IS IT IMPOLITE TO NOT ACCEPT FOOD FROM SOMEONE WHO FOUND IT IN A DUMPSTER?
i woke up the next morning on a home-made bunk or sorts, surrounded by an asortment of things that made me feel like i was in an army surplus store. it was juan's place. he offered me a heath and fruit smoothie mix. i’m not sure if the best way to describe a food is to explain where each dumpster was that you found each ingredient in, but all in all it was delicious. i left lander for an unkown destination. i ended up in the very middle of the wind river Indian reservation. this was where i finally felt like i was re-entering the rocky mountains – yes! unfortunately, my camera jammed while on the road this day, so i spent over an hour trying to take it apart with a small pocket knife. my efforts didn’t work and i was a little bummed. so i made a fort with folded event tables to protect me from the wind while camping next to an abandoned volunteer fire station in Crowheart and went to sleep. these are some of the last photos that i took. that's juan's car, followed by the poverty stricken wind river range.
“IT’S LIKE JACKSON, JUST WITHOUT THE MONEY”
the next day i road a very beautiful and mellow stretch up the wind river. it took me no time to cover the 30 miles into dubois. i had no knowledge of it prior. i got there somewhere around noon, found a café and got some coffee. then i ventured to an outdoor goods store and purchased a used 4 piece fly rod, which i am super stoked about because it fits well on my bike. then i went to small restaurant for a bite to eat. by then i had met half the town. i got second dinner at a tavern across the street, made even more new friends, figured out a place to stay (someone’s warehouse for making high end log furniture), and had third dinner at the other pub.
APPROACH TO ADVANCED BASECAMP
i took my time getting out of dubois, eating breakfast at a café and looking around town some more. riding to the base of togwotee pass a nice short ride.
5 START COUCH SURF
trust me, it doesn’t get better than this. i was riding past a pleasant lady chopping wood who stopped, looked at me and asked “hey! are you andy?” mary was the lady who juan hooked me up with. i got to stay in a 3 story A-frame cabin that her family and her father built from the surrounding timber 40 years ago. i had the place to myself. it was awesome. i built a fire inside, watched the redsox play, and passed out. the next morning they had coffee for me next door. i drank at least 2 strong cups, ate some fruit and set off for the pass. because i wasn’t sleeping outside, i was able to get up and going much earlier, which was great because i wasn’t sure how i was going to do with the pass. having a staging point 10 miles before the summit of the pass was amazing, not to mention the good sleep and coffee i was given. i wish i could have taken photos here but i got there at dusk, left at dawn, and did not have a good camera..
TOGWOTEE PASS
back in the tough days of southern Wyoming, while i was still in Saratoga, a man told me “you’d have to be a f***ing idiot to ride a bike in Wyoming this time of year.” good morning to you too i thought. instead of saying anything back i locked what he had said along with the image of that ugly man, into my head for later use. which was now. Jorge and i pretty much time-trialed the pass. "continental divide elev 9658"
LAUGHING ALL AFTERNOON
my only real goals of the trip were to get to Jackson without freezing to death or getting hit by a car. well, i had made it up the pass. i hadn’t finished but seeing those beautiful teton mountains certainly made me feel like i had made it to my new home. i saw at least 3 storm systems working around me. 2 ahead of me and one behind me. everything around me, including the beautiful tetons were covered by rainy clouds. the road around me however was in sunshine. i was constantly feeling like the rains would hit me but they didn’t until one (1) mile outside of Jackson. the storm hit hard, with marble sized hail immediately accumulating. i rolled in soaking wet. i had made it just in time (like i said, i am a professional procrastinator, we had days of storms after this). i rode straight to my buddies’ house to be warmly greeted by 4 friends. i thought to myself, “holy crap, i did it.” total mileage: 536 miles.
TED, WHERE ARE WE GOING?
i’m not yet sure exactly all of things the trip taught me but i know a few. 1 – biking every day is like a drug. once i arrived in jackson i really wanted to just keep going. 2 – i can’t even explain how grateful i am of all the amazing people that were rooting for me and/or helped me along the way. 3 – i cannot wait until spring for the next trip.
