Yet another case of planning to get an early start, only to roll out at 9am.
Again, I entered the boring, monotonous nothingness.
Instead of a mild, maddening descent, the road consisted of rolling hills for 36 miles. Not sure which is worse. I'm almost excited for the 8k feet required to pass through the Bighorn Mountains.
Upon reaching Ten Sleep Wyoming, I stopped at... you guessed it, a brewery. Aptly named after the town, the Ten Sleep brewery occupies a barn right next to this beautiful red rock.
Apparently, the town is known for rock climbing, due to it's close proximity to one of the best climbing spots in the world. The brewery allows people to camp on their land and use their facilities for showers.
The camping area.
And they have some stellar beer.
The usual afternoon thunderstorm rolled though, and once it dried up, I took off. The plan was to get half way up the hill.
One of the massive switchbacks.
It took two and a half hours to ride just fifteen miles, but we'll worth it. Not only is the Bighorn Mountains more impressive than Yellowstone, it's also less trafficked, and I met some incredible climbers.
Meet Neil, Cody, Jillian and Anna. I saw them on the side of the road, finishing up a long day of climbing the area. Anna said, it looked like you were floating on a giant ladybug from a distance.
From behind the rock cliff barrier my bike is hidden, and I do have a big red tent attached to the front of the bike. So, it's not that far fetched.
They made me a peanut butter, banana and granola sandwich to keep me fueled for the hill. Thank you sandwich squad!
I powered up the last thousand feet of climbing and pulled in a dirt road I mapped out ahead of time for camping. A single white Dodge Sprinter sat in the pull out. I asked the occupant if he minded if I camped next to him.
No problem
The van belonged to Seth, a programmer working from the road, traveling around the country. He converted the van to house his workstation, cooking area, bed, etc. Equipped with solar panels and water tanks, he can live just about anywhere.
Seth is climbing the area, already there for three weeks. He asked if I wanted to go climbing with him tomorrow.
I'll think about it.
Joe