I ate an entire loaf of bread while writing this

7/8/09

I wasn't sure what to title this and after reaching into an empty bread bag that was full when I began, I knew immediately.

The morning I left Yellowstone I also left all of my friends behind. Before leaving, I gave Tyler a simple "Big gulps huh? Welp...see ya later" and took off. He continued north through the park to Montana that day. Gabe and Clay were ready to leave by the time I woke up and got a head start on me. I caught up and passed them by the time I got out of Yellowstone. They simply can't keep up with this...nuff said. As much as I miss the Dumb and Dummer quotes and having someone to talk to at the end of the day, it is nice to be on my own again. I am riding at my own pace and am taking on longer distances each day than I was before. The nice thing about riding solo is that you can break off and do your own thing at any time.

On the way out of the park I could see some clouds in the distance but didn't think too much of it. After riding a bit the clouds started to look worse so I stopped and pulled out my rain jacket. About 5 minutes later the temperature dropped to 40 degrees (i have a mini thermometer) and rain was soon to follow. A bit later I stopped before a construction zone to where they only had one lane open. The flagman said I was allowed to ride it but could not stop and had to keep pace with the traffic. It was a 9 mile zone and all downhill. I was riding down a long and relatively steep hill when the rain changed to hail...awesome. The hail quickly grew to the size of marbles and at a speed of just under 30mph it really hurt! The whole time I wanted to stop real bad, but had nowhere and was told not to slow traffic, so I kept on chugging along being blasted by the ice pellets. The sting was similar to being hit with a paintball gun or a air soft gun only it didn't stop. My thighs and arms were getting hit the most but the shots to the hands and fingers, which were freezing cold, stung the worst. At one point I looked up to see how much farther before the front of the storm and was rocked in the face, I didn't make this mistake again. Though it was painful, the storm produced one of the coolest views that I have seen on the trip. The section of the road in the hail storm was lined with trees creating what looked like a tunnel. Through the tunnel of trees you could see one of the Grand Tetons with the sun shining down on it. The base of the mountain was bright green and led up to a snow capped rocky peak that the Tetons are known for. The dark trees and clouds framed the mountain perfectly through the hail. The combination of all of these elements at once was an overwhelming and beautiful view that I will not soon forget. The hail and rain both ended before I left the construction zone, and I rode out of Yellowstone in sunshine. Just outside of the the park I stopped at a gas station to dry off a bit and get something to eat. I picked up a bag of doughnuts and a coffee, thinking I would eat some of the doughnuts now and have some later on as a snack along the road. I ate the whole bag in one sitting and pedaled away from the gas station craving more. I have no self-control when it comes to food.

Just past the gas station is the entrance to Grand Tetons N.P. I have seen tons of pictures and heard amazing stories about this park and to ride through it was even more amazing. At the base of the Tetons is Jackson Lake. The lake is massive, perfectly clear, and is so close to the mountains that it looks as if the peaks come straight out of the water. The Tetons themselves are the definition of Rocky Mountains. They are jagged dark rock with steep slopes and snow dusting random spots near the top. There are peaks everywhere of different shapes and sizes and no matter how many times I have looked at them before, they still amaze me. If you block out the cars and tourists, it looks like something you would see in Lord of the Rings. I stopped several times to take pictures and hiked around different areas. I had the same problem here as I did in Yellowstone, everything is so far away that to see it on a bike would take weeks. The Tetons were easily my favorite ride of the trip so far. I was planning on riding to Dubois that day, but after speaking with a woman late in the day, I decided to check out Jackson, WY. She said, "Its an absolute nut house! If you have ever wanted to see it you should check it out, you're too close to miss it". I had to ride about 30 miles longer that day to get down to Jackson and I got in late enough that everything but a couple of bars and restaurants were closed, not as previously described. I guess our interpretations of nut house are different. Even with everything closed I rode around town and found that it was much more of a tourist attraction than a real town. I continued on the next day riding highway 287 to Dubois with a group called America by Bicycle.

America by Bike is mainly older guys, "bucket listers" as one of the guides described them, who ride the nicest bikes money can buy, stay in hotels every night, and have someone else carry their gear for them. I stopped at a turnout to enjoy a view and take some pictures when a guy name Jack came riding up to me. "Let me borrow your bike for a second" he said to me as he let his bike, a very nice carbon framed Specialized, drop to the ground. He posed with my bike for a picture and said, "I'm going to show all of my friends back home this picture and tell them I carried 200lbs across America." I spoke with him and his riding friend for a while before we took off down the road again. He also took a picture of me with the Tetons in the background that he sent to me later that night. I rode with this group all day trying to gauge what kind of shape I am in. It took everything I had to keep up with them and there was really no purpose to this other than to prove to myself that I could. It was frustrating to watch these guys climb with little effort while I had to gear down and try to keep up my momentum. I managed to keep up though, finishing before several people in their group and I paid for it the following morning when I woke up sore as hell. One of the guys I was riding with said to me, "We're crazy, but you're insane" after he tried to pick up my bike comparing it to his custom built Titanium frame. Most of the ride that day was uphill to Togwotee Pass. I even reached a new high point at an elevation of 10,691ft.

After the Pass, I coasted into Dubois where I met a family of three doing a tour. I did not know it when I met them, but I have been hearing about Alan, Donna, and Lewis Jackson since day one from every cyclist I have seen. In Eugene, the family went into a Safeway to pick up some food. They returned to find that Donna's bike had been stolen. Hearing this, local news stations and radio stations started advertising and raised $1700 for them and managed to find the bike. They were a nice enough family and I hung out with them that night. Walking around town I ran into Jack and some of the other America by Bike guys. We started talking and they said they were going to go get some beers after dinner and invited us. Alan seemed irritated with these guys and when I asked if he wanted to go grab a beer with them later he said, "why would I want to do that? I have nothing in common with those guys! They don't do the same thing I do! Why would I do that?" Easy Al! Chill out man it was just a question. I found out later that Alan resents supported touring cyclists and refuses to he is similar to them in any way. I ended up splitting a 6-pack with Alan and Donna. They are extremely over-protective of their son Lewis who is now 9. They didn't hesitate to tell other kids at the campground that they should let Lewis play with them.

I headed to bed early that night worn out from the ride and woke up pretty late. Breakfast took a long time as other people in the park kept coming up and talking to me. My favorite was a guy named Claude. Claude was traveling around with his wife and ATV's, stopping at places that they heard were fun. He is a Vietnam Vet that used to be a biker (Harley biker, not cyclist biker) and has since taken a more comfy seat inside of a HUGE Dodge pickup. He had long graying hair held back by a bandanna, has the voice of a long time smoker and the body of a 75 year old even though he is only 52. He told me stories about when his used to ride mountain bikes and Harley's and tour around country. None of the stories seemed to have any logical connection, but he told them as if it were one related directly to the next. This delayed my start time to 10:15. By the time I left it had already started to heat up. I made it about 30 miles out of town and passed by a sign saying "Wind River Reservation". I should have expected it after this sign, but was caught completely off guard when I was his with a real strong head wind. I cruised for a long time at only 7 mph's flats and 11 going downhill. It was terrible! Eventually the wind or the road would shift giving me a crosswind, but I never managed to get it at my back. The crosswinds were just as frustrating as the head winds because even though they didn't slow me down as much, I had to have the bike tilted at a 15 degree angle just to keep from being knocked down. As I was cursing out the wind and the road and the state of Wyoming, a car drove past and came to a quick stop. "Oh, shit!" I thought as I realized that this guys windows were open as I was shouting profanities at the wind. I thought for sure he thought I was shouting at him and after hearing stories of confrontations from other bikers riding through Indian Reservations, I immediately assumed the worst. Turns out the guy didn't hear me, he just wanted to offer me a bottle of water. I accepted it and he continued on his way with few words. My ride for the day has landed me in Lander, WY, easily the most liberal town I have been to in Wyoming. I am camped in the City Park along with a bunch of people in town for a climbing festival. I think I will stick around to see what the fest is about and see what the town of Lander is like.

For food I have been eating the usual but have spiced up the Peanut butter tortillas with Nutella, and for dinner I have been adding in random things that I might see in a store. Last night I ate a whole carton of Cottage cheese, Pork and Beans, a box of Pop Tarts (S'mores), some tuna and cheese sandwiches and a banana. It is all random stuff, but it is nice to have variety when I can. My SPF 85 ran out the other day, the same day that I wore a sleeveless jersey for the first time. I now have sunburn and blisters on my shoulders and a well defined burn line. The butt is getting better and my Uncle Mike was right, duct tape does not help the chaffing (read that comment a couple days too late).

I hope to be in Denver by next week and am going to try riding consecutive 100 mile days just to see if I can. I no longer wake up sore after 70 and 80 mile days as long as I am not racing through them, so I figure it will be no problem.

-Marcus