Dave and I spent a week in La Crosse, Wisconsin to spend time with his family there. We stayed with his parents, Rich and Jan, in their condo on the La Crosse River. Dave’s brother, sister-in-law, and nephew drove up from Golden as well, and we all had fun playing Scrabble, ping pong, sledding, and snow shoeing. Jan cooked up a feast complete with about 50 kinds of cookies for us to chow on for the week. We all drove to Madison from La Crosse on Christmas day to visit with extended family on Rich’s side, wonderful people that I was glad to get to know a bit, and they made me feel extremely welcome. Then Dave and I stayed a couple of nights with Kris and Leslie, the couple with whom we’ll be paddling around Baranof Island in the summer. All in all it was a great week.

Now we’re talking about the last few details of our upcoming SE Asia trip: deciding on bedding, whether the cook kit is necessary, sun protection for our face & neck while wearing a helmet. Most other details are set, and the bikes only need a wee bit of tinkering since Dave has already done most of the work.

We only have two weeks of winter left, then we’ll be in the sauna of Singapore and the beaches of Malaysia soon enough.

I have been mostly a Brooks saddle user for several years, with one on my mountain bike and another on my commuter, and I’ve been very happy with them. But as I wrote in my Brooks saddle review, I think for the mileage and time in the saddle experienced on tour I need something else. I think I’ve finally decided on a Selle An-Atomica Titanico (a very testosterone-packed name, in my opinion), the same saddle Dave bought just before the Divide. I’ve read a lot of reviews and studied the Selle An-Atomica website and think this design is likely to work pretty well. It’s similar to the Brooks B17 shape and size, but with the center cutout it should move a bit more with me while still supporting my sit bones solidly.

I had a few emails back and forth with the owner and designer of the saddle, Tom Milton, because I thought I might have them convert my old B17 with the cutout–a service they offer on their website. But because of the wear on the saddle it sounds like it will be better to start with a new An-Atomica Titanico. Tom also wrote that he got on our site and read Dave’s review of the An-Atomica and said the stretching Dave experienced is more than normal and that he would warranty Dave’s saddle by replacing it with a new one. That’s excellent service, especially since we didn’t even ask about Dave’s saddle!

So we’ll order a new Selle An-Atomica Titanico saddle for me and have it sent with Dave’s new one.

44 miles, 3:28/9:30

We get up quickly this morning and pack up to ride seven miles to Flagg Ranch for breakfast at the lodge. I have already told you about my love for breakfast. The waitress brings us a thermos pitcher of coffee and LEAVES IT AT OUR TABLE. Yes! I add half and half and think I’m really living it up. I have a veggie omelet with hash browns and toast. It’s all super yummy. Dave has the same, only they put bacon in his, so he has to send it back (he’s a veg-head, you know).

Today we have a mission: to find a new back tire for Dave’s bike. We’re coming up to some of the most isolated areas we’ll be riding through (much of the route in Wyoming is both rugged and far from towns) and his back tire is finally giving up the ghost. Or maybe it did a few days ago and he’s been riding it beyond death. You be the judge.

There are no bike shops nearby, and we are having to consider going off route a 40-mile round trip in order to get to one. That would be no big deal, but we’ve got a schedule to stick to if we want to be able to ride back up North at the end of the trip with our friend Susie. One possible way to do it is head South to Jackson to find a bike shop and from there take an alternate route that the map describes as: “Intrepid cyclists seeking even greater adventure might want to consider looking into the alternative route from Jackson Hole to the Green River drainage… At least four miles of it are composed of remote and technical single track, so it’s not for the timid or the extremely heavily loaded. Also, if it’s raining or has been recently, the gumbo clays of the area can present real problems…” I’m thinking this might not go well for me. I’m getting stronger and better at riding these sometimes extremely loose and rough rocky roads, but I’m not great at technical mountain biking even unloaded. Dave thinks it would be cool. We decide to eat breakfast and then make some phone calls to find out all our options for bike shops.

After breakfast we do a little shopping in the lodge convenience store, and as we’re checking out Dave asks the guys working there if there’s a bike shop anywhere near because we need to get a tire. The one named Wayne discusses the kind of tire with Dave, and then says, “Hold on a minute, let me see what we’ve got over in maintenance.” They have luggage carts at the lodge that use 26″ mountain bike tires. He thinks they might have a spare. We wait outside the store, trying not to get too hopeful. But soon Wayne returns with two other guys from maintenance with two tires. One new and one used. Dave’s got to have a fairly narrow tire on the back because of tight clearance, and the new one is just perfect! Dave asks how much they’d like for it, and Wayne says not to worry about it. If you’re ever visiting the lodge at Flagg Ranch and need something, Wayne’s the guy to see.