The grand cycling (and RV) adventure to cross America: Wyoming: some of the most harsh barren lands contrasted with some of the most beautiful

June 13

Riding day 35 finished and we are now in Wyoming. We biked 65 miles and had a love/hate relationship with the 25-40 mph winds. Made some really good time when it was at our backs! We met a rider going the other direction of the TransAm race. If you think what my Dad and I are doing is a bit crazy, try racing the entire thing. This guy from Belgium, Loic, is in 4th place. He has ridden 1800 miles in 8 days and only sleeps 2 hours per day. We pulled over to his side of the road to say hi before we realized he was racing. If you are curious to learn more, check out the link below. We saw some wildfire smoke outside of Walden and turns out it is from a fire in Flagstaff, AZ! Then we finished our day in Saratoga and heard they had free public hot springs, so we went straight there! I also took a dip in the cold river and a local chap convinced me to take a mud bath as well. We also just learned Yellowstone NP is experiencing record level flooding and is currently closed to all visitors. We were planning on riding through the park but that may need to change… http://trackleaders.com/transam22f.php

June 14

Day 36 is over, thank goodness because it was awful. Started out the day with temps in the low 40s with moderate winds 10-15 mph. We covered the first 20 miles pretty quick as we made our way due North to Walcott. There we met Anita in the RV for a 2nd round of coffee and some cherry pie (the highlight of the day). From there we had to travel 22 miles due West to Rawlins. So the day was supposed to be a short 42 mile day. However the winds were fierce and persistent, slamming us straight in our faces. The route also has about a 15 mile section on I80 because there are no other road options. At one point, huddled in an underpass, we searched Google maps for an alternate gravel route. We thought we found one but we’re foiled as the double track dirt road was closed off private property. So back to the interstate for some true suffering. It took us 5 miserable hours to get to Rawlins from Walcott!

June 15

Ride day 37 met us with another very windy day. But at least they were crosswinds and we wernt on an interstate. Today we traveled mostly north through barren landscapes. We rode 45 miles to reach a lone gas station. There we met Mom in the RV to take a break from the winds. We debating staying there for the night but opted to take a 3 hour break including a lunch and a nice nap. We waited until the winds dropped down below 20mph and then headed west for another 22 miles and stayed at a very remote church/bicycling hostel. The church is quite interesting, a large open space with lots of biking messages in the wall and several rooms with mattresses. Also some fresh baked cookies! Two other bikers, who are traveling East, are staying here as well. One of the bikers is female, the first we have personally met during our trip. Also a TransAm racer stopped by in the middle of the night for a quick rest and electronics charge. We woke up in the morning seeing some antelope bedded down near the RV.

June 16

Ride day 38 was much better than the last two. Sunny skies and minimal wind! We made our way to Lander traveling 58 miles. We got some beautiful vistas of the Grand Tetons. The road we are cycling is the same as the Mormon/Oregon trail, I am happy to report none of us have contracted dysentery (Oregon Trail video game joke). We did stop by a museum and watched a short film that highlighted one disastrous trek to Utah in 1856 of the Willie Company which got caught in a deadly snowstorm. The emigrant families walked with handcarts for 1300 miles to reach Salt Lake City. We got to Lander early afternoon before the heat got too bad. And I was finally able to watch an NBA finals game! Congrats to Golden State.

June 17

Day 39 on the bikes finished up with a nice 75 mile day through the beautiful Wind River Indian Reservation. We had mountains all around us and got glimpses of the snow peaked Tetons. We had a brief stop into a military vehicle museum but didn’t stay long as we had a tailwind and skies threatening to rain. It rained a bit once we got to the RV in Dubois but not for long. Anita went to check out Sacajawea’s burial site.

June 19

Ride day 40 and the adventure is now 2/3 complete. Today we biked back over the continental divide topping out at 9700 ft. We saw many Tour Divide racers today. See below link if you want to know what the Tour Divide is…. After 65 miles of riding we ended at our campsite in Grand Teton National Park. It was so beautiful riding our way towards these majestic mountains. https://bikepacking.com/tracker/2022-tour-divide-tracker/

June 20

Riding day 41 was a cold and rainy one. Since Yellowstone is closed until Wed we had to head south to Jackson. We rode through Grand Teton NP but unfortunately didn’t see much of the peaks as they were socked in with snow clouds. Luckily we toured the park yesterday on our day off and got some nice pictures of the magical mountains. And a Happy Father’s Day to Roger, I am grateful for your adventurous spirit to initiate this journey! We arrived in Jackson without a solid plan on where to stay. The fairgrounds were open for displaced Yellowstone campers a few days ago but it was no longer open. Well it is good to have friends and family around the country as Anita’s cousin’s daughter, Jenelle, lives 5 miles west of Jackson and we were able to park the RV there for the night! They live on the most beautiful small ranch and we had a great time getting to know a newly found relative!!