Today was a prelude to my hardest day, tomorrow.  It was a 70 mile ride, but with a headwind predicted.  Otherwise, the weather was good, pretty cool and partly sunny. The hard part was that the 70 miles had absolutely no services, at least that I knew about.

I got an early start (a little after 7:00), and luckily, the headwind never materialized, at least until I reached my destination, Arco.

This was the most barren landscape yet.  20 miles from Idaho Falls was the last farm.  After that it was all sagebrush.  In the distance, I could see the Arco Mountains.  It was interesting, knowing that I was headed there and could see it all day.

Much of the ride was across the Idaho National Laboratory.  This is where they tested conventional bombs and shells, then later developed nuclear reactors.  It’s still very active, with thousands of employees, though you’d never guess from the deserted highway.  The lab is hundreds of square miles, and because of limited use, is the best preserved sagebrush ecosystem in the world. There are a half dozen key plants, and they provide interesting contrast of colors.

It turned out there was  rest stop about half way, so at least water was available.  That’s where I took this picture of instrument read-out documenting the lack of wind.

Arco has a tradition of high school classes painting their graduation year on the cliffs above town.  It started in 1920.  I wonder what they’ll do starting in 2020?

My motel room is the smallest and cheapest) of the trip. Still, everything needed was squeezed in.

I ran into Ken again.  He was staying at the same motel, and we went to dinner.  We had a long conversation that only 2 people who have cycled cross country could have.  He has a lot more experience, having done this many times, and provided lots of great suggestions about the route in the next couple of weeks.

There were 3 crosses on the highway, where 3 members of the same family were killed.  What an unimaginable tragedy.

A noise park.  Who knew?

To try to avoid another predicted headwind, I plan to leave very early tomorrow.  I hope the wind holds off until noon, like it did today.  Wish me luck.

(Click any image for a larger view)

Today I continued my trip alone, and Lisa and Ellie went back to explore Yellowstone.  Very sad to see them go, but just 2 weeks before I’m back in New Haven, God willing.

My route today was a little surprising.  A few miles in, it became a very busy, limited access highway, effectively an interstate. The west has beautiful scenery, but unless you can ride dirt roads, you are often limited to very unpleasant highways (for a cyclist).

In Yellowstone, Lisa and Ellie and I visited two different places that rescue Grizzly Bears.  They were well run and educational.  Along the highway, I saw another bear encounter venue, which seems a little less altruistic.

The highlight of the day was when I ran into Ken Bettencourt, who is cycling 10,000 miles to support the fight against childhood cancer.  Please contribute to his cause:

http://www.alexslemonade.org/

He was talking to Steve Hansen, who had pulled over to make a donation; nice guy.

Steve also suggested an alternate route, that took me off the quasi-interstate. Thanks Steve!

There was a local cheese/ice cream store right there, and I enjoyed a huckleberry cone.

Pulling into Idaho Falls, I saw my third active Drive In theater of the trip.

Idaho Falls has a beautiful downtown park that celebrates the falls for which it is named.

I almost couldn’t get a room, as a local branch of BYU has graduation.  (They are on a trimester system and have commencement 3 times a year.)  Luckily, I called one place that had just had a cancellation.

The next 2 days will be tough.  I have long rides into what are predicted to be headwinds. The second day is 88 miles.

 

(Click on any image for a larger view)

Today’s ride was through beautiful Wyoming countryside on a gorgeous sunny day. The cool and cloudy of the past 2 days is over. I’m between the Bighorn Mountains and Yellowstone, and I could see one range fade in the background and the other loom ahead. Lisa and Ellie arrived yesterday and were driving to meet me in Cody.
The landscape is now arid, with beautiful ochres and umbers contrasting with bright green where fields are irrigated.

I’m a water guy, and I tend to stop at every bridge nd admire the streams.  (Not that many in most of the country.)

The pile of firewood by this weather-beaten house was amazing…

…as were the profusion of flowers maintained in front of this derelict building.  There were even more in front of the owner’s house.  A story there I’m sure.

It was not far from this small town, which has its own post office. (Zip code 82422.  You can look it up.)

It was great to be reunited with Lisa and Ellie! We drove around Yellowstone and visited Old Faithful (of course) and Prismatic hot spring. At OF we struck up a conversation with Brad, an oil worker from northern Alberta. He “biked” here (rode his motorcycle), and was going to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.  Says he loves northern Alberta, brrrr!

I’ve never been here before, and I see why it is so famous. The landscape combined with all the geothermal features is remarkable.

We got delayed on the road as a bison sauntered down the middle between two lanes of stopped traffic.  He was so close to the car, Ellie could have reached out and touched him.

I’ll be visiting with the girls for 3 days before returning to the road with just 2 weeks to the Pacific! the last with my friend Noel. Looking forward to that.

(Click any image for a larger view)

So today I reaped the reward of yesterday’s hard climb. The morning was cool (ca. 50) and mostly cloudy. My route went through the high country of the Bighorn Mountains for about 10 miles. They have a lot of cattle and sheep up here, which roam free. I actually had to wait at one point while a couple of cows sauntered across the road. (Couldn’t get the camera out fast enough.)

(BTW: Who are you calling loose?)

This is a view just before the descent, typical of the Bighorn high country.

The road then descended, A LOT. The sign said steep descent for 18 miles. Think about some place 18 miles from where you are, and imagine the steepest hill imaginable going there. That meant coasting at speeds from 25 to 35 mph for the better part of an hour. I put on several layers because the wind and cool air was chilling.

The scenery was gorgeous. I’ve never heard of the Shell Canyon before, but the views are magnificent. There’s lots of bedded rocks of various colors eroded into sheer drops. Halfway down there is a steep-sided gorge where the river makes several plunges. The Forest Service has installed a set of walkways that allow fantastic views. I highly recommend a visit to this canyon; it’s worth a trip (about 2 hours from Yellowstone).

As I continued to descend, I was more impressed with yesterday’s climb than before. There was a significant change in altitude! I pitied the po’ fool who had to pedal up. (Oh yeah, that was me.) The science geek in me couldn’t help but think of the potential energy I had banked during the climb, and which I was now cashing in.

The view looking back at the Bighorn Range was impressive.  It’s remarkably more arid on the west than the east.

Ended the day at Greybull (implicit is bull Buffalo).  This was one interesting motel choice. (click it)

Dinner will be at Lisa’s. The chicken fried steak with garlic mashies looks awfully tempting.

Lisa and Ellie arrived in Bozeman today, and they meet me in Cody tomorrow!

(Click on any image for a larger view)

The goal today was to climb from Dayton (3900’) to a pass in the Bighorn Mountains (8300’) and then descend slightly to the Elk View Inn. Weather was cloudy and much cooler than recently, with highs only in the 70s in Ranchester. The first 6 miles were pretty flat, but then it ascended for 17 miles at about as steep a grade as roads ever are constructed.

*
In the first few miles, I kept seeing somewhat older cyclists descending in the opposite direction. Many shouted encouragement to me, and one said, “It’s just around the bend!” What I found around the bend was a race timing truck with a man (Steve) and woman (Cheryl) who were helping to organize a 40 K senior bike race. We talked for a bit as they waited for the final participants to arrive. Each received a race number proving that they had climbed to that point, and then they could race back down.

As I was standing, a water bottle fell off my bike and started rolling downhill. In trying to run after it and hold the bike, I managed to slam the chainring into my lower calf and ankle. I just missed the Achilles tendon, and it looked worse than it really was.

From there on, it was pretty views and a very steady climb. iews back into eastern Wyoming were great.

Here’s something I don’t worry about most days.

When I lived in Claremont, CA, one summer in college, on weekends I would ride up into the San Gabriel Mountains to get above the smog. It was a similar long continuous climb (almost 4000’), and today’s ride reminded me of that. Luckily I equipped CC with VERY low mountain gearing, and what I carry on the bike is relatively light. Still it was almost 3 hours of significant climbing in ever thinning air. Pretty cool temperatures too; as I neared the top, I noticed I could see my breath. Must be in part the thin air, as I don’t think it was much below 60.  I finally reached the pass; that felt good.

I descended some to my destination, a lodge (Elk View Inn) that seems to specialize in ATV rentals. (For the life of me, I can’t see the appeal.) They also have a restaurant, store, and bar, and sell gas. In the winter they cater to snowmobilers (another mystery to me). With the long climb, I decided to make it a short day, just 32 miles. I probably could have gone farther, but the next town is over 40 miles away, and thunderstorms were predicted. I had my slowest average speed for a day, a pokey but respectable 8.3 mph.

For dinner I wanted to try something regional, so I ordered the Elk burger. It tasted very much like hamburger, not venison, as I had hoped.

 

(Click on any image for a larger view)

Today was a wonderful ride. It was sunny with crystal clear air and light winds. I honestly had the song, “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” running through my head.

All day I rode parallel to the Bighorn range and could see them a few miles off.  Here are a couple of typical views.  (I see lots of bee hives in fields.)

The streams are no longer chocked with Midwestern silt.

Another typical Wyoming view with a smaller scale.  I liked Wyoming the previous times I’ve been here, and this trip confirms my impressions.  Beautiful, rugged landscape.

Wyoming probably makes more money from coal than cows. At least it’s low sulfur coal, which produces much less acid rain.

The miles flew by, and I didn’t find myself obsessively wanting to check my odometer to see how far I had gotten.

Tomorrow is a short (30 mile) day, but with a big climb (5000″) to high altitude (8300′).  I like climbing, but check with me tomorrow.

(Images to be added)

I planned for an early start, and was about to hit the road, when I noticed my back tire was very soft, though not flat. I pumped it up and it held air. On inspection, there was no obvious location for a leak, though there were two blisters on the tire tread. Seemed like I needed a new tire. I planned to wait for the first bike shop in town to open, two hours later. But I became impatient, and I saw that the tire was holding air, I checked the next town, and found they had a bike shop. I could replace the tire there, so I decided to begin my ride and hope for the best.

This day, I had to ride on I-90 for 60 miles. Fifteen miles along, the tire started to go soft. I pumped it up, but it began to go soft after a few miles. I replaced the tube, and it held air perfectly…  for about 15 miles. At this point, I didn’t have a lot of options. There is the Better World Club, but I figured they would take a very long time, plus I wanted to be within 30 miles (their limit) from my destination.  (The idea of getting a ride back to my starting point was too depressing.)  I found I could pump up the tire and ride on it for about 3 – 5 miles. Exits were about that far apart.  (They just access dirt roads with no services.)  I figured I could go one exit at a time, and then at least I would have a location I could provide BWC to pick me up.

So 4 miles at a time, I covered the entire remaining distance. Boy was I glad to arrive a second time in a place named Buffalo.

The sports store in Buffalo was mainly for hunting and fishing, but they did have bike parts.  (Have you seen hunting bows lately?  Freaky.)  After a LONG search, we did locate a tire of the right size. I changed it and the tube, and it looks like it is OK.  Buffalo has a nice historic downtown area.  I changed the tire sitting in the shade on the grass as folks set up a farmer’s market.

The ride was stressful (because of the tire and riding on the interstate) and physically difficult (because of unfavorable wind). The one bright point was that a short distance into the ride, I could see the Big Horn Mountains in the distance. They got closer and closer over the course of the day. Tomorrow I ride north, parallel to the range, trough Sheridan to Ranchester. Then Friday I have a short but steep climb to a lodge near a pass. From there it’s two days to Cody, where I meet Lisa and Ellie for a few days exploring Yellowstone. Hurray!

The other great news is that my dear friend Noel will be joining me for the last week of the trip.

(Post completed.  Click on any image for a larger view.)

I love food, both cooking and eating it.  One of my goals on this trip is to sample regional food specialties.  The upper tier of states in the US is not known for its fine cuisine, but it does have many delicious dishes that are especially appealing to the calorie-starved cyclist.  What follows in reverse chronological order, and with periodic updates, are regional foods I have tried.  It is excerpts from other posts, but covering just the food portions.)

(4 Aug: Near Deadwood OR)  I FINALLY found a roadside stand with fruit.  We bought plums, blueberries, and cherry tomatoes, and ate them all on the spot.

That night I enjoyed a “Mr. Bill” inspired pastry that Noel’s wife, Kavitha, and younger son, Aaron, had thoughtfully bought for us.

(2 Aug: Sisters OR)  We stopped briefly in Sisters, a cute tourist town.  I ordered a double espresso, and the price was 50 CENTS! Drinks with milk were closer to what I am used to.  Espresso was excellent, BTW.

 (1 Aug: Redmond OR)  Toward the end of the day, we came upon a roadside farm stand.  I’ve been wanting local fruit the entire trip, but always seem to be there too early in the season.  At this stand, all they had were vegetables! (and no tomatoes even).  We bought carrots that were sweet enough to be fruit, and ate the whole bag right there.

 

(31 July: Mitchell OR) We all had dinner together, and finished with milkshakes that Noel says are his most vivid memory of the trip.

(26 July: Boise ID)  For dinner I had yet another burger, this one quite excellent.  The Idaho French fries came with “fry sauce”.  The server said it is ketchup and mayo with spices.

(25 July: Carey ID)  I arrived in the town of Carey, and had a great surprise. One of the churches was holding a fundraising breakfast on their front lawn, and I noticed a bike with panniers parked nearby. I had to stop, even at the risk of the wind starting to pick up. There I met David, who is between undergrad and master’s, and is doing a bunch of fun stuff in the year between the two programs (cycling cross country, living in northern Italy among others). I also talked to Mike and his wife, two locals.

Even though I had already eaten breakfast, I sampled the pancakes and bacon.  otexcelet.

(23 July: between Ashton and Idaho Falls)  There was a local cheese/ice cream store  there, and I enjoyed a huckleberry cone.  Creamy and delicious.  I’m starting to see huckleberry food items everywhere.

(18 July: Greybull WY)  Dinner was at Lisa’s. The chicken fried steak (with garlic mashies) was the best I ever had.  The steak was a good cut and the coating was light and voluminous.  Vegetables were perfectly tender crisp.

(17 July: Burgess Crossing, Bighorn Mountains)  For dinner I wanted to try something regional, so I ordered the Elk burger. It tasted very much like (not very good) hamburger, not venison, as I had hoped.

,

(13 July: Black Hills – Sundance)  Breakfast was excellent.  Terrific homemade corned beef hash (with Hollandaise!) and maybe the best biscuits I’ve ever eaten.  The place is called Cheyenne Crossing, and has been there for over 100 years.

Because I’m in steak country, I had a roast beef stuffed flat-bread that sounded interesting, but wasn’t.  As an appetizer I tried Texas Toothpicks, which I had seen on a menu previously.  They are strips of onions and jalapenos that are breaded and deep fried.  These were pretty bland.

(7 July: Highmore SD) The day ended with an excellent dinner.  Food options are limited in Highmore, and I chose the D&K Outpost.  It’s a restaurant combined with a convenience store and gas station.  I didn’t expect much, but I was very wrong.

For an appetizer, I sampled chislic, a local specialty.  It’s spiced, deep-fried cubed meat.  Mine was tender, tasty, and perfectly spiced.

For a main course I had smothered chicken, along with cole slaw, hash browns, and toast.  All were perfect.  The cole slaw was fresh and with an ideal sweetness.  The hash browns were crispy and light.  The chicken was prepared perfectly with onion, mushrooms, and cheese.

Proprietor Darcy gave me the chislic recipe, and son John was the perfect host/server.

(4 July: Clear Lake SD)  The one restaurant in Clear Lake closes on weekends. (Interesting business model I must examine.) So dinner was from the local convenience store. Imagine the possibilities?! Here’s my 3 course meal.

(2 July: Hutchinson MN) For dinner, I went to Zella’s in the center of town. They have a menu of straightforward dishes prepared from fresh local ingredients. I had a delicious salad, which was a take on a Cobb, but with Romaine, which seems an improvement over iceberg.

For an entrée, I tried their bacon wrapped meatloaf on a bed of mashed potatoes over whole grain toast. They somehow made it elegant, and it seemed perfect for the upper Midwest.

 (1 July: Waconia MN)   I’m not sure if this is a national phenomenon, but here in the Midwest, it seems all the free continental breakfasts at motels include a cook-yourself-waffles station.  The machine on the right dispenses batter, you pour it into the iron on the left, you pivot it 180 degrees, and a timer goes off to tell you when it’s done.  Works quite well actually.

 (24 – 25 June: Fence, WI)  Saw bison being raised.  Have had buffalo burgers twice since then, and find them more flavorful and tender than beef.  Will have to buy it at Stop & Shop when I get back to New Haven.  They do sell it there.

( 20 – 23 June: Michigan’s Upper Peninsula)  In Escanaba, I had a pasty for dinner.

Pastys are meat pies with various fillings. I love the concept, though the one I got was pretty unspecial.

I’ve been sampling regional food specialties, but I decided to skip this one:

(19 June – Manitoulin Island, Ontario)  The food at the Meldrum Bay Inn, Manitoulin Island, Ontario, is fantastic.  I finally had a chance to sample the local whitefish. It was perfectly prepared in a simple but delicious way that allowed the fresh local ingredient to shine through. The sides were perfectly prepared. What a find!

(13 – 18 June Ontario) We ate Jenn’s farewell dinner at the Anchor Bar, where Buffalo wings were invented.  Not bad, but also indistinguishable from other good ones I’ve had elsewhere.

The other regional food find was roast beef on weck.  Weck is a roll with caraway seeds dipped in a salty brine and allowed to dry.  Tasty, but salty.

For breakfast I tried peameal bacon for the first time.  This was a local food recommended by Erin.

Unfortunately, peameal bacon ends up being an awful lot like Canadian bacon.

On my food quest, I’ve also had maple donuts at Tim Horton’s and poutine several places.  The latter is fries smothered in cheese and gravy.  Perfect for cycling.

The other thing Tim Horton used to be famous for were butter pies.  You see them all over this part of Ontario.  Luscious, sweet, buttery tarts that a hungry cyclist can eat in two bites.  Here’s  a tray-full I saw in one shop.  Or maybe they were just in my handlebar bag.

 (ca. 9 June New York) We drove to a funny restaurant out in the country, which ended up having the BEST ribs I have ever eaten.  Not barbeque, but with an interesting spice rub.

(6 June New Haven) The first food specialty came two days before I left.  I had Pepe’s pizza, often rated in food polls as the best in the country., and certainly among the very first.  There is always a line out the door.  Also, the night before I left, a group of family and friends enjoyed a simple barbeque and a bon voyage cake.  It’s from Marjolaine (in New Haven), a terrific pastry shop.

(Click on any image for a larger view.)

My route from Sundance to Gillette (Wyoming) required another jaunt on I-90. Weather was sunny and warm, but only 80s, not 90s.  Wind was slightly from the east, but was very weak and mainly from the south, but not a problem.  After 20 miles, I had the option of switching to a smaller road, but it would cost me an extra 7 miles.  As the regular route was already 60 miles, and I wanted an easy day in anticipation of the 78 miles tomorrow, I opted to stay on I-90 an extra 10 miles.

The 30 miles on I-90 went very fast, as I averaged over 16 mph, and I switched to a smaller road before 10 o’clock.  Where I exited, I met two different groups of motorcyclists, and we discussed my trip.  Both were very friendly and impressed.  No ‘tude at all.  I’m sorry I didn’t get pictures. They asked how long I have been training for this trip, and I told them 40 years.

Been seeing a disconcertingly large number of dead snakes.  It suggests there are a few live ones around too.  See Animal Friends for more images.

Something I’ve been seeing in Wyoming are these wooden fence-like structures that run for miles in some places.  They have periodic gaps, so can’t be for animals (and are much too tall).  I’m guessing they are to keep snow from drifting onto highways?

At one point there was an advisory for motorcycles about some roadwork.  I guess they realize bicyclists are tougher than motorcyclists, and don’t need warnings.

Something about these mailboxes just caught my fancy.

Ending the day with some disappointing news.  The one place to stay in Ucross has no room tomorrow.  That means I must redirect to Buffalo.  The good is that it is a shorter ride (70 instead of 78 miles) and the lodging options there are much cheaper.  The bad is that the 70 miles will all be on I-90.   I must say my experience with the western interstates has not been bad.  Scenery is nice, and drivers are v considerate.

(Click on any image for a larger view.)

Today’s ride was a little strange. I started somewhat late, because the only restaurant around didn’t open until 7:30, and there were almost no other food options on my day’s route.  At least the food was excellent.  Terrific homemade corned beef hash (with Hollandaise!) and maybe the best biscuits I’ve ever eaten.  The place is called Cheyenne Crossing, and has been there for over 100 years.

Where I stayed was at an altitude near 6000’, and it was cool when I started riding. There was a steep downgrade for 3 miles, and the cool air and 40 mph wind generated by my descent made it a little uncomfortable. Worse, I knew I had to climb about 2000’ to a pass before leaving the Black Hills, and I thought it might be very steep. I knew that every foot of the descent meant an equivalent foot to climb back out, so I couldn’t really enjoy it. Worrying about this distracted me. Also, the altitude was actually noticeable in terms of how I felt. I was slightly winded for the first time, and a little tired overall. And, my tibialis tendon, which had been feeling better, was starting to act up again.  All of this put me in a bad mood in spite of the continuing beautiful scenery. (I really recommend the Black Hills.)

The route followed a gorgeous stream, with crystal clear water. In places it was surrounded with thousands of small blue flowers. If it hadn’t been so cool, I definitely would have taken a dip.

Roads that follow streams almost always have relatively gradual slopes, and this was no exception. So my worry about a steep climb in my weakened state was groundless.
I finally reached the pass, and began the descent, leaving the park and entering Wyoming.

I went through a place called Buckhorn, which as far as I could tell was nothing but a roadside store. I didn’t stop because I was going to do that a few miles farther at a place called Four Corners. Mistake. There was really nothing at Four Corners except the intersection of the road I was on and the one I was going to take. No refreshments, not even any water, and I was starting to run low. This was halfway through my ride, with another 30 miles to go. It was getting hot, and I was turning into the wind, and losing the steep downgrade of the past 10 miles. I even expected the scenery to get much worse. I REALLY felt discouraged, but had nothing to do but to keep pedaling.

Then I was surprised. For no reason I can explain, the pedaling got easier, despite the wind (which was at least light) and the grade (which was actually pretty flat). And the scenery, though quite different from the Black Hills, was also beautiful. There was a kind of expansiveness to the landscape that I hadn’t seen before. (Sorry, this picture doesn’t really capture it.)

An historic marker discussed the sad history of Custer and an overwhelming force exploring the Black Hills despite their being off limits according to a treaty with the native Americans.

Of course, we broke the treaty and pushed them onto reservations elsewhere.  There were root vegetables placed at the foot of the marker.  I’m guessing these are placed there by native Americans as some sort of remembrance?

So the miles went by relatively quickly, and I arrived in Sundance, WY. (No, not Sundance, UT, of film festival fame.)

The town is small and has a small downtown.  This one old bank building was quite beautiful.

Because I’m in steak country, I had a roast beef stuffed flat-bread that sounded interesting, but wasn’t.  As an appetizer I tried Texas Toothpicks, which I had seen on a menu previously.  They are strips of onions and jalapenos that are breaded and deep fried.  These were pretty bland.

Tomorrow the forecast is for wind slightly from the east (but mainly south).  That should make my ride to Gillette a little easier.  The day after is one of the most challenging of the trip.  It will be 79 miles, with potentially no services along the way.  I pray the wind is easterly that day too.