Break Down to Breck.

Kremmling to Breckenridge- 44 miles

By David Hardy

Anxious to reach Breckenridge, the boys opted for a quick breakfast of the usual junk food. So we were on the road by7:30-amazing!

Then, misfortune. 
Ed flatted less than two minutes later. A metal sliver had pierced his tire. And the flat revealed a hidden problem-once he remounted his wheel, it wouldn't stay aligned. Big problem. 

The local mechanic rolled out of bed to give it the old college try, as Ed looks on dubiously.  

But there was a bike shop in Kremmling and when Brian called, it was open!

We made our way to it and it looked like a bike cemetery. The undertaker, I mean the owner, ambled out to greet us, mumbling about having to get to work. Inside was a mosh pit of mountain bike parts, old skis, and probably farm implements from the 19th century. Sketchy.

The owner was a sweetheart, but totally unable to help. 
No go for Ed.

He pulled me aside: "I'll hitch to Silverthorne and find a bike shop if you and Max lead the way."

Man plans and God laughs so we threw the old plan out the window and went with the new.

We had been warned about heavy road construction for the first 6 miles. No joke. Six miles of dirt with heavy machinery going full bore on each side of us. I heard a horn toot and looked over, there was Ed-successfully hitched!

But the boys, led by Max and Alex, did great and we made it through without being turned into roadbed.

A relatively benign 32 miles later we met Ed at at a bagel shop in Silverthorne.

The crew enjoys a roadside en route to Breckenridge. This scene occurs hourly.  

 The mechanical issue was a stripped skewer-a ten dollar part- but it took three bike shops to figure it out. Thanks Mountain Sports!

Soon we were on the incredible bike path to Breckenridge. Once again the monsoon hit. We sheltered in Frisco in a parking garage for about an hour and continued on.

David Margolis' mom, Dale, had arranged lodging for us at Dr. David Gray's home outside town. 

A perfect place for a bunch of tired, wet scouts. The home came with two friendly dogs, Woody and Laveen, and a house sitter, Meghan Kane. Meghan is a professional downhill mountain bike racer and spinal compression therapist. She entranced the boys with racing stories. 

Another saint, Karen Ramus, committee chair of the local Boy Scout troop graciously loaned us her SUV, and a cleaned up group of scouts headed into town for a much needed feast.

The wind subsides...

Walden CO to Kremmling CO - 69 miles.  

By David Hardy 

After a slow breakfast in Walden-per usual-Max led us out of Walden towards the southeast. About 9 miles in we started seeing trees! Soon we had left the Great Basin behind and entered the Rockies. And the cursed wind was finally behind us.

 

The crew finds a shady spot to hang out on Willow Creek Pass.  

But we were in full climbing mode. A tough one up Willow Creek Pass-9700 feet. We crossed the Continental Divide yet again, then praise be, a sweet descent to Hot Sulphur Springs and milkshakes at a dairy bar.

Over 9600 feet at Willow Pass? We weren't even out of breath. Talk about the benefits of high altitude training.  

Lunch in Hot Sulpher Springs, next to the Colorado river. The river is only 100 yards wide in these parts.  

It's apparently monsoon season in Colorado with fierce afternoon storms. We huddled under the awning of the dairy bar to wait out the storm and again saw the solo lady rider. She was done for the day but we had more miles to go.

Seventeen more, to be exact, on narrow roads with no shoulder and irate cowboys gunning past us.
We reached Kremmling around 5pmand Ed called the local police chief. Chief Powell met us at a convenience store-all drinks for a dollar including Mountain Dew Smoothies!- and regaled us with stories. Cool guy with wit as dry as the desert. He recommended the nearby RV park for camping. Ed negotiated a deal and we got showers and camp space for practically nothing.

We score another great campsite, with showers.  

As for food, the chief said the Chinese restaurant was the best in the area-perhaps the entire planet. As for the Mexican joint, well he had arrested practically everyone who worked there, so he figured they'd probably spit in his food so avoided that one. 

But, alas, the Chinese cook was sick, so off to Mexicofoodland. We refrained from dropping Chief Powell's name when we ordered our chow. 

This wind thing is getting old...

Saratoga WY to Walden CO - 68 miles. 

By David Hardy

Breakfast at a diner. Everyone loaded up-not many places to refuel today. Wind already blowing hard. Left the diner at 9:30 and had our first flat by 10. It would be that kind of day.

We climbed Needle Peak at 7700 feet and had a screaming descent. Alex claimed to hit 53mph.
And he probably did.
About an hour later, Ed pulled me aside.
"4:00?" Ed guessed. "Before we reach Walden?"
I was thinking 5 if we were lucky.
Then we fought our way through the last miles of Wyoming-battling the wind with every pedal.

At 2pm we crossed into Colorado and the road turned to crap.

More wind. We fought our way up another 1000 feet. We would climb, the group would get spread out, we'd gather at the top, descend, and repeat. We did this for over 50 miles.
I was toast. Even Max, the Night Train, was out of coal. 
Then salvation. A grocery store off in the distance.
The boys dug deep and hammered to it. Then the pillaging began. Here's an example: Andrew bought a half gallon of chocolate milk and a raw tomato.
Ed showed up about ten minutes later-so fried he could barely speak.
We splayed out inside the grocery store-just to be out of the wind. Looking like matching rag dolls.
Finally at nearly 6, we limped into Walden, Colorado and pitched tents in the city park. A good campsite but another day without showers.
Dinner at some cowboy joint where Night Train (Max) was elected leader for the next few days. 
Another long day tomorrow. Early rise.

More wind...

Muddy Gap WY to Saratoga WY - 83 miles.   

By David Hardy 

Our lakeside campsite in Saratoga WY.  What a peaceful site.  

 Fine breakfast dining at the convenience store, and we were off to Saratoga-83 miles away. Beautiful but steep roads with nothing but prairie dogs and pronghorns.

Around 9am the world tilted and the wind started blowing again- this time at a 3/4 angle.
We didn't have a single flat all day, and lunch found us entering Rawlings for the obligatory Subway.
Then we had to get on the interstate for about 14 miles, but the shoulder was wide and we did fine.
Once off the interstate we pulled into a gas station where I talked to a woman with two teeth who was headed to Vegas. God help us.
Back on the road with serious climbing. We crossed the Continental Divide twice! The wind blowing right down our gullets.
Finally about 6pm we found Saratoga Lake campground. We pitched tents by a beautiful lake, then rode into town for dinner. Saratoga has two geothermal springs that are in the middle of town. Folks flock to them. The boys got a good soak in the cooler pool-103 degrees. The other, at 112, was a bit toasty.
In tents by 10:30, everyone exhausted, but the boys did GREAT.

Welcome to Windy Wyoming

Lander WY TO Muddy Gap WY - 82 miles.

By David Hardy

The only establishment in Muddy Gap: A gas station with this front yard. We called it home for the night.  

We finished our evening in Lander over pizza, where we met a couple from Edinburgh, Paul and Elena, who are riding the Divide-basically the off road spine of the continent from Banff to Mexico. Very intrepid couple.

Paul and Elena, who are taking on the Great Divide ride. What a challenge.  

A rested and cleaner group of scouts met the day, but it would prove to be a long one. Due to a math error we miscalculated the distance to our next stop, Muddy Gap.

We started out strong through the Great Basin of Wyoming, but about ten miles in we noticed the wind picking up. And up. 
Our speed dropped by about a third.
By then we had realized our math error, we had gotten a late start, and we had about 75 miles to go. The decision was made to eat snacks and delay lunch. It would prove to be much delayed.
The first group, Max, David, Andrew, Brian and yours truly, led the way. The wind was blowing right down our throats at 25mph. We climbed and descended for miles through prairie and pronghorns. 

The Split Rock Cafe in Jeffery City. We looked for the Quintin Tarrantino dined here sign... 

Finally we spotted in the distance Jeffrey City. Basically a bunch of shacks with a bar. The Split Rock Cafe looked like it was designed by Quinten Tarantino. 

I entered first to see if they could feed us. "No problem" said the bartender. A few dogs ambled over and decided not to bite me. You can also smoke at the cafe, btw.
But soon the cheeseburgers and chili plates arrived and the gorging ensued. These boys eat like it's their last meal.

The view from downtown Muddy Gap. Not much going on here...

Next stop, the romantically named Muddy Gap-about 75 minutes away. We hammered through the wind and in the late afternoon reached the convenience store that would be our home for the next 12 hours.

The frazzled clerk offered us a strip of grass by the highway for $10 per tent. Ed talked her down to $3.
Picture the only gas station for 25 miles and you get the picture.
Did I mention it was windy? We hunkered down in the lee of the Muddy Gap sign, jammed in tight as night fell. It was surreal.
I told the boys a few ghost stories and soon everyone hunkered down in their tents to endure the night. Ed and I went cowboy style-no tent-just wind, coyotes and all night travelers getting gas and staring in awe at our little roadside village.

Doubt we will be passing thru here again. 

Lovin' Lander

Dubois WY to Lander WY- 75 miles 

by David Hardy

Imagine 12 dirty and tired cyclists (9 from our group and 3 other XC riders) jammed into a small church basement trying to get some much needed sleep. In a room that small you hear every movement, every snore, every cough. For the newbie in the group, it was not the most restful night. 

But it turned into a great day. The boys were up at 6:15 and soon the room was full of the sound deflating air mattresses. Then we were off to the Cowboy Cafe for Double Ups- 2 eggs, 2 pancakes and 2 slices of bacon for $5.99.
On the road by 8:15-for real, Karl!
David Margolis is leader for the week, and he did a great job setting the pace, scheduling the breaks and making decisions. As a result, we covered 74 miles without a hitch and rolled into Lander at 1:59pm.
Then more good luck. The town is packed for a climbing championship but Ed calls the local police who calls the minister of the Methodist Church, Mark ??? And he sets us up with a place to stay and free showers! 
"What can we do in return?" I asked. 

Max, as well as the rest of the crew, mow the lawn at the Lander Methodist Church.  

Ten minutes later the boys were mowing the church lawn. 

An amazing day in the charming town of Lander.

A big chunk of today's ride was through a Shoshone Indian reservation. At the little hamlet of Fort Washakie we stopped for water. Around the corner came 15 or so little Shoshoni kids on a motley assortment of beat up bikes . It's the Boys and Girls Club Bicycle Club! So cute. They peppered us with questions and are quite excited to be on our blog.

These kids were awesome! 

We were mobbed. It was a great moment.  

Thanks again Rev. Mark for a great night in Lander. It's one of our top towns so far! 

Murph says goodbye

Colter Bay WY to Dubois WY- 76 miles.  

By David Hardy 

The crew atop Togwatee Pass. Now where's that grizzly?? 

I saw the first scout at Togwatee Pass about 12:45. Then another, then another. Then I saw Ed and the rest, grinding up a steep grade on a rain spitting day. Murphy seemed especially glad to see me. I found a place to park, opened the car and unloaded the drinks and snacks I had bought in Jackson Hole. Despite the steep grade the boys had just climbed, they weren't even winded. Murph showed up and started dumping his gear on the shoulder. "We're switching now?" I asked. Murph continued to dump. Then a driver pulled up and said a grizzly had just been spotted a quarter mile away. Amazing how everyone got focused. Ed suggested descending a bit to put distance between us and the bear. So Murph threw his gear in the car and we dropped another 5 miles.

Then we switched out gear for good; I shredded about a third of my stuff.

And that was it for Sargeant Fury, the Hoya Destroya, the Man of Carbon. He threw his bike in the back, shook hands with the boys, bro-hugged Ed, cranked the radio and headed to Jackson- just like the song.

And then I was on two wheels following the boys to Dubois, "land of the warm winds" in the rain.

Waiting for us on the side of the road was a woman in a van with good news: St Thomas Episcopal Church is offering free accommodation in their fellowship hall. "Praise Allah!" exclaimed a Jewish scout.

Road to Grand Teton

Grant Village (Yellowstone) to Colter Bay (Grand Tetons)- 75 miles

Karl Murphy 

Evening view from Colter Bay. So peaceful.  

Yellowstone Lake to Colter Bay/Grand Tetons

Herds of Elk and Buffalo...so yesterday.  

We passed several elk on way out this am and no one was focused on them...we are not stopping unless we see a bear (black or grizzly, we are not picky) or a Moose. 

We have a short 38ish miles to include another trip over the continental divide today.

Ed and I use to go to Borland Road in Orange County to "do hill training..." 

Today we chase 16 yr olds through 8000' passes over the Continental Divide...

As we enjoyed our early lunch of Triscuits and cheddar cheese over looking the Snake River we discussed how the climbing has become a relative non-event...I wonder how long that fitness level remains post trip?

We entered the Grand Teton Park just after noon racing down hill to beat a thunder storm attempting to following us down the mountain...

Yesterdays rain/hail/traffic/1000' descent left an impression on the whole crew "we don't want to do that again..."

We are camping at the Colter Bay Campground tonight...notwithstanding the incredible views of the Grand Tetons...we all agree this place is a bit over-civilized, over campered, over-weight and generally more  Wallyworld than T845 prefers...

On the way into our Wally World camp site we did have a red fox cross our path...we begged him/her for a photo but it was apparently late for lunch...and ran off into the woods...

After setting up our soaking wet tents from last night...We decided to embrace the suck of civilization and spent the afternoon doing laundry, cleaning bikes and relaxing...

Scout relaxation includes equal parts cards, chess, netflix and aimless wandering....

Tomorrow will be my last few miles with T845 before I catch a flight back to reality.  The boys are kind enough to invite me up and over the second highest pass of the entire trip - Togwotee Pass thru the Continental Divide...at an ear popping 9,658'....which isn't really all that bad when you start at about 7,000'

More tomorrow

Surviving Yellowstone

Kirkwood Campground to Grant Village (Yellowstone)- 72 miles

Karl Murphy  

Sorry, no pics from this days ride; it was a long, tough day. This one was taken the day prior on our tour of Yellowstone in the Lamar Valley. Such a cool spot. 

Cue the Jurassic Park Theme music...

Today we pedaled through Yellowstone Park on a 70+ mile jaunt to our next stop at Grant Village on Yellowstone Lake.

Imagine taking your entire family from Orlando Airport to Disney World,  on the first day of Spring Break, on a narrow two lane road, most people are driving rented RVs of 30' in length or more, and you are going by bike....with 7 kids....

Oh, I forgot to mention that ALL of the animals are let out of the cages...more like Jurassic Park...

Yeah, that was our day...

We started with a dozen elk across the Madison River - no problem.

Then there was this hill climb...and the traffic slowed...for some odd reason this black suburban veers into the shoulder in front of me...i curse out loud at the bleeping Sunday driver...then go silent...because I am eye-to-eye with a 1500lb Buffalo....i am in the right lane - 7 scouts behind me - he is in the left lane...he rotates his massive head toward me and literally blinks...taking in the moment i forget to warn the kids...one of our normally more talkative kids - Andrew D...calls out tersely "Bison left lane, keep pedaling..."

Thank you Andrew.

After we pass the Buffalo, Ed pedals up from the back "Murph, did that just happen!"  "Yeah And its just 10 am."

The rest of the day was relatively uneventful for us...

- we saw painted boiling pots if mud - because Yellowstone is a volcano and steam comes out of the ground everywhere...

- we were covered in a geyser plume of hot water..."hey Mr Murphy does hand cleaner remove all that nasty stuff from the volcano!"

- we saw a huge RV drive off the road..or at least the result of it...stuck in a ditch...front wheels in the air...

- and we pedaled over two mountain passes at around 7800' in elevation...in the rain with hail bouncing off our helmets...a first for all of us...

After a slick 10 mile descent...we settled into our campsite on Yellowstone Lake.  Had dinner at a restaurant literally on the lake and headed back to the campsite for a fire and marshmallows...

Campfire discussion revolved around scouts, scout trips past and next year's trip...

Tomorrow we head to Wyoming and The Grand Teton National Park

Well yes, it is my first rodeo!

Ennis MT to Kirkwood MT, 51 miles. 

The cowhands get ready to start the action.  

Cue the Luke Bryan

..."I got that real good feel good stuff

Up under the seat of my big black jacked up truck..,Rollin' on 35s....Pretty girl by my side...thats my kind of night..."

...Envision a two mile long line of mostly heavy duty pickup trucks...interspersed with Polaris and John Deere ATVs  big enough for a family if 4...lights cutting through the dusty dusk sunset in the Madison River Valley...Def Leopard's Pyromania coming from the corral/grandstand/stadium mashup...

7 scouts in Bike Trip red uniforms navigating the line of vehicles...on their way to the NRA Ennis Montana July 3d Rodeo...main entrance

In these parts the NRA mean National Rodeo Association...

At the main entrance we are visually assaulted with a parade of Montana's finest dresses locals out for the biggest night of the year...

Women are decked out in daisy dukes, fancy Frye boots and blouses that would make daddy blush...the men are in a rougher cut of boots, tight cowboy jeans and a variety of button down shirts that would make Wil Rogers proud...and of course, a 100 varieties of 10 gallon hats...77; wq

Dude.   It was a spectacle...a sight to be seen at least once in your life..

Get that little doggie! 

July 4.

First call was at 7pm.  The boys were packed and ready to go by 7:35 - a new record.

We went to The Pharmacy for breakfast because we had a 52 mile ride, all up hill, in 90+ degrees, with little to no services, which means we need to find our own water resupply and bring our own food.😞

Breakfast took longer than expected...its the 4th...town was setting up for their parade which we missed...on the way out we were offered and accepted complimentary US flags from the local chamber of commerce...

The boys decorated their bikes in their own way with these flags.

Taking a break, decked out on the 4th of July.  

It seems like we rode and rode today.  The combo of a planned late start, the heat, the lack of services and the painfully slow climb burned me out...the scouts seem immune to that torture.

Fly fishing on the Madison

The highlight of the day for me was "lunch" and water resupply on the banks of the Madison River.  I watched several dory boats float by with folks fishing from the bow and stern as I enjoyed my picnic of peanut butter Gu and pop tarts.

We finished the day with a campsite on the banks of Hebgen Lake...with showers, laundry, and a Weber Grill!

The crew, working the 4th of July grill

Ed, ever the gourmand, provided a dinner of grilled hot dogs, potato chips, ice cold Dr. Pepper, chocolate milk (for training), and yes mom...smores!

We are hoping to see fire works over the lake before we fall asleep...

Tomorrow we tour Yellowstone park with a private jeep tour and we are still trying to find some campsite/lodging in the park...our backup plan is a 100+ mile pedal to Colter Bay...

Scouts Out