Still in Pinedale

We're still in Pinedale taking some time off so I can recover. Wondering why I need to recover? Then read the other post about the Great Divide Basin.

So hanging out here in this little western town has given us some time to reflect on things. It never ceases to amaze me that here we are on the latest in bicycle technology, using all this light weight camping equipment, and navigating by waterproof maps and GPS while traveling on somewhat finished roadways. Although we are out in the wilderness at times, we can always manage to hobble to a roadway to flag down a motorist to take us to a city with a hospital, air conditioning, and lots of food whenever I get sick.

People on the Oregon trail didn't have there luxuries. Our trip may be difficult but it is nothing like what those early settlers accomplished trying to traverse this wide open land. That is what continues to amaze me. I keep trying to imagine what it must have been like when the dirt road we are riding over didn't exist. That would have been a real adventure. Those folks back in the mid-1800s are the real adventurers, we're just tourists.

We also get asked a lot about why a bicycle. To the cyclists reading this, the answer is already known but it is difficult for anyone that doesn't ride to truly understand. Basically, you feel a lot more a part of the wilderness you're traversing when you quietly pedal along leaving only tire tracks. There something to be said for being able to experience the world without the vibration or noise of an internal combustion engine or segregating yourself from the world around you by glass and dashboards as you blow by at 80 mph on your way to the next interstate exit to eat a quick cheeseburger that tasted just like the last one you had 1000 miles back. You lose a lot of the experience that way. On a bicycle, you really get to understand things better, because you have to deal with everything in the first person. The wind, the weather, the dirt, the scenery, you become emersed in the world around you. On top of that, its up to you to power yourself and all of your belongings through the terrain and there is a lot of personal satisfaction in that. People in cars and motorcycles are too disconnected from the world and the terrain to really get to experience or appreciate it the same way we do. I wish everyone could experience the simplicity of our journey and then they would understand but alas, to most, a trip is all about getting to a destination and checking off the list of places to visit. Our trip is all about the journey and the experience of traversing this country and not so much about getting from point A to point B. I feel sorry for the rest of the world that are too consumed with the destination that they forget to experience the journey.

We will roll out of here tomorrow and make our way up toward Yellowstone and then into Idaho continuing our experience with nothing but the sounds nature and of our nobby tires crunching through the dirt on the roadway.

Lee