Day 33 - Section 2B - Wyoming
08/27/06
Pinedale, WY 158m to Makeshift Campground
241 = 83 miles
Night Time Terror
This morning as I left Pinedale I felt
great and fully recovered. I had to leave today so I
that would catch the tail winds that are forecasted for
the Great Basin in a couple of days. My original
destination was Little Sand Creek which I reached
effortlessly around noon time. It was not very nice
location and it was full of cow dung and horse flies so
I push on. The topography for most of the day was very
barren, high altitude, rolling desert hills. By early
evening I was riding on a long and fantastically
beautiful barren ridge. I had had views looking
southeast to infinity. As evening approached I saw
intense thunderstorms flash in the far distance. At the
time, I didn’t realize, I would be riding into them.
Within an hour a thunderstorm formed
directly overhead and it started to rain heavily. The
trail quickly became mushy and so I had to stop and set
up camp. I am in the best location I could find, but
even with that said I was still out in the open on a
pass. I was in the worst place imaginable during a
thunderstorm yet I had nowhere better to go and the
trail became impassable.
I am now in my tent in the middle of the
most severe storm I had ever experienced. The wind guests must
be around 50-60mph. The flag rod on my BOB trailer looks
like it is going to snap. The rain is coming down in a
torrent and the lightning is flashing every two minutes.
I am starving, but I can’t cook in this weather so I am
eating a banana and a bagel. At least I am nice and
cozy. Thank goodness I invested in an excellent tent. I
have all my gear in here and I still have room to move.
But most importantly, this tent isn’t budging in the
wind. Good night!
Day 34 - Section 2B -
Wyoming
08/28/06
Makeshift Campground 241m to EOS 246m to
Sweetwater River 15m = 20 miles
Strange Towns Folk
This morning proved to be a very
difficult ride. The ground was very sandy and soft. My
front tire kept digging into the soil causing me to
unintentionally stop. I was also feeling very sick to my
stomach. I had a slight fever, cramps, and severe
diarrhea. For breakfast I had some oatmeal with brown
sugar and I really had to work at eating it. I had a
feeling that my body was in trouble.
Today is going to be a low mileage day
anyways, so I will just take my time. Along the way I
passed through South Pass City and Atlantic City.
Today’s destination is the Sweet Water River and it is
also my official entrance into the Great Basin.
 South Pass City has flush toilets and I
made good use of them. I had really bad diarrhea. Next,
I stopped at a café/bar in Atlantic City and had a cup
of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle soup. I figured the sodium
would do me some good and may calm my stomach. The
town’s people made me feel like I was in a horror movie
about a small gold rush town that worshipped the devil.
The place was the most twisted feeling place I have ever
been to in my life. I got out of there as quickly as I
could. The place really spooked me and I can’t stop
thinking about it. There was something very sinister
feeling about it.
 The trail to the Sweetwater River
in the Great Divide Basin was
difficult only because I was feeling so sick. By 1pm I
made it to my destination and relaxed. Around 4pm
and to my surprise, I saw two bicyclists’ miles out in
the distance. About a half hour later they rode up and
it was Peter and Yoke. It was nice to see them again. We
set up camp together and talked for a while before
retiring for the night.
Last night they camped on a ridge under clear sky's
before the storm moved. By mid night they couldn't sleep
because they were scare out their wits by the ferocity
of the thunder and lightning and the fierce winds with
rain. They were
about 20 miles behind me.
As I am writing in my journal I can hear
the coyotes circle our camp. They yelp for most of the
night.
Day 35 - Section 3A - Wyoming
08/29/06 -
Sweetwater River 15m to A&M Reservoir 84m = 69 miles
The Great Basin
After a hearty breakfast of oatmeal and
eggs, I packed up and hit the trail earlier than usual
and before Peter & Yoke. I packed extra water because
the next water source was 69 miles away. The map showed
there were streams in the area, but they were all dry
even though it had rained a lot over the last few days.
The trail conditions varied but for the
most part the route was good traveling. There was a
layer of soft silt like sand about an inch thick over
hard packed ground. The recent rains probably helped
make the sandy trail more packed and easier to ride.
There was a fair amount of washboard but my full
suspension bike took care of that.
 The
Great Divide Basin is very desolate and
remote. The only reason why someone would be out here is
if they were biking the Great Divide or herding cattle.
The mileage was tough because there were so many short
rolling hills that were too small to show up on the map,
but together they made for a grinding experience and the
soft soil conditions added extra drag.
I wish I had super fat tires,
something around 2.3 or fatter, instead of my 2.1's. When I reach the bottom
of these hills, more like washes, the soil becomes sand
and the front wheel just digs in killing my momentum
before going up hill again. This would be a very bad
place to be during a hard rain. The soil looks like it
would become instant paste in many areas.
Back in Pinedale I researched the
forecast for this area and it stated there were to be
strong North Westerly winds for today. The norm is South
Easterly which would be a head wind. So it was my
intention to leave Pinedale when I did so I could be
here for the tail winds. Sure enough, the tail winds
came and what a blessing they were. Even with the tail
winds, the ride to A&M Reservoir was still
 exhausting. I
can’t imagine having to do this ride in a head wind.
I played leap frog with Peter and Yoke
throughout the day. We would meet up whenever the other
took a break. We both camped together at the treeless
A&M Reservoir. After having a nice dinner and
socializing for a while, we retired.
Day 36 - Section 3A - Wyoming
08/30/06 - A&M
Reservoir 84m to Rawlings 138m = 54 miles
Huff and Puff and I will Blow You Over!
Last night we were invaded by a lot of
small mouse sized vermin. I couldn’t figure out what
kind of animals they were, but there were a lot of them.
Every time I made a slight noise, they took off.
I knew that by mid morning we would have
some intense head winds so I packed up and hit the trail
by 7am. I tried to leave sooner, but I woke up too late.
Peter and Yoke were going to leave later after a
leisurely breakfast.
The first 13 miles were on dirt and it
was very beautiful and peaceful. It felt very surreal
and magical. The grass and sage were heavy with moisture
from the morning dew. The sun danced in and out puffy
thunder heads. I felt blessed to experience the moment.
Once I hit the paved portion, the
weather started to change. The highway had a slight
incline and was barren of traffic. A head wind started
to blow. It was getting progressively stronger but I was
making decent mileage for about an hour. By late morning
I was experiencing the strongest head wind I have ever
tried to ride into. I was in my lowest gear and I was
cruising at about 3mph on flat ground. If I stopped
pedaling, it would push me backwards.
I was growing very frustrated. The
pavement was at the end of its life and needed to be
resurfaced. It had these annoying cracks every two feet
that were about ½ inch wide. For the next 25 miles I
felt a ca-thunka and it was driving me nuts, plus I was
dealing with the wind. At times I got so frustrated I
started to laugh.
By early afternoon I rode on to I-287
towards Rawlings. It started off as a beast of a hill.
The wind was even stronger than before. Sometimes the
wind was so strong I could not go forward anymore. On my
way down the pass I was still in my lowest gear and
every pedal was laborious. I had never ridden in such
strong winds. I was playing my MP3 player and the cord
was whipping about so hard it would rip the ear buds out
my ears.
I finally made it in to Rawlings and I
was very surprised. I thought Rawlings would be a more
happening place. The whole town looked like it is on the
brink of financial collapse. There were so many stores
and buildings bordered up.
I stayed at a nice hotel on the western
side. I went to the grocery store and bought groceries
for the next few days. I also bought a two pound
Stouffers lasagna dinner and micro waved it in my hotel
room. To my surprise I ate the entire thing.
Day 37 - Section 3A/3B -
Wyoming
08/31/06
Rawlings 138m to EOS 169m to Improvised
Campground 11m = 42 miles
Tough day in the Saddle
The route out of Rawlings was boring and
up hill. The terrain is treeless and desert like. Once I
hit dirt, 25 miles outside of Rawlings, the scenery
became much more interesting.
For a snack I had an onion bagel and for
lunch I had an onion bagel. Every time I had a bagel I
felt sick to my stomach. A half an hour after
eating I had severe cramping and diarrhea again.
 I overshot my original camping
destination because I couldn’t find it. It would be dark
so I decided to camp along the trail next to a cattle
loader. It was the only spot I had seen in 15 miles that
looked reasonably flat. Immediately after setting up
camp the sun went down and out came the coyotes. They
completely surrounded my campsite and yelped all night
long. There must have been a dozen of them.
Day 38 - Section 3B -
Wyoming
09/01/06
Improvised Campground, WY 11m to Steamboat
State Park, CO 78m = 67 miles
Tough day in the Saddle Part 2
 This morning I felt ten times better
than I did last night.
The trail became more beautiful as the
day progressed. The paved section of the route went
through some very beautiful countryside and was
easy riding. Once in Colorado the trail surface was nice
and smooth and was much more enjoyable.
Today I ate as I rode and had a couple
of bagels throughout the morning and afternoon. By late
afternoon I started feeling sick again.
With only 5 miles to Steam Boat Lake
State Park, I got really sick and my body started
shutting down. I was having a hard time just walking my
bike up a slight hill. I thought I was going to pass out
at one point. A FedEx driver notice I looked like death
warmed over and he stopped. He gave me a ride into
Steamboat State Park were I got checked out by a
paramedic. It
was Memorial Day weekend and the park had only one
campsite left which I took. Once I got camp set up I had
some mashed potatoes and went to sleep.
Day 39 - Section 3B -
Colorado
09/02/06 -
Steamboat State Park, CO 78m to Steamboat Springs RV
Park, CO 105m = 27 miles
Recovering
Unfortunately, Steam Boat Lake State
Park has no open campsites tonight. I had reservations
at Steamboat Springs RV Park for tomorrow night. After
calling them, they allowed me to come in tonight. So I
gingerly rode into Steamboat Springs. It was a very easy
ride and I arrived in Steamboat by noon. The nice part
about Steamboat Springs RV Park is there is a bus stop
in camp and it goes into town. What a blessing!!!
My illnesses stopped when I stopped
eating the bagels that I bought from City Markets
grocery. For a while I had all the classic symptoms of
Guardia. But Guardia lasts longer so I must have had
food poisoning. However, another reason why I was
getting sick may be a result of contaminated bicycle
water bottles.
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