scumbag diaries

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Days 12-15 Lander to Jackson! (Oct. 17-20)

IS IT IMPOLITE TO NOT ACCEPT FOOD FROM SOMEONE WHO FOUND IT IN A DUMPSTER?
i woke up the next morning on a home-made bunk or sorts, surrounded by an asortment of things that made me feel like i was in an army surplus store.  it was juan's place.  he offered me a heath and fruit smoothie mix. i’m not sure if the best way to describe a food is to explain where each dumpster was that you found each ingredient in, but all in all it was delicious.  i left lander for an unkown destination.  i ended up in the very middle of the wind river Indian reservation.  this was where i finally felt like i was re-entering the rocky mountains – yes!  unfortunately, my camera jammed while on the road this day, so i spent over an hour trying to take it apart with a small pocket knife.  my efforts didn’t work and i was a little bummed.  so i made a fort with folded event tables to protect me from the wind while camping next to an abandoned volunteer fire station in Crowheart and went  to sleep.  these are some of the last photos that i took.  that's juan's car, followed by the poverty stricken wind river range.

“IT’S LIKE JACKSON, JUST WITHOUT THE MONEY”
the next day i road a very beautiful and mellow stretch up the wind river.  it took me no time to cover the 30 miles into dubois.  i had no knowledge of it prior.  i got there somewhere around noon, found a café and got some coffee.  then i ventured to an outdoor goods store and purchased a used 4 piece fly rod, which i am super stoked about because it fits well on my bike.  then i went to small restaurant for a bite to eat.  by then i had met half the town.  i got second dinner at a tavern across the street, made even more new friends, figured out a place to stay (someone’s warehouse for making high end log furniture), and had third dinner at the other pub.  i did not plan to really stop there, but i realized that it was awesome.  it’s a small little town surrounded by mountains with great people.  here's a photo i took while leaving dubois with my new disposable camera.  i'll call it... "the old with the new"

APPROACH TO ADVANCED BASECAMP
i took my time getting out of dubois, eating breakfast at a café and looking around town some more.  riding to the base of togwotee pass a nice short ride.

5 START COUCH SURF
trust me, it doesn’t get better than this.  i was riding past a pleasant lady chopping wood who stopped, looked at me and asked “hey! are you andy?” mary was the lady who juan hooked me up with.  i got to stay in a 3 story A-frame cabin that her family and her father built from the surrounding timber 40 years ago.  i had the place to myself.  it was awesome.  i built a fire inside, watched the redsox play, and passed out.  the next morning they had coffee for me next door.  i drank at least 2 strong cups, ate some fruit and set off for the pass.  because i wasn’t sleeping outside, i was able to get up and going much earlier, which was great because i wasn’t sure how i was going to do with the pass.  having a staging point 10 miles before the summit of the pass was amazing, not to mention the good sleep and coffee i was given.  i wish i could have taken photos here but i got there at dusk, left at dawn, and did not have a good camera..

TOGWOTEE PASS
back in the tough days of southern Wyoming, while i was still in Saratoga, a man told me “you’d have to be a f***ing idiot to ride a bike in Wyoming this time of year.”  good morning to you too i thought.  instead of saying anything back i locked what he had said along with the image of that ugly man, into my head for later use.  which was now.  Jorge and i pretty much time-trialed the pass.  "continental divide elev 9658"

LAUGHING ALL AFTERNOON
my only real goals of the trip were to get to Jackson without freezing to death or getting hit by a car.  well, i had made it up the pass.  i hadn’t finished but seeing those beautiful teton mountains certainly made me feel like i had made it to my new home. i saw at least 3 storm systems working around me.  2 ahead of me and one behind me.  everything around me, including the beautiful tetons were covered by rainy clouds.  the road around me however was in sunshine.  i was constantly feeling like the rains would hit me but they didn’t until one (1) mile outside of Jackson.  the storm hit hard, with marble sized hail immediately accumulating.  i rolled in soaking wet.  i had made it just in time (like i said, i am a professional procrastinator, we had days of storms after this).  i rode straight to my buddies’ house to be warmly greeted by 4 friends.  i thought to myself, “holy crap, i did it.”  total mileage: 536 miles.

TED, WHERE ARE WE GOING?
i’m not yet sure exactly all of things the trip taught me but i know a few.  1 – biking every day is like a drug.  once i arrived in jackson i really wanted to just keep going.  2 – i can’t even explain how grateful i am of all the amazing people that were rooting for me and/or helped me along the way.  3 – i cannot wait until spring for the next trip.

Days 9-11: Saratoga to Lander (Oct 14th-16th)

YEAH YEAH
i know i am not very good at keeping up with this whole blog thing.  i'm only about 3 months behind, weird.  anyways, waking up to leave saratoga on a (finally) calm and a beautiful day was pleasant.  healing my body in natural hot springs, rafting one last time for the season, shooting and eating my own duck for the first time ever, and learning a great deal about native american history were all unexpected highlights too.

I WANT TO GO FAST
after all this is america!  but, for whatever reason, after leaving saratoga, i lost that sense of urgency i had before.  before i was pushing on, fighting weather, wind, field mice and climbs.  at this point i would have been content with riding 20-40 miles a day, giving myself time to explore new places and meet new people.  why rush right?   i was really enjoying the miles on the bike, even with the headwinds.  i knew that i would likely get to jackson someway or another, and really enjoyed exploring all the new places that i would otherwise overlook if i was in a car.  so my first stop after saratoga was rawlins, 42 miles, which included 18 miles on I-80.  I-80 was slightly stressful because of strong gusts from side winds and insanely busy traffic.  here's a photo of the oil refinery along the highway:

I HEART SEMI’S
it’s good that bicyclists and semi drivers get along because i doubt a bike could win that battle.  by this time in the trip i had learned to love semi’s.  they tend to really push you along on the road - like hitting the turbo button for a few seconds.  on top of that, they are professional drivers and see you from miles away.  they also communicate with each other on their radios and work together, while most people don’t realize it, to manage traffic.  i got the chance to meet a few along my travels too and they all seemed stoked on my bike adventure.  i had always imagined semi’s to hate bicyclists, but that isn’t the case at all.  they are in fact your best friends on the road.

AUSSI ON A MISSION
so while riding on this beautiful country road out of rawlins i saw what seemed to be a vague image, a mirage almost.  turns out it was, wayne, an aussie who was biking down from alaska eventually to make it to the southern tip of south america.  i suddenly realized i wasn’t as cool as i thought i was before.  we talked for about 10 minutes on the side of the highway.  apparently there is a small network of people who pack it up on bikes and head out for years at a time.  wayne’s blog is with the others at crazyguyonabike.com.  he asked me how i was doing and i said “well i feel a little dodgy riding solo and all” and he quickly retorted “what? you think it’s dodgy?  i don’t think it’s dodgy, do you?” while looking at me like i had just asked “hey did you see jesus, joseph and mary skipping up the road too?”  he was legitimately comfortable riding his bike solo anywhere in the world that he wanted.  sick.  at the end of our conversation he told me to go past muddy gap – my destination at that point - for 24 more miles to a town called jeffrey city – population: 106 (that's a lie, it's probably more like 30).

here's his verson of the story from his journal: "I cycled over the Continental Divide again at Muddy Gap. It wasn't much of a pass, but the wind was strong in my face. I then turned south and met another cyclist heading the opposite direction. That's right, heading north, at this time of year! Well, in fact he was on a relatively short trip. Andy was moving from Fort Collins to Jackson; he'd sold his car and decided going by bike was the best way. He was riding a Surly Long Haul Trucker with an xtracycle, the first time I'd seen one in real life, though I'd read about them on the internet. He was even carrying his skis but I forgot to take a photo."

JUST IN TIME
upon wayne’s recommendation i stopped at an art studio (previously a gas station).  the extra 24 miles he convinced me to ride were rainy and beautiful.  i barely made it to jeffrey city before pitch dark.  i walked into the empty shop to find a sign on a piece of cardboard that said something along the lines of  “thanks for visiting my studio, feel free to look around and if you would like to purchase something i am at the bar across the street.”  so i went across and ordered a burger and found byron.  at this bar was another wyoming hater, this time the lady serving me from behind the bar.  she overhead my plans and interrupted to say "you'll never make it over togwotee pass on that thing!"  thanks lady.  anyways, byron, like many residents along the transamerican bicycle route, allows cyclists to stay at his house for free.  back at his art studio/gas station he had some friends visiting for a hunting trip. we all stayed up around a fire drinking whiskey and telling stories.

SANDSTONE ART
waking up to see (in the daylight of the huge glass gas station doors) a kick ass art studio was amazing.  looking out the window to see a small cow being blown down along the highway, not so much.  the wind was the worst i had seen it.  so i drank a few cups of coffee waiting for it to let down even a little bit while byron threw some clay.  while i waited i got to look around at a lot of byron’s art and listen to his ideas of turning part of his gas station converted art studio into a bicycle hostel.

TO LANDER
i finally realized that the wind wasn’t going to let up and i was just going to have to go for it.  i was so miserable riding uphill into headwind – at about 3-5 mph - that i didn’t even turn my camera on until about 20 miles of this until i saw a sign that said “6% downhill grade next 6 miles”.  i actually starting laughing and crying.  that was the toughest ride of the entire trip.  it was followed by the best descent of my life.

FINALLY
i made it into lander at dusk and i was starving.  i rode into the main part of town and asked the first pedestrian i saw where i could get a burger and a cold beer.  i found myself at the 'lander bar' and before i could walk inside someone said “so you must be mr. zimmerman!”  i thought those cowboys from saratoga had caught up with me but it was just juan, one of the people i had sent a message to on couchsurfing.com – a network for global travellers.  he saw my bike and knew it was me.  he was going in to meet some friends. small world i guess.  to be honest i couldn't appreciate this coincidence because i was focused solely on the two burgers i was about to order.  juan seemed to know everyone, and was a very interesting character, who, as far as i could put together was one of the original founders of NOLS and eventually was kicked out because he was too wild.  he was a photographer, caver, climber, skier, world traveler, dumpster diver, handyman, and happened to do the plumbing for a lady who lived at the base of togwotee pass, my final exam for the trip, which would be in 3-4 days.  he hooked me up with her so that i could have a place to stay when i made it there.  i didn’t know it yet but i was making 5 star couch surfing reservations.

Days 4-8: Saratoga, WY (Oct 10th-13th)

RIVERSIDE TO SARATOGA

i woke up in the morning feeling sore and stiff (no surprise).  i had breakfast at a small café, which was also the bar i ate at the night before.  the entire town was just slightly larger than this building.

RAIN DANCE

riding most of the 20 miles to saratoga in the rain didn't really bother me.  i did get cold though, so once i got into saratoga i promptly found the hot springs, parked jorge, tore off my cycling shoes and jumped in.  i had a few days to relax in the hot springs while the storm blew over.

“WHY IN THE HELL ARE YOU BIKING THROUGH OUR TOWN ANYWAYS?”

asked the angry drunk cowboy at the local watering hole. maybe it was the edward abbey shirt i was wearing that made them so angry,

            “a patriot must be ready to defend his country against his government.”

but it was more likely my loud response. “because you don’t have to start a war to fuel the damn thing!”  this pissed off enough people that even I knew i had crossed the line.  i spent the next 15 minutes backtracking, lying and finally pulling a 180 by conceding to these right wing nuts “you’re right, change is bad!” (this was just weeks before the election) and that if i saw any terrorists on my travels to jackson i’d be sure to let someone know.  if you want the full story just ask me sometime.  this was high up there on the 'look-what-you’ve-gotten-yourself-into-now’ scale along with getting mugged in mexico and almost getting kidnapped in new zealand.

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

i spent the next 3 days in saratoga drinking coffee, watching the weather, and soaking in hot springs.  i met a fishing and hunting guide in a coffee shop, kyle, who was eager to get one more run on the river.  floating on a raft we went fishing and duck hunting – surf & turf as he called it.  also, thanks to a friendly couple, i was offered an empty bed to crash in and learned a great deal about native americans.  chilly, part Lakota, spent hours talking to me about the history of the land; he also showed me the bows and arrows that he had made for hunting.

 

 

Days 2-3: Cameron Pass and Riverside (Oct 8th-9th)

WHO'S JORGE?
i had a lot to think about on day 2, my hardest day of the trip. it was also the day that i found a connection with my bike. when i was in argentina on an expedition with 11 other people, we hired mules to haul our gear 60 miles to the base of a mountain called aconcagua - the object of our attention (22, 840 ft). i don't know why, but i named the mule that carried my cargo jorge, and he was a good mule. and like all of the beasts, he was overworked. as we hiked towards aconcagua we noticed dead mules along the trails. i decided after that trip i would never hire an animal to haul my gear for me, at least in that fashion. i named my bike after my mule, jorge. just like the counterpart in argentina, jorge can climb steep grades for long periods of time in a slow yet persistent way with heavy loads. he kind of became my wilson. i caught myself saying things like, "come on jorge! don't stop now!" my iron horse - the mighty jorge:

HONESTLY
i must have sworn out loud more than i would like to admit on the last 10 miles climbing cameron pass. near the top i also spotted a female moose – which was cool. soon after that, you can see in this photo both my excitement for sweet nourishing water and the remnants of my awesome handlebar mustache. in my defense it was mustache week at road34 right before i left fort collins (1-7 free beers every night all week in accordance with the quality of you mustache).

CAMERON PASS
i made the 4,200 foot climb through a fair headwind, and was genuinely tired afterwards. highly recommended.

DUDE, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?

"i just dropped my bike"

"are you ok?"

"i'm not sure, i could probably use a hand to bend my bike back to shape"

"sure, do you need any tools?"

"yeah, i need an allen wrench, by the way, what the hell are you doing"....

FEEDING THE DEMONS
i certainly hope that damian made it back to fort collins safely. he crashed right at the top of the pass. after i left him and began my descent, i found more head wind. strong head wind, the kind that slows down what should be a 25-35 mph descent to 10-15 mph. see, you work hard up a pass because you know what's on the other side: a scenario where gravity is on your side. although, wind can stop you in your tracks - that bastard. i just kept thinking to myself of all things i had done wrong on this trip… i didn't really train, test my rig out before departing, plan my trip (i didn't even have a map), have an experienced touring partner (or any partner at all), i was leaving in october (a month after the bike touring season ended), i thought it would be a great idea to put 150+ lbs of my 'life necessities’ on my bike, and now i was starting to realizing that i would likely have a strong head wind the entire way. oh yeah, the first snow storm was estimated to hit in 2 days. haha, if you know me at all, i love being the under-dog, and hauling up the pass to hit this new front (the wind) made my endorphins and synapsis fire even faster and harder. while lost in these thoughts i pulled off near lake agnes and the noku craigs to take this keeper:

DINNER

yup:

CROSS WINDS
fighting off field mice throughout the night didn’t keep me from sleeping. after i felt a few run over my chest, and confirmed their existence with my headlamp, i stuffed all of my food and dirty clothing (sweat) into my bivy. in the morning i felt especially sore and tight. chemicals! drank my coffee and set off. the 20 miles into walden were pretty gnarly due to ridiculous cross winds... from the south! excellent! this meant i could get to walden and when i turn north could cruise for miles with the wind to my back.

WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE JORGE
leaving walden i had an awesome tailwind. i was cruising between 20 and 30 mph for half an hour, then the wind changed directions, as did my path. that was the last tailwind i had on the entire trip. literally. haha, judging by the way these cowboys and cowgirls staired at me they must have thought i was crazy. i made sure to wave, i got a half wave back. i'm now in wyoming.

FIRST GIFT OF THE ROAD
so later in my trip a met a man named juan who said "the harder times get, the better the gifts of the road are." it's that positive "have no fear, it will work out" attitude that attracts good things into your life. as the sun was beginning to set, i had just about decided to pull over on the side of the road and camp. but i needed water. bad. and had 25 miles to saratoga - my destination. i saw what looked to be a river basin with trees. i rode the 5 miles quickly and discovered a small town, with nice people, and neat place to camp and a bar called the mangy moose. riverside, wyoming: population 59. perfect.

Epic Bike Ride: Intro and Day 1 (7th Oct 2008)

WELL THIS IS STUPID

these were the first words that came out of my mouth while engaging in the first pedal stokes of my epic bike ride, the exact moment my wheels left coats' drive way (thanks for the 2 month couch surf fellas), the beginning of... still not sure what yet.  the new me?  too cliche.  needless to say this plan is an abrupt lifestyle change focused around adventure and sustainable living - not stupid really, just the way i approach it, with no time to spare (at all) and with a complete lack of preparation.  'just the way i like it stupid' - not 'stupid stupid.'  this photo is metzler putting the last parts of my bike together the day i departed:

FIRST THINGS FIRST

this was an idea i came up with sometime last march.  on my weekend trip to jackson to see head for the hills and ski j-hole, it turned out i was meant to stay for over a month of skiing, partying and working on the mountain.  my stuff was at one point loaded in mike's car, ready to go back to fort collins.  apparently the head for the hills van had a problem, and more importantly it was still snowing.  hmm, i pulled my stuff out of mike's car.  the next day it was final, i wasn't putting my gear into any car anytime soon heading back south.  jackson called me, i answered.  perks of being a bum, you can do whatever you want.  this is a candid photo that chris caught of me, completely perplexed as to how i was to get all of my skiing, climbing and camping gear to jackson:

MAKE HASTE YOUNG MAN

my first words of the trip made casey smith, my 5 year partner in crime (i'll have to do a jaurez-2004 post sometime), laugh for a few minutes.  casey did a great thing for me, helped me get out of town.  i believe the hardest step is often opening the front door and leaving.  this was definately like that.  my 'last night' was the night before, and i really had so much planning to do the next day i couldn't really clear my mind.  yes i procrastinated.  wonderfully as usual, thank you, but i do wish i had one more night with my friends in fort collins.  i'm addicted to my friends, it's true, which is why i had no problem beginning the first day, 7th october 2008, at 2:00 pm and travelling a whopping 27 miles to steven's gulch in the poudre canyon.  if i didn't leave right then, and i knew it, i probably not be able to make the trip.  a storm was coming in 4 days and i needed to be about 170 miles away from fort collins in saratoga in order to bunker down, enjoy hot springs, and await the next window.  i knew the name of the game was to be storm dodging.

THIS WAS NO MEXICO

but according to casey it was sure as hell a lot of fun to be biking up the poudre canyon for the first time.  he rode to the mishiwaka inn with me and wished be luck.  that was really cool.  on top of that was the beer he dropped in my bike for my first night.  great one casey, that rocked.

Cataract Canyon

CATARACT CANYON MEANS BUSINESS


It's no secret that raft guides for A-1 Wildwater are a unique breed. We party hard, and don't take life too seriously. There are, however, a few instances every summer that you might find an A-1 raft guide with an odd look of seriousness. Scenario 1, while trying to pretend to customers during that paddle (safety) talk that we deserve respect. Scenario 2, while sinking the 8-ball at the Steakout (Watering Hole if you will). Scenario 3, your a rookie and you just flipped. Scenario 4, plans for Cataract are under way. Never else do I see us put hard solid work into planning anything as much we do about equipment, ice, food rations, and most importantly beer rations on a multi-day raft trip. We decided to make our trip smoother this year than last by doing a better job planning and buying all the food, buying dry-ice designated to it's own cooler (last minute idea) and purchasing 540 beers (all PBR's) to make sure we don't run out this year.

ANYWAYS

Cataract Canyon is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Compared closely to the Grand Canyon. For the past two years (please tell me this is going to be an annual event) we took the 112mile stretch on the Colorado over 5 days. 2 days of flat water, 2 days of rapids following with one very long day of flatwater (depending how high the god forsaken Lake Powell has risen). The highlights of the trip were many but I suppose I didn't have a bad moment on the entire trip. Highlights include: party barges, side canyon hikes, native american petrolgyphs, cliffjumping, cold PBR's (for 3 days), oar-rigging 700+ lbs rafts, beach volleyball, rapids, seeing turner swim (twice), being forced into kayaking rapids I had no business kayaking, campfires, meeting small creatures, the confluence (Center of the Universe), shooting stars, and being with friends. Lot's a fun.

SUMMER FRIENDS

The past 2 summers have been a time of enjoying the high and mighty river gods and being together with friends. Summer time is the high life for us. Being paid to be on the water. Green fun tickets (tips) - good for one day only. Train! Buildering? And trailor-sessions. Over and over again. Now, most of us will disperse into the unknown (to each other) - our winter lives - with our winter friends. Winter is more or less a recovery time for next summer. For myself, I am looking forward to my sabbatical/cleansing on wheels - my adventure to Jackson Hole.

JACKSON HOLE OR BUST

"When are you leaving?" No clue. "How long is it going to take?" Not Sure. "Have you been training?" No. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" ... "Dude, what are you still doing here? You're going to freeze!" Yes I know it's a stupid idea.  I'm still going to do it, or at least try.  My procrastination on this whole adventure (see above) is fairly normal for me. My trip to Jackson-Hole is just getting more and more interesting/exciting/dangerous as a find myself closer to the winter months while still in Colorado. The trip includes: selling my car, purchasing a new bike - Long Haul Trucker, installing it with an Extracycle, attaching my skiis, ski gear, climbing gear, camping gear, a few civilian clothes and biking my ass 500 miles from Fort Collins to Jackson Hole. See you soon winter friends.