Dinosaurs on Wheels

Yesterday I did not post, because we did not ride.  We took the day off the bike, both to recover physically and a bit mentally.  Once in a while we need a break from the routine - get up early, get dressed, pack the bags, attach to the bike, check the tires and gears, and go.  So we took the day in Breckenridge, a very nice touristy place with lots of shops, restaurants, and a grocery store to stock up on a few things.  Hey, I even nabbed a haircut - really the first one I've had professionally done since February.  My home-made self-done haircuts did the trick, but certainly weren't pretty.  It was nice to find a place open on Sunday and they were very nice about getting me in.  We also found a nice French style bakery for some pastries and a Subway for Monday's lunch provisions.   Since we stayed at the Fireside Inn, we spent part of the day hanging out there, which was really nice.  They have a really nice common room, coffee on tap,...

Well I've been runnin' down the road, try'n to loosen my load, I got 7 women on my mind...Well, maybe not 7, but I do have 4 that I'm missing very much... Take it easy was a good theme for today.  After busting our butts this week, trying to get out of some desolate areas, our run from Kremmling to Breckinridge was an easy day, and we didn't really have to push hard and enjoyed the views and the experience.  We started off in Kremmling with a nice breakfast at the Moose Cafe, and talked them into making us lunch too.  Nice move, as there really wasn't anything at the right spot for us to pick up anything later.  The only glitch today came as we were moving down Colorado Highway 9, and Adventure Cycling sent us around the Heeney Dam and the Green Mountain Reservoir, for reasons unknown to us.  We then had to climb about 5 climbs that just went down again, all while we could see the arrow-straight trip down  Route 9 across the lake.  It was interesting, ...

My view most of this morning You knew that I would have to drag out that song title somewhere in this part of the journey.  The truth is, this song stuck in my head all day, because that's what I was staring at all day.  It was a beautiful day's journey from the edges of the mountains right into the heart of the Rockies.  After days traveling through the barren high plains of Wyoming, this was a stunning change of scenery.  We started off at yesterday's destination of Walden, CO.  After taking the late train to Walden and riding 111 miles to get there, we were pretty tired.  We wanted to get an early start to the day, but Walden had just one early breakfast place, and that was the River Rock Cafe, where we ate last night.  Likely because of Covid-19, their staff was very small, and the food, while good, was accompanied by long wait times and slow service.  Hey, we'll take a hot breakfast good service or not.   It beats having these place...

Today started in Rawlins with a breakfast trip to McDonald’s and eating our breakfast in their parking lot. This was appropriate as this was our last day with Pat Graham fro Cheyenne. We spent the first morning we traveled together, in Corvallis OR doing that same thing. Pile in some breakfast calories in hope of keeping the tank full as long as possible.  So long to Pat, who was a great “third wheel” that stabilized the tricycle. We had a lot of fun together, watched Pat sell a lot of property while cycling, so I hope it was a successful trip for him all around. We’ll miss him but I hope we’ll see him again on some future Ryan trip.  Pat headed back to Cheyenne Today we finally pulled the plug on a load of items we’ve been carrying around a while. Stuff like some of the cookware that we’ve been lucky enough not to need because restaurants have been open. Also cold weather gear that I don’t think we’ll need now that warm temperatures are here. I even eliminated a pair of shoes...

Today's trip from Jeffrey City to Rawlins, WY felt more like when I work out in the winter. I use rollers in my laundry room, so even though I'm pedaling for a long time, the scenery never changes.  The views from the saddle today didn't change much, except we turned right at one point if I recall.  We cycled through the Great Divide Basin, and it is populated with scrub brush to the left, scrub brush to the right, and an occasional antelope browsing by.   Curious antelope, ready for play We started the day at the Green Mountain Motel in good old Jeffrey City.  The room was good and clean, it kept the bugs out, and the people who run it were extremely nice.  They wished us well on our trip and we mozy-ed on down to the Split Rock Cafe, where, as promised, Isebel showed up at 8 to open up to fix us breakfast.  She started the coffee, started our breakfasts, and of course we were completely on her schedule.  Eventually breakfast came, and like the n...

Well, we knew it would happen eventually and the temperature finally climbed out of the 60’s into the 80’s, on its way up. It will be hitting the 90’s tomorrow in this area.  We started the day rather slowly. We very much enjoyed the hospitality of Mike and Dannine Lowham in Lander, and so we spent some extra time there today. We also had to visit the Bike Mill two more  times today as Jerry’s front wheel flatted and his brake pad fell off (likely melted on recent trips down the mountains). I picked up a set of brake pads too, anticipating a similar fate for my brakes. We also took some extraordinary measures to try to ward off future flats by injecting our tubes with sealant. If something gets through the tire and punctures the tube, the sealant fills the gap. Let’s hope this works as we will soon be riding a while on I-80 where tire trash and junk prevails on the shoulders of the road.  In any case we bought lunches at the local Maverik store and said goodbye to Mike ab...

After the rains and the poor conditions for the past week, it was a breath of fresh air to be riding today.  What a perfect ride today!  It was one of those days that reminds you why you wanted to ride across America.   Sunny, downhill, wind at our backs We started off today departing the Twin Pines Lodge and Cabins, a really old, but really cool, lodge and hotel.  They were extremely nice, the place was perfect for 3 riders, and they provided a breakfast that we carried as lunch.  We went back to the Cowboy Cafe for a hearty breakfast and lots of coffee before we left town. Lobby of the Twin Pines Today we were joined by: sunshine, wind at our backs, downhill (a good portion of the day), and extra characters.  Already we had joined up with Pat's childhood friend Mike, who lives in Lander but rode up to the Togwothee Pass to meet us.  Last night, when dining at the Cowboy Cafe in Dubois, we started up a conversation with a guy named Donnie who had...

Today we took a day off to see a few sites in Yellowstone Park.  I have never been to Yellowstone, so I wanted to be able to see as much as possible in the short time that we had.  I had no idea how large this park is.  It is about 3,500 square miles of land in this park.  Compare that with the 5 square miles that I call home in Lakewood.  You could fit 700 inside Yellowstone!  Not that you would want to, mind you.  How many bars would that be?  Every bar in Yellowstone - that would take years to complete.  The weather was finally beautiful - mostly sunny and it hit the low 60's. A sunny day to explore Yellowstone  Our plan was for Pat and I to complete some work on Friday morning, connect with our offices, and then take a tour bus in the afternoon.  Of course, we would need to start out with a hearty breakfast, so we found the Running Bear Pancake House a few blocks away (notice the bear theme in most establishments here?  I t...

I know it's not the 4th of July.   Yesterday we rented a car, and set off to see the sites.  Unfortunately, we got what most tourists get when they go to a place like Yellowstone.  We knocked off a list of places to see; hit the parking lot, shuffled past, and then back in the car again to see the next.  It's more like a shopping list than it is an experience.  Today, on our bikes, we were able to do it better.  As we rolled through the part of the park we hadn't seen yesterday, we could experience it like no one in their cars, or trucks, or RVs, and believe me there are lots of them in Yellowstone.  We got to see a herd of Bison grazing along the side of the road.  We saw a small geyser bubble up, we saw fly fishermen in the river and called to them.  We got to smell what it's like to smell the geysers as they erupt.  Today, it was an experience, not a shopping list.  I really wish more people would take in the experience as w...

The cabin in Colter Bay Village in Grand Teton proved to be small, but very adequate for 3 tired, hungry cyclists who wanted to stay indoors.  The cabin was big enough to fit us, barely, including the spot on the floor for the sleeping bag.  But it was indoors in an area infested with mosquitoes and bears.  Neither of which I wanted munching on me. Cabin at Colter Bay We got up this morning, ready to move on towards another hill climb day.  From what Adventure Cycling says, the Togwothee Pass would be the second highest peak we would climb on the trip.  Based on the mileage between cities, however, it would also be a somewhat short day. Only 65 miles, which would be fine based on our climbing.  Not a bad day.  We bought some breakfast, and went to the general store to buy some packed sandwiches for lunches, not knowing what was ahead.` The day didn't start well for me.  As we left the Colter Bay Village complex, we started riding up the road....