Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs

Colorado mountains are a very welcome change from southern Wyoming sagebrush high plains.

Yesterday, I went to my highest altitude yet (9,683 feet).  Tomorrow is Hoosier Pass, the highest point I will bicycle to on this trip (and perhaps ever) at 11,542 feet.

Slogging Through Southern Wyoming

Oops--this was written two days ago but somehow did not get posted!

The past couple of days have not been particularly interesting as far as riding or scenery goes.  Today, in fact, was rather unpleasant--riding on a busy road with 65 MPH speed limit and a crumbling shoulder through sagebrush wasteland!

I did still meet some interesting people, however, Emily and Cailin, teachers who are on a bicycle tour raising money for a school (see more at http://openroadopenschool.weebly.com/), and Michael and Lee, who are riding their motorcycles to the Arctic Circle!!

Cailin, Andre, Emily, and Bullwinkle and friends!

Thermal Baths and Wind River Canyon

Yesterday I rode up through the spectacular Wind River Canyon after bathing in the Wyoming State Bath House in Thermopolis, WY.  There are mineral hot springs in Thermopolis and apparently according to a treaty with the Native Americans signed in the late 19th century, the state is required to offer free access to all people to bathe in the waters of the springs.  It was pleasant enough, but I'm not sure that soaking in 104-degree water for 20 minutes immediately before getting on a bicycle and riding in upper-80-degrees temperatures was something to be repeated!  But the scenery of the Wind River Canyon was so nice, it was easy to forget about the heat.

Too Much to Tell!

My journey back up and over the Bighorns was full of interesting people and places.  First, the big climb to 9,666 feet ... no problem I am happy to report.  I feel ready for the mountains of Colorado!

At the campground where I stayed two nights on the shore of a lovely mountain lake, Lake Meadowlark, I met Meg and John from Vermont, who let me borrow a couple of extra pads they had (since the tent sites were paved with coarse gravel!!) and were fun to talk to in the evenings.  I also met Lee and Carol from Minnesota--Lee had made a similar bicycle adventure several years ago and it was neat to hear his stories.  Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of any of these people.  I also did not get a picture of the moose that I practically bumped into on my way to the toilet one evening--it was really quite scary but, since I did not get attacked, kind of cool in retrospect.

But I did get a picture of Michael, who is a true maniac of a bicycle adventurer!  I met him at the convenience store at the bottom of the mountain today at around 11am.  He had just come up and over the mountain, making his descent on some dirt road that wasn't even on my map, and he was going to bicycle back up the mountain and back down the other side before the day was done....  WOW!!  He said he was a "collector of mountain passes and peaks" on his bicycle and has a website at cyclepass.com.

Here are some scenery pictures from the past couple of days.

Finally, I made another video on the descent this morning--not quite as awesome as the first one, but still a pretty amazing experience!  I'll post a link to that after I have a chance to upload it.

Back Up Into the Mountains Today

I'll be up in the mountains again for a couple of days now ... another 5,000-foot climb today!

Enjoy this video of the downhill from the last time I went up and over the mountains: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPonLR6g6jI

It's long!--you probably only want to watch a few seconds of it to get the idea!

Getting high....

... and I'm not even in Colorado yet! 9033 feet high to be exact, after a 5,000+ climb yesterday. The ascent was really not at all unpleasant ... that's making me feel good about the many big climbs ahead of me. And the descent today was incredible! ... I made a video of that which I will post when I get some Wi-Fi.

Warmshowers host Blaise (in picture below) was a lifesaver in Cody while my bicycle was being repaired. Rick and Brian at the shop were awesome too, and Birdie (that's the bicycle's name) has never ridden any better than she does now! Thanks to all of them!

posted from Bloggeroid

Back in the Saddle!

I'm back on the road, but not without complications....  a flat tire and check out this picture (hint: the pedals are supposed to be *opposite* each other!):

I'm pretty sure the bicycle shop where I left my bike while with my brother did a very sloppy job in various ways, and now I am suffering the consequences.  We'll see if they make it right (i.e. at this point all they can do is give me a refund since I'm 130 miles down the road) before I start naming names and posting blistering reviews.  At least I made it to Cody safely and will be able to take it into a shop here tomorrow to get it fixed and checked out.

On the upside, I had a lovely visit with Paul Tackes (my canoeing friend that I met in MN) at his cabin in Red Lodge, MT last night.

View from the cabin ... Wow!



Getting ready to get on the bike this morning

 The scenery has definitely taken a turn for the better, but I can certainly feel the altitude (over 5,000 feet part of the day yesterday and pretty much all day today) as I breathe the thin, dry air.