Last night the school fire alarm went off at 10:30Pm but I
was already asleep in my tent. I thought it was my i-touch which I am using as
an alarm clock and in my semi-awake state tried to turn it off. Finally I
realized it was the school fire alarm.
It rang for a long time before it was shut off. I cannot imagine being
one of the floor floppers.
The morning was only 45 F and heavily overcast with a wind
out of the NW. So it was really hard
pulling on my riding kit and crawling out to face the day.
The ride was up over the Teton Pass which is one of the cycling
icons. The start of the day in Ashton
was at 5276 ft and the pass summit is at 8456 ft. There is a 5 mile approach with grades in the
3-5% range and then a 4 mile climb with grades in 8-12% range. By the time I got to the main part of the
climb the temperature was right around 60F and the wind was mostly at my back
although coming up the pass it seemed like one minute it was a head wind and
the next a tail wind. This was much more favourable conditions than when I did
the climb in 2010. At that time the temperature was over 90F and the wind was
solidly in your face. After the climb
there is a 6 mile 10% decline which is pretty scary. I am not one for fast declines so I rode the
brakes pretty heavy and kept the speed down.
There were several riders who
passed me at what was probably well over 50 mph.
Cycle America is now staying at the Teton |science center
which is some sort of a dormitory which is 5 miles out of town. Ken C had reserved a room at a hotel in town and
was looking for a room mated so when he offered I jumped at the chance. Having a room in town for the day off will be
great.
This ride ended the second week of the nine tour. It was suppose to be a recovery week as there
were 6 ride days compared to the first which had 7 and the mileages were only
456 compared to 600 miles. However the weather
was so tough that it turned and easy week into a really hard week. It
will be fun to spend a day in Jackson visiting the sites.
Terry
Terry, you have done a fabulous job surviving the past two weeks. Way to go.
ReplyDeleteI can't relate to the wet and cold you describe. I took my new Roubaix out for its inaugural ride and the bike was fabulous. Temps were a balmy 80 at the start, but 95 3 1/2 hours later. Cynthia and I were melting. I can't imagined another 50 on top of it. Keep cool.