Kurt Williams
Great Divide
Flagg Ranch, WY
For the last three weeks we have had the pleasure of riding with our friend Spencer. Spencer could possibly be one of the greatest people to ride bikes with, and for sure to tour with. He's got the right attitude, is charismatic, and most importantly his priority is fun. He's the type of person you can have fun doing anything with, there's always laughs, jokes, and never a dull moment. The man expels the same exact enthusiasm we have for the outdoors, and sleeping in dugouts. I can't say enough how happy I am it has worked out for him to come along, he's a real champ in my eyes, and I already can't wait to bike tour more with him.With Idaho came the Tetons, and with the Tetons came climbing. We had been looking forward to exploring the cliffs of this historically rich climbing zone, so from Jackson we ditched the bikes, and thumbed our way out to a classic 5 pitch line. To date, this has been one of our favorite climbs on the route, offering plenty of perfect moving climbing, and views of the Grand Teton that would make Yosemite crag junky jealous. The climb went super smooth for three people, with amazing weather and Spencer even got to lead his first trad line, a milestone for any climber, man it's great to be a climber! It's now fun to realize that not only when we climb up, and descend a route, one has to note that we also biked here too. The gratifying feeling I get just knowing that everything on this journey has been powered and fueled by us. It's rewarding to put your money where your mouth is, we are really doing this!
As we continue to ride through western Wyoming, we are further amazed by the mountains in this area. We literally had not heard of the Wind River Ranger, and it is one of the most dramatic and spectacular mountain ranges in this country. As we rode through this area we were able to climb a route, which I'll just say was a hard man line that was over our head, and resulted in quite the long day/night. Funny how you remember those not so good climbs to a "T", the bad days are the memorable ones. I can't wait to make it back and to explore more alpine climbs in this area.
Lastly, in Boulder Wyoming we got to hang and meet a sister of a good friend who was a cowgirl for the NOLS ranch. When I say cowgirl, I mean cowgirl, she rides horses for a living, and drives packs of horse into the wilderness full of gear for the NOLS outdoor classes. Not only that, but we were blessed to show up when a rancher from Patagonia was conducting a tradition asado. Slaughter and dress a sheep, splay it across some sticks, and let it cook for 4 hours over an open fire. I myself have been vegetarian for the last 4 years, but it's not that I don't believe in people eating meat. I've been against the harsh reality of the meat industry on the environment and have believed that when people eat it, they should be in the reality of what comes with eating an animal. Okay rant over, I just thought it was nice to see this in practice and although I still didn't eat it, I was in full support of how this was done. Not to mention this little sheep fed over 20 people and it wasn't even finished!
Wyoming has it all, cowboys (girls), mountains named after boobs (Teton), and one of the best kept secrets in the country (Wind River Range).
- IMAGES OF THE ROAD -
Kurt Williams
Gear List
- My Blackburn Gear -
- My Bike Specs -
- • FRAME-Salsa El Mariachi Frame size: M
- • CRANK-SRAM S1000, 26/39T, GXP (make, model, length, chainrings) BOTTOM BRACKET: SRAM GXP
- • SHIFTERS-SRAM X-7 Trigger
- • TIRES-Front Continental X-King Rear WTB Nano both Tubeless (front and rear, make, model and size)
- • STEM-Salsa
- • FORK-Salsa Fargo Forks
- • PEDALS-Cheap flat pedals with straps
- • BRAKES-Avid Elixir 5
- • SEAT POST-Salsa
- • HANDLEBAR-Salsa Pro Moto 2, Salsa Juegos de Fuegos (aerobars, grips, bartape, etc)
- • HEADSET-Cane Creek
- • CASSETTE-SRAM 12-36T
- • WHEELS-29”, Formula Hubs, Stans Arch: (size, hub, rim)
- • SADDLE-Brooks
- • SPARE PARTS-Chain, tubes, shifter cable, spare bolts, patches
Kurt Williams
- FROM: Jaffrey, New Hampshire
- DOB: 1986-02-11
- Single
- OCCUPATION: Dirt Bag
- What was the genesis moment or inspiration for your upcoming adventure? A few years ago I was touring through Central America and through the internet heard about the Great Divide Route. Since then I always wanted to do it, but it wasn’t until I ran across the Blackburn Ranger Program that I started to take it serious. I figured why not apply and see if it was meant to be.
- Have you traveled by bike in the past? I have, done a few shorter bike tours in Oregon. Then, one trip from Denver back to Portland, OR. My most ambitious trip was a few years ago when I biked from California through Central America to Panama, that was a pretty eye opening trip to see where a bike can take you.
- What is your goal for the route? To have fun with my buddy Sam!
- What do you hope to get out of this journey? I hope to successfully bike tour with climbing gear and to use the bicycle as a means to get to climbing locations. A climbing trip completely fueled by bike touring!
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What’s in my bag
1. Cat food alcohol stove - Always works, fuel is super easy to find in any location.
2. Giro long sleeve button up shirt - Super excited to have this, I’ve always bike with a casual shirt. Versatile and also makes you not look like a cyclist, which helps you connect with people along the route.
3. Blackburn Oversized Bottle Cages - Really happy to be using these prototypes! Forget the racks, use these!
4. Tobacco Pipe - For lookin’ cool.