AndreasOutside

The weather was clear after crossing the pass. A beautiful but chilly ride. Settled in for the night on the shore of a lake with a stunning mountain background.

Thunder, hail and drizzle have dominated the morning ride to this small town in the NE corner of Idaho. Skies are brightening so I hope to make it to Red Rocks Wildlife Refuge.

The hail and rain continued this morning and convinced me to sleep in.  I did finally head north to find Yellowstone Park closed due  to flooding. Everyone was directed to head back towards Jackson. The only other road – to Idaho – was still closed to vehicles because of snow. Cycled with no issues other…

With an easy day ahead in spite of rain, I took an unnecessary side trip to Brooks Lake. 5 miles in riding, 5 miles out walking through mud and snow. My riding computer does not consider 2 km/h as moving. Saw a wolf, moose, and the beautiful frozen Brooks Lake. Made it back to the…

Beautiful gentle climb out of Pinedale through Cora with migrating Pronghorn everywhere. With numerous bear warnings, specifically Grizzlies, I bought myself some bear spray. Did not see any bears today, but did see elk, deer, a doe and fawn, and 5 moose. Finished up the day in Shoshone Forest again and found a wonderful campsite…

Early morning ride included cresting the pass early before descent at speed. Pronghorn Antelope and Cattle are abundant on the rolling sage and grass lands.

Headwinds of 20 miles/hour+ made the riding very difficult. I have never worked so hard for 50 km. Camped instead of continuing with a plan to wake up early the next day to get to Pinedale. The campsite was located on the Lander Trail Marker. It was easy to imagine those that travelled through this…

Woke up to clear blue skies and no wind. Breakfast was quick, an apple, water and a Lara Bar – all to get kilometers in before the wind picked up. Fantastic ride through open range ranches, cattle, pronghorn antelope and wild horses. Hawks swirl in the sky seeking ground squirrels that venture out of their…

Fought headwinds out of Rawlins into the Great Basin. Once inside the basin, water flows neither east nor west. Instead, it flows into the ground. Found a campsite beside a flowing creek determined to wake up early the next day to beat the wind.

High plateau riding after climbing through stands of Aspens. Strong cross wind kept the riding challenging.

North of Steamboat the valleys open up into vast ranchlands with lots of sky. After climbing to Columbine, it was a dreamy descent along the Snake River. Got caught in a thunderstorm and pitched my tent in a grove of trees just inside the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest.

Toughest climb so far that had me in my first gear often crawling along slower than walking. Half day for 20 km….the other half for the 70 remaining. Stunning land and sky scapes kept me moving along.