Part 5

<BODY BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" LINK="#FFFFFF" ALINK="#000400" VLINK="#FFFFFF"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" ><B>Dave's Cross Country Bike Tour 2004</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFCC99" FACE="Arial" >   </FONT> |   <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Daves Cross Country Bike Tour 2004"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Daves Cross Country Bike Tour 2004"><U>Dave's Cross Country Bike Tour 2004</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Intro"><U>Intro</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Home Answering Machine Diaries"><U>Home Answering Machine Diaries</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 1"><U>Part 1</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 2"><U>Part 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 2 Pics Continued"><U>Part 2 Pics Continued</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 3"><U>Part 3</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 3 Pics 1"><U>Part 3 Pics 1</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 3 pics 2"><U>Part 3 pics 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 4"><U>Part 4</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 4 pics 1"><U>Part 4 pics 1</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 4 Pics 2"><U>Part 4 Pics 2</U></A>   |   <B>Part 5</B>   |   <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 5 pics"><U>Part 5 pics</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 6"><U>Part 6</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 6 Pics"><U>Part 6 Pics</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 7"><U>Part 7</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id11.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 8"><U>Part 8</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id12.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 9"><U>Part 9</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 9 Pics"><U>Part 9 Pics</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reunion"><U>Reunion</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reunion Pics"><U>Reunion Pics</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id14.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 10"><U>Part 10</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 10 Pics"><U>Part 10 Pics</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 11"><U>Part 11</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 12"><U>Part 12</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 13"><U>Part 13</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Epilogue"><U>Epilogue</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Schenck/Gump"><U>Schenck/Gump</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id13.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Guestbook"><U>Guestbook</U></A></div> <div> <IMG SRC="00758020.png" border=0 width="600" height="2" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Part 5</div> <div> <IMG SRC="02d5ce50.jpg" border=0 width="604" height="229" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Map Courtesy of Adventure Cycling Association -  <A HREF="http://www.adventurecycling.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.adventurecycling.com"><U>www.adventurecycling.com</U></A></div> <bR> <div> West Yellowstone, MT to Rawlins, WY </div> <bR> <div> 7/15, Thursday, 9:00 AM MDT</div> <div> Conversation with Winnie</div> <bR> <div> Hi! I’m in Dubois, Wyoming.  It reminds me a lot of</div> <div> Pinedale on the west side of the Wind River Range. It’s</div> <div> drizzling this AM which everyone says is unusual.  I just</div> <div> came over Togwotee Pass (9,658 ft) and I’m hoping to get</div> <div> to Rawlins tonight.</div> <bR> <div> I haven’t gotten to a computer in about a week.  There</div> <div> just aren’t any places to do that out here.  I’ve missed</div> <div> reading all the messages, but the scenery has been</div> <div> spectacular.  Sitting back in a recumbent, seeing the beauty</div> <div> of the Tetons.  It’s like sitting in a seat at an IMAX</div> <div> theater.</div> <bR> <div> When I came into Yellowstone from the north, the lakes were</div> <div> still, and the sun was setting behind the Tetons.  Just</div> <div> gorgeous.  I’ve been stopping on bridges along the Madison</div> <div> River to watch the trout fishers- looks like they’re</div> <div> having fun, catch and release, big trout.   I got to see Old</div> <div> Faithful.  They say Old Faithful used to blow 100 ft into</div> <div> the air, now it’s only about 50 ft.  It’s losing its</div> <div> power or something.  I spent most of the next day on one of</div> <div> the loop trails, where I saw lots of elk, deer and a bald</div> <div> eagle.  The bald eagle was on a dead branch between two big</div> <div> ol’ pines.  No one else saw him so I didn’t stop and</div> <div> take a picture because then everyone else would have stopped</div> <div> and I didn’t want to disturb him by creating a crowd</div> <div> scene.  I felt good about that, protecting his peace.  I got</div> <div> about 100 yards from a buffalo herd.  They were rolling on</div> <div> the side of a dusty hill, giving themselves a dirt bath.</div> <div> Eventually, I came out on the south end of the park. I got</div> <div> caught in ANOTHER thunderstorm.  Can you believe that?  I</div> <div> had stopped by the Ranger Station earlier that day and told</div> <div> them, “If you’re having a drought, I’ll fix it.”</div> <div> Sure enough, it rained.  They’d had dry, beautiful weather</div> <div> until I got here.</div> <bR> <div> Yesterday was a tough pass.  I was identifying with the Tour</div> <div> de France riders.  They’re in the mountains, too, now.  In</div> <div> Yellowstone, I crossed the Continental Divide three times!</div> <div> Twice the passes were over 8,000 ft and once over 7,000 ft.</div> <div> I got my second flat of the trip coming down from one.  I</div> <div> was lucky.  I had just stopped to wipe the sunscreen off my</div> <div> legs, since sun was going down, and when I got back on, I</div> <div> noticed the tire felt soft.  It was half flat.  It took me</div> <div> ½ hour to change it due to being on the rear tire.  You</div> <div> have to unload everything to get to the tire.</div> <bR> <div> I really like getting to the top of the passes and turning</div> <div> around to look at where I’ve been.  At the top of one</div> <div> pass, there was this German guy and his sister.  They wanted</div> <div> me to take some action shots of them and then they took some</div> <div> of me.  We had lots of fun goofing around.  He was very</div> <div> methodical about getting just the right background.  Those</div> <div> pictures should be coming soon.</div> <bR> <div> Probably one-third of the cross country riders I meet,</div> <div> whether west- or eastbound, are European. In Yellowstone, I</div> <div> camped at Colter Bay Village with three westbound German</div> <div> men.  They had minimal English, but it was still great to</div> <div> meet up with them.  It was a beautiful campsite.  The bay is</div> <div> on Jackson Lake north of the Tetons- what a cool view!  When</div> <div> I arrived, the purple light in the evening lit up the</div> <div> mountains and reflected off the water.  It was just</div> <div> fantastic.</div> <bR> <div> The camping in general has been wonderful, especially at</div> <div> biker-hiker sites.  Cyclists leave things behind at places</div> <div> like this for whoever comes through next.  I found a can of</div> <div> white gas in the bear-resistant box and so I got the stove</div> <div> running clean again.</div> <bR> <div> Overall, I have to say that Yellowstone was good, but not</div> <div> great. I’ve told you about the highlights, but the</div> <div> downside was that there were so many RVs.  People are</div> <div> talking about outlawing them in the park because they tear</div> <div> up the road so badly.  I got so dirty on the mud roads that</div> <div> were all torn up with construction.  There was so much</div> <div> traffic and people everywhere.  It took away from much of</div> <div> the beauty.</div> <bR> <div> I stayed at a cool site last night.  The lady who runs it is</div> <div> an EMT.  She was telling me all about how difficult it can</div> <div> be to get to EMS calls in the wilderness.  They have Mercy</div> <div> Flight out of Idaho Falls that has a high tech bird that can</div> <div> fly in bad weather.  She and another guy at the camp</div> <div> practically run the volunteer ambulance out of the</div> <div> campground and close the office to take calls.  It was 80</div> <div> degrees at midnight last night- the warmest night yet on my</div> <div> trip.</div> <bR> <div> I’ve looked into what to do about the portage, which I</div> <div> will definitely have to do to make the family reunion. I’m</div> <div> comfortable with it.  Anyway, trains don’t take bikes.  A</div> <div> car rental is prohibitively expensive since it’s one-way.</div> <div> The buses make it easy and all I have to do is a minor</div> <div> breakdown- take off the seat and handlebars- and they have a</div> <div> bike box to put it in.  So I’ll catch a bus just after</div> <div> midnight in Pueblo, Colorado and take it most of the way</div> <div> across Kansas.  I really want to ride through all of</div> <div> Missouri.  I’ve always wanted to do that.</div> <bR> <div> I’ve been doing about 70-80 miles a day.  I would have</div> <div> done more yesterday but for the lightening.  Today I’ll go</div> <div> through Crowheart, Fort Washakie and Lander (all on the Wind</div> <div> River Reservation) and Sweetwater Station.  I’ll be on</div> <div> Indian Land most of the day, so I’m offering up my ride</div> <div> today for Gwendolyn-Jane’s birthday.  Tonight I hope to</div> <div> camp at an unnamed campground east of Lander.  There will be</div> <div> lots of streams if I have to camp out, but I still remember</div> <div> that rat!</div> <bR> <div> 7/17, Saturday, 5:00 PM MDT</div> <div> Conversation with Winnie</div> <bR> <div> Hey! I’m a little beat up just now from the heavy winds.</div> <div> I’ve had either head or cross winds (or both) all day long</div> <div> for the past two days.  It’s been slapping me around</div> <div> silly! The worst part was on an 18-mile stretch of I-80.</div> <div> The bike maps actually take you out on the interstate</div> <div> because there’s just no other road at this point.  I was</div> <div> buffeted by tractor trailers, RV’s, cars, and mostly the</div> <div> wind.</div> <bR> <div> Now I’m in Saratoga, WY, 30 miles from the Colorado</div> <div> border.  I did 85 miles yesterday and will do 95 today.  The</div> <div> wind is dying down and for the next 18 miles it will be at</div> <div> my back. Yeah!</div> <bR> <div> I finally got to use a computer the day before yesterday.</div> <div> There were nearly 100 messages on the website (that feels</div> <div> like an obscenely high number).  I glanced at the pictures.</div> <div> It looks really nice and made my day.  I just can’t</div> <div> believe so many people are writing to me.</div> <bR> <div> Since Dubois, I’ve been riding about 60 percent of the</div> <div> time in the rain.  I went through Fort Washakie on the</div> <div> Indian Res.  They were getting ready for a pow-wow.</div> <div> Thursday evening, I had a nice camp 10 miles south of</div> <div> Lander.  I had thought of bushwhacking it and just pitching</div> <div> my tent anywhere, but decided on the campground.  There’s</div> <div> nothing out here.  No towns, sometimes not for 200 miles.</div> <div> Not even mountains anymore, just sagebrush. Tomorrow, I’ll</div> <div> be in the Forest Service scene again.  I can’t wait.</div> <div> It’ll be like Idaho, which was my favorite part so far.</div> <bR> <div> So, this was a nice RV site.  It had a nice Western town</div> <div> feel to it with live music.  The lady said I could rent a</div> <div> campsite if I wanted, but I could have a dorm room cabin for</div> <div> $2 less.  Well, that sounded good.  Since there was hardly</div> <div> anyone else there, I had a dorm room with 8 bunks all to</div> <div> myself.  I spread out my gear and dried everything out.</div> <bR> <div> I went to see the music and met some really nice people.</div> <div> The people that ran the place were down home folks, just</div> <div> neat.  I also met Chris from the UK who is walking the</div> <div> Continental Divide.  He’s about 60 years old and had to</div> <div> come down out of the mountains because he scalded his arm</div> <div> and needed medical attention.  He walked down to the road</div> <div> and a rancher on a motorcycle came by and took him in.</div> <bR> <div> Yesterday, I saw lots of antelope, red tails, dead</div> <div> rattlesnakes (one was as big around as a coke can and 4 ft</div> <div> long!), and jack rabbits (live ones).  The antelope don’t</div> <div> know what to make of me.  They look up, like “where did</div> <div> you come from”, then snort, and run off.</div> <bR> <div> Last night the only place around was a restaurant called</div> <div> Grandma’s Café.  The lady there charged me $2 to camp.</div> <div> It was pretty neat.  She had 2 nice cats.  I gave them some</div> <div> leftover oatmeal and water.   One of them ate the oatmeal</div> <div> and the other drank about ½ cup of water!  What was up</div> <div> with that?  <I>(Note from Winnie:  I asked Dave what was up</I></div> <div> <I>with him and the cats since he’s really a dog person and I</I></div> <div> <I>haven’t heard one doggie story.  He finally fessed up that</I></div> <div> <I>he likes the cats on this trip because he hopes they’ll</I></div> <div> <I>keep the rodents away!)</I></div> <bR> <div> At one of those roadside historical markers, I met some</div> <div> mountain bikers in an RV who gave me ice cold Dannon yogurt</div> <div> and ice water.  Oh, that was good!  We had a good time</div> <div> talking too.</div> <bR> <div> I had lunch today in Rawlins with 4 people biking the</div> <div> Continental Divide.  We found this Mexican restaurant- Su</div> <div> Casa- that was just about to open, so we hung around talking</div> <div> outside until it did.  Two of the cyclists had biked through</div> <div> Central America.  They reminded me of the ones we met in</div> <div> Central America on our honeymoon.  The Continental Divide</div> <div> trail comes down onto the road now and then.  They were</div> <div> doing insane miles each day- 90 miles on trails on mountain</div> <div> bikes- and so fast.  They were all in their late 20’s.</div> <div> The lady at the restaurant treated me really nice when I</div> <div> ordered “huevos y chorizo” in Spanish and she found out</div> <div> I speak the language.</div> <bR> <div> These people- like everyone I meet- are having great</div> <div> weather.  One guy told me, “I used to live in Eastern</div> <div> Oregon, it never rains there!” I’ve decided I’m a rain</div> <div> and thunderstorm magnet.</div> <bR> <div> The upcoming towns are Riverside (tonight), then a long</div> <div> stretch of nothing on into Colorado.  Then Cowdrey, Walden,</div> <div> Kremmling, and eventually Dillon, Silverthorne, and</div> <div> Breckenridge (big ski resort towns).  There’s a 30-mile</div> <div> bike path between Silverthorne and Breckenridge that I’ve</div> <div> really been looking forward to.  Then I have one more big</div> <div> pass- the biggest yet- Hoosier Pass (11, 542 ft).  It’s a</div> <div> gradual ascent, not like the others I’ve done.  Then</div> <div> it’s pretty much downhill into Pueblo.  I’ll be able to</div> <div> do 150 miles a day or better on that stretch.  I’ll be in</div> <div> Pueblo Tuesday night and I’ll take the bus east to the</div> <div> Missouri border.  I hope to arrive at the family gathering</div> <div> on the river by Friday evening.</div> <bR> <div> I have a confession to make.  I’ve always liked solo</div> <div> trips, craved them at times in my life.  But this is going</div> <div> to cure me of solo trips forever.  I’m having a great</div> <div> time, don’t get me wrong, but I miss traveling with my</div> <div> wife. I saw a couple today touring on a recumbent tandem (a</div> <div> bicycle for two) and they looked like they were having so</div> <div> much fun together. So next time, we’ll do it together and</div> <div> take three months or more instead of trying to do it in 6</div> <div> weeks.</div> <bR> </BODY>