Day 9
After a couple hours, the road turned upwards. I was climbing out of the reservoir, thankful to be done with that section. I crossed Red Rock Pass and zoomed down to another lake. I passed a marina that looked like it should have been open but wasn't. That was disappointing; I needed some real food after only passing the one small gas station yesterday. The route turned onto some flowy doubletrack - a nice change of pace - then onto some dusty ATV roads.
A few miles later, I was in Island Park, Idaho where I got second breakfast at a hotel's buffet. It wasn't until then that I realized I was in fact in Idaho. I checked the map on my phone to see where that had happened - Red Rock Pass. I resupplied at the grocery store next door and ended up with way too much water. I wasn't sure what to do with the excess until I remembered I had extra capacity in my backpack.
A few pounds of water doesn't sound like much, but it didn't do my butt any favors on the next stretch of flat, dry, dirt roads. Clouds of dust chased ATVs as they zoomed by. Most people would slow down a bit as they passed to minimize the dust; I appreciated the gesture, though I'm not sure how much good it did. I stopped and talked to a couple of cyclists out on a day ride; they had toured the route the previous year. They mentioned some nice campsites and swimming holes coming up, but I was racing, not touring. I couldn't stop at those right?
More dusty roads led to a rail trail. I knew the river was close, but it was several more miles before I saw it snaking down the valley. I came to an opening in the trees and a steep rocky path leading to a turquoise swimming hole. The water was too tempting. I was hot, dusty, and hadn't showered in 5 days; I was going for it. There was a campground coming up with possibly easier access, but as I was planning to strip down to my underwear, I figured relative privacy would be a little better. As expected, the water was ice cold. I scrubbed the dirt off my legs and forced myself under a couple times. It was lovely. I sat on a rock and drank a Coke while I dried out. Soaking in the warm sun after the cold plunge, listening to the clear blue water roll by was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip.
Too soon was I riding again. The river was wide and shallow near the campground, and there were dozens of people in tubes and rafts. Glad I stopped where I did. Rolling hills led to high farmland where I caught my first glimpse of the Tetons jutting out of the Earth. Back in a forest, I lost sight of them. More dusty roads, trucks, ATVs, and a never ending climb led to the Wyoming state line. More climbing led to a ski area and finally a descent. There were lots of nice campsites here, many occupied, but there was a restaurant/hotel coming up and I was hungry. Also, the mosquitoes were ferocious.
I got a (pricey) burger, salad, and beer. The rooms here were extremely pricey and probably all booked up anyways. I imagined the campground was the same. I figured I could just find a quiet spot on the side of the road somewhere. I spent way too much time looking for one, before settling on sleeping underneath a small bridge. There were a lot of large, nasty bugs on the underside, so I didn't sleep directly under it. I just hoped I wouldn't attract any attention.
Day 10
I woke up before sunrise, sweaty and damp - not a good night's sleep. I wanted to sleep more, but dawn was approaching and I needed to get a move on. I soon crossed into Grand Tetons National Park; traffic picked up early in the park. I scoped out a few resupply options on the map, expecting to have to wait for one of them to open, but the first convenience store I came to already had a lot of people going in and out. I spent too much time here eating breakfast sandwiches, sipping coffee, and trying to wake up. I still had some food from the day before, but I topped off my snacks as it was a long way to Pinedale. I knew there were some lodges along the way but didn't know what I would find for sure.
I made my way out of the park, following winding roads and rolling hills, occasionally catching a glimpse of the Tetons behind me. After a few switchbacks on the first steep climb, I was struggling. I laid down against the hill on the side of the road, not quite falling asleep but fighting off a deep exhaustion. After a few minutes and a snack, I pushed on. One climb led to another which led to another. A bumpy dirt road climb brought me to a lodge and a highway. I stopped for a Coke and a sit in a rocking chair; they didn't have much else. I tried to find some energy, but my fatigue was unshakable. The highway led to the top of the pass, then onto a dirt descent, passing a campground and Mosquito Lake. I didn't dare stop at that one, not even for a picture.
A short stretch of highway brought me to Lava Mountain Lodge. There were a couple Tour Divide bikes outside, this was a good sign. My electronics and power banks had been getting low; at the pace I was going they would not have made it to Pinedale. It was only early afternoon, but I would have to stop at least long enough to charge them up. I also unpacked my sleeping gear and spread it out to dry. I didn't want to be crawling into a damp sleeping bag later. The food here was great! I got a pizza and a while later, a burger and fries, eventually giving in to a High Life (or two). My brain wanted to keep riding, but my body did not. I decided to take a partial rest day, having only covered ~60 miles. The shower at the lodge was an utter disappointment. I had no soap or towel, the pressure was terrible, and the coin operated timer ran out way too fast. It was probably less effective than swimming in the creek.
Joss was staying there too and offered to let me stay in his room as there were four bunks in there and all the other rooms were booked. It was better than the bivy but not by much. It was hot, with no AC, and the window screens were broken, letting mosquitoes in. Thankfully I'd bought some bug spray earlier. It held them mostly at bay, but this was not a recipe for good sleep, which I desperately needed.
Day 11
We woke before sunrise, Joss was a little quicker to get out the door. We had passed each other several times already, but I wouldn't see him again for the rest of the trip. I slept OK, not great, but I was eager to get to Pinedale - 84 miles away. The sun rose and the gravel road turned upwards once again, climbing up Union Pass. Meanwhile my mood fell off a cliff.
I quickly felt exhausted. That partial rest day didn't seem to have done much good. The road was rough and required pushing up some particularly steep sections. I hadn't had a proper shower in a week, nor good sleep for several days. The dirty socks that I had worn on days 4-6 had become the clean socks once again just by comparison. My knees were always achy. I started to miss home, Denise, showers, clean clothes, and warm, dry beds. And I wasn't even halfway. I didn't see how I could finish.
I thought about quitting - what it would feel like to be on a bus or plane, headed back home, going to work, telling people how I rode half of the Tour Divide before bailing out - that wouldn't make a very good story. Sure, home is nice but getting there, giving up, getting on a plane would feel worse than riding up this hill. Before I ever started training for this ride, I thought to finish, you had to really want it. I knew I didn't have that; my motivations for starting this journey were vague at best. Sure, it's an awesome route, but I knew it would be hard. And I knew it would suck a lot of the time, if not most of the time. But this day, I discovered another group of finishers - those who are too stubborn to quit. I am firmly in this camp. I thought about the pioneers heading to California for the Gold Rush. They had no bail out option. I had no bail out option. I wanted to go home, but I had to get to Mexico first. Getting to Mexico was the way to get home.
I needed music. Something more upbeat than my usual prog rock. I put on some Taylor Swift (don't judge). Eventually the road leveled out and I came to a nice backcountry shelter. I stopped and ate an Italian sub that had been in my backpack since Idaho. (Two days ago!) I figured it was cured meat and cheese, what could go wrong? (Thankfully, nothing.)
The descent was rough and loaded with baby heads. I gave zero shits. I went full send, no brakes. I mean a broken bike is a reasonable excuse to quit, but I wouldn't be so lucky. When the road smoothed out, I came across some touring north-bounders. I stopped to chat for a bit and warned them of the rough climb they had coming up. I did not envy them. I was still a couple hours away from Pinedale, but the roads were easy now.
I stopped at the first gas station I saw to re-hydrate and come up with a game plan. The prospect of real food was lifting my spirits already. As hard as the morning had been, I wasn't going to stay here. If I kept going, I could make it to Wamsutter the next night and get a hotel there. I went to a brewery for a burger and beer and chicken strips to go. I felt a little sorry for everyone I went near. My clothes were filthy and I probably smelled like a goat. I took the opportunity to download the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy audio book and put a hold on Dune (through the Libby app). The Great Basin was coming up and I was afraid of being bored. Somehow the hold was ready before I left town, but I didn't want to wait for it to download.
I resupplied at a grocery store but couldn't find canned coffee there. I got two cans at the convenience store across the road - one for now (5pm) and one for in the morning - and rolled out of town. I had a massive tail wind and quickly spun out on the flat roads. Gears would have been nice here; there was no way I was catching Joss or any other geared rider now.
I was officially out of grizzly country and the landscape changed dramatically again - from low arid mountains to the most vast expanse of barren nothingness I've ever seen. To the south, the land sloped away into a flat emptiness stretching to infinity, simultaneously foreboding and mesmerizing. My mind was blown, my breath sucked out of my lungs by the vacuum of space before me. I rode on.
I wasn't in the Basin yet, just skirting the edge. My feet were sweaty and the dirt had penetrated my socks long ago. It felt absolutely disgusting. I attempted to ride barefoot, but that didn't go so well. Instead, I rode without socks and my shoes loose to get some airflow. Shortly after sunset I stopped to set up camp in a patch of dirt on the side of the road. I hadn't seen anybody, car or bike, since the outskirts of town. The wind had died and the mosquitoes had come out. How mosquitoes exist in such a dry place is beyond me. I ate my chicken tenders in my bivy, glad to be out of bear country.
Day 12
The sun was still behind the low mountains to the east when I awoke. I don't think a single car had passed in the night, and I felt like I had slept great. The air was dry enough here that for once I wasn't clammy in the bivy. I had a breakfast of canned coffee and a bag of mini donuts as I prepared for 17 hours of direct sunlight (still wearing my tights).
On a short stretch of highway, I came across a nice rest stop with running water. I chugged a bottle and washed my face. In hind sight, I should've topped off the extra bladder in my backpack. Back on dirt roads, I passed another north-bounder, then rode through the ghost town of South Pass City. There were a handful of cars parked in front of houses and what might have been a museum, but otherwise there were no stores to speak of.
Shortly after that, I rode through Atlantic City (pop. 37). I saw a few people out and about. There was a restaurant here, but it didn't have hours posted. It was just before 10am, but I wasn't going to stick around. I had plenty of food and hopefully enough water for the 95 mile stretch to Wamsutter. I climbed one last hill to get out of the town, then I was in the Basin. Lifeless rolling hills stretched out before me.
About 10 miles in, I passed a north-bound couple who looked like CDT hikers. I can't imagine crossing the Basin on foot. Exactly 21.6 miles passed Atlantic City, I went off route in search of Diagnus Well. Not because I needed water but just to see it. I had read vague mentions of it online, but only knew where to find it because I had stumbled upon it on Google Maps. Sure enough, 50 yards off the road there was a pipe in the ground with water flowing out of it, surrounded by a small patch of green. A sign read 'Non-potable'. I had read that it was alkaline water; I'm still not sure if my filter would have been effective or not. If I was desperate I would've drank it, but as it was, I still had three liters or so.
A few people had mentioned I should write a book about my journey. I think that would be an awfully short and boring book as the vast majority of the trip consisted of riding in silence for hours on end. A lot of it was awesome, of course, but parts of it were rather tedious and boring. But the Basin was inspiring. Scientists say the Universe came from nothing. Here was nothing. My vague idea for a fantasy/creation story: the entire Universe springs forth from the Great Basin. Maybe one day I'll think of a plot to go with it.
I passed two or three north-bounders in the first half. It's amusing to think that this remote expanse might be traversed by cyclists more than people in cars, but there really isn't any other reason to come this way. I was so entranced by this bizarre landscape, I didn't listen to music or my audio book the entire day. Somewhere around halfway I came across some sort of small industrial operation - probably something to do with oil or natural gas. Shortly after that, the route turned onto barely visible doubletrack that led up a small hill. It felt other-worldly and incredibly isolated. One could get lost out here and never be found. Or run around naked shouting at the top of your lungs, and no one would ever know.
The last third started to drag on, though I did see wild horses at one point - that was cool. One of them stared me down pretty hard. With 15 or so miles to Wamsutter (about 1.5 hours), I ran out of water. It was hot, dry, and windy. Thankfully, it had mostly been a tailwind, but I was parched. With 5 miles to go, I started seeing buildings, but no sign of a town. It made me nervous. The landscape was so open, it seemed like I should've been able to see something. I started seeing some traffic, then finally, the Love's gas station I'd been dreaming of. I got two Arizona Teas, chugging one while I sat in the shade and searched for a hotel. There were two - one looked a little sketchy, the other was less sketchy, maybe even decent.
The sun was still up, there was still time to ride more, but the thought didn't cross my mind. I was so glad to be here. I was over halfway. I was going to have a shower and sleep in a bed. I went in to the hotel office to book a room. The lady asked if I had a reservation. I didn't. A terrible look came across her face. They were booked. Then she mentioned another racer had come by, slept a few hours and left. The room had two beds, hadn't been cleaned, but I could have it at a discounted rate. It was perfect. (Worst case, I probably could've bribed another racer to let me sleep on their floor.) Even better, they had laundry machines.
I started my laundry, got a pulled pork sandwich at a BBQ stand down the street run by a family who were also passing through, drank my other liter of tea, took a long shower, turned the AC down low, and passed out.
Day 13
The day started off easy and uneventful. The relatively flat, easy terrain the previous day meant that my knees felt OK for once. I made a large adjustment to my handlebar bag setup, moving the dowel from the top of the aero bars to the bottom. This let me strap the bag back to the head tube and still have space for the brake lines. Now the bag was ultimately supported by four zip ties (one reason I waited so long to do it), but the decreased leverage meant it wouldn't pull my aero bars down. This also allowed a better grip on the aero bars which is important as it's not a very stable position to begin with.
I got coffee and a few breakfast burritos at 'the other' gas station (not Love's) and headed out of town. I started the Hitchhiker's audio book. The flat desert landscape gradually transitioned to rolling hills until, cresting a particularly large hill, a deep valley stretched out between me and the lush green mountains of Colorado. A new state. Wyoming had gone by relatively quickly compared to Montana (as one would expect). The Basin had been awesome, but I was excited to be in mountains again.
A ripping descent and more rolling hills took me to Savery, WY. I knew there was museum here, but whether they had snacks and/or water was unknown. When I rolled through the town, the community center (/school?) had signs welcoming Tour Divide riders and snacks/drinks for sale. I stopped for a coke and candy bar and topped off my water.
A long winding climb led me to the 'Leaving Wyoming' sign; the road kept climbing. Storms had been lurking in the distance, but now one was getting uncomfortably close. I stopped to put on rain gear just in time; a few minutes later it was raining sideways. It was short lived though. About the time it settled to a drizzle is about the time I heard cheers and a cowbell and saw the sign for Brush Mountain Lodge. I thought it was closed and hadn't expected anything until Clark, CO - another 30 miles - which I was very much hoping to get to before the store closed. Turns out BML had managed to re-open just in time for the Divide. There were more than a dozen other bikes out front; maybe I could stop for a little bit.
Kirsten was amazing. This place very much had Mulberry Gap vibes - a very chill, easy going kind of place. I was still full from breakfast burritos when I got there, but I ordered a pizza soon enough. Frozen pizza cooked in a real pizza oven was pretty damn good. I looked at the route and talked to others about what was coming up. I wasn't too concerned with getting to Clark now that I had food; I was more concerned with were I might sleep. I had felt great today and wanted to keep going. Sitting around felt wrong; I was 'racing'. But there wasn't any sort of shelter coming up. And the weather was iffy. A warm, dry place to sleep was too hard to pass up; I had roughed it for so long, I could justify another night indoors. The group that was staying here would end up sticking close together for the rest of the race: Liam, JP, Kevin, Aaron, Rob, Courtney.
Eventually, I caved, took a shower, drank a beer, got another pizza. I sat on the porch and pet the dog - a white, Lucy-sized fur ball. I missed my girl. I slept on a couch, hoping to get an early start the next morning which meant skipping out on pancakes.
Day 14
My watch alarm woke me at 5am, as usual. I ate a quick breakfast, packed up, and headed out the door. A quarter mile up the road, I hit peanut butter mud. It stuck to my tires, quickly building up until they wouldn't turn. I got off and pushed on around the next corner: endless mud. I said screw it, turned around and went back for breakfast. Maybe the road would dry out some, and if not, I was going to need more fuel for this battle.
Pancakes and coffee were well worth it. It was an early breakfast, so I wasn't really losing much time. I doubted the road would dry out in any meaningful way, and I don't think it did. I still wonder if the previous evening would have been better. It had already rained, but would it have soaked into the road? I'll never know.
The peanut butter mud continued off and on for eight miles or so, but eventually the road surface changed. Then it was a long climb and a chunky descent to Clark. A couple of riders who had passed me were stopped at the store, but I rode on towards Steamboat on a paved but busy road. After several miles, the route turned onto a side road away from traffic. A bike path led me to a river and the downtown area.
I had read about a really awesome bike shop right on the route where a lot of riders would stop for a tune-up for the second half of the Divide. I never saw such a place. The first shop I came to looked like it was closed permanently, so I rode to another. My chain was quite loose and needed tightening or replacing; it had already fallen off once. The shop was pretty busy, so I asked to just borrow the tools. The wear gauge said it had a lot of life left, so I just tightened it. The wrench for this is big and heavy, and I didn't want to lug it the entire way. But not being able to do this basic maintenance whenever I needed was very inconvenient. I wouldn't ride without it again, but I'd like to fabricate my own light-weight version out of something other than stainless steel.
With the bike tuned up, I went across the street and got a reuben and a beer at an Irish pub. Then I had several errands to run. First I went downtown in search of a sun hoodie. The shirt I had left gaps at my wrists and had no hood, and my buff wasn't the neck protection I thought it would be. I knew the New Mexico sun was going to be brutal. I checked several stores with no luck, until a bike shop mechanic suggested a big chain store down the street. Sure enough, they had just what I was looking for. Then it was on to the Post Office to ship several things home that I no longer needed: passport, wind jacket, top base layer, stuff-able backpack, and riding shorts. I committed to wearing tights the rest of the way, though I did have some off-bike shorts as a backup. Then I needed to resupply; it was a long way to Silverthorne with only Kremmling in between which was two miles off route. I wanted to avoid that if I could. First I tried a convenience store, but they didn't have much. For some reason, chocolate milk and Gatorade both sounded good; I drank the milk first, then chugged the Gatorade. I immediately thought I was going throw up. I held it down, but then I had to go into a grocery store and buy food while nauseated.
Finally, I got on the road again. Some other riders I met at Brush Mountain were staying in Steamboat, but I wanted to cover some more ground after a relatively short day yesterday. I rode another 35 miles, not as far as I wanted, but I got sleepy when the sun went down. The weather had been iffy all afternoon; I wanted to find shelter. I rode until I got to a campground; luckily it was empty and had a pit toilet. This would be my second night sleeping in a pit toilet; it was fairly clean and didn't smell ...at first. About 1:30am it hit me, and it was awful. I did my best to breathe into my sleeping bag and keep sleeping.
Day 15
The first week was filled with awe and wonder and excitement. The second week had me questioning my life choices. But now I accepted my new routine - wake up and ride south. This was my life now. I did a pretty good job of planning to have a can of coffee in the morning. The few times I didn't, those first three hours were rough.
The day started with a short climb and a long descent to the campground I had been aiming for. There was a little mud but nothing crazy. Then there was a relatively small, 1400 ft, climb between me and the turn to Kremmling. This is barely a blip on the map, but I was suffering. I thought I had left Steamboat with enough food, but at the rate I was going it would be tight. I decided it would be better to go into Kremmling to refuel rather than try to push through and come up short. Once I was up and over the hill, I went into town and got some yogurt, gas station pizza, and several other snacks. It took forever to get through the line; they were having technical difficulties with the cash register.
Back on the road, a storm was brewing and seemed to chase me all afternoon. I rounded a beautiful lake. A couple of people that lived along the route were giving out drinks. I stopped at the first one, but the second was on a downhill. I'd been riding slow for hours, I didn't want to lose momentum now. Then it was a long climb up Ute Pass. I was struggling again; it was taking much longer than I thought it should have. After a few hours, I reached the top, stopped to take in the view, and talk with a local rider for a few minutes. A blazing fast, paved descent took me to the highway leading into Silverthorne.
I stopped in a park on the edge of town to figure out the game plan. It was early evening; I was exhausted. I needed carbs. Lots of carbs. A local guy came up to me and was asking about the race. He said I looked like I needed a beer and gave me a Modelo. I was tempted to drink it there but thought it best to save it for later. I asked him if he knew of any good pasta restaurants around, and he suggested a pizza place I had been looking at that was on-route.
The bike path through the city was lovely - winding along the river, under bridges and overpasses. At Windy City Pizza, I got an enormous plate of chicken parmesan with a salad, and had no trouble taking it all down. That really hit the spot. As I was getting ready to leave, the bottom fell out, complete with hail. I guess the storm had caught up, but it didn't last long. I had planned on riding on through Breckenridge and camping just outside of town, but now that seemed less appealing. How much further could I really ride tonight anyways and would it be worth it? The riders who had stayed in Steamboat had nearly caught up. I searched for hotels and found one in Frisco. It was on the pricey side, but it would be worth it. I followed the bike path up to and around Dillon Reservoir. A marina held dozens of sailboats, something I didn't expect to see in the mountains.
It was a fairly nice hotel; I kind of felt bad about rolling my dirty bike through the hallways. I showered, drank the Modelo, and passed out.
Day 16
Once again, I had to resuppy before I really got going for the day. I ate a pastry in the hotel but was hungry again by the time I got to the grocery store in Breckenridge, 10 miles down the road. I ate several donuts, drank some chocolate milk and loaded up for the day, though it was only 50 miles to Hartsel.
The climb up Boreas Pass was long but mild. This was one of the 'railroad grade' climbs I kept hearing about. There were several dispersed campsites on the way up, most occupied. It was chilly at the top. I was looking forward to a smooth gravel descent just like the climb, only to see that the route turned onto wet rocky singletrack. Great. Several miles of not-so-great trail dumped me out back onto the gravel road. Then it was an easy descent to Como and South Park. There were no more big climbs until after Salida, but the road to Hartsel should be an embarrassment to all involved in its construction. It was extremely dusty, loose, chunky gravel over a heavily washboarded road bed. With a headwind. I've ridden plenty of bad roads, but this one really set me off. Most 'bad' roads are just unmaintained; this one, however, had been 'maintained' by dumping a pile of gravel on it and calling it good.
Hartsel was welcome sight after that beat-down. There was a restaurant and a convenience store next door; both were very popular places with cars, motorcycles, and bikes outside of both. I had plenty of food but stopped at the store for a Coke and ice cream bar. There was a north-bound group of cyclists from New Zealand; one of them asked what my favorite part had been. I told her I had really enjoyed the Great Basin. She said I might be the first person to ever say that. (It does have a reputation for being boring.)
The next stretch of road wound its way through rolling hills. Scattered showers lurked in the distance. I passed JP smoking a cigarette on the side of the road. He's from South Korea and only knew a handful of English words. He seemed like he was always having a good time though. As I was climbing up the small pass before Salida, the rain looked like it was closing in. I put on my rain jacket, but never really needed it. Just over the top, there was an incredible view of Salida: a dark ceiling of clouds cast a shadow on the mountains but the sun shown through in spots with a rainbow behind me. Eager to beat the weather, I flew down the smooth dirt roads.
On the edge of town, I decided to stop for dinner. The massive plate of carbs the day before had really seemed to help; I had fried rice in mind this night but ended up getting Pad Thai at a place downtown. It rained off and on while I ate. The forecast wasn't looking good - scattered showers for the next several hours. Once again, I felt good and wanted to press on, but I'd rather not get soaked in the bivy. However, staying here meant I probably wouldn't make it 150 miles to Del Norte the next day. I wussed out and searched for hotels. They were even more expensive than Frisco. I saw on TrackLeaders that Liam was staying at a hostel down the street and decided to give it a shot. I had never stayed in one before, but they had a bunk available for $40. That would do.