Yew Mountain Doozy 2022

When my friend TJ texted me a few weeks ago about doing a big backcountry ride in West Virginia, it was a no brainer for me. There's no better combination than friends, backcountry trails, and perfect October weather. The route was down near Richwood, WV, in the Monongahela National Forest, and it sounded like a big group of people were going to be coming. 

A great view in the WV backcountry

Great Divide Chapter 5: Rawlins, WY to Breckenridge

We were planning to take two days off in Breckenridge when we met up with my family, but as it turned out, we rode more miles than expected and we were getting there a little bit early. So instead, we were going to have four full days off in Breckenridge. This section of the trip - from Rawlins to Breckenridge - felt different than others, mainly because for the first time in weeks, we had a set destination. The terrain also varied considerably in this stretch, from desert-like plains near Rawlins to the towing Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

One of my favorite pictures from the stretch; near Radium, Colorado

Thuns out guns out (in Mike Tyson voice)

I swear. It's not offensive to Mike Tyson, he designed a shirt himself with that same slogan on it. But also yeth. You really couldn't have asked for a better mid-October weekend; there were blue skies, behks, frands, and some killer dinner (more on that later). Read to the end to see a funny Mike Tyson video and its context.

There was the Iron Cross race on Sunday, and even though I wasn't doing it, my friend Nate was, so he came up to my apartment for the weekend to ride before his race. Then there was also a 50km running race on Sunday in Rothrock which somehow seemed like a good idea for Will to do after only 2 weeks of running training. Actually, it did end up being a good idea for him, but more on that later also.

Great Divide Chapter 4: Lima, MT to Rawlins, WY

This stretch of the route was pretty diverse. It started in a plains/high desert type environment, passed through some forests and alpine regions, and then finished back in a high desert. By this point, we were very accustomed to life on the road; the routine of waking up, riding all day, and camping felt very normal.

Even after so many days on the road, I don't think I ran out of things to talk about, and Will hadn't gone crazy from my talking, so the days were very enjoyable and filled with a lot of funny conversations. Man, I loved this trip. Looking back, the town of Atlantic City, Wyoming was one of the oddest places I've ever been. I think it was certainly a highlight of the trip, and it's a place I would love to return to.

The Most Memorable Night of the Great Divide

We were bombing down a pavement descent toward the Colorado-Wyoming border, where our map promised there'd be a campground for the night. At the bottom, we saw a small dirt road where the campground should be, and we asked a guy in a truck if he knew of any campsite near by. 

The shower trailer at Rick's campground

Losing the few brain cells I have

It was my family's annual trip to Ellicottville, NY, where the trails are extremely rooty and rocky. Sounds like the perfect opportunity to ditch my flaccid fjork (trademarked) and take the rigid. After all, bouncing around on some roots and almost certainly causing head trauma won't hurt me any more than Dahn Pahrs did at the Onion last fall (which he kindly reminded me of on a Facebook birthday post). In case you missed it, I can't really tell you what happened. That's kinda the point of the story.