We're In Yosemite!

We made it! Yosemite Valley! The land of stone and sun! It's a powerful place to be, and a great place to end a bike tour.

Jake and I arrived yesterday, at 2:30 p.m. We were lucky enough to get a campsite at the legendary Camp 4. Travis and Hilary arrived last night, and Dave and Mary should be arriving this afternoon.

I'm thankful that our adventure took us where we wanted to go. The Internet is limited here in the Valley, so I'm going to keep this post short, but I will post more photos and words when I get back to Maryland.

For the next couple days, we'll be staying in the Valley, hiking and biking and enjoying the wonders of Nature.

Tour Update

Today is Day 14 of the tour. We've traveled 556 miles. The last four days have been rest days here in Jackson. The map below shows where we've traveled. Today we head west, to begin our journey across Idaho. After Idaho, our plan is to go down through Nevada and into California, with Yosemite Valley as our final destination. Our legs are rested and it's time to move on. We'll be leaving the TransAmerica Trail, so I'm guessing that we'll be seeing less cyclists, but you never know. The road goes on forever and it's hard to predict what will happen.



Yosemite is the goal. Jake and I will be meeting friends there: Travis, Hilary, Matt, Mary, Dave, and maybe even a few others. Yosemite is one of my all-time favorite places. I try to go there every year or two. It's just one of those places--totally unique, nothing else like it in the world. I love the huge walls and the granite mountains, the Sierra sun and the waterfalls. The Natural Beauty is strong there. Camp 4 is legendary and awesome. The spirits exploration and adventure are alive and well. And that's why we're commuting there.





Last night was our last night in Jackson. We cooked a big meal and Jennifer, Kathy, Jake, and I relaxed here at Jennifer's home. Kathy asked me about our bike tour, wondering about our motivation for riding. I explained that I love Yosemite, and that we'll be meeting friends there, and that these bike tour plans have been on the table for over seven months. I also said that bicycle touring is a very natural way for me to travel, and that this tour just kind of made sense: leave from Longmont, Jake's home, and ride to Yosemite, a place we both know and love. And in the process, we could see some new and interesting things along the way. We could also exercise, relax, eat, and take lots of photographs--something both Jake and I love to do.

I'm looking forward to getting back on the road. Jennifer's kindness and hospitality has been truly amazing, but we still have many miles to cover. It's time to pull up our roots and get back in the saddle. I'm ready to move. Ready to see the world through the fresh eyes of motion. Ready to feel the wind and the soreness and the joy that comes from riding over this large and fragrant land.

Rest Days In Jackson

Rest days are great. We've been here in Jackson for a couple days now. Jennifer has been such an incredible host that it's been hard to leave. And it just didn't seem possible to leave before the Independence Day celebrations.

Our first rest day in Jackson was a day for hiking. We hiked up Cascade Canyon with with Jennifer and Paul. It was great to get closer to those incredible peaks and also see some wild animals along the way. Here are some photos from that hike:










The spirit of Independence is strong here in Jackson. The cheers were loud and the fireworks were louder. Jennifer's building (which you can see below in the right of the photo) is right next to Snow King, the local ski resort, and that's where the fireworks were launched from.



After the pyrotechnic activities, we went downtown to the Cowboy. There was live music, dancing, cold beer, and lots of western wear. The bar stools were actually leather horse saddles. There were stuffed animals in cases. Rows of spurs. Shiny belt buckles. And a guy named William dressed up and wearing a wig.

Luck of the Tour

Sometimes you get lucky. Good Fortune picks up the phone and randomly dials your number. The signs and the symbols both point in the Right Direction. The angles line up. The plot thickens. And the drama becomes real.

It was Thursday, July second. Jake and I rode toward the town of Jackson, Wyoming. Jake was up ahead, as he normally is. When I approached him, he was waiting beside the road, next to his rig, drinking a Dr. Pepper. I pulled up and parked next to him. Less than a minute later, a car pulled up behind us and parked off the side of the road. I looked at the driver. She opened the door. "Jennifer Wolf!" I said.
"Hey! Jeff! It's you! I saw the beard and the orange shirt and I had to stop--I can't believe it's you!"
"Wow, yeah, incredible. Good to see you--this is so crazy, wow--which way are you headed?"
"Toward town," said Jennifer.
"Us too," I said, as the cars kept whizzing by.
"Well," said Jennifer, "you guys wanna go have a beer or something?"
"Sure, yeah, where should we go?"
"The brew bub is good. Just go down into town, right on Broadway, left on Millward."
"Yeah, perfect. We'll meet you there in like half an hour or something."

And from that moment on, Jennifer Wolf has been our host and our guide to the wonderful worlds of Jackson and the Grand Teton National Park. I hadn't seen Jennifer since the 2007 Bike Tour, when Janice and I met her in the park, but I was very happy to see her again.

Jake and I met Jennifer at the Snake River Brew Pub. Jennifer invited her friends Kathy and Paul, and that's when the celebrations began. (In the photo, from left to right: Paul, Kathy, Jennifer, Me, and Jake.)

Riding Past the Teton Range

It was great to see those mountains again. To be near them. To ride along them. And later, to hike beside them.

Jake and I approached the Teton Range from the east. We rode toward them, riding west, and they became larger, taller, more in focus. We watched them for hours, watched a storm hover past and drop sheets of grey rain down over the mountains and the land. And we moved along behind the rain clouds, staying mostly dry. The hot road evaporated the rain and added a brief humidity to the air that reminded me of Maryland.

And the mountains called out to me with epic grandeur. I knew the tall peaks by name: the South Teton, the Middle Teton, the Grand Teton, Teewinot Mountain. The Grand Teton came out of the clouds--the highest peak in the range--and my camera hand was ready.

Jake and I met the mountains, riding with extreme excitement, and then turned south, riding with the Teton Range to our right. We rode south, toward the town of Jackson, with the promise of a Rest Day. With my camera in my right hand, I took photo after photo. The riding was fast and my cup of joy ranneth over. We stopped here and there for more photos. Because our position kept changing, our view of the Range continued to change as well.

The Teton Range is many miles long, plenty of room for different weather conditions. Some peaks were shrouded with clouds and rain. Some peaks cast off the bright blasting light of the sun. The clouds shifted, expanding and billowing like clean smoke. And the cars flew past, motoring on down the road; some stopped, but most kept going.

We stopped at the spot where Ansel Adams took his famous photo, The Tetons and the Snake River. It was afternoon, not the best time to photograph the mountains, but I knew it was impossible to resist standing where Ansel stood and taking a few photos.

Photos From Wyoming

Our Night In Jeffrey City

Jeffrey City, in south central Wyoming, is a town that has about 50 people, according to Byron, the artist who runs Monk King Bird Pottery. Jake and I arrived in Jeffrey City and quickly went into the bar, which is where we met Byron. Our day's work was done, so we celebrated with a few two-dollar Budweisers. The bar was closing, and outside the mosquitoes were attacking with a powerful ferocity, so Byron welcomed Jake and I--as well as 4 other cyclists who had just pulled up--into his pottery studio/home. We talked, listened to music, watched a short film by David Lynch, drank some beer, and waited for night, which is when the mosquitoes disappear. Then, when the air was cool and the light was gone, we went back outside to enjoy the warmth of the campfire and the sweet sagebrush scent of the Wyoming wind.

Day 5 Update

Greetings from sunny Wyoming!

Jake and I have been on the road for five days now. Our summer bike tour is progressing well. Lots of smiles. No flat tires (my streak is still going on!). And lots of calories consumed. The photos below are from our first four days in Colorado. We've ridden about 270 miles. The soreness is starting to leave my legs. We've had some cold rain and snow, but not much. It's been mostly sunshine daydreaming for the last five days.

Today is our first full day in Wyoming. Right now, we're in the town of Rawlins, staying at the same campground Janice and I stayed at 2 years ago. We're currently on the TransAmerica Bike Route, so there's lots of other cyclists on the road with us. (There's six other cyclists staying at the campground, and more will probably be showing up later.) I've been asking the East Bound cyclists to say hi to Chris and Kyle, who are moving farther west every day. I hope they do.

We got into town early today, and we're taking the afternoon off. Our plans are: get some beer, go to the movies, then maybe some bowling. Tired legs need rest.