Fargo and Away

Waking up in Colter Bay it was clear that my body had not rid itself of COVID. My first coronavirus infection hit me sometime between my son’s senior prom and his graduation day, roughly 10 days prior to my trip. I knew it was a risk deciding to continue on the trip, but my symptoms had been mild, and seemed to be improving day by day, so I decided to keep my plans. I dosed up on cold meds, donned a mask on per CDC protocol, and left for Jackson Hole.

The plan seemed to be working during my flight over as my stuffy head cleared. But, before we set out the next day on our bikes, my symptoms started to return. By the time we finished our day 1 ride, I was in bad shape.

A cold, rough night of sleep in Colter Bay led to a even worse morning, with sinus pain, coughing, dizziness, and nausea. Our plan for the day was to ride 49 miles with over 3800 feet of climbing. I was having trouble just packing up my tent.

We took the morning minute by minute. I ate breakfast slowly, grabbed some food for the road, and then we slowly rode out of the campground. We agreed to just see how the first 6 miles went and make a decision then on whether to continue up the climb or cut the day short and camp before the climb.

Within the first few miles it was clear that I wasn’t going to be able to make the climb, and my symptoms were already severe enough that I was considering just turning back to Jackson. But we kept moving forward.

At mile 15 we came a ranch resort overlooking the river, with a restaurant and some basic accommodations. It was essentially a western themed “glamp-ground” with covered wagons and tepees with beds in them. We decided to stop for the day and see if I could recover to make the climb a day later.

It was a fantastic decision. Though we had only been riding for a couple of hours, we were both hungry again, and had some BLTs in the restaurant. We both took it easy for the day, napping, sitting in the sun, and checking out the campground, which, in addition to having an incredible view over a winding river, had a few dozen horses the owners used for guided trail rides.

While we hung out, several racers from the Tour Divide passed through, including April Drage, one of the few women attempting to race from Canada to the New Mexico/Mexico border. April is from Australia and was amazingly full of humor and energy, gulping down a huge ice cream while she talked with us.

A couple of male riders came through a one 90 minutes later to grab lunch. They were boring. Barely spoke a word to us, and left. I only took a picture of their bikes.

The day, dragged, my head continued to pound, and my energy ebbed. I passed the time trying unsuccessfully to take picture of various swallows that were circling one of the stables, because I’m over 50 and therefore legally required to take photos of birds.

By the end of the day, as I was clearly not improving, I suggested to Kai that maybe we needed a plan B. The next three days of the ride promised to be very challenging with some wet, cool weather. There would be nowhere to stay but our tents if we continued on, that’s if I could manage to get myself up and over two steep mountain passes. After some discussion, we agreed that it would be too risky for me to continue on, so I would turn around and ride back to Jackson to recuperate. Kai would press on over the passes to Pinedale, WY. I would join him there via a less demanding route if i felt up to it after a rest day on Jackson. I

t was a good plan, and we both felt at peace with it. All that was left was to watch the sun go down and go to sleep.

Actually, my neck was fine. It was my head that was hurting.

June 15 was officially day 0 for the trip, and we had planned a relatively level, paved 46 miles from Jackson to Colter Bay Village, where we would camp.

I had spent the night blowing my nose, taking medicine, going to the bathroom, all in an effort to force out the remains of Covid that I had been dealing with for 10 days. I woke at six to finish putting my bike together, but I was moving in slo mo, as a migraine and some dizziness had settled in. At 8, still not completely set up, I met Kai for a big breakfast, in the hopes that coffee and some food would clear my head.

After breakfast, I finally got everything set on the bike, checked out of the hotel, and headed to UPS to mail back some stuff I didn’t need /couldn’t fit on the bike. Then, I met Kai at REI to get some last minute food and supplies.

Finally, we were ready and headed out of jackson. It was already past 11 am. We were getting a late start but figured we would still make the campground by around 4.

The scenery was immediately amazing, and though my sinuses were still in pain, my mood lifted.

The views kept expanding.

We were making pretty good time, when a road closure after about an hour of riding forced us to double back…all the way to Jackson. We rolled back into Jackson, regrouped over lunch, and decided to begin the 46 mile journey, hoping to get in by five.

Our legs started to lose steam as we got to with 20 miles and our pace slowed. We arrived finally at 6 with just enough energy to set up camp, eat only half a pizza between us, and then turn in. My body was expressing its displeasure with me, but I was hoping by morning that it would bounce back.

Despite the false start and unplanned miles, it was a gift to be out in this amazing part of the country riding with a friend on my birthday.

We (Kai and I) arrived in Jackson, WY without incident, collected our bikes and bags and caught a Suburban taxi to our hotel for the night.

The bike boxes weathered the journey, and so we set to reassembling our bikes.

This being my first time reassembling a bike, it took a while, and ultimately I hit a snag with the front brake caliper, which the bike shop had removed when they packed up my bike. Unfortunately, they didn’t leave instructions on how to piece that particular part back together. All I had to go on were two bolts and a pile of stackable washers.

Fortunately, there was an REI less than a half mile from us, they were open, and they had two amazingly cool bike mechanics who readily agreed to help me. They fine tuned the rest of the bike while I was there, at no charge.

The bikes assembled, we set to filling our bellies, finding a cool little sports bar behind a liquor store, Eleanor’s Again, which turned out to be a Buffalo Bills bar, to boot!

Or so I thought.

It was also a Steelers bar. And a Broncos bar. And Vikings bar.

Whatever. We got food, beers, and then called it a night.

Tomorrow, we ride.

Having never flown with a bike before I arrived three hours before departure to check mine in. The process could not have been simpler. A Delta agent led me over to the bulky items check in area, where I was second in line. Five minutes later, Naomi from Delta wheeled my bike away. If all goes as planned, I’ll be unboxing and reassembling her in Jackson, WY this evening.

I know it’s an odd thing choosing to leave the ones you love and your home and good food and a comfortable bed for three weeks on a bike eating meat sticks and energy bars. And, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t harbor any doubts or fears about this trip. But I’m doing it.

Let’s go.

(more…)

The bike is in a box, my gear are in bags, and I’m ready for the adventure to begin. Just a restless night between me and my flight.

Thanks to the careful folks at Belmont Wheelworks for getting Ruby all tucked in!

And thanks to my family for supporting me on this adventure!

Route
Day 0 – (June 15th — MY BIRTHDAY!): 45 miles Jackson to Colter Bay.
Camp at Colter Bay, get any additional supplies we need at the CB camp and grocery store. You can find just about anything here. Pack supplies for 3 days, No services until Pinedale.

Day 1 – 49.5 miles, 3835 up, 2249 down.
From Colter Bay to Falls campground. No services.

Day 2 – 62.8 miles. 4760 up, 5366 down.
Falls to Whiskey Grove campground. Lots of climbing. Option to stay at Mosquito lake which is 10 miles less. No services.

Day 3 – 33.9 miles, 655 up, 1233 down.
Whiskey Grove to Pinedale, Resupply here for 4 days. Next grocery store is in 220 miles. Find out where to stay.

• Eat dinner / lunch at Wind River Pizza & Pasta, open every day 11-9.
• Eat breakfast at the Wrangler Cafe
• Stay at the Log Cabin Motel (+13073674579), $146 a night
• Wind River Brewing is on the main drag
• Outdoor supply shop: Great Outdoor Shop

Day 4 – 44.7miles. 1629 up, 768 down.
Pinedale to Little Sandy Creek campsite. Passing through Boulder which has a small store and services before wilderness. Water possible at campsite.

Day 5 – 53 miles. 2721 up, 3508 down. Little Sandy Creek to Sweetwater River crossing, Pass through Atlantic City, some services. Be sure to stop at South Pass City ghost town. No services. Water possible at campsite.
Option to eat in Atlantic City (Atlantic City Mercantile, open only Friday-Sunday, 11-8) or at Miner’s Grubstake (Fri, Sat. 8-6:30, Sun, 8-2),

Day 6 – 70 miles, 2384 up, 2395 down.
Sweetwater River Crossing to AM Reservoir. The Great Basin is ahead. Stop at Diagnus Well to resupply water.

Day 7 – 55.5 miles, 1192 up, 1852 down.
Reservoir to Rawlins. Stay at Choice Inn, Econo Lodge, or Days Inn. There is a Walmart in town. Resupply for 3 days. Next store is 135 miles to Steamboat Springs.
Eat dinner at Buck’s Sports Grill.

Day 8 – 52 miles, 3926 up, 2751 down
Rawlins to Campsite before Aspen Trail, Little Sandstone Campsite. No services along the way. .

Day 9 – 45.1 miles. 3551 up, 2706 down.
Aspen Alley to dispersed camp. Stop at Brush Mountain Lodge for pizza. Could overnight there as well.

Day 10 – 37.7 miles. 2089 up, 3954 down.
Dispersed camp to Steamboat springs. Hotel options available. Huge climb in the beginning of the day.

Day 11 – 39 miles. 298 up, 696 down
Steamboat to Lynx pass campground. . Stock up for at least a couple of days.

Day 12 – 37.5 miles. 3653 up, 5187 down.
Lynx Pass to Kremmling. Check if streams are passable otherwise use highway detour. Kremmling has a motel or stay in rv park. Amazing downhill.

Day 13 – 54.2 miles. 3918 up , 2253 down.
Kremmling to Heating Bay Campground on Dillon Reservoir.

Day 14 – 27 miles. 2683 up, 991 down.
Heaton Bay Campground to Selkirk Campground.

Day 15 – 36 miles. 737 up, 2655 down.
Selkirk to Hartsel. Not many services in Hartsel.

Day 16 – 46.6 miles. 2363 of climbing
Hartsel to Salida

Bikepacking the GDMBR requires that you be prepared for everything, because when you’re 100 miles from the nearest town, you won’t find a hotel, you can’t order food delivery, and no is going to fix your bike if something goes wrong. That means you have to carry a lot of gear. So, you have to have a lot of gear and you have to have a bike that can carry a lot of gear. This is of course why bikepacking is so attractive to someone like me, who loves gear.

In an earlier post, I mentioned how the Fargo was designed for bikepacking. The front fork alone has nine gear mounting points — on each side!!

Just how much gear does one need to bring on an extended bikepacking trip? First, just to stay alone, you’ll need to carry water, several liters, in fact. So, you need several bottles, cages to hold them, and you’ll also need some way to purify that water, which will often be sourced from lakes and streams with all kinds of not-fun-for-your-tummy microscopic critters.

You’ll need food, sometimes enough for several days travel between services, and you will need to be able to keep that food away from furry creatures big and small that want to eat it while you are sleeping. Of course, you need to be able to deal with the delayed consequences of consuming food. You won’t be passing many gas stations.

You need clothing to keep you warm and dry and in the mountains and also cool in the desert. You need sleeping bags and pads and a tent and a rain fly unless you don’t mind rain and mosquito bites on your face at night.

You need practical tools like a headlamps and a pocket knife and a bunch of bike tools and spare parts to fix your bike shouldn’t something go wrong.

You’ll have aches and pains and scrapes and cuts to handle and so you need some basic first aid stuff.

And of course you need a GPS and a phone and an emergency satellite phone and maybe a GoPro, and cords and spare batteries to keep everything working.

All that stuff has to go somewhere, and so, you need bikepacking bags.

My bag system consists of the following:

– Rockgeist frame bag, which will hold most of my food, bike tools, and cooking gear

– Rockgeist top tube bag, for my phone and spare batteries

– Rockgeist honeypot bags for holding snacks and a water bottle

– Rockgeist Mr Fusion seat bag to hold my sleeping gear

– Salsa Top Load dry bag on and EXP front pouch an Salsa Anything handlebar cradle for my tent, warm jacket, and various personal items

– Salsa Anything Dry Bags and cages for front forks, holding my extra clothes, water filter, and various other supplies

– Revelate designs too tub bag for hydration tablets

I also have three Klean Kanteen water bottles mounted to my two front forks and my down tube

After multiple test rides I think I have just the right amount of gear and just enough bag space to hold it all. Of course, I’ll know for sure only after I get out to Wyoming and start down the GDMBR!

Yeah, it’s cheesy to name your bike, but I’m over 50 and being cheesy just kinda comes with the territory now.

I named my bike Ruby. I love the name. If we had a daughter she probably would have been named Ruby, but we didn’t have a daughter, so I named my bike.

Ruby is a Salsa Fargo Titanium drop bar mountain bike. Salsa invented this bike specifically for long-haul bikepacking over gravel and dirt roads. Since I knew I wanted to bikepack, this was a natural choice for me.

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Fargos are famous out west for their do anything-ness. Want to ride a 100 miles on road? Put smooth tires on it, settle into the handlebar drops, and go. Want to throw on 50 pounds of camping gear and ride through the wilderness for days or weeks? The frame has loads of gear mounting points and the forks can handle wide tires. The remarkably light titanium frame will never rust, is super strong, and looks amazing.

Once I settled on the Fargo, I began picking out components. If you aren’t a gear head you can stop reading now, as this is about to get real bike nerdy.

The first thing I chose after the frame were the Salsa Cowchipper handle bars. They feel familiar for a road cyclist (like me) but flare out more on the ends to give the rider more control on technical terrain.

Next, having fallen head over heals for the SRAM eTap AXS system on my road bike, I decided to use a similar set up for the Fargo. One of the beautiful things about AXS is you can use their road bike shift levers (the “business”) up front with the mountain bike derailleur (the “party”) in the back — a mullet drivetrain!

I opted to splurge on an XX1 10-52T (!) cassette paired with a 34T chain ring, which gives me plenty of range for long steep climbs and good enough range to speed on the flats. Ruby red Crank Brothers Double Shot pedals on the XX1 crank arms give me a super stable platform for riding, whether wearing flats or clipped in.

For wheels I went with Industry Nine Trail 29ers for their lighter weight and durability, with I9 Hydra Complete Freehubs. The 32 spoke design should hold up well even with all my gear strapped to the bike. They also look, roll, and sound sweet!

I mounted Rene Hearse Fleecer Ridge rubber onto the I9s, set up to run tubeless both for comfort and puncture resistance. Fleecer Ridge tires are named after an iconic steep climb on the GDMBR, and they have a good reputation for balancing speed/quiet on smooth surfaces with durability on gravel.

I went with an Ergon saddle on a Cane Creek eeSilk + suspension seat post to better protect my bits, and added a Redshift ShockStop suspension steam up front to quiet the chatter I’ll feel on washboard trails out west.

Overall I am thrilled with how the bike came out, and it’s proving itself capable already on most anything thrown at it, with the exception of more technical trails where the lack of a full suspension system and the relaxed geometry makes riding less than enjoyable. On smoother gravel, however, this bike finds its comfort zone and is a pure joy.

In an upcoming post. I’ll share how I outfitted the bike with bikepacking bags.

It was almost a year ago I began to piece together a bikepacking rig with the dream of taking it out west to the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. I settled on a Salsa Fargo Ti frame, and the journey began. More on that bike later, but here is a recent photo.

Now, I’m a few hours away from flying to Jackson, WY to wind my way to Salida, CO down that GDMBR for almost three weeks, and it hardly seems real.

I hope to be able to post regularly from the road, but we will have to see how the cellular access is.