Cruising the Interstate

Generally my option is Bikes + Interstates = Bad Idea! I was more than a little concerned when I learned that today's ride was 70 miles down the interstate in to Gillette form Buffalo. So I took four spare tubes with me as I was convinced this was trouble. I got out relatively early and lit the after burners on the Giant as soon as I was on the on-ramp. There isn't much to see off the interstate. There were lots of long hills which were all at 1% grade or less so I just kept hammering down the road waiting for the first flat. The shoulders were wide and smooth so there was no problem riding at 12 mph on the steepest grade and 28 mph on the down grades.

Picnic was at the 32 mile mark so I was there by 8:30 and just after 11:30 Am. I guess I was lucky or maybe I was overly worried but I made it without a flat. Carried a bunch of tubes for nothing.

There wasn't much for high lights. Picnic was left over curried chicken salad which was great but I was still working on a huge breakfast. So I didn't hang long. I stopped and watched a service rig hoisting tubing for about 10 minutes. It was right beside the road but I was worried about the heat so I pushed on. Then a helicopter was flying a right of was and was looking over this highway crossing so I stopped to watch it for a minute. before it flew off. Maybe the real highlight was after I got in I changed into my running clothes and did a 5 k run. It was really tough. My legs felt like wood and my feet felt like I was wearing rubber boots.

Tonight is awards night for the week and I understand that they are going to roast the people who snore. I understand there is a lot of floor floppers who snore and refuse to go to a snoring section. What can I say they are floor floppers.

They are closing the library and I have to go.

Terry

Highest Point on Coast to Coast

First let me apologize for now post yesterday. It was a spectacular day! It was the toughest ride on the coast to coast and we reached the highest elevation. It was not the continental divide but still the highest point. I am not sure how that worked, so you just have to accept it. I guess you could go Google it.

The ride was 94 miles up and over the Big Horn Pass. The ride is divided into three parts the first 55 miles is the accent to the summit. You start at around 3600 ft and grind up the western side of the Big Horn range to 9666 ft at the summit. This was incredibly grueling as most of it was done at 6-8 mph. To top it off about 5 miles was fresh chip seal which had been laid down the day before. Two riders go stones jammed in the rear derailleur which sheared off the pin which mounts the rear derailleur. The tour operator was busy sagging riders into lunch which was just 8 miles short of the summit. The saying is to be at the summit by noon. I made it to the summit by 12:45. The second part of the ride is 30 miles of rollers after the summit. Although it is generally down hill there are still several huge climbs of a 2-3 miles all of which are 6-8% grade. Somebody said there were 7 climbs of more than 2 miles but I didn't count. I think that although there is less climbing it is a tougher section as you are not as mentally prepared for it. The final section of the ride is the decent into Buffalo. It is nerve racking steep and with no shoulders and broken pavement you can't just let it free wheel. I made it in completing the ride in 7:13 which was a great time. I think that more than 50% of the riders wound up taking a sag. It was really quite a ride. beautiful scenery, tough, but after you have done it very satisfying.

In Buffalo was the first night of the blues grass festival. It kicks off in the Occidental hotel, which in itself is a historic icon. Calamity Jane, Buffalo Bill Code, Butch Cassidy and numerous other all stayed there. We went in and had a beer and listened to some of the performers playing in the bar. It was quite a place. The last time it was redecorated was something like 1910 after the big flood.

Lets Ride!

Terry

Canyon Surprise

Not to bore you with the usual crap about how cold it was or how early I got a way but let's cut right to the meat of the matter. At around 25 miles I am looking at this row of hills in front of me that are big hills and I am wondering how we are going to get though them. To days ride was suppose to be all down hill. The hills are looming closer and closer and just as we get to the base of the hills I can see that they are at least 1000 feet high. Then the road makes a left and I ride a bunch of rollers so you can't see what is coming up. Then with out warning the road makes a right and you head into this canyon which has been carved though the hills. This canyon is steep, and narrow. At the bottom of the canyon is the Wind River. A sign pointing at the side of the cliff indicated that the rocks are Pre-Cambrian. Down the canyon the road twists and turns. Another sign points out Cambrian rock. Then there are a series of three tunnels to ride though. Tunnels on a bike are both scary as you can't see the road, and exiting as you transition from bright to dark. The road winds down though the canyon for an full 20 miles. More signs pointing out Silurian age rocks, Ordovician, and finally Triassic rocks. It was an absolutely stunning ride. Of course as I am on this narrow winding road with no shoulders what should pass me but a service rig. Canyon Well Servicing painted on the side. Kind of makes you home sick.

Picnic at the 51 mile mark was right on the river in a beautiful spot called Wedding of the Waters. It is called that because the Wind river flows into the Big Horn River. The Big Horn is warmed by the hot springs at Thermopolis (56 mile mark). Thermopolis claims the worlds largest hot springs. They are large but I think the claim maybe a little over stated. There is a beautiful state park by the hot springs which come out at several locations though out the park. I rode though the park and rode up to the dinosaur museum but it didn't look that good that I wanted to go in. The buffalo paddock sounded interesting but it was five miles out of the way so I passed on it as well.

The last 37 miles were uneventful and it was time to head for the barn so I turned on the after burners. Although the last ten were down this country road which all these cracks which had been filled with some sort of tar which if you hit one which ran parallel to your direction of travel grabbed your tires and made the bike feel lose. It was kind of a weird feeling.

A great 93 mile day under near perfect conditions. Topping it off was a feast put on by the Rams Horn Restaurant.

Bed time for Bonzo

Terry

Eighty miles of down hill.

When I crawled out of my tent this morning it was a crisp 38F (4C). So I had on most of my clothes and they were needed. The wind had started blowing at 4:45 Am and the flapping of my tent woke me but I lay in my nice warm sleeping bag for half an hour before I got moving. The forecast had been for a winds from the SE averaging 10-15 mph but it seemed more like 15-25 mph. This was really bad news as we were headed SE.
I really piled into the bacon at breakfast as I knew that we were in for a struggle all day. I think bacon is the perfect cycling food. The real shock came when I got on my bike and turned into the wind. The best I could do was about 12 mph, however there was 80 miles to go and there was no way I could maintain that. That was the bad news. The good news was that it was all down hill. The only thing to do was to get into the drops and grind it out. There was a small dip in the road and I got an extra few miles per hour. Then the wind dropped a little and I got a few more. End of the dip and the wind was back, so back to grinding and that is how the day went. Catch a little speed when you could and grind away when you couldn't. We crossed a lot of rolling hills with lots tumble weed but as the day was cloudy and grey it wasn't too exciting for scenery.

The school is very nice, it has very thing except for Internet. Tonight is barbeque beef brisket and corn on the cob. Two of my favorites.

Well I guess I am off to see if I can find an Internet connection. This Telus air card is useless.

Lets ride!

Terry

A tough century July 5 2010

Today's ride started from the camp site which was located about half way between Jackson and Jackson Village, which is where the ski hill is. If you followed the prescribed ride you turned left and rode through Jackson, that route turned out to be 103 miles. If you turned right and rode though the ski village you could cut 7 miles off the route. I choose to follow the prescribed route as that was where the support was and it would make my century. The first fifty miles was flat and took us out through Teton National Park. It was beautiful riding along with the Grand Tetons on our left side. At the 20 mile mark I saw a moose grazing on young willows beside the river. I rode right up to him and was within 20 feet. His antlers were still in the velvet. What a great sight! At this point there was a bike path through the park so I jumped on it and rode it all the way to Jenny Lake. I stopped in the visitors center and read about how the Tetons were formed by geological uplift hundreds on millions of years ago and how Jenny Lake is a remnant of the last ice age. I found a National Parks bronze medallion in the visitor center. Major bling! Lunch was at the base of the big climb to day. I wasn't making any mistakes about food and filled up with lots of great food before tackling the 19 mile climb. It wasn't as steep as the Teton pass but had more altitude gain. I think some one said it was over 4000 feet. The last four miles before the summit were this really rough gravel road which rattled your teeth out. I don't think that anyone enjoyed that part of the ride. After the summit there was still 30 miles to go however it was all down hill and not too steep so it was and easy roll into Dubois. Today was the first day where we had a tail wind and it sure did help having it push us in. I signed in 7th over all today and 2nd of the coast to coast riders. However as all of the riders who had signed in before me took the cut off, so I am claiming a first.
Supper was in the Donut Cafe in Dubois and was grilled salmon which was excellent. At the rider meeting tonight we learned that one of the coast to coast riders crashed to day and broke her arm. Very sad and I really hate to see anyone crash out of this great experience.
Tomorrow's ride is 83 miles and is all down hill however it looks like we will have head winds again. As of right now we have rode miles 1183, so tomorrow will take us below 3000 miles to go.

I have no internet so I will post this tomorrow.

Terry

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Happy 4th of July From Jackson

A Wonderful Day in Jackson Wyoming

July 4th is a our day off and what better place to have a day off than in Jackson Wyoming.

To recap last night we went up to Teton Ski Village where they were having fireworks. The ski village is beautiful. We were amazed at the beauty of the place. The on the hill ski condos start at around $2.5 million and go up. The fireworks display was absolutely great. They went on for twenty minutes. It was one of the best displays that I have seen. We missed the bus and would have had to wait for an hour and a half for the next one but a taxi appeared out of nowhere and we got it. So we were home in 15 minutes. It was great.

This morning I slept late and had a long lazy shower before heading into Jackson. Once in town I wandered the town. Jackson is a resort town and is filled with upscale art galleries and other upscale retail shops. So I made a circuit of the art galleries which are 95% Western art. There was lots of life size bronzes of every thing from Indian hunters, to full size grizzly bears and elk. of course there was lots of paintings of animals and cowboys. I really enjoyed looking though the galleries. The 4th of July parade came down main street so I stopped and watched it. The parade was really fun as everybody with an antique car or truck was in it. There weren't a lot of bands but there were a lot of horses. I guess that is to be expected as Jackson bills its self as a rodeo town, and there are a lot of ranches around the area. The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar is quite famous as it has saddles for bar stools. I enjoyed a late lunch of a burger and a beer on a patio before catching the bus back to the campground. In one of real estate boxes was a book which highlighted the local real estate. It doesn't look like Jackson has had any problems as the houses in the book were at least $750k for a modest 1200 sq ft home. Add a view and the price is $1.5 million.

Well I better get moving as I still have to clean my bike and repack my bag.

Tomorrow we ride!

Terry

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

Ashton Idaho

Back to Idaho
To day was billed as an easy day because it was a net down hill day by 1500 feet and it was only 64 miles. So take your time, stop and smell the flowers. OK I can do that. I was close to the last to leave breakfast this morning as the bacon was soooo good, and they kept refilling my coffee cup. By the time I realized it there were only a few left so I hurried out side and jumped on my bike a headed down the road. It was a beautiful morning. The sun was up and the sky was so blue that you would have to photo shop it to make it any bluer. So you remember how I said we always start the day with a hill well to day was no exception and at about mile 7 the first climb gets started and although it is only a couple of miles long and not that steep I am still in my granny gear. About half way up is Steve (he was one of the routers on the West Coast trip) and his girl friend Alice. She claims that sparks are coming out of the rear derailleur Steve's bike. Do I know any thing about rear derailleurs. Not much but they don't make sparks! When I look at it I can see that Steve has never cleaned his chain. Jokes are made about with so much oil and grim on the chain and rear gear cluster a spark could cause an explosion. I thought that the cable end might be rubbing but it looked clear. However as I had no answers we got back on the road. At the top of the short hill it was down hill and pretty much all the way into Ashton. The road was a mixed bag of wide and narrow shoulders, with and without chip seal. The common factor was the wind which was gusty and blowing right into to my face. I think it was gusting 40-50 mph. This made the bike hard to ride as it would either be loose or tight. At the 35 mile mark we turned off the main highway down this secondary road which was brand new chip seal. This really slowed progress down and even though it was down hills. Lunch was at the 50 mile mark by the Mesa falls. Although you couldn't get down to them they were very pretty. There was marmot family sunning themselves on rock right by the look out and although every one looked out at the falls I think I was the only one to see them. The remaining 14 miles went by pretty quickly. The wind really picked up and it was a total struggle to get in the last 6 miles. It took 4;20 to do the 64 miles.
We are staying at the Fedmont middle school in Ashton Idaho, which is a beautiful facility. The showers are hot the grass is very nice for camping. Tonight it awards night which is always a hoot.
Lets ride.

Terry

Happy Canada Day

Seventy Three to West YellowStone
Being July 1, and Canada day I had on my Canada jersey and I had lent Ed from Colorado my Canada provinces jersey. There were lots of Canada jerseys and flags on display so it was pretty neat to see. Other riders we yelling O Canada.
It was cold and blustery this morning when i jumped on my scooter and headed off from Ennis. The sun was shining on the hills though a bunch of half broken clouds and I could see a major rain front which was just a head. As I headed down the road I could see there were two major storm cells and I thought I could thread the needle between them. This strategy sort of worked but at about the 30 mile mark the second cell changed direction and I was caught. My feet were already cold from being in wet shoes from yesterdays rain and now I about to be soaked again. The pavement was really slick and I was having trouble with traction. Luckily there was a rest stop an I pulled in and hid out while the storm passed. I let some air out of my tires so that I would have a little better traction. I guess I forgot to mention that it was all up hill, not steep but uphill with no down hills for a break and I also forgot to mention that the wind was right in our face again. It wasn't a lot of fun.
After the storm moved off I jumped back on and headed down the road. I passed a cattle drive where three cowboys were driving about 200 head of cattle down the main highway (only in Montana). It was fun to see.
Lunch was at the top of a really steep hill which was created by a land slide. In 1959 one side of the mountain came down the canyon damming the Manison river and creating a lake behind the land slide. It was very pretty and the sun was out. Lunch was hot vegetable soup and it was so welcome to get something hot and get warmed in the sun.
After lunch was only 30 miles and it was much nicer. The road was kind of rolling along the lake. I really enjoyed the next 22 miles. There was some great views as I cruised along the lake. At the 65 mile mark I turned the corner into the worst head wind yet. It was a struggle to maintain 8 mph.
The campground we are staying at is right in the town of West Yellowstone and it is beautiful. There are hot showers, washing machines, Internet, and really nice grass for tents. It is great to be clean and have clean clothes to put on. Live is good.
Lets Ride
Terry