Wyoming

There has never been a more perfect bike ride than the 35 miles from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful Inn. Abundant wildlife and smooth rolling terrain are just two of the features and visiting Yellowstone at this time of the year there is an added plus, no traffic. We saw elk, moose, bald eagles, osprey, geysers and all in picture perfect weather. Geezerpalooza gets a break and it is supposed to continue tomorrow. I will update pictures at the end of the week, but this was one of those days that make Geezerpalooza seem like a fantastic idea. Miles ridden today 35, Total miles ridden 1185.

May 14, '03 - Old Faithful to Hatchet, Wyoming

We left Old Faithful around 8:45 am and immediately began a tough climb. This was a very challenging 80 mile day. There was a great deal of up and down in Yellowstone, although that was mitigated by the incredible scenery. Upon leaving Yellowstone you roll right into Grand Teton National Park. Actually you don't roll anywhere, you climb into Grand Teton after a fantastic ten mile downhill leaving Yellowstone. The grabber at Grand Teton is the mountains themselves. I will always be a Coloradoan but is there a more awesome experience than seeing the snow capped Tetons across Jackson Lake in the afternoon sun?!? For the first time since leaving Florence, Oregon over three weeks ago, I rode in just a bike shirt and bike shorts. A picture perfect day. We ended the day with the wind at our backs heading east at over 22 mph from Moran Junction to the resort at Hatchet, Wyoming. All in all, a very tiring, but just spectacular day. Tomorrow we have to deal with the emotional trauma and sense of loss that comes with climbing our last mountain pass...NOT. It is a doozy, however...Togwotee Pass on the way to Dubois. We will climb from 5,500 to 9,100, or so the lady at the front desk tells us. But then it is downhill all the way to Dubois. Unfortunately our perfect weather is not supposed to hold but we have had two, count 'em two, glorious days. And they couldn't have come at a better time than Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Miles today 80. Total trip miles 1265.

May 15, '03 - Hatchet to Dubois

Out of Hatchet and right into the final big climb. Not as bad as advertised and we topped out after just two hours. A couple of discoveries made on this climb. The first, it is bad luck to have a cattle truck pass you 5 miles from the top on a 6% grade. See the truck is going uphill. And what cattle do to the floor of the truck leaks out the back as the truck proceeds up the incline. Since you are climbing above 8,000 feet on a steep grade you have no choice but to breathe deeply. Consequently, what was fresh Rocky Mountain air instead becomes preparation for passing Nebraska and Iowa feedlots. Maybe it is more correct to say that it prepares you to ride in the middle of of a feedlot. Whatever it is, it ain't pleasant. And the old Midwestern axiom, "Just smell the money" gets real tiresome after, oh say, 400 yards. A fun experience was meeting three guys near the top of Togwatee Pass who appeared to be in their late 50"s. They had grown up in Galway and had been friends since before primary school. Today one still lives in Galway, another is an internist in Canada and the third teaches at DMAC in Des Moines. They had rented an RV and were touring the US. What a kick and the taste of Bushmills was good too. Dubois, Wyoming is a scenic hamlet on the Wind River. You know you are in Wyoming when the motel sign says, "Free corral for your horse with room." Also a big sign on the door at Wells Fargo says, "No firearms allowed inside the bank" We arrived just after noon so had time to play golf at the Dubois course. "Hardscrabble" is a term invented just to describe this course. Constant wind and bad soil work together to prevent grass from growing here. But we had a great time and all scored pretty well so it tells you how hard Antelope Hills in Dubois is too play. On to Riverton tomorrow an approximately 80 mile day. Miles ridden today 51. Total trip miles 1316.

What a great day. Rode in shorts and bike shirt all day. Left Dubois at 8:30 a.m with a 10 mph wind at our back. Wind is wonderful when it is behind you. We made it to Riverton in 4 hours and 10 minutes with two loooong rest stops. It was really a day to boogie. Rolled into Riverton a during the noon hour and it was 78 degrees. We headed for the Riverton Country Club and got in 18. This is a terrific course that is long, 7100 from the blues, we played the whites and it has a bunch of sand. The greens were fantastic but there isn't a straight in put on the course. We really enjoyed the Riverton Country Club. Green fees $40. That said, the people around here aren't the friendliest. One fellow even slowed down 10 miles out of Riverton to tell us to, "Get the f--- off the off the road". The best you can say is "Forgive them. They have an IQ somewhere between that of an eggplant and a kumquat." But then maybe I'd be bitter, too, if I went through life driving a shitbox for a pickup, having two teeth and never being able to figure out which direction the wind blows in Wyoming, even though it has blown out of the West since the beginning of time and I kept guessing wrong and spitting chew the wrong direction and it gets all over my shirt and pants. Tomorrow we head for Powder River via Shoshone. Miles ridden today 80...total miles 1396.

May 17, '03 - Riverton to Casper

I know, I know we were supposed to be in Powder River, population 50 tonite. But it's a long, and essentially un-interesting story. Since it is the Geezerpalooza tour and we are ancients, we are supposed to tell long and essentially un-interesting stories so here goes. We left Riverton, Wyoming at 8:15 a.m to the smell of blooming lilacs that lined the main street. It was wonderful. Headwinds had been predicted and 2 miles from Shoshone, 20 miles from Riverton, the predictions came true. After breakfast and a couple of interesting signs that needed to be photographed we headed for Moneta, 20 miles away. Moneta was closed. Well I guess a town is closed when it has ten residents, according to the sign, and all ten are gone. It took us 2 hours to ride the 20 miles, which tells you about the headwinds. Then we ran into construction. There was 12 miles of stripped asphalt which turns the experience into riding on macadam, or cordouroy. We had ridden approximatlely 3 miles and the thought was crossing our collective minds that a little of this crap goes a long way. Then who should appear on the horizon but our "Angel of Mercy" Jan and her blue van which we have now nicknamed the "Moose Drool Express". Jan said the road ahead was 9 more miles of stripped asphalt and then it got worse. It had been stripped down to mud. So Geezerpalooza took advantage of modern technology. (We had Jan haul our bikes and ourselves past the construction zone). Once we had made that journey, we found ourselves just 40 miles from Casper. So we decided to skip Powder River, population 50. However there were many things we missed skipping Powder River. We had to give up our tee time at the TPC Powder River. Jan had to skip shopping the sales at the Nordstrom's in the Powder River Galleria. We also had to forego our rooms in the Powder River Four Seasons, known locally as the Motel 20/26. But the most disappointing aspect of moving on down the road was in discovering we would miss the exotic dancer scheduled tonite only at Bud's Bar right across from the 20/26. But we are glad to be in Casper where tomorrow we will see friends from a long, long time Bill and Kathi Sullivan who now live here in Wyoming. Miles ridden today 92, total miles 1488.

May 18 '03 - Casper to Douglas

Woke up saw the wind was out of the West and Gere and I decided to scrap the day off. We rode the 55 miles to Douglas in 3 hrs and 15 minutes riding time. There are some huge hills to the east of Casper but having a 20 mph wind behind you sure takes the sting away. Jan picked us up in Douglas and brought us back to Casper. Tonite we have dinner with Bill and Kathi Sullivan, longtime friends who now live in Wyoming. Also in Casper tonite is friend Greg Schaefer, who drove up in his motorhome from Grand Junction. So tomorrow, our new day off, we will play 18 in Casper, get in his motorhome and drive to Douglas where we will play another 18. Then Tuesday a.m. we will take a short ride, 55 miles, to Lusk. Greg will follow and we'll golf there. Since we are heading for the hinterlands, I don't know how much contact I will have with the website before Alliance. Food recomendation: Grandma's Kitchen in Glenrock, Wyoming. Good breakfast and some of the nicest folks you will ever meet. Get off I-25 at Glenrock, home of the "Herders" the 2002 Wyoming state football champs, and head for Grandma's Kitchen just off the main intersection in downtown Glenrock. Good folks deserve to be rewarded with customers. Be one when you come through Wyoming. Miles ridden today 55. Total trip miles 1543.

May 19, '03 - Day off in Casper

Well the Moose Drool Express headed south today. Jan, "Angel of Mercy" Maynard is taking a hiatus from Geezerpalooza for a grandchild fix in Denver and New York City. She will be back by the time we hit the "Motherland", Iowa. First off big thanks to Josh and all the folks at Mountain Sports in Casper. They took my bike in for service on a Sunday, no less, and had it ready for me by noon on Monday. If you are in the market to buy or have your bike serviced and you are in the Casper area Geezerpalooza reccomends Mountain Sports, 6th and Center in Casper. Speaking of nice people the folks in the pro shop at the Casper Country Club could not have been nicer. While the weather was snow, sunshine, cold, more snow, more sunshine we had a great time playing their course which was in immaculate shape. Last night we were treated to a magnificent dinner at the home of old friends from Grand Junction, since '68, Bill and Kathi Sullivan. What a meal, what wine (from Michigan just north of South Bend where they have lived the past 4 years) and what friendship. Thanks Sullivans. And tonite we are living in the lap of luxury in Douglas, Wyoming. Greg Schaefer drove his marvelous motor home up from Grand Junction and will be with us for the next few days. We are trying to keep him through Pennsylvania but he seems to think he must return to Grand Junction because his whole family will be at their house for Memorial Day. What a poor excuse. But as I sit here drinking Greg's gin&tonic, eating the appetizers his wife Sal prepared as we await the meatloaf she prepared before Greg left (the big debate was whether to cook it at 350 per Sal's instructions or 400 so we could hasten the cooking process. This truly is the good life thanks to the Schaefers. Incidentally Greg will be departing around Friday so any volunteers who would like to bring their motor home in to better allow Geezerpalooza to continue this lifestyle will be welcome. Remember Bombay gin, Moose Drool beer, Mezza Corona pinot grigio and no instant mash potatoes are just a few of the requirements. Contact Geezerpalooza for a full list of our minimum requirements. Well enough of this. It's on to Lusk, Wyoming tomorrow for another day of pedalling and putting. Miles today -0-, total trip miles 1543.

May 20, '03 - Douglas to Lusk

Four weeks ago today Geezerpalooza left Florence, Oregon and today we are over 1600 miles into our trip. The winds of Wyoming were at play today and unfortunately they weren't frolicking in the direction Geezerpalooza was riding. 30-45 mph winds out of the southeast plagued us today and we were either riding into the wind or we endured a cross wind along the road from Douglas to Lusk. We expected the trip to take 4 hours but wound up riding for 6 hours and 30 minutes. So our 18 holes of golf in Lusk turned into 9 holes. With the wind we were the only people on the course but we had a great time. The Lusk course is beautiful with wetlands and a stream coming into play on 5 of the 9 holes. Green fees were $10. If you are in the neighborhood, play Lusk Municipal. Tomorrow it is on to Crawford and the land of "Big Red", Nebraska. The Crawford 9 hole course is supposed to be spectacular and if the wind goes away the 52 mile trip should allow ample time for 18. But will the wind quit. Tonight we dine on Sal Schaefer's spaghetti. I cannot tell you the goodies she sent our way with husband Greg. When Greg heads back to Junction he will leave behind two fatter and soon to be much hungrier bikers. Miles today 62...total miles 1605.

Wyoming is now in the rear view mirror. We left Lusk and 20 miles later we were at the border. Greg, Gere and I all hit golf balls over the "Welcome to Nebraska" sign. We then rode on to Harrison, NE where we stopped for breakfast. There was a cowboy having coffee who visited with us and he was a kick. We were laughing at a sign that said, "Smoking is permitted in the entire restaurant." He said, "You thought the cook was breakin' rules with that cigarette hanging from her mouth?" He went on to say, "They took down the sign that said 'Don't throw your butts on the floor. The cockroaches are dying of cancer.'" He also thought we should watch out on our bicycles because one of the mountain sheep might see our curled handlebars and want to mate.

We finished up the day at Ft. Robinson State Park in Crawford, NE. This is a truly wonderful state park with many restorations of the 1880's era. We also played golf at Legend Buttes in Crawford, a beautiful nine hole course. As my friend Dick Smith says, "Nine hole courses are great. When you play a great course, what is the first thing you say again? I want to play that course again. Well, with a nine hole course, that's what you do." He's right. We really enjoyed our 18 holes at Legend Buttes. Miles today 62. Total miles 1667.


				*Pedal N Putt* *Wyoming*



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