Day 62: Moran to Dubois, WY; Foxy Way to Set a New BAR

September 1, 2015

Notes:

1.) If you select the “Comment” link near the bottom of the page you can leave a message for me. I enjoy getting them.

2.) Climbing Today: 3,223 ft Total So Far; 149,198 ft

3.) Average Speed While Biking Today: 11.7 mph

4.) Mechanical Issues Today: none

5.) Miles Remaining to Canon City: about 542

6.) Miles Traveled to Date on This Half of the Journey: 1,439

7.) Money Found Today: $0.15

8.) Total Money Found: $0.58 (Will I find enough to buy a cup of coffee?)

9.) Former BAR (Bicycle Altitude Record): 8,392 feet, Unnamed Pass in Yellowstone

New BAR Established Today: 9,584 Feet, Togwotee Pass

This morning marked the beginning of my 4th day to breathe clean air. I felt like my whole body had been detoxified and I was a new person now. It was probably good timing, cause today Harvey and I must climb Togwotee Pass, and at 9,658 feet it’s no pushover. From my starting point at the primitive cabin we stayed in last night, it’s a 20 mile climb with steep sections spread throughout. Daddy has to go to work today.

I turned on the electric heater in the cabin when I woke this morning, and it felt good. I thought about how cold I was yesterday morning, and I was grateful to be able to dress and make some breakfast in the warm. One thing bicycle touring does is it EXPOSES you and makes you face and experience the world we live in. In our daily lives we hide and shield ourselves behind heated and air conditioned homes and cars, and we don’t really experience our world; in fact, we try to not experience it.

Breakfast this morn consisted of instant oatmeal and instant coffee prepared from water boiled using my jetboil stove, and a pastry I bought at the RV Park store. It’s good, but then again most everything I eat tastes good; that’s a consequence of exercising at a high output most every day.

I was rolling before sunrise, and that’s the way I like it. My path today followed Blackrock Creek upstream.

I Followed Blackrock Creek Upstream For 20 Miles

It was a cold morning, and it had that feel that says snow is coming soon. I was 4 miles into a 20-mile climb, and I was loaded for bear and constantly scanning the valleys below searching for one. “Loaded for bear” means that the telephoto lens was on the camera. Where are you Bear?

I Scanned The Valleys For Movement - I Was Hunting Bear

It was a cold Wyoming morning before sunrise, but I was staying warm by climbing the mountain pass. There was no one out here on this barren stretch of highway but me, and I was hunting for bear with a camera. I was the luckiest man alive! It’s almost impossible to explain how fulfilled I was at this moment, and certainly my poor vocabulary and word skills can’t do it. Either you will understand and no words are necessary, or you won’t and no amount of polished and poetic speaking will suffice. But allow me to make one feeble attempt to explain it; Someday I will die, and my last memories before the light goes out will be of my family, my children and loved ones, and my very last memory will be of my wife when we were young. But somewhere in those dying moments of cherished memories I will remember a few other significant events and special moments, and this climb will be one of those. That’s the best I can do to explain the euphoria I felt at that moment. I had ridden a 105 pound bicycle almost 4,000 miles and endured several hardships to get to this moment of euphoria; it didn’t just happen, and you can’t just make such moments happen. If you want to truly appreciate the view, first you have to climb the mountain.

I hadn’t found a bear, but I spotted this fox;

The fox was off-road about 20 yards or so in the bush when I spotted him. He eyed me for a while and eventually decided that I wasn’t a threat, and walked out on the road some 30 yards behind me to get a better look.

Mr. Fox Briefly Walked Onto The Road, Then Disappeared Into The Brush

Once he eyeballed me a bit, he turned and headed back into the brush and disappeared. Strange behavior? Maybe, I don’t know much anything about fox behavior, I will have to investigate this. I was delighted to see another sunrise with no smoke haze.

Is this a hawk? I’m out of my league with western birds, any help is appreciated – you can use the guestbook feature at the top of the page to tell me what it is (thanks to Winnifred Homer-Smith for identifying it as a Red-Tailed Hawk)

A Hawk, I Think (later identified as likely being a Red-Tailed Hawk)

What Bird Is This? (later identified as likely being a Red-Tailed Hawk)

At a pullout, the “rules” for surviving bear encounters were posted.

Solo Camping in Bear Country is a Bit Disconcerting

By mile 9 of this 20-mile climb, my euphoria had abated a little as I began to realize the effort it was going to take to summit this bad boy. But it was beautiful country, and I was still looking for a bear.

Pretty Wyoming Scene, But I'm Still Looking For a Bear to Photograph

There’s a lodge a few miles prior to the summit, and I was happy to roll in there and get a bit of rest and refuel with “second breakfast.” Second breakfast is a common term with cyclists. Kristen, my waitress, was from the Tulsa area – what a coincidence! So we had a good time chatting. She told me there are more people in Tulsa than there are in all of Wyoming, and that was easy to believe cause the roads had been very lonely once I left the Yellowstone area.

I was supposed to be on a conference call that morning, and I reached the lodge at the perfect time to set up and dial in for the call. The call had been cancelled, so I was the only one on the line. Email had been sent out to notify everyone of the change, but now was the first time I’d had either phone or email service in 2 days. I laughed at myself; the one time I was set up in the perfect spot for a call, the call didn’t happen. After a great breakfast, I was rejuvenated and attacked the remaining miles to the summit. “Attack” is a relative term; I moved upwards at about 4 miles per hour, stopping to rest a bit after each mile. But I eventually made it.

Togwote Pass - After 20 Miles Uphill, I Earned It

As you can see from my 5-fingered display, this was the 5th crossing of the Continental Divide for Harvey and me.

Continental Divide Crossing #5 And A New BAR For Me And Harvey

Now I got to enjoy the fruit of my labor and make the most of a long downhill run.

Truckers Say "Oh No," But Cyclists Say "Oh Yes!"

For the record, I was now in the Shoshone National Forest.

I Was Traveling In The Shoshone National Forest

The path down was very scenic. I tend to stop a lot and take photos, and so I did.

My Road Down Was Filled With Beautiful Wyoming Scenery

I had seen very few other cyclists recently, so I was delighted to stop and chat with Bobby and Matt.

Bobby and Matt Started Late From the East Coast - They Warned Me About the Jeffrey City Hostel

They both started rather late from the east coast, from different locations, and met up along the route. They suspect they are probably among the last of the westbound Transam riders this year, although they do know of a couple other riders behind them. We traded info on good places to stay, and I asked them about the church hostel in Jeffrey City. The conversation took a dark turn; they had planned to stay there, and went to the church, but the situation was just too spooky so they camped out in the back yard of a fellow they met at the bar. I asked what they meant about “spooky,” and the answer was that the church was removed from town and all isolated in a field except for this one shack nearby that some fellow lived in. It just seemed strange to them. We wished each other well and parted. Later on, I wished I had taken their advice and avoided the spooky church...

Since I was going downhill, I covered several miles very quickly but hauled it down again so I could meet Anna and Scott.

Anna and Scott, Australian Cyclists - They Warned Me About the Wyoming Wind

Anna and Scott are from Australia and had been touring the states. They had been on and off the Transam route as their interests dictated, and were more or less headed for Portland now to catch a flight home. I really enjoyed talking with them, and they were curious about me being from Oklahoma. I told them that the Australian actor Hugh Jackman got his start by acting in the Broadway musical “Oklahoma.” I don’t think they knew what the musical “Oklahoma” was, but they told me that Hugh Jackman used to eat at the same local restaurants in Perth that they frequented. Then we parted, and they continued their uphill struggle while I got to enjoy my downhill run. But right before we parted, Anna warned me about the crazy Wyoming winds; she wasn’t going to miss the Wyoming winds at all. Turns out this warning from Anna would also have special significance in days to come...

Here are some pics of the gorgeous Wyoming mountains and sky;

Wyoming Is More Mountainous Than I Realized

On my downhill run, I was following the Wind River.

The Wind River Lived Up To It's Name On The Descent

Well, the Wind River certainly lived up to its name, and Anna’s warning about the Wyoming winds came to mind as I occasionally got blasted with strong wind gusts during this descent. Both hands were needed on the bars at all times.

I arrived at my lodging in Dubois and got settled in, then ventured out for dinner. I was a bit grumpy because the hotel owner told me there was a restaurant just ½ mile away and it was really 2 miles away, and I had trouble getting WIFI at the motel, so I was in a sour mood. But on the way back, I stopped quickly when I spotted a dime, and then again when I spotted a nickel laying on the roadway shoulder. My “found money” coffee fund had increased by $0.15 and that put me in a good mood! So here’s the money, and it looks about like the rest of my “found money” collection;

Some of my coins are a little beat up, and one dime I have is barely identifiable as such other than for the ridges on the edge. But it’s a game I’m playing. Hey, if you never play games, how do you have any fun? I hope you all play some games and they bring you pleasure. Tomorrow’s another day, and I need to get ready for it, so good night…

Today's ride: 52 miles (84 km)
Total: 3,736 miles (6,013 km)

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