Today we got final word from Greg M. that he was sufficiently recovered from his shoulder injury to join us on the tour. He’d be flying into Jackson Hole airport, so that’s where we needed to be, Jackson, WY. This was not part of the original plan. The GDMBR starts heading East at Colter Bay, so we’d be riding off route. Best divergence ever. I got a chance to see the stunning Grand Tetons in from so every angles and distances as we rode through the park. When we got our first view in the North, Greg said, “it will only get more spectacular as we go on.” He was so right.

I’m going to post some pictures and video, but if you’re a fan of the Tetons, you’re probably already seen similar. But here’s the thing, go there in person. There is something about the extreme openness of the sky and the land in Wyoming that can’t be adequately replicated in media. But if you’re a fan, you probably already knew that as well.

Right now I write this from the the bar at Kendall Valley Lodge. I love KVL. These guys are great. Great dinner, comfortable cabins, Beautiful grounds, wonderful people, the works. But there is no cell signal here at all, and no WiFi in the rooms. If I want (really slow) WiFi, I need to go to the restaurant or bar. That’s all I got.

But this, in a nutshell, is the tour. You will meet wonderful people, see stunning scenery, and get to know parts of the country I barely knew existed, but there is a price. Mostly, that price is that this is a world that doesn’t always need instant access to interconnected tools, so they don’t prioritize them. It’s just not the critical part of their life that it’s become for many of the rest of us.

I’ve stayed in many places in the last few weeks that amazed me. Some were great, some were bad, and some were just weird. I love the roll-the-dice local lodging lottery. But interconnected tools have been part of my life for decades. I’m an IT guy for gosh sake. So I have two ways I go. Sometimes I’m frustrated that I can’t get enough cell signal or WiFi to contact my loved ones or updated my blog. Sometimes I secretly like that I can’t connect. Shhh, don’t tell anyone about that last one.

I’m super psyched to add a new voice to the blog. Greg S. has wrote up his first few days on the road. He has some photos he’d love to add as well, but we just don’t have the bandwidth to do it at the moment. I don’t want to delay the text version while we wait, so here’s the first cut.

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Day 1 (31 miles)
Traveled from San Antonio to Jackson Hole airport with bike in a box.  Met Paul at the airport and assembled my bike and bags.  Was also greeted by Greg McFarland, Dean, Chris and Dean’s son.

After bike assembly, Paul and I road to Colter Bay Village.  On the way we entered the Grand Teton National Park.  I stopped at the entrance and received a free admission card because of my VA disability rating.  Then the attendant charged Paul $20 to ride his bike through the park. Point of fact, Paul had been riding through the park without being charged previously.  Then when they noticed he was with me, they decided to charge him.  Sorry about that bro.

The ride to Colter Bay Village was on smooth bike trails and road surfaces.  It was mostly flat and we had great weather.  Great way to start the trip.  The cabin at Colter Bay Village was actually a tent with a wood stove and bunks.  There were showers for charge and a toilet facility about half a mile away.  No problems.  Everything worked out well.

Day 2. (53 miles)

We left Colter Bay Village about 8AM after stopping for coffee at their grocery store.  

We met some other tour dividers at the grocery store and as each of us looked at what the others were using for gear, we also discussed how to cross the Great Basin between Pinedale and Rawlins Wyoming.  Water resupply options are limited so we asked about the other people’s plans then, instead of taking notes, we just listened and then forgot all their wisdom almost instantly.  Our current plan is to call the ACA once we get to Pinedale so we have all water resupply options clarified so that we can plan how much water to bring from point to point.

The ride for the day started out nicely on pavement and we made it. About 25 miles in with little effort.  That all changed as we entered a 14/15 mile climb in the dirt.  I’m not much of a climber and usually only experience rolling hills at most in Texas.  The prolonged and consistent climb took a lot out of me, but was very achievable at slow speeds.  We finished the day going downhill to the Lava Mountain Lodge where we were greeted with a room, dinner, and laundry facilities. 

Day 3. (58 miles)

We left Lava Mountain Lodge at about 730 after stopping for breakfast food and a little standard bike maintenance in the morning.  We rode down hill about 6 miles the started an 8 mile climb.  Not as bad as the day prior, but these days are having a cumulative effect on my performance condition so it was a little harder of a climb for me.  

Jerry, one of the tour dividers, was on the route at the same time so we talked a bit and it was nice to see another person working through the same stuff in slightly different way.  Some of the things he did differently included exclusive use of paper maps to navigate and he also used some type of ultraviolet pen to purify his water.  

After the climb was over we were pleased to see mostly downhill for the rest of the way.  The reality turned out to be that the roads made going downhill challenging as well.  There was lots of loose gravel so going slow was essential because of loss of traction while descending.  Then came the big rocks and washboards.  Initially going through these obstacles was fun; in a fun downhill mountain bike kind of way. We paid a price though. It took a lot of energy to descend and each descent was slower than it would have been if we had better roads.  We made it through, but not as fast or in as good of a physical condition as I initially hoped for. No problem.  Our plan was and is adjustable. We stopped earlier than originally planned and wound up at Kendall Valley Lodge, which is about 30 miles north west of Pinedale Wyoming.

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The group has changed dramatically over the last week. It’s a little convoluted, so I’ll bullet point.

• Day 12. Paul and Greg M. take a rest day in Lima. Dean and Chris move on so they can make a scheduled rendezvous with Dean’s son.
• Day 13 – 15. Paul and Greg M. continue on but switch up the route in order to head to Jackson, WY.
• Day 16. Everything changes. Greg S. Flies into Jackson Hole airport, gets his bike ready and officially joins the tour. Yay! BUT, there is major suckage as well. Greg M. decides that it’s time for him to leave the tour, and with much emotion I say goodbye to my best friend.
• Day 16. For one brief moment, we’re all together at JAC. Both Gregs, Dean, Chris and me, sharing tales of the road, saying goodbye, and finally driving and riding our separate directions.
• Day 17 and on…. the tour continues with Paul and Greg S.

This marks two weeks on the road for me, and it looks like I’ve put in about a third of the miles. I’m right on track for my 6 week goal. After yesterday’s slog through headwinds and bad roads, we decided to hit the highway for the first part of the day. The first part was awesome, but then we hit bad roads again for the second half. Oh well, that’s the way it goes. Still, it was beautiful Idaho country until we got to pass over into beautiful Wyoming country. Idaho, we barely knew ye.

This was a long, slow, windy, very bumpy ride through sage brush, a wildlife preserve that didn’t appear to have any wildlife, and through a few very scenic mountains and lowlands you’ll probably never hear of unless you’re right next to them (or read this blog).

After yesterday’s beating, a rest day was in order. Dean and Chris did not have this luxury because they had plane tickets, hotel reservations and a meetup with Dean’s son in a couple of days. But Greg M. and I decided to stay in Lima, MT for a day of nothing. There’s not a lot to say about this except that after the horrible day 11, it needed to happen and had the desired effect.

One nice bonus, we ate at “Pete’s Hotel” in Lima, and it was awesome. Truly great food. You could plunk it down in Arlington and it would quickly become one of your favorites. All this from a town of exactly two restaurants.