A step into the Frontier

Do you remember in "Dances with Wolfes" this dialog between Kevin Costner and his superior?

Major Fambrough: You wish to see the frontier?
Lieutenant Dunbar: Yes sir, before it's gone.

As I got yesterday to Wyoming, I spotted the apparition of the 'Frontier'; not so much "the zone of land beyond the region of existing European occupation" as it does not exist anymore, rather what is left of the myth: a supermarket?



Anyhow it felt good entering the Great West this week and ride thru these new hilly and rocky landscapes that look somewhat like a movie.



Here we are now on the map, more than halfway thru now:

View Larger Map

On the bike side, 8 flat tires this week... I'm getting pretty good at changing a tube in the sun on the side of the road. I try to avoid riding in the grass or rough shoulders. I also found the spare tires I was looking for at Sonny's in Scottsbluff; and took advantage to buy 2 extra tubes and three repair kits. Be on the safe side!

More info:
* The Frontier

Tips to find a 'cool place'

I mean 'my cool' type of a place. Sometimes you are just lucky and the place comes to you by some kind of a magic.

But in many American towns, it's difficult to find these places that have not yet been swallowed away from the downtown into the outskirts that you can only reach by car. Often, downtowns are almost dead and you will find most of the activity along one or two highways that get you in and out of the town.

Anyhow, to find a cool place to spend a little time around lunch and checking emails, one easy way is to google it by the name of the town + 'wifi' or 'coffee'; which I did yesterday morning.

Emporium Coffeehouse & café: I check the reviews and aside from the many praises, I read this "I guess they think this is France or something (you know little portions)". Sure, I've got to test it. And sometimes, the magic finds you again.

Ron and Sara own the place. He is finishing tiling the patio with Mike his son as I get there; yet he welcomes me as a French traveler, offers me coffee, introduces me to the Chef, the waitresses and his place. In the evening, they have a special event with a little band; as I decide to come, he invites me to join his family table.



Sure we had a very nice diner with Ron, Sara, her father, their daughters Alex and Jess, Mike and Emily his fiancée. And the table carried on growing as more friends came around... not to forget Louise the most affectionate artist I met so far ;-)

This morning, they invited me for breakfast at their home. We shared a good time chatting about food, websites, 'art de vivre'... until the beginning of the afternoon when it was time for me to take off towards Wyoming: "When (not 'if') you come to France, I will take you to good places I enjoy, like L'étoile du Berger or Monjul"



(Where are you Alex? Not on the picture... working at Emporium...)

More info:
* Emporium Coffeehouse and Café, 1818 1st Ave Scottsbluff, NE 69361 / T.(308)632 6222
* And by the way, the portions are normal. It's not about the quantity but the taste and enjoying a good time with friends. But that's just the opinion of a biker that currently burns more than 4,000 calories a day.

A welcome sight

As a migrant thru the country, on the Oregon and California trails, I had been told that I should expect this famous landmark in the American West: Chimney Rock.

Already in Broadwater, the keeper of the gas station gave me a Nebraska quarter with the Chimney Rock on it. It was on the other bank of the North Platte river, past Bridgeport.



As I got to Bridgeport, the lady from the visitors bureau instructed me on the Chimney Rock: it was not just a geological curiosity; but a landmark that migrants on the trails had been expecting to signal the end of the prairies as the trails became more steep and rugged heading west towards the Rockies. It also meant that they were one third thru their journey from Missouri towards California.

The clouds were low and dark this morning when I left Bridgeport. I even expected to get some rain. As I rode towards Scottsbluff, little by little, it appeared to me in the distance thru a fine mist.



More info:
* Chimney Rock in Nebraska (apparently there would be another one in North Carolina)

'I believe I can fly'

East wind is great! As great as I cursed west wind few days ago in Iowa.

This afternoon, I extended my ride initially intended to Broadwater till Brideport. I was riding fast with a nice little east wind, sometime slowing down to 30 km/h ;-)

And the scenery was just gorgeous! There were these hills in the distance on the right...



and the prairie on the left side of the road, where the North Platter river flows.



Note: so I was in a good mood to also breach 2,000 mi since I left ;-)

More info:
* I believe I can fly by R Kelly

Oshkosh

Today, around 11:00, I arrived in the small town of Oshkosh; 887 people according to 2000 census. It is also the capital of goose hunting according to the city limit sign



There's also a coffee roastery that ships its products across the US and Canada, Mark Ferrari, run by Mike Piva. I had lunch there and of course an expresso.



But what's so special about this little town of Nebraska?

In Oshkosh, I am exactly half way thru my ride from New York City to San Francisco.

Most unlikely?

Does getting two flat tires at the same time gives you good luck?

Anyhow when I started this morning from a campsite on the northern side of Lake Mc Conaughy (just north from Ogallala), a quite strong wind was blowing from the north, occasionally slightly against me.

After changing two tubes and one tire, I got to a small town, Lewellen, looking for a breakfast place. A lady tells me that I can go back to the gas station at the entrance of the town, "or there is this place just here that provides coffee and rolls". That will do it!



I don't know exactly when I arrived and how much time I spent there. It's an old barn, initially built to be a speechless movie theater, some one hundred years ago. It has been used for almost everything since, even a greasy body shop. Today, it combines an art gallery, a coffee place (with wifi!) where you can also have lunch. It's peaceful and as the place has been opened for just 5 weeks, mostly local people come here.

"It has something of a bike trip" told me Cindy, the lady that owns it with her brother Dennis. "I want it to be a slow place"... something of Nicolas Bouvier I presume.

More info:
* The Most Unlikely Place, 205 Main Street Lewellen, Nebraska 69147

Which way thru the Rockies?

As I am approaching Ogollala, Nebraska, I need to make sure that my road thru Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon is the right one. The guy of the Motel where I stayed last night in North Platte gave me a Road Atlas which is quite detailed.

The alternative is going thru Colorado, Utah and then Nevada, riding the so called "loneliest road" that runs all the way to Reno. It would be a good opportunity to pay a visit to Lake Tahoe. And it's also 400 km shorter that my other option.

View Larger Map

Yet the north option is supposed to be less hilly as the mountains west of Fort Collins. And it would take me thru Teton National Park and a few other forests. It's probably not as hot and desert as Nevada, although a portion of Oregon between Ontario and Lakeview might be quite similar to north Nevada.

There I am in Ogollala where the roads split; one more hour to think of it as I also entered the Mountain Time zone today. My northern option thru Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon should be confirmed.