We woke up to the solitude that is the Great Basin, packed our things and set off from the remote Diagnus Well. A tailwind offered us some hope for the days ambitious goal of making it to Rawlins. As we continued deeper into the emptiness of the basin, we encountered wilded horses and pronghorn. It was incredible to see the horses, wild and free, unlike any horses we had seen before. The pronghorn always seemed to be in a hurry, running at FULL SPEED, constantly, with no signs of slowing down, ever. The wind and mellow grade helped us crush through more miles than we had hoped in the early part of the day. We passed through an oil field and after a short climb, the road switched directions and we started into the wind. It was incredible to think how quickly you take a tailwind for granted. The silence and peace of the tailwind was soon replaced with white noise and suffering. At times we were blown sideways, making little progress. After an effort, the road turned and the wind was in our favor. We pressed on, taking advantage of the helpful wind, but knew that soon we would face another long section of headwind. We made it to a junction and after debating if it was worth a two mile ride to fill up on water, we decided to press on and take our chance on what we had left. We continued and began a 10-15 mile section of death wind. Our progress was slow, and full of swear words. The suffering finally abated as we reached a paved highway that turned us in favor of the wind. After a quick lunch of the usual PB, Nutella and Jam bagel – maybe some string cheese in there for good measure – we set off into the final stretch of highway that would lead us to our destination of Rawlins, Wy. We rode into civilization, feeling completely haggard, but a cheap motel, delicious burgers and mediocre beers did the trick. We fell asleep feeling content with our effort for the day. 
Tag: WYOMING
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After a nice nights sleep, we woke up and packed. As we were nearing the Great Basin, we decided to get pedaling to cover as much ground as possible. There would be no services until we hit Rawlings, WY and that was still another hundred fifty or so miles away. We set off and wandered through the desolate landscape. Storm clouds soon gathered all around and we happened upon the tiny towns of South Pass and Atlantic City. We decided to take a quick break and eat lunch in South Pass, hoping the storm would switch directions or dissipate. Unfortunately, soon after we ate, the storm came through with a vengeance. The wind picked up, thunder clapped, and hail fell with force. We took cover in the bathroom to wait it out. Eventually the storm seemed to have passed, so we tried our luck to see if Atlantic City had any rooms. We left South pass and made the 3 mile trek over and the town was as closed as could be. We wandered around but to no avail. Shivering, wet and cold we decided there was no point in waiting and continued on. The climb out from town was short and steep, but just as we crested the top, the rain stopped and the sun came out. We continued on another 20 miles or so to Diagnus Well- a small spring in the middle of desert. We found an area near the well and made camp. We made a nice sage brush fire and cooked our dinner. It was so quiet and peaceful in the middle of nowhere.
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Per usual, we had a slow start in Pinedale. We packed our things and found a good breakfast down the way. After satiating our appetites, we set off for the days tasks. We had ordered replacement front racks a few days before as Matt’s broke and had been held together by a string for the previous week and they were due to arrive today. Like most times you are waiting desperately for a package, Fedex arrived much later than expected, but that was fine as we had errands to run. We dropped off postcards at the post office, attempted to pickup some general delivery packages, got a new water filter, stocked up on food and supplies for the next couple days and used the public library to back up our photos to hard drives. Once our racks arrived, we set about installing them with haste. When all was said and done it was half past four. Definitely not ideal. We shrugged it off and set out, leaving the small town of Pinedale behind. The ride was nice and windy, with intermittent rain. We trudged on into the night. Eventually we got tired and after a bit of searching, we found a decent spot to camp off the road next to a stream. The rain picked up as we set camp. We got dry and sheltered under the tarp and cooked a nice meal of rice, zucchini and sausage. We ate the delicious meal under the makeshift awning as the rain let up and the clouds scattered, exposing the full moon’s light on the eerie landscape. A couple pulls of whiskey and we were off to sleep.
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We woke up early and hung around with some camp neighbors, ensuring we didn’t get an early start on the day. We had bought some delicious cinnamon rolls the day before and enjoyed those for breakfast as we chatted and packed up. We were on pavement for a while after leaving the campground. The views of the Tetons were stunning. We continued climbing, switching between paved and gravel roads, until we topped out over the Togwotee Pass at around 9,500 ft. We stopped for lunch just after the summit at a glorious lake. We debated the route ahead, as the map gave warning that the next section would be unridable after rain, and took a gamble as it appeared that the storm had just passed through. It was the right call. Shortly into the section, the sky cleared. We stopped to change out of our rain gear and took in the views before cruising down a rad descent. After turning back on the highway, we pulled into the Lava Mountain Lodge to refill our waters. We ended up getting a beer too, and before we knew it, we befriended a regular named “Cowboy Jim”. He was quite the character, entertaining us with great stories and hilarious conversation. He bought us a couple more rounds and we even got some free food. With all this, we decided not pedal the three extra miles to the campground and got a small “Grizzly” cabin for $25 instead. We made mac & cheese, drank some whiskey and slept comfortably in the warm cabin. “If you’re ever in trouble, just give’er some gas” – Cowboy Jim’s late friend Charlie.
A View From Two Wheels 