day we made our last big climb up to McKenzie Pass. This was one of the best rides of the entire trip. The 15 mile climb up from Sisters, Oregon was on a scenic road with vehicle size restrictions that allowed bicycles to use the entire lane. The last five miles to the top ran along side a lava field from an eruption some 1500 years ago. There were great views of Oregon 's big snow covered peaks. Then, at the top, we climbed to the old observatory where there were 360 degree views of the lava field and peaks.
For me, the best part of the day was the 3000 ft descent over 20 miles to the McKenzie river. This was a fast hairpin fall through what became an increasingly dense and shaded northern rain forest. The mostly huge pine forest of the East side gave way to spruce/for and western red cedar and then, on the lower scoops gigantic redwoods.
After the long descent, we camped in a National Forest Campsite beside a good sized stream. We were surrounded by the tallest trees I have ever seen. The campsite did not have showers, so we bathed in the cold creek, and I ate ramen noodles for dinner.
Today we rode 87 miles to Corvallis, Oregon, a big college town with motels and lots of good places to eat. By our standards, it's quite luxurious. We only have about 200 miles to go and should be finished by Tuesday. I may be at coffee at Ellie's on Wednesday morning!
Thursday, July 13, 2017
July 13 Update
The internet connections have been a bit spotty, and I've been pretty tired, so I hve not posted in about a week. Here's where I've been and what I've seen.
Pat and Charlie and I are still traveling together, and we will probably finish up together. We all are of about equal ability and we spend a great deal of time drafting. Each of us takes about a ten minute turn at the front, while the other two have a slightly easier time following closely behind. We seem to get along pretty well, sharing war stories and talking about our families. I'm going to miss them when the trip is over.
We got to Missoula, Montana on the seventh. This is a bit of a milestone, because it is the home of the American Cycling Association, the organization that promotes bike touring and produced the maps we are using. Missoula is an interesting town, a lot like Asheville, NC with a mix of hippies and yuppies. It was very hot there, and I was glad to leave the next morning.
On the eighth, we traveled up the Lolo valley, a long but scenic up hill to the pass where we entered Idaho.We dropped down the other side into the Lochsa River valley and camped At the Lochsa Lodge. The next day we continued down the valley to Lowell on the Clearwater River where we stayed in a small motel.
The morning of the tenth, as we were traveling on down river, we stopped to speak to a 67 year old lady who was walking to North Carolina. She was pulling a small wagon and rough camping whenever she stopped. I felt ashamed to be traveling in such luxury. We continued on to Stites where we had the toughest climb we've had since we left Kentucky. After the climb, we traveled over a high prairie adjacent to the Nez Pierce Indian reservation. Almost all of the land was planted in beautiful golden wheat. We rode in to Grangeville, Idaho where we camped in the back yard of a warm showers host.
On the eleventh, we left Grangeville and after a fairly steep climb we reached a pass overlooking Hells Canyon on the Salmon River. The descent down to the river was about as exciting as it gets. The 8 mile grade was as steep as 7% and extremely fast. The descent was on a major graded road with long sweeping curves. I breaked enough to keep my speed down to about 35, but I could have easily hit over fifty if I had the nerve.
Someone said that Helps Canyon is actually deeper than the Grand Canyon, but not as dramatic. It was quite spectacular, with high peaks on either side and the Salmon River along side of us. We camped that night at Riggins in a nice RV park. Even though it was hot during the day there, as soon as the sun set behind the high peak to the West, it cooled off quickly.
The next morning we had a 40 mile climb up the Little Salmon River to New Meadow, where we ate breakfast. We had a nice chat with the local coffee klatch characters at the restaurant. We got lots of conflicting advice. We moved on and after an 85 mile day, we spent the night in Cambridge, Idaho.
This morning We left Cambridge at 6:00, made a quick 15 mile climb and then had a steep winding descent into the Snake River Hells Canyon where we entered Oregon. We traveled along the river to Oxbow and then turned South and climbed about 12 miles to Halfway, Oregon, a pretty little town with a nice restaurant and a decent motel where we are staying.
We are now in Pacific time and we are leaving for Baker City at 5:30 in the morning. We have only about 600 more miles to go.
Pat and Charlie and I are still traveling together, and we will probably finish up together. We all are of about equal ability and we spend a great deal of time drafting. Each of us takes about a ten minute turn at the front, while the other two have a slightly easier time following closely behind. We seem to get along pretty well, sharing war stories and talking about our families. I'm going to miss them when the trip is over.
We got to Missoula, Montana on the seventh. This is a bit of a milestone, because it is the home of the American Cycling Association, the organization that promotes bike touring and produced the maps we are using. Missoula is an interesting town, a lot like Asheville, NC with a mix of hippies and yuppies. It was very hot there, and I was glad to leave the next morning.
On the eighth, we traveled up the Lolo valley, a long but scenic up hill to the pass where we entered Idaho.We dropped down the other side into the Lochsa River valley and camped At the Lochsa Lodge. The next day we continued down the valley to Lowell on the Clearwater River where we stayed in a small motel.
The morning of the tenth, as we were traveling on down river, we stopped to speak to a 67 year old lady who was walking to North Carolina. She was pulling a small wagon and rough camping whenever she stopped. I felt ashamed to be traveling in such luxury. We continued on to Stites where we had the toughest climb we've had since we left Kentucky. After the climb, we traveled over a high prairie adjacent to the Nez Pierce Indian reservation. Almost all of the land was planted in beautiful golden wheat. We rode in to Grangeville, Idaho where we camped in the back yard of a warm showers host.
On the eleventh, we left Grangeville and after a fairly steep climb we reached a pass overlooking Hells Canyon on the Salmon River. The descent down to the river was about as exciting as it gets. The 8 mile grade was as steep as 7% and extremely fast. The descent was on a major graded road with long sweeping curves. I breaked enough to keep my speed down to about 35, but I could have easily hit over fifty if I had the nerve.
Someone said that Helps Canyon is actually deeper than the Grand Canyon, but not as dramatic. It was quite spectacular, with high peaks on either side and the Salmon River along side of us. We camped that night at Riggins in a nice RV park. Even though it was hot during the day there, as soon as the sun set behind the high peak to the West, it cooled off quickly.
The next morning we had a 40 mile climb up the Little Salmon River to New Meadow, where we ate breakfast. We had a nice chat with the local coffee klatch characters at the restaurant. We got lots of conflicting advice. We moved on and after an 85 mile day, we spent the night in Cambridge, Idaho.
This morning We left Cambridge at 6:00, made a quick 15 mile climb and then had a steep winding descent into the Snake River Hells Canyon where we entered Oregon. We traveled along the river to Oxbow and then turned South and climbed about 12 miles to Halfway, Oregon, a pretty little town with a nice restaurant and a decent motel where we are staying.
We are now in Pacific time and we are leaving for Baker City at 5:30 in the morning. We have only about 600 more miles to go.
Snake River
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| Bell's Canyon Salmon River |
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| Overlooking Salmon River, Hell's Canyon |
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| Note the population |
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| The Lochsa Lodge |
Thursday, July 6, 2017
July 6 update
Pat and Charlie and I got up early on the fourth, ate breakfast and headed out for an early 2000 ft climb. We rode for about eighteen miles on a moderate uphill grade, and then began the real climb of about 4 miles to the pass. After topping out the pass, we zoomed down to Virginia City, Montana. I thought this was the Virginia City of Bonanza fame, but someone corrected me on Facebook. It's actually Virginia City, Nevada in the TV show.
Going on down the valley there was evidence of gold and silver mining all along the creekside. We had a down hill slide for miles through a rocky canyon and then a straight downhill run into Twin Bridges. The grade was so gradual that we barely had to pedal for about 15 miles. Pat said it almost put him to sleep.
Pat had booked a room in Twin Bridges, but Charlie and I decided to push on to Dillon so that we would not have such a long day on the fifth. We had a tough time of it. It was slightly uphill for the 28 miles into Dillon, but the real problem was a mean headwind.
Charlie and I split a room in Dillon, Pat got up early and met us in Dillon about 7:00. As soon as we left Dillon, I knew I would be in for a tough day. We had a long moderate uphill climb followed by back to back climbs over two passes. By the time we reached Jackson, I was toast!
Jackson is not much of a town, just a few houses, a hotel/birdhouse where we stayed, and a cafe which was rustic, but had good food. The doors of the cafe were open and a couple of dogs wandered in and out. I don't really mind, I wish every restaurant were like that.
Here's a story my friend Cathy told me about a dog at My Mitchel State Park. She said, while waiting to be seated, a lady with a small dog asked the hostess if dogs were allowed in the restaurant. The hostess in a slow mountain drawl said: "I want you to listen very carefully. Could that dawg be a service dawg?" The lady thought for a minute, and replyed: " well I suppose it could be. " "Well come on in then" said the hostess.
We spent the night in the Bunkhouse dormitory, and got a good night's sleep, although we were awakened by a strong earthquake around midnight. I woke up well rested, and as soon as I got on my bike I realized I would have a good day. We rode to Wisdom, Montana, where 9 riders including ourselves ate breakfast, and then rode uphill through a beautiful wooded valley for about 24 miles, and then had a pretty steep climb up to Chief Joseph pass at 7400 ft. From there we dropped 2000 ft over 9 miles to Sula, Montana and then had an easy downhill to Darby , where we are staying.
We are spending the night with a warm showers host along with 4 other cyclists who are staying here. The host is really going all out for us, cooking dinner, providing shower and beds for all of us. He's hosted 24 others in just the last few weeks. It's almost unbelievable how nice people have been to us and others we have talked to.
Going on down the valley there was evidence of gold and silver mining all along the creekside. We had a down hill slide for miles through a rocky canyon and then a straight downhill run into Twin Bridges. The grade was so gradual that we barely had to pedal for about 15 miles. Pat said it almost put him to sleep.
Pat had booked a room in Twin Bridges, but Charlie and I decided to push on to Dillon so that we would not have such a long day on the fifth. We had a tough time of it. It was slightly uphill for the 28 miles into Dillon, but the real problem was a mean headwind.
Charlie and I split a room in Dillon, Pat got up early and met us in Dillon about 7:00. As soon as we left Dillon, I knew I would be in for a tough day. We had a long moderate uphill climb followed by back to back climbs over two passes. By the time we reached Jackson, I was toast!
Jackson is not much of a town, just a few houses, a hotel/birdhouse where we stayed, and a cafe which was rustic, but had good food. The doors of the cafe were open and a couple of dogs wandered in and out. I don't really mind, I wish every restaurant were like that.
Here's a story my friend Cathy told me about a dog at My Mitchel State Park. She said, while waiting to be seated, a lady with a small dog asked the hostess if dogs were allowed in the restaurant. The hostess in a slow mountain drawl said: "I want you to listen very carefully. Could that dawg be a service dawg?" The lady thought for a minute, and replyed: " well I suppose it could be. " "Well come on in then" said the hostess.
We spent the night in the Bunkhouse dormitory, and got a good night's sleep, although we were awakened by a strong earthquake around midnight. I woke up well rested, and as soon as I got on my bike I realized I would have a good day. We rode to Wisdom, Montana, where 9 riders including ourselves ate breakfast, and then rode uphill through a beautiful wooded valley for about 24 miles, and then had a pretty steep climb up to Chief Joseph pass at 7400 ft. From there we dropped 2000 ft over 9 miles to Sula, Montana and then had an easy downhill to Darby , where we are staying.
We are spending the night with a warm showers host along with 4 other cyclists who are staying here. The host is really going all out for us, cooking dinner, providing shower and beds for all of us. He's hosted 24 others in just the last few weeks. It's almost unbelievable how nice people have been to us and others we have talked to.
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| Godley skull bleaching? |
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| Skull bleaching "quick service" |
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| Our warm showers house |
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| The bar where we rehydrated when we got to town. An old bank with a chainsaw motif |
Monday, July 3, 2017
July 3 update
We had a good night in Lander Wyoming, a very nice couple put us up in their house and made sandwiches to take with us on our trip to Dubouis.
We had a hard ride into Dubouis, because the weather channel called for thunderstorms after lunch. We nearly got into town when the storm came in. I talked to my friend Malcolm who I rode with earlier in my trip. He is ahead of me by about a day, and he got caught in the storm at the high pass we crossed the next day. He said it rained and hailed on him at the top of the pass, and he nearly frooze.
Once again, we lucked out. Pat found a motel, and Charlie and I stayed in the Episcopal church fellowship hall. They didn't have a shower, but their was a car wash, laundromat, and a pay shower down the street. We washed out clothes and paid for a shower, maybe the car wash would have been cheaper.
The next day we climbed to the 9600 Pass and then descended into the Grand Teton valley, and on into Yellowstone. We stayed at Colter Bay where they reserve sites for bikers even if the campground is full. We were worried about bears, but did not see any bears nor buffalos in the park. We did see a small herd of Elk right in our campsite, about 7 adults and 5 calves. The road into Yellowstone was uphill with hardly any shoulder, and the traffic was terrible. There's nothing like being passed by a huge RV pulling a car, driven by some old fart even older than me, when I'm going 4 mph and barely staying upright, while he is doing 55 and so close you can touch him.I
The next day we rode to Old Faithful where we stood with about 5000 other people waiting to see the next eruption. We ate some breakfast and then moved on to West Yellowstone. We had a good shoulder to ride on, but the traffic, both ways, was even worse than the day before. Riding a bicycle through Yellowstone on the forth of July weekend is not for the faint hearted.
At the town of West Yellowstone, we stopped at the visitor center and asked the lady at the counter to help us find a place to stay. She said we could stay in her back yard, but she lived in Idaho, so we asked for something closer. She found us a small RV park right in town, and we were glad to get a place to stay there. The town was a typical tourist town, but we found a good restaurant, with cold beer and good food. We had plenty of both.
Today we had a great ride to Ennis Montana. We rode 74 miles, but it was almost all downhill with a tailwind. We are camping behind the Willies Distillery. No shower, no restroom after closing, but there's shade and grass.
The library was closed, so I walked across the street to an insurance agency and asked to use their internet. The owner offered me a chair and a beer and said have at it.
Tomorrow morning We have a tough 2000 ft climb in the first eight miles, so we will get an early start. I tend to struggle in the early morning, but I'll get over the pass if I have to walk.
I don't want to over stay my welcome, so I will post some pictures on this post later.
We had a hard ride into Dubouis, because the weather channel called for thunderstorms after lunch. We nearly got into town when the storm came in. I talked to my friend Malcolm who I rode with earlier in my trip. He is ahead of me by about a day, and he got caught in the storm at the high pass we crossed the next day. He said it rained and hailed on him at the top of the pass, and he nearly frooze.
Once again, we lucked out. Pat found a motel, and Charlie and I stayed in the Episcopal church fellowship hall. They didn't have a shower, but their was a car wash, laundromat, and a pay shower down the street. We washed out clothes and paid for a shower, maybe the car wash would have been cheaper.
The next day we climbed to the 9600 Pass and then descended into the Grand Teton valley, and on into Yellowstone. We stayed at Colter Bay where they reserve sites for bikers even if the campground is full. We were worried about bears, but did not see any bears nor buffalos in the park. We did see a small herd of Elk right in our campsite, about 7 adults and 5 calves. The road into Yellowstone was uphill with hardly any shoulder, and the traffic was terrible. There's nothing like being passed by a huge RV pulling a car, driven by some old fart even older than me, when I'm going 4 mph and barely staying upright, while he is doing 55 and so close you can touch him.I
The next day we rode to Old Faithful where we stood with about 5000 other people waiting to see the next eruption. We ate some breakfast and then moved on to West Yellowstone. We had a good shoulder to ride on, but the traffic, both ways, was even worse than the day before. Riding a bicycle through Yellowstone on the forth of July weekend is not for the faint hearted.
At the town of West Yellowstone, we stopped at the visitor center and asked the lady at the counter to help us find a place to stay. She said we could stay in her back yard, but she lived in Idaho, so we asked for something closer. She found us a small RV park right in town, and we were glad to get a place to stay there. The town was a typical tourist town, but we found a good restaurant, with cold beer and good food. We had plenty of both.
Today we had a great ride to Ennis Montana. We rode 74 miles, but it was almost all downhill with a tailwind. We are camping behind the Willies Distillery. No shower, no restroom after closing, but there's shade and grass.
The library was closed, so I walked across the street to an insurance agency and asked to use their internet. The owner offered me a chair and a beer and said have at it.
Tomorrow morning We have a tough 2000 ft climb in the first eight miles, so we will get an early start. I tend to struggle in the early morning, but I'll get over the pass if I have to walk.
I don't want to over stay my welcome, so I will post some pictures on this post later.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
June 28 update
On Tuesday we had a long ride from Rawlins to Jeffrey, Wyoming. We started early because we seen that we would have strong headwinds by about 10:00. Sure enough, at 10:00, about 45 miles into a 65 mile day, the wind began to howl. We formed a 3 man paceline with each of us rotating a 10 minute turn at the front. After about 2 hours of this I was excited to see Jeffreys, Wyoming, one of the most God forsaken towns in the country. But, even the pitts has its perks.
We stopped at the Split Rock Bar and Grill, a place opened in the fifties, and not swept since. We ordered a couple of dusty Coors from Bill, our somewhat slow or intoxicated bar keep, and washed away the trail dust.
After quenching our thirst, we rode over to the church hostel. It is a good sized place that is rough by Concord standards, but it had a kitchen, showers, and separate rooms with mattresses on the floors. The walls were covered with notes from bikers who had stayed there, there were literally thousands of comments.
After we got established in in our quarters and took a brief nap, we headed back to the Split Rock for dinner. The cast of characters in the bar by this time was reminiscent of the bar scene from Star Wars. One fellow who's hair looked like he had had electroshock treatment walked in dragging his new puppy on a piece of rope. He called him Come on Dammit. I went outside to take a picture just as a family drove up with grandpa. They got out of the car and two of the men tried to help grandpa inside. Before they got to the door, he collapsed to the ground and they struggled to get him back to his feet. I thought something was seriously wrong with him, but it turned out he was just drunk. They got him propped up on a barstool (fortunately one with a backrest) and went about their business, two of them off to shoot pool, and the rest, including grandma set down at a table.
We had a pretty good dinner there, but fortunately, I couldn't see the kitchen from my seat. It took Bill a good bit of time to get our bill together as he was well into his cups by then. They made us a sandwich to go because we did not have any place to eat on our next ride
This morning, we got up at 4:00 and began our ride at 5:30, again to beat the wind. The temperature was in the low forties, and my hands were cold for the first hour or so, but the ride was spectacular with a beautiful sunrise and some amazing vistas. At one point we arrived atop a high plateau which overlooked a distant valley and the snow covered Wind River range off on the horizon. From the top of the plateau we had a six mile descent at a 6% grade. Our bike speed was never under 30mph on the ride down. The rest of the trip traveled through impressive rock formations and red rock hills. Sure enough, about 10:00 the wind came up and we were back to drafting again, but by then we were close to Landers.
Landers is nice old western town with lots of shops and bars, and an excellent library where I'm sitting now. Tonight we are staying at a warm showers host house, which is a reciprocal housing arrangement for bike travelers. This will be my first try at one of these, I understand the host has a teepee and a tree house to stay in. I'll take pictures and give an account.
A wall inside the church
I did not get a picture of grandpa, I thought that would be gouch!
We stopped at the Split Rock Bar and Grill, a place opened in the fifties, and not swept since. We ordered a couple of dusty Coors from Bill, our somewhat slow or intoxicated bar keep, and washed away the trail dust.
After quenching our thirst, we rode over to the church hostel. It is a good sized place that is rough by Concord standards, but it had a kitchen, showers, and separate rooms with mattresses on the floors. The walls were covered with notes from bikers who had stayed there, there were literally thousands of comments.
After we got established in in our quarters and took a brief nap, we headed back to the Split Rock for dinner. The cast of characters in the bar by this time was reminiscent of the bar scene from Star Wars. One fellow who's hair looked like he had had electroshock treatment walked in dragging his new puppy on a piece of rope. He called him Come on Dammit. I went outside to take a picture just as a family drove up with grandpa. They got out of the car and two of the men tried to help grandpa inside. Before they got to the door, he collapsed to the ground and they struggled to get him back to his feet. I thought something was seriously wrong with him, but it turned out he was just drunk. They got him propped up on a barstool (fortunately one with a backrest) and went about their business, two of them off to shoot pool, and the rest, including grandma set down at a table.
We had a pretty good dinner there, but fortunately, I couldn't see the kitchen from my seat. It took Bill a good bit of time to get our bill together as he was well into his cups by then. They made us a sandwich to go because we did not have any place to eat on our next ride
This morning, we got up at 4:00 and began our ride at 5:30, again to beat the wind. The temperature was in the low forties, and my hands were cold for the first hour or so, but the ride was spectacular with a beautiful sunrise and some amazing vistas. At one point we arrived atop a high plateau which overlooked a distant valley and the snow covered Wind River range off on the horizon. From the top of the plateau we had a six mile descent at a 6% grade. Our bike speed was never under 30mph on the ride down. The rest of the trip traveled through impressive rock formations and red rock hills. Sure enough, about 10:00 the wind came up and we were back to drafting again, but by then we were close to Landers.
Landers is nice old western town with lots of shops and bars, and an excellent library where I'm sitting now. Tonight we are staying at a warm showers host house, which is a reciprocal housing arrangement for bike travelers. This will be my first try at one of these, I understand the host has a teepee and a tree house to stay in. I'll take pictures and give an account.
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| Red rock formation |
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| Sunrise over Wyoming |
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| Plateau |
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| Casting a long Wyoming shadow |
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| The plateau overlooking the Wind River range |
Monday, June 26, 2017
June 26 update
After leaving Silverthorne, Pat and I had a good 60 mile ride to Brandby, Co. Where we split a Motel room for the night. The motel was old but clean. We had a little trouble reserving the room because the owner was fishing when he took out call. On the way, we passed through a canyon that is on one of the Amtrak routes. After going through Hot Sulfur Springs we followed the headwaters of the Colorado river up to Branby.
The next morning we rode up a beautiful valley with lush pastures that have way to wooded mountain sides along Willow Creek. We had a 22 mile climb up to the pass over to the Eastern side of the continental device where the landscape changed dramatically. The eastern side is much drier and much more open. The total mileage for the day was 58 and there was not a single open store or a place to get water.
We rolled into Walden, Co around 1:00 in the afternoon. It was a big weekend in Walden, they were having a rodeo and a street festival, so all of the motels were booked. We camped in the city park where we ran into Charlie, a fellow traveler we met in Breckenridge two days before. We also met three German motorcyclists who were camping in the park. The six of us drank a few beers and then walked up town to have dinner together. We really had a great time talking to them about there impressions of America, and our cultural differences.
The next morning Pat, Charlie and I headed out for Riverside, Wyoming, only about a fifty mile ride. Riverside only has a population of about 50, but it had a very nice campground, two bars and a store. We got there fairly early, and we all got a good rest, dinner, and a belly full of beer.
Here's a little background about Charlie, now a part of our team. Like Pat, he is 64 years old, married with children, and recently retired. He has toured some, but this is his first tour of this magnitude. Charlie is fairly small, at least compared to Pat and me, but he is a strong rider. I am probably the weakest link in the chain, but I can hold my own on all but the toughest climbs.
Today the three of us headed out for Rawlins, Wyoming, about a 60 mile ride. We pacelined all the way to Rawlins, so I only took one picture. If you state at it for 4 hours, you will get to enjoy the entire ride. We had calm winds and not many bad uphills, so we averaged 16.5 miles per hour, which for loaded touring is very fast. This will probably be the fastest time of our entire trip.
Pat stayed in a Motel tonight, and Charlie and I are sharing a KOA cabin. Charlie and I walked down to the local saloon to have a beer and dinner. The dinner menu only listed four items, so we both opted for the 16 oz ribeye. There are a lot of cows in Wyoming so you get a lot of beef for your buck!
Tomorrow we are facing a 68 mile day into bad headwinds, we may have to cut the ride short of it gets too bad. The Weather Channel has predicted 20 mph with gusts to 30. We will see how it goes.
The next morning we rode up a beautiful valley with lush pastures that have way to wooded mountain sides along Willow Creek. We had a 22 mile climb up to the pass over to the Eastern side of the continental device where the landscape changed dramatically. The eastern side is much drier and much more open. The total mileage for the day was 58 and there was not a single open store or a place to get water.
We rolled into Walden, Co around 1:00 in the afternoon. It was a big weekend in Walden, they were having a rodeo and a street festival, so all of the motels were booked. We camped in the city park where we ran into Charlie, a fellow traveler we met in Breckenridge two days before. We also met three German motorcyclists who were camping in the park. The six of us drank a few beers and then walked up town to have dinner together. We really had a great time talking to them about there impressions of America, and our cultural differences.
The next morning Pat, Charlie and I headed out for Riverside, Wyoming, only about a fifty mile ride. Riverside only has a population of about 50, but it had a very nice campground, two bars and a store. We got there fairly early, and we all got a good rest, dinner, and a belly full of beer.
Here's a little background about Charlie, now a part of our team. Like Pat, he is 64 years old, married with children, and recently retired. He has toured some, but this is his first tour of this magnitude. Charlie is fairly small, at least compared to Pat and me, but he is a strong rider. I am probably the weakest link in the chain, but I can hold my own on all but the toughest climbs.
Today the three of us headed out for Rawlins, Wyoming, about a 60 mile ride. We pacelined all the way to Rawlins, so I only took one picture. If you state at it for 4 hours, you will get to enjoy the entire ride. We had calm winds and not many bad uphills, so we averaged 16.5 miles per hour, which for loaded touring is very fast. This will probably be the fastest time of our entire trip.
Pat stayed in a Motel tonight, and Charlie and I are sharing a KOA cabin. Charlie and I walked down to the local saloon to have a beer and dinner. The dinner menu only listed four items, so we both opted for the 16 oz ribeye. There are a lot of cows in Wyoming so you get a lot of beef for your buck!
Tomorrow we are facing a 68 mile day into bad headwinds, we may have to cut the ride short of it gets too bad. The Weather Channel has predicted 20 mph with gusts to 30. We will see how it goes.
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| We've seen hundreds of Antelope, but this is pretty much the land around them |
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| The North Platte River on the way to Rawlins |
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| Pat and Charlie |
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