8/26/14-9/10/14 1554 miles-Flagg Ranch, WY to Salida, CO.

Day 28

After a rest day in Old Faithful I was back on the road.  From Flagg Ranch I headed south into Teton National Park.  Even with the remnants of a hangover from the good times at Old Faithful, the views of the Tetons where dramatic.  I struggled through the day resting often on picnic tables, soaking up as much fresh air as I could.

Campsite

Rainbows in Wyoming.

Wind River Range in the distance.

Day 30

Made it to Pinedale, WY.  Over the next couple days I would be riding through the Great Basin.  In Pinedale I made a few gear changes.  I made the decision to send my Camelbak backpack home, and instead attach a dry bag to the handlebars.  I found that wearing the backpack all day was cumbersome and uncomfortable.  It also made it so that my back was always sweaty even when it wasn’t hot out, which often made me chilled.

Home sweet home!

Road south of Pinedale, WY.

Camp along Little Sandy Creek, WY.

Welcome to the Great Basin!

Day 33

As I had expected going into it the Great Basin turned out to be extremely tough.  There was just nothing around, I was the tallest thing for miles, and the wind constantly whipped.  The constant headwind made the flats feel like uphill, and the uphills feel much steeper then they actually were.  My journal entry from that day says “Wyoming wind is a brutal bitch”.

The wind continued into the evening and increased in intensity just as the sun was going down.  One gust completely flattened my tent against the ground.  To keep my entire home from blowing away like a kite, I filled my trailer full of rocks and used it as a ballast for the windward side of the tent.  For hours that evening I sat up in the tent with my arms against the interior walls, trying to add some addition strength to the structure.  After a few hours the wind settled, the interior of the tent was completely covered in Great Basin sand.

This storm flattened my tent to the ground!

Still windy in the morning.

Road riding into Rawlins, WY for a resupply.

Trees!

Day 35

After 3 days of riding over 170 miles I was back in the trees.  Protection from the sun and more importantly the Aspens would protect me from the constant wind.  It is pretty special how a stand of trees can bring you a sense of safety and comfort.  The following day I would enter Colorado!

Welcome to Colorado!

Contemplating switching rides in Steamboat Springs, CO.

And then it rained for eight days!

Rain

Day 38

Rain became an everyday occurence riding through Colorado.  The rain started overnight while I was camped at Lynx Pass.  In the morning everything was already soaked, and the road had become saturated enough to create a clay like bike destroying mud.  I stopped often to clean clumps of mud off of the chain and derailer.

Coming into Kremmling, CO I was forced to take an alternate route, which took me up an over Gore Pass.(9,500 ft)  The climb up the pass was actually very comfortable, the extra effort helped my body stay warm.  The downhill turned into a real suffer fest.  Dropping 2,000 ft at 25 mph was absolutely freezing.  At the bottom of the hill I couldn’t feel my fingers and toes.  It took 5 miles of pedaling before my body started to warm up.

The coffee in Kremmling was delicious!

Crossing a creek that was deep enough that we had to take the trailers off, and make two trips.  The water was nice and cold!

Bike path leaving Silverthorne, CO.

Perfect road surface!

A shit with a view, and out of the rain.

 

Favorite outhouse of the trip!

Rainer from Switzerland.

Salida bound.

Day 43

After 17 consecutive days of riding and lots of rain I decided to take a day off in Salida, CO.  The town was welcoming before I even arrived.  There was a perfect 10 miles of downhill guiding me into town.