0805 - Epilogue - Rejuvenation? Or Last Hurrah?

August 3, 2022 to August 5, 2022

0805 - Epilogue

Final thoughts, random observations, leftover photos

WELL, I'M HOME. Apart from the usual and customary weather-related delays the travel was uneventful. That's the best kind.

I want to get some of these thoughts down before they escape forever, but of course the experience is still too recent for a thoroughly meditative and considered retrospective. I doubt that I'll ever write such an essay, at least in this journal.

Instead, I've divided the content of today's post into subsections; they won't necessarily flow easily from one to the next, yet in the larger sense they do tell a continuous story as they share the attribute of all relating to my tour experience in one way or another.

Shutting Down and Getting Home

Let's start with the 48 or so hours I spent in Cody, that being the most recent and therefore freshest in my memory.

I found Cody to be a quite enjoyable place. Yes it's rather touristy- not quite perhaps to the level of West Yellowstone on the opposite side of the park, but there were souvenir, gift, and memorabilia shops aplenty. Harley riders congregate there, though they may simply be passing through on their way to Sturgis.

However, it was also clearly a place that has an identity apart from being a gateway to Yellowstone. There's the Cody Stampede (Rodeo), for one thing. It exists in its own right, without being directly related to Yellowstone.

You've already seen a few scenes from my entrance to Cody from the west so there's no need to rehash those here.

The Old Post Office caught my eye; it's a lovely old building and representative of its time.

This house in particular appealed to me; it wasn't the only one in the neighborhood I liked, either.

On Tuesday afternoon I had ridden into town (my first hotel was way out on the west side, a couple miles from the main business district; although I found it pleasant and appealing, on Wednesday morning I relocated to a hotel right in town as a more convenient base of operations) to figure out how to get all my stuff back home without having to try to fly with it all. I wanted the air travel portion to be as simple as possible, and the encumbrance of a lot of checked baggage including a bike would not make that happen.

I checked with UPS and found that they had a box big enough for all my gear, and that could be resized downward; a stop at the local bike shop indicated that they would be willing to break down, pack, and ship Odysseus for a reasonable price. ("Reasonable" being Keith-speak for "I almost don't care what it costs; if it makes the trip home easier it's money well spent.") So, I Had A Plan. All that remained was to act on it.

Wednesday was largely a to-do task list day, at least to start. Laundry was the first order of business on Wednesday morning, so that I would not be shipping home a load of toxic waste. While I was waiting for the machines to finish I spent some time figuring and tallying up various bits of data for the "By the numbers" entry. As I was working on that, a fellow came over and said "I really want to talk with you. Mind if I sit down?"

We had a most agreeable and pleasant conversation over the course of what might have been an hour or more.

Of course I didn't mind; talking about myself is, after all, my favorite subject. He was a sometime-cyclist (had been an amateur racer many years ago) and was fascinated by the idea of long, unsupported, self-contained touring. Because of his background he "got it" at a level not many other folks do; I felt at times almost as if I was talking with my own doppelganger. "Are you sure you're not actually me?" I asked at one point.

The City Park is a lovely place to spend time; after finishing the laundry I headed there and used its pavilion and picnic tables to prepare lunch (one of my remaining backpacker meals), which also helped me burn off the small amount of camp stove fuel I had remaining. That needed to be done because I could not ship flammable material home.

Laundry done and lunch eaten, my next stop was The UPS Store a couple blocks away.

I used a corner of the lobby area (in front of the mailboxes) to pull everything off the bike and fit it into the box. It turns out that it's the size of the box much more than the weight of the contents that determines the shipping cost, and UPS has boxes that can be re-sized to lesser dimensions on the fly. That saved me quite a bit of cash.

With all the gear seen to and packed (except for the one front pannier that had a couple changes of clothing, my toiletries, and my CPAP machine in it- in other words, the necessities of life that would see me though the rest of the time before I arrived at home) it was off to the bike shop to drop Odysseus off. He's there now, awaiting the arrival of a suitable box. The shop will keep him safe and call me when they are ready to pack and ship him. I'm in no rush for that to happen, so it's of no concern that he isn't already on his way.

That left the rest of Wednesday for purely touristy activities such as souvenir shopping. I've always had a thing for hats, and for cowboy hats in particular. If you want to shop for western wear, Cody is a great place to do it. There are several stores that carry a variety of hats, boots, leather goods, Western style clothing, etc. I looked in several of them and selected a couple hats that I had to have. :)

One must be very careful when choosing hats, because the wrong style of hat will wear you rather than the other way around.

For the cooler winter months, this lovely slate gray number will go well with my full-length oilskin duster. I opted not to get corresponding boots, since I have a couple pairs left over from my days as a motorcycle rider; they do quite nicely.

This still being the summer, though, a more seasonally-appropriate bit of head gear is also needed. It's already garnered a couple of appreciative comments from strangers and passers-by so it's fulfilling both purposes (mobile shade provider, and attractive adornment) admirably.

Wednesday evening I wandered over to the steak house near the hotel for dinner; even at 1730 hours the place was already full to overflowing. Dinner at the bar suited me just fine, and the ribeye was superb. (The fellow seated next to me had one as well, and was in full agreement with my assessment.) On the way back to the hotel I stopped in at what I found to be a curious place: a full Bavarian-style beer garden complete with oom-pah polka music playing on the audio system. A sampler flight of four of their Bavarian beers made the perfect way to cap off the evening, and the day.

Another hotel down the street hosts this "bank robbery reenactment" along with other attention getting activities. I thought the addition of an ATM next to the old fashioned safe was especially amusing.

Thursday morning, after checking out of the hotel (they agreed to hold onto my pannier until I returned to collect it and catch a cab to the airport) and before heading to the Museum of the West, I walked around some of the residential neighborhoods and found them very well-kept and attractive. There were attractive homes enhanced with large, mature spruce trees as well as other species I noticed but didn't identify. Some are ornamentals, others probably native to the area. It's an area I could see myself settling in quite happily, at least in the summer months. I doubt I'd enjoy the winters quite as much, and my wife wouldn't like the lack of cultural diversity. Oh well, it's a grand place to visit.

My final Act of Tourism was to spend a couple of hours visiting the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, a complex of five interrelated museums under one roof. There's a natural history wing, a wing all about guns and ammo, a wing full of Western art, a wing dedicated to the Native American cultures of the West, and a wing related to Buffalo Bill himself and the Western way of life. I spent most of my time in the natural history wing; the art wing got short shrift as a result, which is too bad because one of my cousins (someone whose opinion is well-informed and worth heeding) spoke very highly of their collection.

The tepees out front were nicely made and attractive.

This is a bit of the field gear carried by the geologist who did a great deal of the study and mapping of the area. I found it interesting that his cookware set closely resembles what I was carrying, and also what I grew up using on family camping trips when I was a kid.

There's no need to dwell on the mechanics of flying home; apart from a weather-induced delay and subsequent rerouting of the flight it was pretty routine and uneventful, really.

Stray Photos

I took nearly 2,000 photos during my month of riding; obviously not all of them have made it into the daily entries in the journal but some deserve to see the light of day so I've placed them here.

Great scenery

Clouds looming over a volcano, central Oregon.

The volcanoes in the Cascades just beg to be photographed.

On the approach to the John Day Fossil Beds area. There's a different view on the entry for 0704 but this one is pretty good, too.

Sunrise in Prairie City, OR. I saw a fair number of sunrises during the trip.

I've said it before: I just can't get enough of Western vistas and scenery.

Along the Salmon River, headed for Lochsa Lodge and Lolo Pass.

Not a pavement marking I see much around home.

There were lots of days where the smoke made for quite dramatic sunsets.

Sunset in Cody, WY after a brief but heavy shower passed a few minutes earlier. It illustrates a basic truth: "Don't like mountain weather? Wait five minutes, it'll change."

Roadside oddities, yard art, and signs

One encounters loads of odd yard decorations and roadside art. This was an early example, on Saturday of the Independence Day weekend.

Another decorated yard, with a different theme.

Attractive re-use of a piece of retired farm equipment. From seeder to planter: how appropriate.

Making new friends along the road. Some of them may not exactly be "from around here".

Moose and Squirrel. All we need now are Boris, Natasha, Fearless Leader, and Wrong Way Peter Peachfuzz...

Coffee shops are often a good source of amusing signage. See?

Western-themed towel / clothing hooks in the showers at the RV park in Halfway, OR,

In Missoula. It's good to remember, sad to have to remember.

Not my opinion (I have no data on which to base one) but also not the only expression of this that I saw.

People

My smiling hotel keeper in Baker City, OR. Her shirt speaks volumes.

Several days after I met this rider, I met someone else who had seen him earlier. The grapevine and informal network along the trail is truly astounding.

Sun Warrior. He pulled his face covering down for the photo but he's usually got it up all the way to his sunglasses.

I'm in Wyoming, for sure. This stencil was on the wall of my room at the Big Bear Motel.

Siobhan and Geoff are Aussies hiking the Great Divide. We enjoyed a dinner and breakfast together, and I really appreciated their company.

Miscellaney

For William Ostrem: this is the Bluetooth keyboard I use to type entries when using my phone.

Random Thoughts

I also had loads of time to think. ponder, muse, and reflect; when you're riding alone for six to twelve hours a day that tends to happen. Much of what I thought about was the scenery, or what story I wanted to tell in a given day, but there were also stray thoughts that somehow didn't make it into a story but which I'd like to relate here.

Traffic

Unlike the experience of so many others, I had zero incidents of overtly hostile drivers. Quite the contrary: I found many drivers to be extraordinarily courteous and considerate. This was especially true on the roads with lower traffic volumes. Not once did someone "roll coal" on me.

The Weather

Astute observers will note that there are lots of photos in the journal that show blue skies and bright sun, and none that show gray, rainy skies or me taking shelter beneath a convenient overhang while buckets of rain pour down. There's a simple explanation for the absence of that type of photo.

What an incredibly fortunate soul I am! In 33 days on the road, I experienced rain exactly twice. The first was ten minutes of very light showers on the evening of my first night out, well after I had set up camp and eaten dinner, so it wasn't an issue. The other was a five-minute deluge that I watched come in over the mountains, hit, and pass by from the comfort of my hotel room in Cody on my last day of riding. Once again, it affected me not at all: I was indoors, snug and dry, and all tucked away. In between those two passing events, there was no rain. None. Nada. Zip, zero, nil. At least, none anywhere near where I was.

There were some days where the afternoon temperatures got into the 90s but many more stayed in the low to middle 80s. The air was dry, allowing my sweat to do its job and help keep me cool. SPF 100 sunscreen on my face, the back of my neck, and on my legs kept me well-protected from the intense sunshine. The UV-protection sleeves I wore when riding kept my arms from getting burnt to a crisp as well.

Not once did I spend a day toiling into a headwind, or even struggling against a heavy crosswind. On several occasions I had pleasant tailwinds to go with a long stretch of downward-sloping road. Wow!

Culture and Politics

Courtesy and respect freely given will generally garner the same in return. View yourself as a guest in someone else's territory and behave accordingly.

Life in the West is not like life where I live. I tried hard to maintain a respectful, neutral attitude and to remember that what's important to the people who live there is different than what's important to me; their needs are different so it is reasonable that their priorities and ways of thinking would also differ from mine.

On the few occasions where someone made what were obviously baiting remarks, I simply demurred and made generic, polite-but-noncommittal replies and let the bait go unrisen-to. What's the point? I'd no more convince them than they would persuade me.

Lessons Learned

Alone Time

I was never lonely, even when I was alone for hours on end. There were moments when having someone riding with me would've helped but overall I was fine with being alone most of the time. Having had a companion on this trip might have helped me continue, or it may have brought the end about sooner. I can't really say.

I was glad to not have anyone else to be accountable to during the unanticipated delays of tire failure and my side trip to Bozeman, but I'd have been glad of their company on a few of the longer more difficult days of riding.

That said, sharing an experience with others in real time is among the most rewarding, fulfilling parts of having the experience to begin with.

Gear

I could have gotten away with a bit less than I had with me, but not a lot less. Next time out I won't bring my can opener. My large cooking pot may stay home, in favor of the smaller pot and the coffee pot. The large pot was great for holding and heating a lot of water on the days when I needed it for campsite sponge baths but it takes a lot of room in the pannier. The smaller one, coupled with the coffee pot, would probably be adequate.

On future tours I'll probably limit my off-the-bike apparel to two changes of shirt instead of three, and one pair of gym shorts / swimwear rather than two. I'll stay with three changes of riding clothes, but one of the sets of bike shorts I chose for this trip was an unfortunate decision. I'll try a different brand next time. I may also experiment with using one of my off-the-bike tee shirts as a riding shirt, in lieu of an actual bike jersey.

Carrying the extension cord and two CPAP batteries was a necessary evil, regrettably. Had I continued, there were stretches coming up where I'd almost certainly have been without plug-in power for two or even three nights in succession, so going with only one CPAP battery wouldn't have gotten the job done.

I can live without my selfie stick / tripod. I used it because I had it but can easily get along without it.

Rejuvenation? Or Last Hurrah? Which Will it Be?

I don't think I'll ever undertake a ride of this duration and challenge level again, and certainly not entirely on my own. That said, I'm already thinking about shorter tours, where I have a vehicle waiting for me at the end and possibly a companion or two on the road with me. Credit card style touring may be a good option, as it eliminates the need for more than half the volume, and more than half the weight, of gear I'd need to carry.

There you have it.

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John PickettYou picked a truly challenging route so hats off to you for that. If you haven't already done it, do the GAP/C&O ride. Also, consider the Erie Canal.
When I got home I took my Bike Friday out for a ride. It's nearly identical to yours. It's a fun bike to ride. But when The Mule arrived, I put it together and went for a ride and it was night and day. Despite BF's marketing claims, a full sized bike is much easier on the body and faster, except for starting or riding in congested areas when the little wheels of the BF shine.
You had more tire problems on your tour than I have had in nine tours. (My 2003 tour ended because of a side wall blow out on the GAP. On a Sunday. In the rain. When I was sick.) Between the three of us on this tour, we had three flats in over 6,000 miles. All on Schwalbe tires, BTW.
Another thing about BFs, changing tires on those bikes is incredibly hard. I don't know how you did it.
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonI was glad to see the tone of the last few paragraphs, and the thought that you still see a place for bike touring in your future, if not of the heroic scale of this one. Be sure to take us along next time too.
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1 year ago

Keith AdamsTo John PickettI can't really blame Schwalbe for the final indignity- I think it was caused by the sharp edge of a pothole that I couldn't avoid, just as I exited a bridge. I tried to lift the front wheel but the rear hit the hole VERY hard, and there's no bunny-hopping (at least not by *me*) a bike that weighs in between 80 and 90 pounds.

I'm thinking about what to get to replace Odysseus, if and when the time comes. A bespoke Seven is high on the list, as is an equally made-to-measure Waterford. Off-the-rack Trek 520? Something else? Time will tell.

I've not ridden the entire GAP but have covered the C&O Canal (nearly) end-to-end a few times, and have covered all of it, in segments, even more. I've enjoyed it but find that it, like that stretch of U.S. 12 between Lochsa Lodge and Kooskia, gets rather monotonous after a while. But on a hot August day the shade is tough to beat.
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1 year ago

Keith AdamsTo Scott AndersonThanks Scott. I've been pondering that myself. A week, maybe two, every now and again (a la Greg Garceau's "Touring Differently" approach) may be a thing.
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1 year ago

Kelly IniguezFor a new touring bicycle, I'd like to suggest a Rodriguez Bike from Seattle. They have 50 (?) standard sizes. We drove there in 2019, expecting to order a custom bike for Jacinto's odd body. Instead, he fit one of their standard bikes! He has been happy with the Rodriguez. That happens to be what Scott Anderson rides also. It's American made, that feels good.
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1 year ago

Keith AdamsTo Kelly IniguezThanks for the tip. Kelly. I'd heard of Rodriguez but they weren't top-of-mind. I think all the candidates so far are built in the U.S. A.: Seven and Waterford I know are, not sure whether Trek builds the 520 here or abroad, and the same for the Surly Disc Trucker.
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1 year ago

Nancy GrahamVery nice and informative summary of your tour. A future tour you describe with a vehicle waiting for you at the other end, credit card touring for a shorter tour, and having a bike companion sounds superb. I will be on the look out for a journal about that in the future.
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1 year ago

John PickettTo Keith AdamsWeird coincidence. We met a guy named Rodriguez from Seattle. He was riding a Rodriquez. No relation, I think. He was pretty happy with his bike.

Surly bikes are really heavy. I have a Cross Check and it weighs more than my Specialized Sequoia. Also, the gearing on mass market (if that's what you can call it) touring bikes is too high for loaded touring. I downsized all three chain rings on the Sequoia. I never could have toured out west with the 105 gearing that came with the bike.
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1 year ago

Keith AdamsTo John PickettYeah I saw after I posted that the Surly Disc Trucker weighs in at 31 pounds. The Trek 520 has a combined bike, rider, and load weight limit well below what I would need (or expect). So those two are probably off the list even before I really get started.
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1 year ago

Noe Hernandez FloresTo John PickettDid the GAP/C&O with about 6 other frinds. plan was to camp but due to rain we camp 0 days. both trails have plenty of Air B&B and little hotels that it makes it easy to do both trails.
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1 year ago