Remember earlier I mentioned losing track of time? Well I just noticed I misnamed a few entries and it's now day 14, which must mean I'm in Jackson (actually Teton Village), WY.

Stats so far: 1092 miles, three states, 39490 ft of climbing.

I'm writing this at a KOA waiting for my laundry to be done. It's our rest day, and after yesterday, much needed and appreciated.

I left Ashton with the intention of attacking the ride and trying to keep my speed up. Well, rough roads, high winds, and another broken spoke quickly sapped my energy & spirit. The spoke broke about a mile before the lunch stop, and I used a quick but temporary fix to get to
the lunch stop & the mechanics. It took almost two hours to get fixed, and the long term prognosis for the wheel isn't good. It just isn't up to the stresses of carrying the BOB. So, Uri, a truly master bike mechanic, is going to build me a new wheel with a higher spoke count &
better quality spokes. Very reasonably, too. That will make me feel a lot better about heading out on my own next week. Don't want to spend two hours every couple days replacing spokes.

Anyway, while waiting for the repair, there was a fiddlin' contest at the park where our lunch stop was located; part of the 4th weekend festivities. I even got in a few waltzes with some of the locals & other cyclists. That was a welcome little bonus – and the fiddlers were really good, even though I was there only for the 13-17 year olds.

Back to the ride. By the time I got started again, the winds were gusting to 30mph from the SW, & I still had 7 miles going south to just get to the big climb. When I finally got turned to the east & started up the mountain, the wind was mostly at my back. Still, it was a hard climb to 8200 ft, & the air was thin & I was feeling a little nauseous, & noticed my heart rate was really up. But I made it, held my bike up high while getting my photo snapped, survived the hair-raising descent, and had a good night's sleep. Today, a bunch of us are catching the bus into Jackson for some R & R, & tomorrow we take on the rest of Wyoming.