Saturday, July 3, 2010

Teton Pass







This is going to be real short as I am totally bonked. It was a tough day even though it was only 70 miles. Breakfast was a bust as the people organizing it were behind schedule and so I didn't eat a good breakfast and then at picnic I ate too much fruit and not enough protein. The ride was really great we left Ashton and took a rural road though the potato fields of Idaho. There were no cars and we were aided at times by a tail wind. Picnic was at the 40 mile mark in a nice little park were there was a little league game going on. The wind came up and I was cold so I took off rather than eating more food. A few miles later we hit a little town where a 4th of July parade was going on it was great there was lots of floats and things in the parade. The streets were lined with people and they had the highway closed. I stayed and watched for a while before heading off. With the Teton Pass just around the corner I needed to keep rolling. The Teton pass is close to 2000 feet above the rest of the area so it is quite a climb. It is suppose to be one of the riding icons. So when you are bragging about tough rides you have done you can say "Oh ya well I did Teton Pass" The view at the top is totally stunning. You can see all the way into Jackson Wyoming which is something like ten miles away. The ride down the other side into Jackson is more than a little scary as it is 5 miles at 10% grade. It has all these switch backs and lots of cars so you can't really get out into the middle of the lane. Well I made it. You could smell the buring of my brakes.

We are camped out side of town in a not so nice camp ground. The area is bush camping and they put two porta potties in for the 96 riders plus staff. I was in early and got one of the best spots under a tree but most of the campers are on really rocky uneven ground. The showers are C at best. There are no plug ins so there is going to be a freak out to charge cell phones. Maybe after a good nap and a good meal i will feel more charitable about the place.

Well this is the end of week two of the coast to coast odyssey. We have traveled something like 1080 miles so we are over 25% of the way to Boston. We have climbed 40,000 feet which puts us at over 35% of the total climb for the trip. A short seven more weeks.

Terry

3 comments:

Ken C. said...

Terry, great pictures on your last two blogs. Congrats on ending week two, and hope you enjoy a day off. One comment on your "Howdy Stranger ..." picture; buddy, you've got to shift your bike out of the granny gear before taking the picture!!! My eye was drawn to the angle of the chain. Thanks for the blog and pictures. Enjoy the ride!

Jennifer said...

great stories, Terry. Just wrote you a note but it was deleted by the blog police....anyway, hope you are having some good weather. Looks like it from the pics.A rough start. hope those who were in the ambulance have recovered and are back on their "horses" with you all.
Every day is race day!
ride on
jen dc

Jim said...

Hey Terry,

Happy American Independence Day! As I recall, I spent the last two summers celebrating July 4th with you on a bike adventure.

Way to go with the end of your second week! Great pictures. I have noticed everyone seems bundled up...must be cold in those parts. It is still really hot here. I am getting back to training for RAGBRAI. Have a fun third week!

Jim