Day 63: Dubois to Lander, WY; High Plains Drifter

September 2, 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: 1,906 ft -- Total So Far; 151,104 ft

3.) Average Speed While Biking Today: 12.4 mph

4.) Mechanical Issues Today: none

5.) Miles Remaining to Canon City: about 483

6.) Miles Traveled to Date on This Half of the Journey: 1,517

7.) Money Found Today: $0.25 (1 quarter)

8.) Total Money Found: $0.83 (Will I find enough to buy a cup of coffee?)

9.) Current BAR (Bicycle Altitude Record): 9,584 Feet, Togwotee Pass

My alarm was set for 6:00 am, but I woke at 4:30 and decided to stay up and do some work on this journal. I didn’t get out the door until 7:15 am, and that’s a very late start for me. But as you can see from the profile, today was an overall downhill ride so I wasn’t too worried about the late start. However, even on a downhill ride, there are some uphills, and there were a few decent climbs today. It was still a bit cold at 7:15, even though the sun was up now. Seems like every building in Dubois was made from logs, even this church;

Log Buildings Are Used Extensively in Wyoming, Even For Churches

Riding along at bicycle speed, you notice things you don’t see in a speeding car. Numerous side streams feed into the Wind River, and here’s one;

An Unnamed Side Stream To The Wind River, One of Many

Log cabins (or maybe I should say log homes as most of these aren’t small cabins) were situated all along the river.

I thought this was some interesting geology. I’d have to get closer to know if these are igneous dikes.

Since I was following the Wind River downstream, we may as well see a couple of photos;

I Was Still Following The Wind River Downstream

The Wind River, One of Many Beautiful Wyoming Mountain Streams

On a bike I can just stop anywhere and take a quick photo. I keep my camera in my handlebar bag for quick access, and all I have to do is stop and remain straddling the bike and snap a photo. But it’s not as simple in a car, so there was a “photo turnout” for cars to use. I snapped one photo there myself, although I think the others I took just by stopping alongside the road were better:

This Was Taken From A "Picture Turnout." On A Bike It's Easy To Stop Anywhere For A Quick Picture

My path today led through the Wind River Indian Reservation, which was established for the Shoshone tribe.

My Path Went Through The Wind River Indian Reservation. It's Pretty Lonely Territory.

I had seen several deer signs with these red placards attached. The intent is obviously to heighten awareness of the deer strike danger now. Why is this? Was this the rutting season? Why the red flags?

Several Deer Signs I Have Seen Had Added This Red Flag Warning

Approaching the top of a small but steep climb, I felt the need for a brief rest, and picked out a reflector post at the crest to aim for to lean my bike against. Being part Native American myself (maybe, the family tree has recently got to be a bit fuzzy in this regard), I can read the signs left in the dirt by animals. In this case, my reading of the signs told me that another cyclist also thought this was a good spot to lean a bike.

I Can Read The Signs Like An Old-Time Hunter; Another Cyclist Was Here Before Me

I don't think it took much skill to read those tracks in the gravel. An ambulance had gone past earlier with lights on, and shortly afterwards a chopper flew past chasing it. Now the ambulance returned without lights, and the chopper was still in tow.

I stopped in Crowheart for a break, and ended up talking with a couple of motorcyclists for some time. They were in route to Nebraska for the opening football game of Nebraska vs. BYU. They were rooting for BYU. It's tough to open against Nebraska in Nebraska. So here’s how the name “Crowheart” came to be;

Interesting Story About The Crowheart Name

I find old buildings interesting, so here’s a couple;

I Find Dilapidated Old Buildings Interesting

I stopped at an interesting rest area to get away from the heat a bit. For my friends in the Dam Safety world, this may be informative;

I Simply Had To Stop At The Diversion Dam Rest Area

A Bit of History For My Friends in the Dam Safety Profession

It Was A Rest Area; So Harvey and I Rested, Of Course

I had become a High Plains Drifter. Here’s the view from the perspective of us High Plains Drifters;

I had sort of noticed that Wyoming has some wind. Turns out that it’s a good thing for some wildlife habitats.

Yeah, I Had Kind Of Noticed That Wyoming Has Some Wind

Today was my first day to really experience the Wyoming wind. Gusts from the side were occasionally so strong that it felt like someone applied the brakes. It’s “interesting” when you are carrying a full load and your panniers can act as a sail for the wind to grab. Although I didn’t know it at the time, this was nothing compared to what the Wyoming winds can really do.

And here’s your rumble strip design/construction issues for today. First, here’s a bad rumble strip design;

And just a few miles later, here’s a much better rumble strip design;

And here’s the view as one approaches Lander;

Lander Is Looming, and I'm Happy to Arrive

Seems like most of these Wyoming towns are situated down in a valley where they are protected at least a little from the wind. Of course, the valley is where the water is.

I checked into my motel, cleaned up, and walked over to get some chow at the nearby home-cooking café. CNN was on with a story about the Bandana Bicycle Bandit. It seemed as though 4 bandits had now been caught by the police, and 2 others were killed when they made menacing motions with their water bottles. While 2 of the 4 that were caught had admitted to being copycats, 2 insisted that they were the real bandit. One of these was a short Asian fellow, so the police dismissed his claim. They think the other fellow really was the Bandit, although the water bottle he carried contained only Gatorade and not bear urine. The local police chief was interviewed and was congratulating her officers for their extreme professionalism and diligence in catching Triple B.

“Everyone can breathe easy now that the bandit has been caught. Well, OK, you can't really breathe easy with the smoke conditions being what they are, but you no longer have to worry that, uh, err, what exactly were we worried about? Well, anyway, we can’t have bandits running loose trying to get clean air when the rest of us have to breathe this smoky stuff – it just ain’t right.”

I’m glad they caught the guy, but I was even happier now that I was breathing clean air. It’s hard to imagine that lots of people in our world today don’t have access to clean air, but a great many don’t. Unless we take steps to protect our air, we may eventually foul it so badly that no one has clean air. Do we really need to drive the V-8 engine pickup or SUV a half mile to pick up bread; maybe we could walk instead. Or here’s an idea; why not ride a bike? Now that’s a crazy thought; what kind of crazy guy would ride a bike to run errands?

I've got to wash my water bottles now. One of them in particular has this really nasty odor. Good night all…

Today's ride: 78 miles (126 km)
Total: 3,814 miles (6,138 km)

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