I'm biking across the country

We awoke to rainy weather and didn’t regret our decision to stay in a motel instead of camping. The road from Alpine to Jackson is under forty miles but on days like this it’s important to go into the day thinking of it as any other – thoughts that the day will be “short” will only lead to disappointment as it inevitably drags on longer than anticipated.

We headed off into the rain and immediately entered a narrow winding river valley, following the Snake River upstream. White-river rafting buses passed by – looking initially like prison buses until you see the “rafting” logos – but no rafters were visible in the river below. Low-slung clouds shrouded the pine-covered peaks around us and before long Donald got a flat. Riding on rainy days makes lots of small dirt and gravel stick to your tires, obscuring the location of the puncture. After a quick cleaning he found and patched the puncture and we moved on, only for a second puncture to appear less than a minute later.

The road shoulder disappeared completely for a couple scary miles but eventually a bike path popped up on the side of the road and we followed it into town as it wound along a rapid stream through the outskirts of town and we finish up our “short” day with a late lunch of some good barbecue.

My first impressions of Jackson are very different than that of Park City from a few days ago. In both cities we stayed right in downtown, but in Park City, the city felt manufactured – home to Lululemon and Patagonia stores and devoid of any foot traffic in the “off season.” But downtown Jackson feels more alive – like people actually live here. We’ll be taking a break for a few days here and will be back on the road on Friday.

Notes from Donald: ” I liked biking along the Snake River but the shoulder really sucked… I can’t believe I got two punctures in less than a half mile.”

Today’s mileage: 39 miles

Total: 1483 miles

 

The rain had passed and after a week of getting rained on every single day we finally got some blue skies. The county road we took to Cokeville ended and we were dumped back on highway 89 – back to normal volumes of traffic. We’ve been following 89 on-and-off since it’s southern terminus in Flagstaff and it usually has a nice shoulder.

The road veered ever so slightly into Idaho and we were able to get a photo with the state sign, right before veering back into Wyoming for the fourth time where we were finally able to see the “Welcome to Wyoming” sign!

The wind picked up and pushed us along Salt Creek Canyon as we headed up towards a mountain pass. The road got steep and the sun beat down and for the first time in a week I was actually sweating. We crossed the pass at 7600 feet and descended into Star Valley, a picturesque alpine valley with snow-capped mountains to either side. Between the tailwind and descent we made it to the town of Afton for a late lunch and pushed onwards. The weather was good today and to be rainy tomorrow so we wanted to make as much progress towards Jackson as possible.

We arrived in the town of Alpine and given the night’s forecast decided to grab a motel instead of finding a campsite. Melvin’s Brewing lies on the edge of town and was a great place to stop for a bite and a beer.

Notes from Donald: “Flying up Salt Creek Canyon was really fun and I enjoyed drinking some beer at Melvin’s Brewing in Alpine. Also, world’s largest Elk Horn Arch!”

Today’s mileage: 87 miles

Total: 1444 miles

Another day, another rainstorm. Leaving Evanston we had hopes of sunny weather but a few miles in those hopes were dashed. As we headed north there were fluffy white clouds to the east, fluffy white clouds to the west, and a narrow dark strip right above us full of rain and hail.

These morning showers weren’t too bad and it came and went a number of times without necessitating a rain jacket. We crossed back into Utah and stopped for a quick lunch in the town of Randolph. We’re back into small town territory where there’s often a sole restaurant in town.

It was already mid-afternoon and we had a choice to make – head northwest into Idaho and aim for Montpelier, 60 miles away, or head northeast towards the small town of Cokeville, 35 miles away. After the long day yesterday we opted for the less aggressive target and found a county road to take us north.

Cows and sheep grazed the fields on either side of this road and a car only passed by every ten or fifteen minutes, a nice change of pace from the morning’s roads. The road crossed back into Wyoming – our third time crossing the border and the third time no welcome sign was present. Our route will continue to weave back and forth across state lines so there’s still chance we’ll see one.

As we headed north, every time we turned around to look for cars, the dark rain storm behind us looked slightly closer. I was counting down the miles to town as a light rain started falling and we kicked it into high gear. And just as the town came into sight, the full deluge of the storm opened up and drenched us instantly. It was a very cold, wet, and windy few miles to town where we found a spot for the night and ate at the sole restaurant in town.

Notes from Donald: “I think today might have been our flattest day in terms of elevation gain. In the afternoon I thought we were going to outrun the storm. But we didn’t.”

Today’s mileage: 67 miles

Total: 1357 miles

Another day of snow and rain. There’s a bike path leading 20 miles north of Park City, and it turns from paved to dirt about 4 miles in. Unfortunately it’d been raining every day for the last week so the path was 100% mud. With our heavy bikes we sank into the mud and progress was slow.

The town of Coalville lies on the bike path and we stopped for a quick lunch at an excellent barbecue place before heading towards Wyoming. The rain continued as we rode along a rural road with very few cars. Donald got a flat and once again patched it with the tubeless tire plug which works like magic.

The interval between passing vehicles increased dramatically as we worked our way up through the mountains and towards the Wyoming border – we went a stretch with an hour between passing cars – much longer than any other road we’ve been on. The rain finally stopped and the road rose up to a high plateau, crossed the state line, and turned to dirt. And by dirt I mean mud.

We had mapped out the route and were expecting these six miles of dirt road but it still wasn’t a lot of fun. Before long the mud had fully caked our wheels, the gap between the wheels and fenders, built up around the brakes and sprayed all over our bags, legs, and shoes. After a long hill we reached the crest and began our descent, only for Donald’s wheels to lock up and stop spinning due to the sheer amount of mud caked in between the wheels and fenders.

After a quick mud removal we proceeded on and finally reached the pavement where we removed much more mud. By now our chains were extremely noisy but luckily Evanston was only another 15 miles. We grabbed a room in a motel and spent a full hour cleaning our bikes and lubing our drivetrains. There’s a brew pub on main street with a good nut brown ale.

Notes from Donald: “The dirt road was nice until OH MY GOD SO MUCH MUD.”

Today’s mileage: 74 miles

Total: 1290 miles

We toured the High West distillery and took care of some errands while the weather oscillated between rain and snow. Fingers crossed for less precipitation over the next few days!