July 1, 2018 Rest Day Jackson WY --- Happy Canada Day

Today was a well-deserved rest day.  This last week we rode 456 miles and climbed 18,780 feet (official numbers). 

Ken and I slept in and didn’t get over to breakfast until 9:00 am.  By then the restaurant was busy and we had a wait to get in but the full stack of pancakes was worth the wait. 

After breakfast Ken continues to ice his tendonitis. The internet says that it is caused by too much standing while climbing.  More sitting and spinning is what is prescribed. 

I sit down to get caught up on my blog and wind up writing a novel rather than a short description of the last few days events. 

About noon I walk down town from the hotel and wander through the western art galleries and tourist traps selling t-shirts and trinkets. This is a town where they use antlers in all of their decorating. The western art galleries were spectacular.  They had full size bronze castings of everything from cowboys on horses to 10 foot high grizzly bears costing north of $50,000.  I really liked a piece called “The OK Corral” which was the four stylized Earps  on a pedestal.  The large version of the four figures was about 30 inches high and cost $38,000 the 12” version was only $18,000.   There were lots of great animal paintings of everything from antelope to zebras, although bears dominated the pictures. Of course this is a tourist town and a rich tourist town at that.  The Sotheby’s real estate office had pictures of places starting at around $10,000,000. 

Having no need for any more t-shirts or room in my bag for trinkets (or bronze statues), I came home with some bike cleaning supplies and cleaned and oiled Ken’s bike and my bike.

Feeling well rested we are off to the group meeting and official start of week three of this tour which will take us through to Devils Tower.

Terry hot biker   

June 30 2018 Flagg Ranch to Jackson WY

It was nice to sleep late and we didn’t really get rolling until around 7:00 Am.  Packing up and then over to the main lodge for a lazy breakfast. We are on the road at 8:30 am into a bright blue sky with a nice little tail wind.   This morning we had 55 miles to cover and most of it was downhill.   Yes that’s right downhill with a tailwind under blue skies.

The first 20 miles down the John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway just flew by as the road was so smooth and we had a good downhill.  The scenery was gorgeous, with Jackson Lake and Grand Teton mountains to the one side and rolling hills and high plateau meadows to the other side. The Tetons were reflected in Jackson Lake and it was stunning.

At Jenny Lake we picked up the bike path which runs all the way into Jackson.  The majesty of the Teton Mountains awe inspiring.  The pathway is in incredibly good shape with almost zero root bulges and zero cracks.  To say I didn’t pedal would be an exaggeration but not by much.  Sailing along at 15-18 mph with the tail wind was so effortless.  Stopping now and again to grab a photo. 

We cruised into Jackson and immediately went to the Snake River Brew Pub for lunch.  I feasted on the ham and egg sandwich washed down with their craft beer. 

I don’t know when the last time I had such a great day on my bike.  What a grand adventure this was.  We missed the terrible slog up the Jackson Pass from Ashton, and the scary decent, ate a couple really great meals, and have a remarkable tale to tell. I am so lucky to have been included in this adventure.

We arrive in Jackson and get to the motel.  There I find my friend Ken with tendonitis in his right leg.  I sure hope he can get over this as we have a long way to go yet.

And so ends the second week with a rest day in Jackson Wyoming.

Terry hot biker

June 29 2018 West Yellowstone to Flagg Ranch

Tom R had phoned me back in March to ask me if I would consider riding through Yellowstone with him instead of riding with the tour through Ashton.  This would give me two days of rides which I have not done as I have always stayed with the tour and ridden from West Yellowstone to Ashton and then on to Jackson.  This route would take us through Yellowstone and then on to Jackson with an overnight at Flagg Ranch.  I immediately accepted as this would give me two days of rides I had not done and it has been a long time since I had been through Yellowstone. 

Tom had also invited a couple of other riders along as he had booked a very large room and there were roll-away beds available.  Auzzie Bob had booked a room at Grant Village and he had another rider with him so this made six of us who were taking a detour through the park.   Tom had sat down and prepared cue sheets for us so the six of us headed off to breakfast and a quick rider meeting. 

The weather forecast looked grim whether we were going through the park or staying with the tour so it looked like we were in for a soaking no matter which way we went.  As we were headed out Ed pulled up with a full van full of roof riders (people who were taking van rather than riding their bike, so called as the bike is on the roof).   It wasn’t raining right now so how bad could it be?

Tom’s directions worked perfectly and we were at the West Yellowstone Gate in a couple of minutes.  A ranger waved the bikes around the lineup and we paid our fees and were down the road.  We are not 3 miles down the road and it starts to hail.  There are a couple of claps of thunder and then it really started to pour so we pulled in to a pullout and pulled on the heavy duty rain gear.    A mile or so later we spotted three bison nursing their calves in a meadow.   We hurray on as it is pouring rain and we have over 70 miles to cover. 

A mile or so later Bob goes down with only a minor scrap over the bridge of his nose where his glasses hit him.    Tom, Mike and I are in front of the crash and we press on to Old Faithful geyser.   We don’t see any other animals all the way into the Old Faithful lodge which is at the 33 mile mark.  We get hot chocolate and warm up and dry off a bit in the lodge while we wait for the rest to show up.  Finally they show up to our great relief.  There is a brief pause in the down pour and a couple of rays of sun and Tom hustles us back on the road. 

We still have three summits to climb and 43 miles to cover.   We are not down the road a mile when a huge clap of thunder hits and the hail starts anew.  A few minutes later hammering rain follows the hail.  As we start the first climb my front derailleur hangs up and will not shift and I am stuck in the largest front ring of my triplex.  After several frustrating minutes on the side of the road in a very narrow, steep, and busy section, I get the bike in the low gear and start the grind up the hill.  I am miles behind by now and every passing car motorhome, bus and truck is a 10 gal pail of ice water thrown on my back.   After what seems like forever I reach the first summit of 8262 feet where the rest of riders are waiting.  Having my bike stuck in the smallest front ring and only the rear derailleur working I am limited to about 18 mph  so I am soon lost by the rest of the riders on the decent following the first summit. On the climb to the second summit it is another huge grind but not quite as large although it is at 8391 ft. 

We pass a large road cut and round a bend there is suddenly blue sky. The rain lets up and we have the sun warming us.  We are now at Grant Village and have only 20 mile to cover.  The last summit is at 7988 ft so not much of a grind.   I have figured out that I can shift my front derailleur if the chain is in the center of the rear cassette. 

The last 15 miles from the third summit is all a huge decent into Flagg Ranch and with my bike back in gear I cruise at 30+ mph into Flagg Ranch.  

Supper in the Flagg Ranch is marvelous. I feast on a huge cut of Elk and Bison meat loaf. 

What an adventure!   A total 76 miles and 5600 feet of climb.  Tom, you really out did yourself.  Thank you.

Terry.

June 28, 2018 Ennis to West Yellowstone

Although today was only 72.5 miles with 3250 feet of climb it was a hard day.   The road conditions were a major contributor to the difficulty of the day.  The shoulder was only 2-3 feet wide and there was a foot wide rumble strip along the white line this gave you only a one  or two  feet to ride in.  The portion of the shoulder to right of the rumble strip was really rough and filled with gravel and tire bits.  There was a very flat light so you could not always see the rumble strip so you were constantly hitting it.  The traffic was heavy enough and consisted of too many semi-trucks and half tonnes pulling trailers or boats that riding to the left of the white line was way too dangerous. 

Four years ago there was such a nasty head wind you could only make 4 mph.  We had a rotating pace line going which enabled us to make 6 mph.  No such need to day as the wind was very light even though I think that overall it was a bit of a head wind.

At the 43 mile mark we were at Earthquake Lake which was created when an earthquake broke a section of the mountain off which dammed the Madison River.  It is a really steep climb up and over the earth quake rubble but once up there is a great view of the valley below.  This is where picnic was and it was great to sit and eat and enjoy the view. 

After lunch there was a 30 mile ride down along the lake.  There were lots of huge rollers as the highway doesn’t exactly follow the lake shore.   I was making pretty good time and the wind was not a big factor.  The big illuminated sign which was warning motorists of wild animals on the highway four years ago is still there but was not flashing to day.

The last 8 mile the road turned due south and there was such a heavy head wind blowing I had to stop 3 times to recover enough energy to continue on. 

Tomorrow I am going to leave the tour and head off with Tom R into Yellowstone.  We will have a 71 mile ride to Grants Village and then a 60 mile ride down to Jackson to re-join the tour.  This means no blog tomorrow.  I will catch the blog up on Sunday as that is the rest day in Jackson. 

Terry  

June 27, 2018 Townsend to Ennis

I nearly froze this morning.  I set off at 6:50 Am and had not put on either arm or leg warmers and had only short fingered gloves.   My rain shell just didn’t cut it and I was frozen.  I know that if you are not cold for the first 10 minutes then you are over dressed, but this was well beyond just a little chilly.  At about the 3 mile mark I considered turning around and riding back in to Townsend but my vow to never return keep me headed down the road.

At about the 8 mile mark Ron the other Canadian and Graeme one of the Auzzies showed up and suggested a pace line to keep the freezing wind off. It was not a hard decision to join them.  So we set off and in no time picked up Ken T. and the 4 of us continued on headed south on MT 287.  Most of the time there was a good shoulder with a rumble strip but when there was no shoulder it was downright scary as there were a bazillion semi-trucks, and half tonnes.   

At the 30 mile mark we came to The Montana Wheat Bakery which is right on the intersection of 287 and I-90.  We rolled in there to get cinnamon buns, and what cinnamon buns they were. I got the standard glazed and it was at least 9 inches across. The cinnamon bun was to die for. What a place.  While we were there at least 4 bus loads of Japanese tourists pulled in.

After we crossed the I90 the road got very quiet.  It was quite nice rolling along.  Ken T spotted a brown bear squaring off with a big buck Elk.  I saw the Elk but missed the bear.   I also spotted a couple of deer frolicking in a meadow but they were too far off to get a picture.

A big climb at the 45 mile mark and then it was picnic in a school parking lot and then more highway, another big climb and a downhill into Ennis. Lots and lots of really beautiful Big Sky Montana.

The last 10 mile bit seemed to take forever as I was pretty much done and there was a vicious cross wind.   

All and all an excellent day.  I had a lot of fun in the pace line and Ron and Graeme are natural clowns.  I also had lots of fun barking.  Barking at riders, other dogs, cattle, horses, and everything I could see.

I got the same spot that Earnie found 4 years ago around the back of the school.  In 2014 there were 4 of us in the spot this year I have it to myself.

Terry

June 26 2018 Lincoln to Townsend Montana

Today’s ride was over the Great Divide at Flesher’s Pass. This marks a big milestone on our journey east as in theory it is all downhill now. 

Ken and I were off early at 6:45 Am towards the pass.  We made good time and in no time were at the 10 mile mark where we turned south on MT 279 towards the pass.  We were made to believe that the climb was a series of steps with a level spot between each step however that was not the case it was a straight ever increasing gradient to the summit at 6131 feet.  The climb was only 9.5 miles and even though the final grade was around 11% it took me only about an hour to make the climb.  When I got to the summit there was quite a crowd of cyclists with everyone taking pictures and celebrating.

After departing the summit we had a wonderful decent through a pine forest.  The wind had picked up and was delivering a 10-15 mph tail wind.  Sailing down the decent at 30+ mph was easy.  After the decent we were out on the rolling prairie but not the wind had picked up and was delivering a 15-20 mph tail wind.  This resulted us being into picnic which was at the 53 mile mark around 11:00 am. 

Just as Tom Ryan arrived at picnic his bike made a loud crack and the frame broke just below the seat post. I think that the seat post was wiggling inside the aluminum tubing and wore a thin spot which eventually caused the failure.  I have never seen a frame fail in such a dramatic way.

Picnic was in a beautiful river side park in down town Helena.  Shuli’s homemade tortilla soup was great.  I could have hung around all day eating treats off the picnic table. However with the big tail wind blowing I had to take advantage of that so off I went.

The ride out of Helena is down a very busy highway. In 2014 it was a horrid ride as it was hot and we had the wind blowing into our face.  Today we had temperatures of around 75 F and a great tail wind.  The result was even though the road was busy the howling tail wind made up for it. 

I arrived in Townsend at 2:00 Pm  at the high school to find that the athletic coach was refusing to allow any camping on the field and not allowing anyone to use the showers. Greg was not set up so I wheeled my bike around and rode on down to the local gas station where I got a couple of roller dogs.  They were great.  Upon returning to the school we now allowed to camp in this one little bit of grass which is at the end of the field.   I decided to wash in the sink basin in the men’s room.  Looks like the scheduled practice consists of about half a dozen kids tossing a football around.   GO TOWNSEND BULLDOGS GO What a self-serving self-important little jerk.

Tom rode into the local Trek shop in Helena where they immediately informed him they will be sending him a new bike. In the meantime Tom had to buy a new bike so he took a Giant with disc brakes.  Looks like a pretty nice ride.  

Today’s great tail wind made the 90 mile day and 3260 feet of climb seem easy.  A lot of it was at 25 mph without pedalling.  

Do I feel stronger every day or was it just the wind?

Terry

June 25, 2018 Missoula to Lincoln Montana

I always like the dorm cafeteria breakfasts.  There is lots of choose without dipping into the egg casserole.  So I enjoyed a breakfast burrito and a big plate of fresh fruit.  The pineapple was particularly tangy and good.   So right after breakfast Ed W and I rolled out.  We decided to skip the Adventure Bike Club headquarters tour which was on the way having seen it a couple of times already.   

I think it was a good move as getting down the road early enabled us to cover a few extra miles before the temperatures started to climb.  Ed reported 93F on his cycle computer later in the day and it was hot alright. 

We were back to following hwy 200 all day.  The shoulder was again variable from none to huge wide open shoulders with a nice rumble strip.  Somehow it seemed that the second the shoulder disappeared we would be set upon by conveys of semi-trucks and pick-up trucks all blowing diesel exhaust in our faces.

At about the 10 mile mark we started a big long climb which extended all the way to the 30 mile mark.  However it was only a 2-5 % grade and a person could wheel right along.   However I do have to admit that by the end of the climb I was looking forward to the decent on the other side.

My tires were pretty thin when I showed up for this ride as they had about 3500 miles on them. They were well past the wear dimples so I was concerned about them. Coming down a decent at 35 mph on thread bare tires may not be the best.  At lunch I had the mechanics mount two new Continental Gator Skins.  They were so smooth.  Do old tires get lumpy? I wonder.

After lunch Ed and I were joined by Ken T and the three of us rode along taking turns pulling up the rolling hills. 

Over all it was a very nice ride today with a total distance of 80.8 miles and a total climb of 2890 feet.

Terry hot biker

June 24, 2018 Rest Day in Missoula

I had a tough time getting to sleep last night and in fact only got a few hours.  You would think that being in a real bed in a dorm would be better than my cot in my tent.  However I find that I sleep better in familiar surroundings and in a familiar bed.  All that said I am armed with a bottle of milk which I will warm up before bed to night and an aspirin.  Warm milk and an aspirin and I am usually out before a count of ten.

It was a pretty low key day which was the plan and it worked out very close to plan.  Walk down to the local coffee house and have coffee and a simple breakfast.  Mission accomplished.  Set tent up to dry in the sun after the big rain storm.  Mission accomplished.  Go to the grocery store and get a bottle of milk and some candy for eating in the tent after supper. Mission accomplished.  Lay down for a nap.  Mission accomplished.  Drop my bike with the mechanics to have it washed, lubed, and tuned (the front derailleur seems to be jumping the middle ring).  Mission accomplished.   Walk down to the local burrito store for a lunch of burritos. Mission accomplished.   

I think that pretty much wraps up a relaxing day in Missoula.  Things I did not do include climbing the big hill behind the campus to the big white “M”,  Cleaning my own bike,  Doing laundry as I had actually done it on Saturday.

Not much has changed here in Missoula since I was here last in 2014.  The dorm is the same and the down town is totally unchanged.  There does seem to be a lot of street construction, with detours everywhere.   The only thing which looked different was that the Missoulli river was running very high.

Tonight is the organization meeting for the second week.  These kick off meetings always seem to take forever.  This week is only 456 miles as compared to the 602 miles last week so it should be much easier.

Terry hot biker