Today was one of those ride of a lifetime rides. It was unbelievable in so many ways. Scenery, wind, roads, traffic or lack of
traffic, beautiful sun and temperatures in the low 70’s F. there was lots to brag about.
So let me start at the beginning. I started out with Ed W
and Ken C. We were headed north out of
Jackson Hole toward Tetons National Park.
There was a good wind out of the NW so the three of us took turns
breaking the wind. They have built a new bike path for 16 miles north to Jenny
Lake. It was so smooth the miles just flew by wind notwithstanding. The Grand
Tetons were standing out to the west and it was a glorious sight. Just north of Jenny Lake we turned SE so now
that wind was on our back and we were
just sailing along. Picnic came up at
the 47 mile mark and I was surprised at how fast we were there.
Two miles after picnic we hit the big climb of the day which
was 17.9 miles of 2-6% grade. I was
feeling strong and it didn’t take long to drop Ed and Ken. Ed has been working
so hasn’t had the bike training Ken and I have but to drop Ken on a hill is
tough. I stopped at the summit to take
pictures with Jos who was there already. Ken rode up and so the three of us
headed down the other side of Togwotee Pass (elevation 9584 ft). Downhill with
a howling wind at your back with the smoothest of roads you can imagine. We had
thirty miles to ride from the summit to Dubois and camp. There were 9 miles of decent and then some
low rollers which were generally down hill after the decent. I was rolling at approximately 35 mph on the
decent and the wind was so strong I was sailing along at 27 mph without
pedalling on the low rollers. I forgot to check watch at the top but I doubt it
took much more than an hour to get into camp. Ken C said it took only 55 minutes.
At one point is was flying along at about 35 mph and
suddenly there was a gopher in the rumble strip and he decided to go for the
ditch. I thought for sure I was going to hit him. However he went between my
wheels. His lucky day and probably mine
as well.
We are staying at the local KOA
tonight and dining at the Donut Café.
Perfect!
Terry
4 comments:
Did you stop in a postcard shop and take pictures of the post cards? These photos are spectacular. Almost look fake. Darn... left one day too soon to enjoy fabulous tailwinds.
Saw that trail going out to the airport yesterday. Must have been fun.
of course, the best day of the trip was the day after we left...oh well, Bonnie and I still had a great time and will come visit the group in Gloucester in August. Have fun Terry!
-Ian
Amazing scenery. Have a great ride, Terry.
Are you sure you want to be riding behind someone who is breaking wind?
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