Day 58

Hatch to Deming was uneventful except for one or two flats. I think we finally learned that the key is to keep your tires on the pavement at all costs, the moment they get off in the gravel or weeds to the side of the road is danger zone for the go ahead thorns.

Saw another Solar power farm, probably the third or fourth one I’ve seen in New Mexico. Huge rows of solar cells passively collecting sun produced electricity and feeding the grid for us hungry energy users. 

We stayed at a days inn on the outskirts of Deming, a nice little town with a nice couple of downtown core streets, but not a whole lot else there. Walmart, of course, was probably responsible for lots of the closed businesses in the downtown zone. 

Note to self, don’t order spaghetti off of a menu that is dominated by Mexican food and burgers! The jar of Ragu sauce that showed up on the plate with three measly meatballs on top of pasta that probably was cooked a month ago was edible, but just barely!

Day 59

The last day of cycling finally arrives! Deming to Columbus, only about 33 miles to finish!

Saw a beautiful (dead) snake on the road! Actually, there has been an enormous amount of roadkill along the way, so surprising to see so many and especially some larger animals flat and dried on the side of the road…

We also ran into Richard, I met him about a month ago on the trip when I was riding along with the Dutch group. He was riding solo from the Netherlands, when into Puerto Palomas for lunch and was riding back to Deming to catch a train to Los Angeles. Nice guy!

We rode into very small town Columbus, arriving around noon, stopped for lunch at Alma’s for Mexican. As we’ve gotten closer to the border, to become more common to see returnable bottles, the old type that I remember growing up with as a kid, heavy thick glass bottles of Coca-Cola, Fanta Orange, sprite. Ice-cold Coke out of glass taste pretty darn good! My favorite drink while cycling, though in my normal life I never touch it…

Lunch done, just three more miles to the border! My original idea was to check into the motel and drop off my gear, ride lightened bikes in Mexico, but Danell reminded us that we carried all this stuff from Canada, we should carry it in the Mexico too, so we all rode fully loaded bikes into the border crossing.

So here I find myself riding the last three miles, approaching Mexico! Euphoric yes, but also kinda just another day on the bike, somehow. 

No issues at the border, we pretty much just cycled right into Mexico! Within the first block past the border is a place called the Pink Store, a combination restaurant and gift shop full of Mexican gifts and pottery and trinkets and such. Actually really nice store and operated by very nice people! As we had just had lunch, we just relaxed with margaritas and I had beer and a couple of tequila shots. 

As I mentioned before, there was for me a certain amount of relief and yet disbelief about having completing the trip. After we enjoyed our drinks, it was time to eat some food before we cycled back to Columbus to Martha’s place, a little motel.

Bridgette will meet us at the hotel later tonight, a 6 hr drive for her from Phoenix. 

There’s a certain amount of this trip that I find in its conclusion to be anti-climactic, in a sense once you’ve achieved a thing, the effort and time that it took to achieve it is all behind you, somehow it doesn’t all add up to some glorious cumulative crescendo, it’s just done. And that’s ok… So grateful that Haley and Danell adopted me so I had friends to celebrate the finish with!

Once I get all my thoughts together in retrospect about the trip, I will add a concluding and final blog entry with my overall impressions and perspectives on completing the longest (time and distance) cycling adventure of my life. So far, anyway…

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
   

Day 55

Belen to Socorro was about 50 miles. Between the three of us, two flats along the way. Those pesky thorns are everywhere!

By late afternoon checked into a nice best Western after trying to find more tube replacements, but 29 inch wheels are still not very common, will have to make do with patching the existing tubes.

The Socorro Springs Brewery is right there next to the motel, can you guess where I spent a good portion of my late afternoon and evening? Their IPA was really really good!

There, a very enthusiastic late 20s man came in and sat a couple chairs away. He instantly starting rapping continuously statistics and opinions about current college football players and coaches and stats and records and expectations and every other thing, a true aficionado of football! Reminded me of someone else I know…

He was a real nice guy though, the wildland firefighter and once he found out I was a retired fireguy, we talked about the fire service quite a bit. As usual, I tried to drop a little bit of wisdom and perspective on a guy on the front end of his career that might help him later on. Against my request, he ended up buying my lunch and beer, so that was pretty damn cool! Ended up back at the same place that night for a wood fired pizza and salad. 

Day 56

Today was all day on the interstate, uneventful and noisy, but we arrived in Truth or Consequences earlier than expected by taking the interstate. But we never exceeded the speed limit!!

TC is hard to describe. Much of the downtown which is on or near the banks of the Rio Grande, makes its fame from the natural hot springs in the area. So there are many old-school motels and such near the downtown that boast spas and hot springs. However they were out of our budget, we ended up staying closer up near the highway where all the chain hotels are.

No more complaints from me about cold-weather, 88° yesterday at 5 PM seems like plenty hot!

Day 57

Truth or Consequences in the rear view mirror as clear warm skies greet our departure. Heading to Hatch today, about 40 miles. 

Riding out of town, I stopped briefly at the veterans memorial on the outskirts, it was actually a very nice replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC, but with just New Mexico names on the wall. But very well kept and obviously much revered memorial in this small American town. 

About halfway through the cycling day, I crested a hill near Caballo Reservoir and saw another cyclist heading north! That’s always a surprise, we stopped and talked and when the Kiwis caught up, turns out he was the guy that had left them the note some weeks ago that I had read and mentioned in the blog. A real nice guy, Sanjay was heading back to Albuquerque where he has a small Vespa type scooter that he will attach his bike to and then ride all the way back to LA. He also went to Columbus, crossed the border into Mexico and had lunch and a beer, so at least I got confirmation that can be done!

What a beautiful day day of cycling through red and green chile fields, cotton fields, corn stalks and walnut farms. With a nice tailwind all day! One of the most pleasant days of cycling in memory for this trip. 

This area is known for red chili production, I think and I hope that the closer we get to Mexico, the spicier the food will get! 

On arrival, we stopped at a cafe for lunch, and I had the best-ever bowl of green chile beef stew with fresh limes. So very yummy! The Best Mexican food of the trip by far, so far!

In fact, Hatch looks like a Mexican town, kind of dusty streets, lots of pottery and trinkets for sale on both sides of the street, quite a few very simple restaurants. 

The only place to stay in Hatch is the Kings Pillow Inn. Well, when it’s the ONLY place, you try not to notice the 40 flies in the window, I mean; they were included in the $45 rate, no extra charge!

Not much to do here, but definitely will be looking for another bowl of green chile stew or some other spicy wonderfulness later! Well that didn’t work out, the few restaurants in downtown zone all close at six, we got there about 615. So I got some much less interesting to-go food from a small local grocery store, but that will do for me!

It is expected to be hotter tomorrow, approaching 90 by the afternoon for sure, it’s a bit of a longer day, and I’m more than happy to get out of this funky sleazy motel, so I anticipate an 8:30 AM start tomorrow.

Only two more days of cycling! It’s been very nice to be cycling with Kiwi friends Danell and Haley toward the end, they are great cyclists and very kind. But for me, the mixed emotions are already setting in, to know that I will be off the bicycle until who knows when very soon, makes me both happy and nostalgic of the past two months, and… inevitably thinking about where the next one will take me…

To Deming tomorrow, about 50 miles…

PS: Texted with Chris and Dave this morning! They seem to be doing well and are faithfully following the great divide trail, something I let go of once I hit New Mexico, I’m very proud of their tenacity and determination to stay on the official trail this long!

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
 

   
    
    
    
 

Day 51

Left Chama under better skies headed for Cuba, a 77 mile day, but no huge climbs. Traveled through some country that was really beautiful, across a dam, and into sagebrush country with eroded plateaus beside the road. It reminded me of the old westerns I watched as a kid. Back in those days you didn’t think about the true history of Native Americans, but I’m more conscious of that now, of course. An interesting juxtaposition of childhood Cowboys vs Indian movie visuals in my brain and more culturally sensitive values I’m conscious of now. 

Arrived Cuba 430pm, checked into the Frontier Motel. A nice bike friendly lady runs it, recommended for cyclists, and gave me the senior rate which with tax was about $60, very very reasonable!

Great Mexican food nearby at the kind of nicer restaurant you wouldn’t expect to see in a town this small, but obviously it’s well known as eating there two evenings ultimately, it was never empty. 

Heavy rain fell overnight, making me think that another rest day waiting for better weather was likely here. 

So an unusual occurrence with the Kiwi gals that I met earlier, Danell and Haley; based on our discussion in Chama, I knew they were ahead of me and had departed Cuba the morning of my arrival there, so I didn’t expect to see them again. But around 5pm as I was walking out to dinner, I saw their bikes parked at the front office of the motel. That was strange, as they had intended to leave that morning before my arrival continuing along the great divide route. I walked into the motel lobby, there they were chowing down on some McD’s, and of course I ask how is it that they were back here? Well.. quite the unsettling story of them riding out on the recommended trail some 30 miles toward Chaco, having tire flats, getting hassled by some drunk guys, and ultimately getting a ride back into Cuba from a helpful woman who had recognized the situation with the drunk assholes. According to what they told me, this was really the first negative experience with assholes that I had heard on the trip, and it wasn’t giving them a good impression of New Mexico… nor were the huge huge tarantula-like spiders you see crawling around… makes the idea of camping seem sketchy…

Anyway I continued on to dinner, as I was planning a rest day tomorrow for weather anyway, I knew I would see them in the morning…

Day 52

So my day off in Cuba started with finally being serious with myself about what I wanted to accomplish for the rest of this trip. I had ridden well over 2000 miles along the great divide trail, through storms and rain, and plenty of spectacularly nice days as well. But at some point, I felt like the trip is coming to a conclusion, I really was just sort of getting over it all, if you know what I mean. I’ve been away since August 15th!

So I started looking at the shortest route to the Mexican border versus continuing through relative wilderness on the great divide trail. Especially from Cuba south, there was another big stretch of waterless desolation that didn’t necessarily thrill me with weather that continued to be unsettled. So, I thought it through… and decided to take the shortest path to the Mexican border: Columbus. 

The mantra for my trip then, somewhat changed from “doing the great divide trail from Canada to Mexico” to something more like “having a cold beer in Canada, cycling across most of the great divide to Mexico, and having a cold beer in Mexico!” The official end of the great divide trail is in antelope wells, a border town with absolutely nothing else there except the border crossing. An alternate official ending is Columbus, New Mexico, and there is a small Mexican town directly across the border that will facilitate the multi-country cold beer conclusion of this trip! 

So I changed Bridgette’s airline tickets so that she will arrive in Phoenix a full week earlier than originally planned, and I’m very happy with that to get back to my Portland life a week sooner. 

I did full laundry in Cuba as well, that’s always nice to get everything cleaned again! Talked to Danell and Haley about my intention to shorten the trip, I offered if they were interested to shorten their trip as well, we could coordinate things at the end. 

They are both very nice and good riders, coming to the end of their one-year visa after spending most of their time in Banff, Canada, they’re in their mid 20s, younger than my daughters. 

Later that same day in Cuba, another couple, Amy and Hamish, also doing the great divide but starting in Jasper who’d been on the road for couple of months taking many sidetrips, also checked in the frontier motel. Very nice folks, they both quit their jobs to do the great divide ride, planning 4.5 months of cumulative riding.

All of us ended up at dinner together at the same Mexican place, an enjoyable group dinner to hear about everybody’s perceptions about the trip, of the U.S., their cycling experiences, other people they’ve met, etc.

Danell and Haley told the story about their bad day out of Cuba, being hassled by the drunk guys, and their jaded experience with New Mexico so far. Amy and Hamish offered to ride with them on the official route for the rest of the trip. That was very nice of them. I had already shared my plan to simply finish the trip as quickly as possible.

With Danell and Haley, it was unclear what their intention was at this point, either they were going to travel with me on the shorter route starting at 8:30 the following morning, or they were going to ride with Amy and Hamish to finish the trip with them; at that moment I really didn’t know what was going to occur in the morning, except I knew what my plan was!

Day 53

I was ready to roll at 8:30 AM after a tasty green chili smothered breakfast Adovado burrito at Chaco Taco! 

Got to talking with Amy and Hamish as they were assembling their gear next to my room. Danell and Haley came out of their room ready to roll and would ride with me at least as far as Rio Rancho. Funny, they were still a little focused on going to Pie Town, a rite of passage for many great divide cyclists, but I figure I can get pie anywhere! 

So the day started cycling out of Cuba with Danell and Haley, a full 70m day to Rio Rancho. They had one flat each! (Realistically, they should have replaced the rear tires at least 500 miles ago. On the official great divide trail however, that’s easier said than done…)

In our discussions during the riding day, they said they’d like to join my ride plan to the end, and coordinate their departure from the end of the trip back to Phoenix with Bridgette and me which makes total sense. They will fly to Vancouver, then to New Zealand. I welcome having some nice folks to finish the trip with after many many days solo.

Along the way to Rio Rancho, on a divided four-lane State Highway, I came across a ghost bike memorial. For those of you who don’t know what that is, where cyclists have been killed by cars, there is a movement to place white bicycles there as a reminder of the frequency of cyclists being hit by cars. Unusual to come across one, certainly of the first one I’ve seen on this trip, though there have been numerous other roadside memorials. 

We made it to Rio Rancho at a reasonable time, but the bike shop I had targeted on Google maps wasn’t there!! Frustrating! Saving grace was that a brewpub is right next to where it used to be. Had a nice very late lunch there.

After the brewpub lunch, they continued to bike shop for new tires and the nice guy kept the bike shop open late and gave their bikes a tuneup and replaced the rear tires. I continued to the motel after two beers, adding to the adventure… 

After quick sink laundry and a nice hot shower (NHS), I walked over to Albertson’s grocery and got some beer, some Ramen, and though there were some restaurants around, since we had such a late lunch, I didn’t plan on going out for a meal again. But the ramen noodles were a great nightcap!!

Later after Danell and Haley showed up at the motel from the bike shop, we conferred about the plan for the next few days, pretty much made a list of which towns we’re going to stop in vs camping with tarantula fear, and ultimately getting us into Columbus on the 14th. 

Day 54

The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is going on this week, hundreds of thousands of spectators each day for the mass ascent each morning. And while I thought we might perhaps ride by it on our way out of town, apparently the only activity is from 5 AM to 9 AM, when all the balloons ascend in the morning, so scratch that idea.

From the live-action shots on the morning news, it almost seems Disney-esque, balloons depicting caricatures of all kinds of popular cartoon movie characters and such. 

Fixing flat tires has kinda been the theme since I joined with the Kiwi women, even though they got two new rear tires and tubes last night, Haley woke to a flat on her front. That made for a later departure, and somehow our 50 mile day which seemed reasonable after doing 70 the day before, turned into a long long day, part of that precipitated by us riding many bike trails in Albuquerque to get out of town which was really nice, but slooooow. The cycling amenities in Albuquerque seem very well-developed, I must say!

Also very unusual on most of the cycling route this entire trip, we had the option to stop at Subway for lunch and so we did and that took quite a long time to get out of there. Eventually we made it into Belen to a motel. 

Speaking of flats, most of them today were caused by the goat head thorn, a thorn that falls off of a low groundcover plants, and they are powerful and strong, easily puncturing a bicycle tire. (I’ll include a photo below.) There were two more flats during the day, presumably both of them goat head thorns, I even had one in my front tubeless tire, but when it was pulled out the tire thankfully self sealed. 

Eventually we got out onto the highway, the shoulder was good for a while, then completely disappeared so that was an unpleasant 10 or 12 miles.

The hotel is nearly a mile from the small town Center, but there is an interesting diner across the street built in an old rail car. Ballin is apparently a crew change out town for some of the cross country rail lines that run through here. There is a large former hotel that is not strictly housing for railroad personnel.

Anyway the diner is a classic greasy spoon that serves large portions of pretty tasty food! I enjoyed a giant burger with green chiles, and a mudpie coffee ice cream dessert that was awesome!

Back to the hotel for an early sleep, hope to be rolling by 9 AM tomorrow for an early afternoon arrival in Socorro, New Mexico. 

Hope to be done with the trip and having a cold beer in Mexico either on the afternoon of the 14th or early on the 15th! 

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
   

Day 44

Left a very comfortable Salida and started the day with a 3800′ climb up Marshall Pass. The weather was decent, the ride up the pass was seemingly endless but after five hours I was at the top!

Had a quick snack and then started the 17 or so miles downhill to the next turn. After about mile seven, I encountered a powerful headwind, this soul deflating, heartbreaking headwind really kicked my ass. It took every possible advantage out of the slight downhill I was riding on, had to pedal hard just to continue through it, and somewhere along the way I decided that it absolutely sucked!

I hoped to get mileage around 60 today, had to call it quits around 3:30 PM as to continue would be going straight into the wind for another 14 miles at least. So I only made 42 miles today, somewhat disappointed with that, disappointed I let the headwind get the best of me, but it most certainly did! Got a $50 dry cabin at an RV park in Sargents, hoping the wind will let up by the morning… Cooking a bag of slop for dinner…

Ultimately, my mind and body said it was quitting time. Asleep very early, and happy about that. 

Day 45

Awoke early to still cloudy, but wind was calm!! Yaaayyy!! Had a cuppa joe and oatmeal and busted outa the cabin and rolling by 9am. Feeling much better psychologically…

About 12 miles on a low traffic two lane highway to start, then onto familiar gravel. Saw very few cars today heading up eventually to Cochetopa Pass, just over 10,000′ for my what, 19th crossing of the divide?? Except for the last couple miles, the climb was moderate. 

I reached the suggested stop at Luders Creek Campground about 3pm, but was out of water so had to filter a bunch from the creek. Almost 4pm by then… Thought about going 22m to the next listed campground, but called it a day here. I am the only person here so far, and the camp robber gray jays and noisy squirrels are definitely keeping me company, in their way… Manny would be ecstatic to be here! 

Cooking up a bag of slop, sweet sour pork, adding dehydrated fire roasted veggies. (I will include a photo of the goofy diverse bunch on the cover of each bag I can’t ignore each time I prepare one…) This was actually a pretty good meal combo, for a change!! 

My din almost done, was very surprised by a Kiwi cyclist that walked up and said hello. She and friend are doing the divide, first time I came across them. Though at the top of the pass today, there was a note under a stack of rocks to them from another guy ahead, I wondered when I read the note how long it had been there. I kept seeing tire tracks ahead of me today that looked fresh, apparently an ultra light guy from LA had left the note for the Kiwis he had met earlier. 

Anyway, I gathered some wood for their fire and chatted with them at their campsite for about 30 minutes until their din was ready. They were cooking pasta with sauce, Parmesan, and bacon bits. Great idea!!! I may try that!!

Back to my camp and hearing little critters trying to find food, even had a damn chipmunk or squirrel try to climb up my leg in the dark while sitting at the table!!! 

It is so quiet here… And despite a few raindrops earlier, I can see at least a few stars above me now. 

Quiet, except… You always hear a jet traveling somewhere. We are mostly immune to that sound, we don’t think about how prevalent that sound is in our modern lives, but there have been few places in 45 days thus far despite my remoteness that I haven’t heard at least one during the day or night. 

Early to sleep again, a 60+ day is necessary to Del Norte tomorrow. 

Day 46

A good ride through the mountains after an extremely quiet campground!

The first dozen miles downhill, what a treat! But as soon as you get out of elevation, it’s a lot hotter! Continue through the sagebrush to Delnorte. 

A very nice town with a brewpub called Three Barrels, good beer, fantastic pizza! Give me fuel for tomorrow’s big climb which is the longest and I asked of the entire trip!

So I was sitting at Three Barrels Pizza, the two women I met from New Zealand yesterday walked in and ordered up their dinner, just off their bikes, approximately four hours after I arrived in town.

Staying at the Windsor Hotel, a classic very old hotel that has been refurbished. I heard a little bit about the story, apparently it was rescued from demolition some years ago, like many beautiful structures in the United States, little regard for the classic construction of these places. The new owners put about $3 million into it to get it in good shape, it is really a beautiful place!

Getting to sleep early tonight, tomorrow is a huge day, the longest, highest climb of the entire trip.

Day 47

I woke early with the intention of being on the road much earlier than usual, somehow never seems to work out that way… Enjoyed a couple of the homemade croissant here at the hotel, and some wonderful Huckleberry jam. Very nice place for sure!

Now it’s time to hit the road for the longest highest climb of the entire trip, over Indiana Pass, climbing about 4000′ today to 12,829′.

Headwinds to start, but it looked like the bad weather was leaving. Rolling hills for 8 miles, then climbing in earnest. This hill was a mofo! So long, very few flat spots, too steep to ride for much of it, and the storm intensified as I got higher. 

Incredibly strong winds, had to push the bike at least 50% of climb. About six miles from the top, a very serious wall of clouds appeared, hail started and continued off and on for the rest of the day. Not pleasant at all…

Got to the bitterly cold top of Indiana Pass after 5.5 hours, the strong wind still swirling every which way, and each of the dozen times the hail started, I had to head for the nearest tree. That shit hurts when it hits your face!! 

Much more climbing to go after the main pass, as I dropped maybe 1000′ and then back up over Elwood Pass. The weather got colder and worse as the day progressed, massive thunder and lightning all around me. Heavy rains began on the other side of Elwood Pass. 

I got to suggested campground about 615pm, but was pouring rain. Didn’t see the point of stopping there and setting up in the rain if Platoro has cabins, which was six miles further over a lower pass. Though I admit I was a little worried and desperate at this point. 

Continued up 10,541′ Stunner Pass, about a 1500′ climb over into Platoro. Yes, the third climb of the day… 

So here’s where things got dicey… I definitely miscalculated sunset, was nearly pitch black when I got to the top of the pass, and I had three more miles slowly downhill in the dark to Platoro. 

Didn’t know it then but Platoro was in power outage from the storm, I couldn’t see the listed RV park anywhere. Finally, a car pulled up to a small house nearby and I asked them about the RV park and they pointed me down the dark gravel road. What was especially nice was they offered to help me if I couldn’t get a place at the RV park. 

Totally pitch dark, I knocked on a cabin, wrong people but they kindly walked me to the store. 

At the Platoro Valley Lodge and Cabins finally, pitch dark and raining, Michael the owner said they have the Divide Cabin available!! (A cabin primarily set up for bikers/hikers, no water but some bunk beds.) He saw how cold and wet I was, warmed me up a bowl of homemade vegetable soup, bread, cheese, and I downed two cokes. He fired up the woodstove in the store. What a godsend! I was truly grateful. (Much later, he said he felt the deep chill on me when I shook his hand.)

I got into the cabin, but no heat due to the power outage. I was so thankful to be out of the now intensifying rain and in a dry place. Got my wet clothes off and all my warm dry clothes on and I was happy even without heat! 

It has been thundering and raining heavily since I got here. So thankful, truly grateful to be in a dry cabin. If this trip provides me with nothing else, it will be an appreciation for the kindness of people and the joys the simple things life can bring when you’re desperate tired, cold to the bone, wet, and hungry…

Day 48

The storm yesterday really taxed me on many levels. I slept in til 745am and had brekky at the store cafe. So you don’t get the wrong picture, Platoro is basically a few cabins, and RV park/lodge with a basic store and small cafe. They will be shutting down for the winter in 17 days. 

I decided today would be a rest day here as it was only 38′ and windy at 10am. I spent the morning mapping my departure as the weather continues to look unfavorable for the next week. I’m concerned about hitting really nasty cold weather again with no alternatives or services along the designated very remote route over the next couple days, I may opt off the official route onto a road with more services, and rejoin the main route in either Abiquiu or Cuba. So will see what the weather tomorrow looks like, and after heading over La Manga Pass (10,230) I may head to Chama over Cumbres Pass (10,022) on a paved road vs the very remote official route. Weather will dictate my choice…

But today, relaxing in my cabin, secure from that cold biting wind outside, reading the Best Short Stories of 1968, I selected from the library share in the cafe. Read one actually, then took a very rare two hour nap…

And you may notice I don’t talk a lot about the scenery, I feel like it’s been spectacular, but one can only say so much about the fall colors, vistas, creeks, mountain formations, valleys, passes, and such… And also, essentially no photos from stormy day since my phone spent the day staying dry in a ziplock. 

Ps: I am now at approximately mile 2,010 of 2,750… Cross into New Mexico tomorrow regardless of my route choice…

The thunder and rain rolled in again about 10pm. Hoping that will pass by morning. 

Day 49

Awoke in the dark of dawn to some sort of critter scratching at one of my food bags inside the cabin. 

Got up to look outside and a thin layer of ice is on everything, the sky is a moving grey, bits of sleet are falling, and this is not a positive outlook for the early departure I hoped for… Suddenly regretting my needed rest day as at least yesterday the worst challenge was the cold biting wind…

But got up early and out the door by about 8 AM, pretty chilly and got rained on the first hour coming down the mountain, had my bright orange vinyl work gloves on over my regular gloves and fingers still freezing, but finally hit the pavement to head up the first climb of La Manga pass just over 10,000 feet, about an 1800 foot climb from where I started.

Traffic was very low so it wasn’t that bad, discovered that about 950 revolutions of my pedals in my lowest gear are equal to approximately 1 mile. Who knew!

Made it over the pass and down into the next valley, knowing I had another pass to climb I was hopeful and thankful that I didn’t go too far back down.

Trail note: by choosing to avoid the bad weather in the mountains, going into Chama took me off the official route, so I will lose some portion of bragging rights about completing the great divide route. That’s OK, I’m tired of wet hypothermic cycling! 

While riding over Cumbres Pass, (the second one but not bad) I crossed the narrow gauge tracks of the Cumbre & Toltec Scenic Railroad, a 120-year-old coal fired steam engine narrow gauge railroad that is still running as a tourist train over 64 miles of rail. I saw one small train is a diesel driven old restored engine called the Goose. But the main train is a traditional steam engine and is very cool, very loud, very smoky coal fired. When it takes off, it’s pretty incredible to watch and hear!

I ran into the two Kiwis on arrival in Chama as I saw their bikes parked beside a cafe, se topped to say hi. I was pretty surprised when they told me that they had actually taken someone up on the offer of a truck ride over the passes I just rode over! They are pretty focused on just getting to the end, probably will not be on the official trail any longer than absolutely necessary, and plan to continue south tomorrow regardless of weather. 

I spent the early evening enjoying a couple of beers at a newly opened brewpub, had an interesting chat with two local guys, both contractors for oilfield services nearby. They said the Conoco Phillips, the largest single employer in the area, is going to lay off a bunch of people starting Monday, everybody’s nervous and nobody knows who is going to get laid off. Sounds real sad for families and unfortunate because there is little other work. I think there is a lot of fracking around, and the current price of oil can’t support it. These guys said there is absolutely no development occurring, only maintenance. 

Later on, I had a nice Mexican dinner at Fosters. Got to sleep at a reasonable time, but my sleep pattern on this entire trip is been pretty weird, seems like a never sleep past about 3 AM whether I’m in a tent or motel. I wake up, spend an hour looking at maps, and then fall back asleep. I hope that pattern isn’t my new life sleep pattern after this trip!

Day 50

Looking at the weather forecast last night and first thing this morning, I decided to take another day off. I’m really averse to riding in the rain now, and even though the weather forecast was for 50% rain today, it’s much less tomorrow, and realistically I have the time to relax a day or two before the end. 

So even though I’m off the official Great Divide trail now, arriving in Chama around 3 PM yesterday, I’m happy to be in this interesting little town, the official route would not have allowed me to see the steam engine or hang around all of the railroad buffs that seem to be all over the place here. I’m at a small historical hotel, very cheap but directly across the street from the train station so I can actually sit on the upstairs deck and watch the train come and go twice a day. Maybe it’s a guy thing, but trains are cool! Sure wish I still had that awesome Lionel train set that I had as a little kid…

Cycling from here, the only logical choice is to go directly to Cuba, thus I will, with a somewhat guilty conscience, bypass the official route by a couple of days, but I’m OK with that considering the unreliable weather pattern. 

And with that thought, looking closer at the end of the trip, the official route ends in Antelope Wells New Mexico, and there is absolutely nothing there but a border crossing. There is a suggested alternate route on the map, thus still “official” technically, which goes to Columbus, New Mexico. That is an actual town, and from there you can in theory walk across the border to an actual Mexico town directly across the border, have a beer and a burrito in Mexico! Unless my perspective changes, that is exactly what I intend to do!

Raining in Chama now, glad I’m holding here til tomorrow…

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
   

   
   

Day 39

Out of steam boat heading to Lynx Pass, around 8500′. The hills were more gradual than I expected, still absolutely incredibly bright vibrant yellow’s in all of the aspens, spectacular fall color beauty all day!

I arrived at the “book” day’s end the designated campground about 230PM, and weather was perfectly warm and clear! Talked briefly to an elk hunter there, he offered me water, but I was still good! Nice guy, a bow hunter, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t have a full left arm, so not sure how that works…

Decided to continue and will admit to taking the highway alternate, saved me a few miles, but still went over the 9500′ Gore Pass. I missed seeing the Colorado River, but will see it tomorrow…

Ended up in Kremmling at the historic Hotel Eastin. What an interesting room, I can imagine Cowboys being in here in the 1900s. The place was built in 1906, and it feels like it. The floors creak with every step, but happy to be here, the owners are very nice older folks. 

Heading to dinner at the Rocky Mountain Bar and Grill on the recommendation of the hotel owners. Had a tasty jalapeño burger, baked potato, large basic salad, and a couple fat tires. Perfect!!

Back at the hotel, earlier while I was showering I noticed two guys backing in a trailer with a bunch of logs on it. I can hear them now, they are manually splitting every single log, about every 10 or 11 seconds, another pound of the splitting mall against a log. Part of me wants to think gee, couldn’t these guys be doing something else this late? But then I realize, as one of the many things that I’ve seen along this trip so far is just all different ways people live, how different people sustain themselves. These guys, like others I have seen a long trip cutting wood, use extremely hard manual labor to produce dollars for themselves. Cutting trees, cutting them to length, loading them up on the truck or trailer, hauling them to another destination, splitting, selling, producing cash… Some people work much harder than others for their basic needs. 

Elizabeth Warren reminds us that since 1980, the dawn of the evil Reagan era, 100% of all wealth gains have gone to the top 10%. These guys splitting wood outside my window at 10pm are working hard to stay in the 90%… 

Day 40

A warm sunny morning in Kremmling, on the bike about 9 AM. About a third of the day is flat, quite a bit of climbing up Ute pass 9600 feet elevation, but it was reasonably gradual, didn’t have to push at all. Coming down Ute pass, had spectacular views of the valley below and was a total blast riding downhill for about 5 miles, perhaps one of the funnest down hills of the trip so far!

The route moved onto relatively busy highway nine but that was a good shoulder all the way into Silverthorne.

On arrival immediately went to Murphy’s pub and had a cold beer, had been texting with Jackie as they were coming over from Boulder, they came and shared a beer with me at Murphy’s before I checked in at the motel, got cleaned up, then we went up to Frisco to a really nice place called Silverheels for dinner. It was so fantastic that they adjusted their schedule to come visit me, very nice to meet Wayne, and after dinner they took off to do night camping somewhere!

Earlier in the day I had run across a Canadian family heading up Ute pass, parents in their late-30s I would guess, and two 12-year-old daughters cycling along. I saw them again after I showered at the hotel as I was walking over to meet Jackie and Wayne. They sure were nice folks moving pretty slow but the kids seemed happy to be doing the bike trip!

Also texted with Chris and Dave, they’re doing well and I think they planned to overnight in Steamboat Springs. 

Overall a really gorgeous day of cycling, and a real treat to have someone visit me along the trail!

Day 41

Woke early in Silverthorne at my cozy motel, up to get some free breakfast and then get on the bike. Today I will climb the second highest point of the entire trip, Boreas Pass at 11,482 feet. Elevation gain today almost 3000 feet from Silverthorne, most of that climb is over 17 miles. This will also be my 16th crossing of the continental divide. But who’s counting…

(PS: as of today I move onto map number four of six of the paper maps. Having completed about 1700 miles so far, something like 1050 to go…)

Leaving Silverthorne, the bike trails are great! In fact there is a dedicated trail all the way from Silverthorne, along beautiful Dillon Reservoir, to Frisco, and into Breckenridge. Really good condition, excellent signage, really first class!

So once into Breckenridge, the climb up Boreas Ridge starts. After the first few miles it turns to a 1.5 lane dirt road. Well, seems the entire state of Colorado decided to take a Saturday drive up here! Literally the occasional traffic jam, and ENDLESS dust! I’m sure I inhaled a pound at least! I had no clue Saturday would be so busy…

The road up Boreas Pass, about 11,500 at the top was a railroad a hundred years ago, so despite the daunting elevation, the climb was very reasonable and steady. No pushing!

Once at the top, I talked to a gang of cyclists I had seen earlier, very nice folks. Also some other folks who were curious about my travels. Today at least two guys said something like “oh, I sure wish I could take the time to do something like that.”

Many more miles to go in the day, though; all gravel, VERY dusty as traffic was heavier than usual, and I wanted to get to Hartsel to enable Salida the following day. 

Well, I didn’t know if anything was really in Hartsel, but on arrival, lo and behold there is the very rustic and local Highline Bar and Grill! First thing on arrival is a fat tire!! So yum after a 66 mile dusty day! The two bartenders, youngish guys, were very welcoming! No showers in town, but they said I could set my tent up behind the place! Well, not too private, but sold!! 

After my reward beers, I got my tent set up, put on real clothes, went back in for din. Again, very nice folks! I ordered a Reuben burger that came with truly fresh cut fries, best ever!!!

Ended up in two conversations; with Doug a guy from 20 miles away… Trying to sell his portable toilet business, started with eight; now has over 400. Said it was very difficult to get people to keep working even at $20/hr. Nice guy. 

A more extensive conversation with Marcus who was very curious about my journey, cycling for health, etc. He wanted to see my maps, know about my routes… Just a nice veteran guy that built his own cabin, off the grid, cuts firewood for money, lives on about $16k per year… He was inspired by my trip and looked at my bike, wants to buy himself a bike and get started with short trips. He reviewed my route and said there are still many amazing views ahead. I don’t doubt that!

When it came time to pay my bill, the total was too low. I reminded him about the two beers I had on arrival… They said because of my honesty and how far I’ve cycled, those beers were on the house! How often does that happen???? Too damn cool… The Highline in Hartsel is certainly not the fanciest place I’ve been on this trip, but certainly among the nicest folks I’ve met anywhere. 

I’ll grab breakfast here in the am before I start out…

I can hear coyotes in the distance… So cold after the sun is down…

And note to self: next time somebody says you can set up the tent behind the bar, take the option of setting up across the road in the field some distance away instead. It’ll be much much quieter! Ha ha!

Day 42

Woke to another cold clear day, sun not up enough to warm things yet. Walked into the Highline and ordered coffee and a smothered breakfast burrito. Great fuel for another day of cycling. 

Headed south away from Hartsel and eventually onto yet another gravel road with washboard. Yahoo!! But headed through very dry country enroute to Salida. Somewhat uneventful riding in the clear hot sun. There were two hills on the profile; the first moderate, the second much steeper than I expected! Ended up walking most of an hour through a narrow creek canyon. So thankful for fewer cars today! 

Second hill, I sensed I was close to the top, riding vs pushing at this point, as I pass a very old log cabin. I hear a clearly southern voice calling out to me inviting me for a cold beer before I go over the hill!! Well, hellya! I meet Harold and Dennis, two older guys I later find out are in their late 70’s and have known each other for over 20 years. What a treat and gift it was to have them invite me up onto their shady porch for a cold can of coors. 

I probably hung out with those two good old boys for an hour, enjoying my time hearing the stories about Harold’s life in Mississippi, and Dennis’ life in Colorado Springs. Harold was the most vocal of the two, I think, and of people from Mississippi! They’ve been joining each other at this cabin owned by a friend of theirs for many years. They used come up to elk hunt, now they just go up to spend time together and go out to just see if they can find any elk, neither of them so interested in actually doing the large amount of work it takes to hunt and kill and process one.

They were very funny, and kind of sweet to see two older man who can appreciate their friendship, hanging out under the shade of the old log cabin sipping a beer together.

Made it into Salida by about 4 PM, found a reasonable motel, did full laundry, they graciously give me hose and rag so I could actually wipe off my bike which I haven’t really done this entire trip, then found a nice pizza dinner and tasty salad. 

Salida is a pretty nice town, there’s modest houses and neighborhoods surrounding a very coherent downtown of old brick buildings that have been repurposed to businesses and restaurants. Sure like many towns, it has the touristy look, but this one seems a bit more authentic than some, such as Steamboat Springs.

Walking back from pizza it was fully dark now and I could see the eclipse occurring. It was pretty spectacular and needed to be careful not to walk into a post or wall as I was walking, worse than texting while walking in terms of making sure you don’t bump into or trip over something! As I was walking back to my motel through the downtown, I heard some people across the street standing on the sidewalk saying that the eclipse is up there somewhere. I said well just walk across the street you can see it fine from here! So about five or six people from a bar walked across the street, we all stood there for about 30 minutes watching the earth’s shadow progress over the moon. As it turns out, that bar was actually a gin and scotch distillery, and I ended up having a nice gin and tonic there before I went back to the motel. All very nice folks.

Back at the motel, just across the street from a large unlit field, it was easy to see the rest of the clips as the earth shadow begin to uncover the moon again, and you could see the sliver of white begin from left to right. It really was a spectacular view of it here in Salida, Colorado. 
Day 43

A rest day here in Salida…

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
   

Day 36

Through oilfields all day on washboard to Baggs. Need to restock a few groceries there. Still no trees. Wind. Sun. Wind. Oil fracking units. More endless wind…

Eventually in Baggs, I get a cozy room among many oil field workers at the Cowboy Inn. After grocery restock at the Stage Stop, I walked up to El Rio for a GREAT Mexican dinner. Carne Asada tacos with roasted jalapeños on the side, Negra Modelo x2! Absolutely delicious!! Licked the plate clean!!

Then an early sleep… True fatigue after days of relentless unfavorable winds crossing the Great Divide Basin. 

Day 37

A hot breakfast to start the day at the Cowboy, and on the road about 845 for about a 54 mile day. Turned out to be 50. Hmmm… More on that later…

It’s almost as if someone turned on the tree switch. Suddenly there are trees!! And in such spectacular fall colors!! I didn’t realize, until I saw them, how barren and desolate the last few days have been!!! So if I’m overkill on the trees and leaves photos, that’s why…

Somewhere in the first 20 miles, I entered Colorado! That means I’ve passed through Alberta, British Columbia, Montana, a piece of Idaho, Wyoming, and now into Colorado! Just Colorado and New Mexico to go!!!!!

A good day riding, first few miles on pavement then on to GREAT gravel, compared to that shitty washboard industrial zone gravel around Wamsutter. More trees, decent grades, but definitely had to push a mile or two today…

Near the massively wealthy looking Three Forks Ranch, I took a break to talk to Doug who is motorcycling some of the same parts. 

We talked for quite a while, he is using BDR maps, Backcountry Discovery Maps, that are available for some states. Similar to what I’m doing in the GDMBR, but they’re maps focused on motorcycling. Great routes!

We talked a bit about life philosophy, him deciding he needed to do something different than working, kids grown, wife “gone” (I didn’t ask further) and he talked about how hard it was to start his trip, not knowing for sure where he would go. And the criticism from friends that his path wasn’t preplanned… It was if the weight of what direction he would go held him from going at all! (His explanation…) I shared with him some wisdom passed to me years ago from a wise person: “If you sit and do nothing, nothing will happen. But if you get up and move, you enable the possibilities of life!” (A simpler version is “If you do anything vs nothing, you enable possibilities”) 

I’ve always thought that had great meaning for me, he agreed and we laughed a bit about that… A very nice guy, similar age, I regret not getting his photo… He asked if I blog, yes of course. He does too, though until I have web I can’t look, but his is djwebbsgs.wordpress.com

One wisdom tidbit he shared with me is “You expend much of your life working toward some goal. The trick is to like it once you’ve attained it.”

So more pushing uphill, no problem… I figure I push nearly as fast as I can ride in my lowest gear up the really steeps… I’m riding through such spectacular colors, almost as if someone has plugged in the yellow trees! 

Continuing uphill, I knew I would pass Columbine, CO (a different one) but didn’t expect anything to be there; I was planning to camp at Steamboat Lake. 

Well… As I topped the hill and rode over the top of the pass into Columbine, I see the Columbine General Store and Cabins! What the hey??? So only four miles (all downhill) to the campground, I look at the grey sky and think… cabin vs tent? Cabin always wins for me. 

I walk into the store, which is more of a gift shop with a few candy bars, and ask is there a cabin available? I’m always surprised that hunters are filling these places this time of year. But yes, the woman behind the counter says yes, “the honeymoon cabin” is available! At this point, I’m 50 miles into a planned 54 mile day, I’m so in for the honeymoon! 😄😄😄

While I’m there in the store, I notice VERY few food items, but there is a box of spaghetti and a can of Hunts Pasta Sauce! (Also chicken Rice a Roni. Yum!) Would I buy this in real life, probably not. But in this paradigm of cycling all day, day after day, hellya I’m having spaghetti tonight! The cabin has a stove, water, pots/pans!!!

Now these are old old cabins, and when I enter the honeymoon cabin, I’m instantly reminded of Confusion Hill, a place we went to when Rory and Zeen were young on old highway 101 somewhere in California, I think? (Do you guys remember?) It was one of those places where rooms are slanted, walls aren’t square, and you sit in a chair and experience angular disorientation. 

Well, the honeymoon cabin had that! The floor is slanted very downhill… Who cares, I head up to a glorious hot shower in the central building. There are about a dozen very old cabins here, and a central bath/shower place, though all cabins have running water, kitchenette style…

After shower and laundry, I’m sitting in my heavy duty Adirondack porch chair, Dave walks up and introduces himself as the “manager” and hands me a can of cold beer!!! Now that is too cool, after a hard but really beautiful day of riding! We chat a bit, and he invites me up to their trailer if I want a second!

Of course, eventually I do head up there! Dave and Margie are recent retirees and found this cabin renting gig on workamper.com which I never heard of. Will look when I can…

Anyway, we start talking about stuff, and Vickie the general store lady joins us. They are in a trailer and motor home above the cabins. There was lots of discussion about hip replacement as Margie is getting her second done soon, and Vickie her first in a couple of weeks. They all “manage” the cabins on a three month deal with the owner, thought it was something different to do as recent retirees! And they’re enjoying it!

Side note: seems like I’ve met a lot of boomer retirees trying out different things, figuring out what they want to do next. Living the journey, not the destination…

Such very nice folks, happy to have met them, and very happy to be in solid walls! I bid them goodnight cuz I had some ‘ghetti to cook! 

And damn, it was so good! I added some spices and a can of ham to the sauce, absolutely but very simply delicious!! 

Today was a great day, very colorful and scenic, met some nice folks (including a Brit couple riding that I passed in the hills) Dave and Margie and Vickie; the potential rain visible in the distance held off, had a tasty din, and I’m in the honeymoon cabin!! Woo hoo!! Seriously, a very good day…

Tomorrow it’s almost all downhill to Steamboat Springs, I should be there by 1pm, I think.

Biking life is good…

Day 38

Woken the honeymoon cabin well rested as the setting is so quiet. Made my oatmeal, I had my coffee, set out on the bike for the day.

Mostly downhill to Steamboat Springs, I arrive there sometime around noon. Checked into the Rabbit Ears motel, named after a descriptive of the pass I will go through or see you tomorrow.

I could talk a lot or a little about Steamboat Springs, it is a cute little town, but not unlike many small US towns that you go through these days where there lots of aimless tourists walking around with large waists and ice cream cones in their hand, dipping in and out of the random art gallery or whatzit shop selling shit you certainly don’t need.

Yet, as I am a tourist of a different sort, my focus was on cold beer and lunch! I stopped at the Old Town Pub and Grill in a historic building, had a steak version of a room that sandwich, was actually very good! On the bartenders recommendation, I proceeded to Sunpies, a funky little place right on that Yampa River which runs beside the main downtown.

Spend the rest of the afternoon tracking down a couple of specific things I needed, a replacement for a broken bottle rack, some instant oatmeal that of course only the “natural food” place was nearby and they have a more expensive version of the exact same thing I needed, picked up a couple little gifts for the grandkids and sent those off at the post office, needed an additional dehydrated meal so stopped at a place called BAP for that, got sweet and sour pork dehydrated! I know it will be tasty, but I absolutely guarantee that the consistency will be prison cafeteria slop! Headed back to the motel to check on my drying laundry and rest my eyes for a few minutes…

So while I had pondered a full day off and two nights sleep here, since I got here so early today, I will proceed tomorrow and continue along my way. Lots of climbing tomorrow… I expect to be in Silverthorne in three nights.

Various body parts complaining, but spirit is well…

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
      
    
    
    
  
    
    
    
    
    
   

Day 34

Referring to my stay in the woodstove home, somewhere during the night I was reminded about one of the disadvantages of wood heat is controlling it, woke up probably at 2 AM way way too warm… Finally figured out a window nearby to open and all was good. Made my oatmeal and coffee in this beautiful home, a clear sky outside and hopefully by 9:30AM when I expect to be rolling in the sun will be reaching here to warm my departure in the chilly air. 

A very chilly windy morning, wasn’t at all easy leaving the radiant heat of the woodstove home. But I did…

Turned left on the main road and I had been warned of the big hill. Up I went, some walking but mostly riding, and I got up to the top, about 1.5 miles up! A great accomplishment first thing in the morning! Except…………. When I checked my route, I was nowhere near the blue line! SHIT! I had climbed that hill for nothing, I shoulda took a right directly in front of Mark and Patricia’s place!!! $&@#%!!!!! Oh well, my error. There were more to come today…

That put me about an hour behind a good schedule gor the long day. Today and tomorrow are crossing the Great Divide Basin. The basin is where water flows neither east nor west. The basin is this huge, well… basin that collects all that water, and it normally absorbs or evaporates quickly. Right now, the basin is absolutely devoid of surface water…

The wind is relentless!! As there is no water across the basin for I think about 100 miles, there is only one place listed called the Diagnus well, it is a pipe sticking up out of the ground that the BLM put there so that some water would be available for wildlife.

Well it is not marked on the road whatsoever, you have to track your mileage along the route which I did a little bit of a poor job of. I went a mile and a half past it, I had to backtrack as certainly I would never have made it across the basin without that water! So at that point after filling up all my containers, I was carrying about 7L of water on the bike, about 15 lbs, a noticeable additional load, but absolutely necessary! 

Decided to take shorter route that appeared on the GPS track for the route. What a high effort failure… I found the start of the route no problem, and started up the much lower quality rocky road. I continued on about 30 minutes when I realized I had gone off the track downhill. Back up where I came, found the correct goat path and continued. The route continually diminished in quality and clarity. Eventually I came to a point where I could see the blue line on the iPhone GPS, but looking at the land, I could not decipher the path whatsoever. So I reluctantly abandoned my effort to save 20 miles today; instead doing nearly that many in my failed attempt. I retraced and returned to the main path, probably two hours spent in that folly…

Hence, with all my errors and backtracking today, I was riding until sundown at 7:30pm, wild camping just off the road. (No cars passed from 730pm through 9am.)

I am so remote here! And it is a certain special kind of challenge to set up a tent in strong winds! Cooked my din in the dark with headlamp help. Figure I have about 77 miles to Rawlins tomorrow. A huge day on gravel, and there is one big climb; guess I’ll be paying dearly tomorrow for my errors today. Aargh!!

So many antelope today, several predator birds feeding on rabbit carcass, a few deer, several groups of what appeared to be wild horses…

Day 35

Amazingly, the incessant wind quieted overnight, when I woke up it was pretty calm. So thankful for that! But that didn’t last long at all…

A beautiful morning, but I am truly in the great divide basin, it is barren and not a tree insight in any direction. Nor is there any water, so thankful that I went through the effort to find Diagnus well yesterday, that water will bring me through today.

The wind was always present, about a third of today was directly into the headwind, and two thirds was a side wind. Whenever I would see the road veer slightly left, I was always so excited to see how the wind would be reduced. Similarly, when the road veered right, I knew I was straight into it again. I would call this a two gear wind, when facing straight into it I had to drop two gears to be able to continue riding. 

Today’s route was supposed to be about 77 miles, but I was aware that there is a construction closure south of Rawlins which was today’s destination. So I detoured on an alternate blue line down to Wamsutter. It put me through miles and miles of oil fracking wells, something I hadn’t seen directly before.

From what it appears, there are numerous substantially large facilities surrounded by a dozen or so smaller facilities about a half mile perimeter. My guess is is this larger facility is pumping pressure or whatever they pump into the ground, and the perimeter smaller size units are the collection points for the oil. After cycling through true untouched wilderness day after day, it seems odd to be going through wilderness that in every direction you can see a dozen or so small facilities dotting the landscape…

I saw at least a dozen antelope today, just four cars. Surprisingly, an older couple that I had stopped and talked to briefly yesterday when they stopped, passed me up today and yelled their kind regards! A kind word along the road is always nice!

Eventually I made it into Wamsutter, not much of a town for sure! Pretty much a large truck stop, and then across the highway are a closed down restaurant, closed down gas station, a Baptist church, and a grocery store that is closed. But the Sagebrush Motel is open, and I got perhaps one of the funkiest little motel rooms you would ever find in the United States, very much one star. But compared what I’ve stayed in on some of my Asia bike trips, this is perfectly fine!

I think the only option to eat is the truck stop across the way, I know there is a subway over there and I think a little store of some sort. Heading over there shortly…

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
   

Day 32 MISERABLE!!
Seriously, this shit cold wet winter weather keeps up, I will finish this trip another day and say thanks for the memories. 
Starting out from Pinedale, I could see the weather brewing sgain, and I could not get warm under the ominous gray skies!

I am currently in my tent, hastily set up while hail was dropping, now raining very hard outside. I’m certain the rain will win the dryness battle, it always does eventually. But at this moment, and sometimes the only moment we can truly appreciate is the present one, at this moment I am substantially dry despite the incessant heavy wind driven rain pelting my tent fly from seemingly every direction. 

All day, I had been reluctant to head away from town, it has been very cold and gray all day! I was never able to get the chill out of my bones despite riding 51 miles, much of it undulating gravel hills. 

The forecast seemed to be better in the morning, chance of rain somewhat low… 15-30%, but this is a true shit rainstorm, and my soul will not tolerate many of these. Absolutely every part of me is damp and cold, waiting for the real wet to infiltrate everything…

I have EVERYTHING in the tent except my bike and large dry bag. Mr Kessler and Mr Boston are in the tent as well, warming me from within. It’s 5:12pm. I’ll wait to see if this lightens at all, would love to cook dinner somehow!

The rain let up, leaning out from my tent, I boiled water for MH Chicken and rice, added some ramen, poured the water in, 9 minutes later yum yum! Then more hail, not enough to accumulate… Then rain. Then rain stopped again, then the wind started. By 7:54pm, dinner is done, nothing to do but listen to the creek, the wind… And hoping with all my might that the weather will break overnight. It’ll be cold, I expect it to freeze, but if the rain could go away and come back another day, that would sure delight this damp soul. 

Pitch dark now, wind swirling overhead, nestled in my bag, settled in for a very cold night…

Day 33

Stayed cocooned in the tent until 735am, ice had formed all over the fly, but unzipping to exit revealed blue sky and some warm rays of sun reaching my little storm haven!! Double hot instant oatmeal and coffee…here we come!! Such simple but meaningful pleasures. 

The same miserably desolate terrain under cold gray rainy skies, was spectacularly beautiful in sunlight today! Mentally, I went yesterday from WTF am I doing out here to OMG this is incredibly beautiful today!

An absolutely spectacular day in every way, the scenery is just indescribably beautiful!

At some point, riding literally on the top of the Continental Divide, three deer ran along side me for a quarter mile… And I have certainly had birds parallel me for a distance as well. Today was nothing short of extraordinary. While I cannot upload videos to this blog, I did post to FB the extraordinary 360′ view from the top of the divide today…

Cruised into South Pass city, a restored small mining town as a state park that was very interesting, some very nice exhibits in the place.

Then continued on to Atlantic City and was surprised to find that the inn I was hoping to stay at was closed. I continued up the road to the Atlantic City Mercantile, which is actually a bar and restaurant. I couldn’t resist a cold IPA!

Talking with the proprietor, I asked about lodging and he said he has a friend named Mark who has a place. I suspected it was the same place as the guy that you parked your truck with a large sign on it that said “Life is a bitch, don’t elect one” which was anti-Hillary Clinton sign.

The proprietor called Mark for me, his place was available for $75 so there was no way I was going to pass up a nice warm cabin and shower after last nights storm. And yes, it was the same guy as the anti-Hillary sign. 

What wonderful people, Mark and Patricia, are back to the earth survivalists I guess, making much of their own food, using solar power off the grid, and wood for heat. I rented their former house, which is a spectacularly beautiful and warm place, really a two bedroom home with all the amenities. I consider myself very very lucky to have run across this place! Gives me a chance to warm up and dry out after last night, and allow all of my gear to dry out as well. They had already stoked the woodstove for me before my arrival, really really nice folks!

I’ll be heading up shortly to the restaurant attached to the bar where I had the IPA earlier, looking forward to a good home cooked meal of some sort! Everyone here (and Montana) always talk about having a good steak, and really in all the days of this trip so far haven’t had a single steak, but tonight might be the exception.

BTW, Mark and Patricia, him retired and both similar age as me, clearly spend most of their time and effort providing for their own livelihood, they mentioned collecting many medicinal roots. I really like these folks, I get the idea of being off the grid! With good wifi too!!! They are going elk hunting tomorrow…

At the restaurant, what a throwback in history! Pretty much the only thing on the menu is steak! And the smallest ribeye is 20 oz!!!! This place pretty much unchanged since 1900…

And I finished ever morsel of the Wyoming fresh beef ribeye!! Wow, didn’t expect that! There is a gang on the other side of the wall having a pretty good time at the bar! Glad I’m not on that side…

Back to my incredibly cozy place, they stoked the woodstove while I was at dinner. Such kindness in the wilderness… Ready for a good night sleep inside four solid walls…

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
   

Day 29-31

This 75 mile day started out just fine, on the bike at 8:30 AM which always seems necessary if I’m going to make a big day. I ran into the Dutch gang’s support van again, almost in the first 15 minutes of the ride. They were ahead of the main group, shuttling a few people that didn’t want to do the upcoming hill and we’re going to ride the other side. They had a very long day planned, all the way to Pinedale and another 12 miles beyond for a campground.

They got another helper as two of their helpers had quit earlier in the trip, he is a nice guy from Anchorage, was chatting with him for a while. He is pondering the possibility of joining them as a helper next year just as I am.

There was a lot of wind as you could tell there was a storm moving in from the south, but the road was decent even though it was impossible to find more than 12 inches of smooth road without a rock embedded in it. 

After a couple hours I met up with the Dutch gangs van again stopped for their lunch break, they offered me a sandwich which of course I took them up on, they are very kind to me! And as I know I probably won’t see them again since I’m planning a day off in Pinedale, I made a point of thanking them all again for sharing their hospitality. 

According to the elevation profile, just a few miles ahead the elevations began to drop into Pinedale, that’s why I bit off such a large day, knowing that at least there would be some relief over that 75 mile distance in the elevation. 

Finally reaching the top of the pass and gently descending toward mosquito lake, I could see the weather ahead was looking much less favorable. And that’s about when the headwinds started, probably with about 40 miles left in the day. For any of you that have cycle before, headwinds sap not only your strength and your heat, but also your will. 

The relentless powerful headwinds got stronger as I went along, through barren desolate rolling sagebrush, with no possibility of any shielding from the wind, and every single bit of advantage that I had hoped to gain from the elevation drop on the second half of the day was completely negated (and more) by the winds.

Somewhere around 20 miles out of Pinedale, still facing directly into the powerful headwinds, the $&#%?@ rain joined the horizontal wind in defeating my hopefulness and breaking my soul. I discovered quickly that screaming at the top of my lungs into the wind telling it to stop seems to have no effect whatsoever. This was the kind of day that you read about in other cyclist’s blogs, the heartbreaking headwind, the chilling rain, the miles ahead that seem to diminish ever so slowly, questioning why you’re here, questioning everything… In fact it’s taken me a couple of days to even be able to want to talk about it, such a horrible wet cold horrendous hypothermic experience that I never wish to re-live ever again…

But I did eventually make it to Pinedale, even so slow as each revolution brought me along the road into town. When I finally checked into the Sundance motel, I immediately got into the hot shower and got all the wet clothes off of me, ran hot water and my body couldn’t even tell if the water was hot or cold, that’s how through and through I was chilled and challenged by the days heartbreaking conditions. Moderately hypothermic…

As soon as the very hot shower unchilled me enough to get real clothes on, I walked down in the now heavy rain just two blocks to Los Cabos Mexican restaurant, a simple but heavenly place. There I sat nursing my emotional wounds, drinking tres Negra Modelo and eating every last morsel of a huge steak and chicken fajita platter. Oh my goodness, was that ever a soul warming meal.

But even so, I felt some indescribable emotions inside me that afternoon, and continuing through my night sleep and into the next day… I didn’t want to blog or talk or text anybody, just wanted to be alone in my misery. I could see my own raw exposed emotions clearly with my own eyes, thankful no one else could…

The next day was a planned rest day in Pinedale and a big chore day. As it turned out, very good timing as the weather has turned to shit, raining almost nonstop with snow predicted at 8000 feet. 

I started out in a real laundromat doing wash that hadn’t been done in quite some time other than in the sink, and then stopped at the post office to pick up packages that have been sent kindly by Bridgette and my Bike Shop guy Corey, at Seven Corners Cycles in Portland, who did the buildup on my very trusty Surly Ogre.

Dearest Bridgette sent me some of the prepared food that I trail mix that I had made up before I left, and also some Mountain House dehydrated meals. 

Have I mentioned anything about Mountainhouse dehydrated meals yet? They are wonderful in that they are very light, you just boil up water, pour water into the pouch, wait 10 or 15 minutes and you have a complete meal. There is an amazing variety of foods, beef stroganoff, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti meatballs, beans and rice, lime chicken, it runs the full gamut of wonderful meals. However, it should be noted that each and every meal has the exact same consistency of the kind of slop that you’ve seen in movies poured onto a lowly prisoner’s plate by an indifferent institutional cook. I want to say that the consistency tends to be somewhere between oatmeal and grits. However, the flavors are certainly different between each package so as long as you can tolerate the exact same pasty consistency with every meal, the dinners are absolutely fantastic!

Back to the chores, Cory sent on my request a new tire and spare tubes as I suffered a puncture several hundred miles ago. I am running tubeless tires, but when the goop inside the tubeless tire won’t seal a large puncture, you have to put a tube inside. I was only carrying one tube, so I felt somewhat vulnerable in that had I suffered a puncture on my front tire as well, I’d be up shit creek. And I was surprised that my rear tire has already worn about two thirds of the way down to the main tire core, so I was ready for a rear tire replacement anyway. The rear tire wears much more quickly than the front because of the additional weight of the panniers and my dry bag as well as my ample derrière… Thank you, Corey!

The tire issue actually took several hours to deal with, I attempted a tubeless reinstall, but that failed because of a valve issue. Ended up just putting a new tire on with the same tube, but I now have two spare tubes with me so a high level of confidence that tires won’t be an issue going ahead.

Went down to the wind River brewing Company for dinner, I had a Reuben and a couple of beers for dinner, knowing that the storm I was in the midst of here with lots of rain had not let up, and could continue another day.

Though I was completely prepared to head out on the bike this morning (Wednesday), with all chores and repairs completed, food purchased for the next four days where services will be scant, and my emotional quotient back to reasonable, I awoke to rain and strong wind yet again. Decided to wait until about 11 AM, eagerly watching weather radar to see what was projected to happen during the day, and it became pretty clear that it would be foolish to start a four-day wilderness crossing with no services, including crossing the great divide basin, starting out wet and cold from the rain. So as much as I hated to give up another day of hanging around Pinedale, I used the day to pore intensely over the maps for the next 10 or 12 days ahead.

The weather beginning tomorrow seems favorable enough at the moment at least, and I expect to be back on the road bright and early tomorrow morning. Is much colder than when I arrived here, but if I can stay dry, I can do anything!

Ps: Pinedale is a nice little town! Definitely and upwardly conscious town, they have a huge aquatic center next to the high school, a brewery, several good restaurants, a coherent downtown Main Street, very nice people, actually ran into a few people who had moved here including the people who bought the motel just a few months ago that I’m staying in. A very nice place, I can imagine myself in a smaller town like this.

Pss: I haven’t taken many pictures the last couple of days, and certainly none on my horrible headwind rain day as my phone was in a Ziploc, so what little I have is posted below. Please note the one picture that just looks like a bunch of cars in the parking lot, it is at the grocery store across the street called Ridleys, I think there were eight pick up trucks lined up there, definitely representative of the rollingstock all over the state that I’ve seen… 

Psss: Chris and Dave and I keep in touch by text when we have the capability, I know they spent last night at Crooked Creek Lodge where I spent the night a couple ago. I don’t know what their destination was today, I hope they stayed in another day like I did…

   
    

    
    
  

Day 26Really? 26 days already???

A long day, started with a horrible rails to trails segment of perhaps 35 miles? This rail line was removed many years ago. What is left is a loose soft surface that is difficult to ride on, more like plowing through sand. Thankfully, for most of the route there was a parallel road!

The book stop for today was warm springs, but I got there too early to stop then for the day. 

I continued into the next book day, much of it bumpy gravel that was very difficult to find a smooth line through. And yes, endless uphill toward the end of the day. I had to stop twice to filter creek water as I was going through it big time!

Had intended to get to John D Rockefeller Jr Memorial Highway campsite, but found an absolute cherry site beside Grass Lake Reservoir, about 4 miles earlier. Not on the map, it had a table, bear food box, and a flat tent spot! 

I was pretty spent, cycling from 70 miles from 830am to almost 7pm. 

On arrival got more water, setup camp, pondered tomorrow on the map, and cooked a delicious dinner of Alpenlite dehydrated pepper beef and rice that I added a bag of uncle bens and a little bit of spam. Cayenne and Tajin too. So yummy!!
Earlier in the day, met a guy cycling from Patagonia to Alaska, then intends to take a boat to China. (From Seattle, maybe?) A young 23yr old Brit just out of the university, I realized I was approximately 2.5x his age. Pondered that for a couple miles…
Saw quite a few old fart couples riding four wheelers on the road, seems like a low impact fun adventure…

Thought a bit more about the poem I will write, involving how we are always trying to find the smooth line on a bumpy road…as a metaphor for life…

Tired, already laying in tent 930pm, a million stars above, so quiet…

Day 27

Awoke in that very nice campground, started a fire with pine needles and collected sticks. Started right up! Made some coffee, oatmeal, started packing up again. (Repeat daily…)

I did realize that was my first truly solo night, camping alone, speaking to no one (except myself), cooking only for me, waking alone. An interesting feeling, true solitude…

Got rolling and stopped at Flagg Ranch for some juice and I hear my name called out! It’s one of the Dutch gang! They are taking a rest day there; so technically I’m ahead of them! I went over to their camp and said hi to the folks that were there. Nice group! Expect to see them again as they pass me in the next day or two…

I pedaled on to Moran and was devastated that the pizza place on my mind since yesterday closed 45 min before I got there!!! Shiza!! I did inquire about renting a rustic cabin the Heart Six Guest Ranch. They were full, but smallest place is $220!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Continued on and set my sights on Turpin Meadow campground. Made it there, but there is Turpin Guest Ranch right beyond, I went in and asked about rooms, yes they had a $320 cabin available!!!!! Oh, the lives the rich lead… Clearly out of the question for a cabin, I asked if I could join for their overpriced dinner, and they’re able to squeeze me in at 6pm! Hope they have wifi so I can update things!!

Expensive, small portion dinner, but good! And a tasty Ginger IPA! Arrived back at the campsite to a handwritten note saying I cannot tent camp in this campground. Why the fuck not?? In my tent now, see what happens…

Day 28

Had a quiet night sleep, though I realize good sleep is difficult in a tent, seems like about every 45 minutes I have to roll over to a different position, so seems like I never really get into a deep sleep somehow… 

Definitely heard coyotes in the distance several times during the night…

Got up early with some extra motivation, didn’t want to have a confrontation with some angry camp host. On the road and rolling by 830, had a big hill to start with but that was a good warm-up is it was pretty chilly anyway.

Emerged from the hills with another chunk of the Tetons right beside me, and as usual I made it up to the Towgotee lodge at about 9500 feet elevation, and of course I missed their breakfast cut off by 20 minutes. Seems like that’s happening a lot lately! Thank goodness I had my incredibly delicious instant oatmeal and a cup of instant coffee already!

Continued on, short breaks because I want to make good progress today, eventually came across the lava Mountain Lodge, had an extraordinarily huge cowboy club sandwich! Forgot to take a picture of it, it was three slices of bread, bacon lettuce tomato and a generous slice of brisket and some unidentified sauce, with french fries. Absolutely fantastic as real meals are hard to come by these days it seems… Also had three tall icy Coca-Cola’s as well! I never drink pop in my real life, but on a bike trip it is great fuel!

Spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out where I was going to go in the afternoon, checking the map, elevations, whether to stay there but it seemed like a waste of good time as I was there at about 1 PM, then I tried to use Wi-Fi Skype to call the next lodge to see if they had space, that took forever because I had to get my account reconfigured. Yadda, Yadda…There is rarely cell service unless you’re in a sizable town.

Decided to push on after verifying that was space at the crooked Creek Lodge, the big challenge was Union Pass Road, about 1600′ in 4.5 miles. But I now have this lovely little cabin that has heat and hot water and a bed! On arrival, I got there about an hour earlier than they expected me, they asked me to stay in the bar while they cleaned the room, only to my delight was I able to do that and enjoy two Alaskan icy Bay IPAs! Feeling luxurious after a couple nights camping.

The extra push today will enable tomorrow… I’m hoping to push on to Pinedale, it’s a big 75 mile day, but after about the first 25 uphill, it should be flat or downhill, so I will get an early start and looking forward to taking a day off in Pinedale, I haven’t had a day off since Butte.

They have spaghetti and meatballs on the menu, that sounds pretty darn good to me… Well, they were out of marinara… Not wanting to give up on the pasta, I asked to toss in butter and Parmesan… Soy on the side… Then I added black pepper, tobasco green chile, and Heinz 57 sauce… Was awesome!!!

Signing off of this blog entry, thanks to those of you who comment! Sorry I don’t answer every comment, but I appreciate the kind words!