Days 2-3: Cameron Pass and Riverside (Oct 8th-9th)

WHO'S JORGE?
i had a lot to think about on day 2, my hardest day of the trip. it was also the day that i found a connection with my bike. when i was in argentina on an expedition with 11 other people, we hired mules to haul our gear 60 miles to the base of a mountain called aconcagua - the object of our attention (22, 840 ft). i don't know why, but i named the mule that carried my cargo jorge, and he was a good mule. and like all of the beasts, he was overworked. as we hiked towards aconcagua we noticed dead mules along the trails. i decided after that trip i would never hire an animal to haul my gear for me, at least in that fashion. i named my bike after my mule, jorge. just like the counterpart in argentina, jorge can climb steep grades for long periods of time in a slow yet persistent way with heavy loads. he kind of became my wilson. i caught myself saying things like, "come on jorge! don't stop now!" my iron horse - the mighty jorge:

HONESTLY
i must have sworn out loud more than i would like to admit on the last 10 miles climbing cameron pass. near the top i also spotted a female moose – which was cool. soon after that, you can see in this photo both my excitement for sweet nourishing water and the remnants of my awesome handlebar mustache. in my defense it was mustache week at road34 right before i left fort collins (1-7 free beers every night all week in accordance with the quality of you mustache).

CAMERON PASS
i made the 4,200 foot climb through a fair headwind, and was genuinely tired afterwards. highly recommended.

DUDE, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?

"i just dropped my bike"

"are you ok?"

"i'm not sure, i could probably use a hand to bend my bike back to shape"

"sure, do you need any tools?"

"yeah, i need an allen wrench, by the way, what the hell are you doing"....

FEEDING THE DEMONS
i certainly hope that damian made it back to fort collins safely. he crashed right at the top of the pass. after i left him and began my descent, i found more head wind. strong head wind, the kind that slows down what should be a 25-35 mph descent to 10-15 mph. see, you work hard up a pass because you know what's on the other side: a scenario where gravity is on your side. although, wind can stop you in your tracks - that bastard. i just kept thinking to myself of all things i had done wrong on this trip… i didn't really train, test my rig out before departing, plan my trip (i didn't even have a map), have an experienced touring partner (or any partner at all), i was leaving in october (a month after the bike touring season ended), i thought it would be a great idea to put 150+ lbs of my 'life necessities’ on my bike, and now i was starting to realizing that i would likely have a strong head wind the entire way. oh yeah, the first snow storm was estimated to hit in 2 days. haha, if you know me at all, i love being the under-dog, and hauling up the pass to hit this new front (the wind) made my endorphins and synapsis fire even faster and harder. while lost in these thoughts i pulled off near lake agnes and the noku craigs to take this keeper:

DINNER

yup:

CROSS WINDS
fighting off field mice throughout the night didn’t keep me from sleeping. after i felt a few run over my chest, and confirmed their existence with my headlamp, i stuffed all of my food and dirty clothing (sweat) into my bivy. in the morning i felt especially sore and tight. chemicals! drank my coffee and set off. the 20 miles into walden were pretty gnarly due to ridiculous cross winds... from the south! excellent! this meant i could get to walden and when i turn north could cruise for miles with the wind to my back.

WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE JORGE
leaving walden i had an awesome tailwind. i was cruising between 20 and 30 mph for half an hour, then the wind changed directions, as did my path. that was the last tailwind i had on the entire trip. literally. haha, judging by the way these cowboys and cowgirls staired at me they must have thought i was crazy. i made sure to wave, i got a half wave back. i'm now in wyoming.

FIRST GIFT OF THE ROAD
so later in my trip a met a man named juan who said "the harder times get, the better the gifts of the road are." it's that positive "have no fear, it will work out" attitude that attracts good things into your life. as the sun was beginning to set, i had just about decided to pull over on the side of the road and camp. but i needed water. bad. and had 25 miles to saratoga - my destination. i saw what looked to be a river basin with trees. i rode the 5 miles quickly and discovered a small town, with nice people, and neat place to camp and a bar called the mangy moose. riverside, wyoming: population 59. perfect.