(Sorry for not more pictures, Kelvin's camera requires plugging in, which I haven't been able to do these last two times. But that means many more pictures to come soon!)
Check out the map of our trip, it's under "Lynx" on the top left of this page. Big thanks to Pat for showing us the way.
Hello noble readers. I hope you all have not been too distressed by our recent vacation from communication, as it was not our intention to go so long without word of our whereabouts and wellbeing. We have been in the wild, where neither cell phone reception nor internet service has reared its' (insert your own opinionated adjective here) head. But now I (Peter) find myself in the temporary location of the Fremont County Library in beautiful Lander, Wyoming, and I will do my best to update you all as thoroughly as I can before I am kicked off due to the supply and demand of public computer time.
So I will start with the general and most important, then move on to the more specific day-to-day, journal style entry that you've come to expect, and hopefully enjoy. We have hit our first rough spot, and things are a bit unnerving at the moment. Kelvin and Nate are not feeling well, and haven't been for about 4 days now. It's been a bit of the runs and the voms, to be brief. Their stomachs aren't being nice, is the long and short of it, and they have very little energy. They are currently at the local health clinic in search of some answers and hope. We spent last night in a motel, and plan to do the same tonight. So at least we have warm showers, a nice room, and comfy beds. We will be sure to play things safe, and I will make sure to update the blog as soon as is possible so as not to worry everyone at home.
It all started on the 15th at Lizard Creek Campgrounds in Teton National Park, Wyoming. We'd spent the previous evening with a few drinks by the lake with our new friend Loretta from New York. I awoke to find Kelvin and Nate not feeling up to par, Kelvin had even lost his dinner during the night. I felt fine, and joked about them being hung over from the previous night, although it seemed curious, as neither one had been exceptionally intoxicated. They both complained of sore stomachs, and advised me that today's ride would be a rough one for them, especially since we planned to ride over our highest pass yet at over 9,600 feet. I showed myself to the local water closet and, upon my return, found Kelvin laid out on his back, basking in the warm morning sun, and Nate curled up in his sleeping bag, back where he'd slept the night before. Nate threw out the idea of delaying our departure for a couple of hours, and it was agreed by all that this was a fine idea. I went to the lake for a swim and some reading, After some time I was approached by Kelvin, who informed me that Nate had been continually vomiting, and was not feeling well at all. We decided that we should stay another night at the site, and that we would go into the nearest town for some pepto-bismol, chicken soup, and orange juice. I came back up to our site and filled up some water for Nate. Before he even took a drink, I saw what had prompted Kelvin to come down to the lake. I won't be graphic, but Nate's body was trying to get rid of something, but there was nothing left in the belly. It looked painful. Kelvin wasn't looking so energized either, but after seeing the state of Nate I wouldn't have thought it a good idea to leave him alone anyways. So I left the two of them to nap and went to town (an unbelievable ride, I highly recommend checking out the Grand Tetons if you're ever in Wyoming, it's breathtaking) for the essentials, along with some hot dogs and s'more fixins (I'm an optimist, I figured they'd be fine by that evening). I came back a little over an hour later and neither one had moved much. We agreed the symptoms sounded like food poisoning (minus the runs at this point), as it was confined strictly to the stomach. But this doesn't make sense, as we've all eaten and drank the same things, and I feel right as rain. Nate had a cob salad at lunch the previous day, but that didn't explain why Kelvin wasn't feeling well. We had a bit of rain in the afternoon, and luckily Kelvin had enough energy to help out with the tarp (I really need to learn his knot-tying skills, it's really impressive). They spent the rest of the day sleeping, Kelvin under the tarp and Nate in the tent. They woke for some chicken soup around 6:00, but went immediately back to bed. My dreams of a weenie roast and s'more party dashed, I read, wrote post-cards and ate an absurd amount of marshmallows (they're addictive).
The next day, Wednesday July 16th, Kelvin was feeling a lot better, and Nate, while still a bit queasy, was ready to hit the road. Neither one was their usual 'sprint up ridiculously high climbs' selves, but bother made it up Togwotee pass in good time. Nate took a lot of breaks, but he still made the 77 mile ride. The guy is amazing, and so positive even when he's not feeling well. Kelvin won't let on that he's not feeling well unless you ask him straight up, and even then he chases me all the way up the hill like he's out for an afternoon cruise. Anyways, we roll into Dubois around dinnertime and we're real hungry. Our hunger wins out over our sense and we go to a recommended pizza joint for dinner. Kelvin's feeling good and Nate says he's improved a lot since yesterday. We eat pizza and drink a few beers with a Dutchman named Steven who's also doing the transam. We don't have a lot of options for camping near town, so we ride out about 7 miles to a ranch, where a super legit ranch-hand points us in the direction of the most discreet place to lay our heads. But if the boss-man catches us, we didn't talk to nobody.
Here's where the story goes sour. Thursday I awake to find Nate feeling much worse than the day before. His stomach hurts and he's cursing our decision to go for pizza. I feel like an idiot for pushing the idea, I'm so used to us being more or less invincible, especially when it comes to what we eat affecting us. The vomiting hasn't occurred in some time, but now the runs have found their stride, and he has no energy to speak of. Kelvin and I suggest going back the 7 miles to Dubois, but it looks like there's a small town on the map about 15-20 miles out. Nate says he can make it there, we'll stop for some tea and toast, and we'll see where to go from there. Kelvin isn't feeling great either, but doesn't speak much of it. The ride is rough, we conveniently get our first headwind of the trip, but luckily we lose elevation the entire ride (although that's not to say there isn't a climb or two). Nate is spent, having to stop every 20 minutes or so for a break, and the town never seems to appear. We go about 27 miles before we come across another cyclist coming the other direction. He isn't inspiring with his news about towns up ahead. Basically there's nothing for 50 miles aside from a general store/post office/gas station all in one about 4 miles up. So we set down the bikes and start trying to wave down big vehicles. A nice guy with a horse trailer from Iowa (80 miles east of Des Moines) loads us up for about 20 miles until we hit the juncture for Lander, our intended destination. After that, it's two couples from Florida, each with a little mobile home attached to their trucks, who pick us up for the rest of the ride. Nate sits in the kitchen of one of the homes, Kelvin in the back of one of the trucks, and I squeeze in next to the nice old lady and her husband in the other truck. They're super nice folks, on the way to Illinois back from Alaska. They didn't like Alaska, too expensive and cold and rainy. Horrible roads, apparently. We're in Lander, Wyoming in no time, and we thank the couples profusely. They're extremely kind about it and offer us beverages, they give us diet 7-up and a budweiser for later. Nate's feeling better than he was, although there's no chance we're going to ride any more today. We scoop around for a motel and finally find the right one. We all shower and it feels great. Our first shower since Missoula. We passed a local brewery on our way to the motel, and decide that would be a fabulous place to get some food. Cowfish Brewpub is real good, I have to say, with great food as well. Nate gets soda water with lemon, and Kelvin keeps it to two (if you tasted how good these beers are, you'd understand what I mean by 'keeps it to two'). We decide that tonight we would take it easy tonight, and have a rest day tomorrow before setting out again. We stop by a bookstore before heading back to the motel around 7:30. We spend the rest of the evening watching Jaws and making fun of Jaws 2 while it's on. Everything is a great old time until, right before bed, Kelvin runs to the bathroom and loses his dinner. This is not good.
This morning does not bring better news. Kelvin feels worse than yesterday. Nate is still not feeling better. It still makes no sense. I drank the river water, I've eaten basically all of the same food. The only difference in our collective diet is they had an IPA the night before this all started, I had a Fat Tire (anyone know of IPA related illnesses?). Anyways, this is where we find ourselves now. We've reserved another night at our motel. Kelvin and Nate are at the clinic, getting check out, and I'm trying my best to tell everyone the full situation without being too graphic or embarrassing. Like I said, I'll update this as soon as I can when I know more information, but until then I'll make sure they drink plenty of juice and tea, eat mild foods like soup and crackers, and get plenty of sleep.
Now, as I've not been kicked off yet, I'll add some photos and the day to day reviews of that which happened before all of this sickness bizniss began.
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