Yellowstone bike touring

If you thought yesterday was cold today was worse. I tried getting going early at 4 so I could be riding by 5 to avoid the traffic but I couldn't even get my head out of my sleeping bag. I tried again at 430 and opened the tent before crawling back in, I checked the temp on the phone and it said 28. Nope back to bed.

I finally got riding by 7 but it was difficult. Still today was a big day. Ever since I started the trip my sister had asked about joining on this section. With a few messages and time adjustments today is the day I'll meet her. We left camp at the same time she's got about 40 miles on a triathlon bike that weights 15ish pounds and a slight uphill. While I have a loaded touring bike in the 60# range with two divide passes to cross. Who will make it to old faithful first?

Me of course but only cause she took some detours. While waiting on old faithful we rode our bikes up to the hot springs. They looked the same as before and my sister inevitably got asked, those special shoes you wearing.

After watching old faithful go off right on time if a bit underwhelming, there was less water than I remember which is supposedly normal, we started riding through the park. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that there was a nice shoulder for us to ride on. Factoring in the shoulder and the hell that everyone in the cars were going through trying to see the sights and a parking spot I think bikes are the best way to see this section. The Grand Enchantment pool musta had a line of 25 cars waiting on parking and people walking for half mile or more from street parking. Meanwhile my sister and I rode right up saw the pools and were on our way with bike racks on the approach trail and only our bikes using them.

Once we hit all the major attractions we had an easy 20 mile flat/downhill cruise to the campground my sister had her car in. Along the way we stopped off in west Yellowstone to pick up some cold medicine for me since I was definitely sick.

I love the great divide basin.

So the wind forecast was the same as yesterday. If we make it to the town of muddy gap we'd have no wind otherwise it'd be hell. Since it was 50 miles to get there we got going early, like leaving the hotel by 530 early. I don't think that has happened since I started riding with these guys.

After a quick and terrible breakfast at McDonalds we started climbing up another continental divide pass. I don't remember it being such a long climb from when I did it last time but it was.

Once we got over the pass I was finally back in the basin. Taking a different route than last time but it was even more beautiful. There were no rides with wild horses but the gentle downhill and flats had us flying along at 16 mph average.  definitely one of the best rides of the trip. We made it to muddy gap by 11 even with stopping for 50+ pictures.

Unfortunately somewhere in there I strained my left hamstring. I think it was when I was bouncing along on my pedals to some heavy metal. I'm hoping that it's just a stain and not a pull. It feels like a Charlie horse so there is hope.

We made it to Jeffery city which is a shit hole of a town of 25 drunks, 1 million mosquitos(makes no sense its a desert), and a nice church hostel. We took over the hostel thinking we'd have it to ourselves but around 8pm 5 ppl roll in, 3 brits and 2 flag wearing Americans. They seem nice but totally ruined our nice quiet peaceful night.

Interstate only kinda sucked

So last night I checked the wind forecast using the app windy. It said as long as we are off the road by 2pm we wouldn't have any wind issues today. It was spot on. We only had two options, 45 miles into Rawlins or 120 miles into Jeffery city. After the last two days battling the winds we chose to stop early. It was a great decision imo.

The first 20 miles was on a nice quiet road with a slight downhill. This is what I envisioned yesterday to be like. We made great time even with stopping for the scenery.

The next 10 miles was along interstate 80. It wasn't as bad as I had imagined cause there was a huge shoulder that kept us away from the traffic. However,  there was a 1 mile section with road construction that had a much smaller shoulder. Keith said he had a truck come dangerously close to him in that section. The other issue with the interstate was all the road debris on the shoulder. I spent the entire 10 mile section staring at the ground dodging tire scraps and glass. I had to move 3 entire exploded tires from the shoulder so I could get by.

The final section had us ride the frontage road past the town of Sinclair. The only significance of the town is that it's the home of Sinclair gas. We road right past the big stinky refinery.

Rawlins was exactly how I recalled it from the CDT. I even ran into another hiker heading into the basin.

Now that I've done the mountain bike route and road bike from Saratoga to Rawlins I much prefer the mountain bike route. Especially the part where I ended up riding jeep track roads thanks to Google. It was annoying cause I wasn't prepared but riding the mountain bike along the jeep track ridge was one of the main reasons I'm doing this trip. The other part was when i was riding across the basin with the wild mustangs pacing me. I'm extremely excited about tomorrow's ride across the basin.

Wyoming

Its all down hill from today. Just a small hill or two. Thats what I told the guys this morning. While it isn't wrong it certainly didn't feel like that cause of the wind in the afternoon the first half of the day was a fantastic ride along the North Sand Hills Park. Beautiful mountains, plains, and gentle downhill grade all morning. There was a small hill of about 200 ft that the guys gave me grief about and a 400 ft climb over a pass but that was it. The rest was a nice gentle downhill or flat the entire day. 

We made it to the border and Wyoming greeted us with a horizon of dark clouds and thunder. We played dodge the rainstorm before pushing uphill over the pass into a 10 mph headwind. Going uphill into a wind sucks. Seriously sucks. Going downhill into a wind isn't much better. Our nice 6% grade downhill on the other side of the pass only had me going 20 mph instead of the usual 35.

We eventually reached the town of encampment which is where I had switched from bicycling back to hiking on the CDT. This time there was a woodcutting festival and rodeo going on. We had made it for the tail end of the woodcutting events but the rodeo had just started. The local talent tried hard but I think the entire time I was at the rodeo there was only two successful events both by semi-pro contestants. 

We left the rodeo before it finished cause we didn't want to be on the road when it let out. Unfortunately we failed and were on the road battling crosswinds with no shoulder while drunk assholes in their trucks came flying by without giving us room. We made it to the town of Saratoga which I had stayed at on the CDT and has a fantastic public hot springs available. We stayed at a wonderful warm showers host which put us up for the night and got us all cleaned up. 

Where am I?

Turns out its not all downhill after all. I still have this thing call the Continental Divide to climb over like 8 more times. That's alright. The reason I chose the Transam is because it follows the Divide for as long as it does. It's giving me a chance to reminisce and visit the best hiking trip I've done so far. This morning was a long trek up the divide to willow creek pass. Even though we had to climb like 2000 ft the first 1200 ft or so was over 20 miles on a quiet back country highway. The scenery was fantastic the road was in good condition for Colorado and the traffic was basically non existent. 

The only problem was I couldn't figure out where I was on the divide. Unlike Hoosier pass I know I had hiked over this one. For the entire 8 miles of climbing up to the pass I kept looking at it trying to figure out when I had gone over it. Nothing looked familiar. It wasn't until I got within a mile of the pass that I finally figured out where I was. This was the pass with a hut on the mountain and 3 routes down it. I had gone down the Ley alternate which had me walk a steep ridge down to a road, the CDT went along a knifes edge ridge down to the pass, and the new CDT had you go north along another ridge before dropping down to the pass. I couldn't recognize it from the direction I was heading since the mountain blocked everything behind, including the hut, and the snow made the ridge and road I walked down unrecognizable. 

When we set out we thought the hard part of the day was going to be getting over the pass cause after that it was all downhill. Well it was all downhill a very slow gentle downhill. However the wind, oh man the wind, that was not downhill. That was a constant 20 mph crosswind with 35+ gusts. The wind seriously kicked our asses. Keith kept getting blown over. Whenever a truck would pass us the brief break we'd get from the wind by being in its slipstream would almost knock us over since we were leaning over so much. The traffic wasn't bad and we setup a draft train which basically took over our entire lane since we weren't drafting behind the leader but were on their shoulder. We had to give a couple feet of space since the gusts caused us to shift back and forth so much. That downhill section was exhausting. We were all wiped out by the time we hit town.

The only good thing about the wind is kept the mosquitos away. We had heard that this section and the town we were heading to had some horrible mosquitos. I don't know about the road section since any mosquitos had to have been blown to Nebraska but when we stopped at town and a store on the way we were swarmed. 

Its all downhill from here

So we got an "early" start by riding at 6:30. I was ok with that time cause it was cold out. The ride started out great we had a new section of road with a nice wide shoulder and it was downhill the entire day. We made fantastic time and had covered 40 miles by 10:30. The Transam had us take a 5 mile detour around a lake since the road we were following had fairly heavy traffic and the shoulder poofed. It was a great detour with nice views and a great spot for a picnic. Unfortunately we only had snacks since the store we had planned on getting lunch for was closed for renovations. 

We cruised another 20 miles to the next town and grabbed a late lunch there. Coming out of the town was another 5 miles of shitty hell with no shoulders and asshole drivers. Thankfully this time it was only light traffic and then we had a shoulder again but I wasn't pleased and Jim had a close encounter with an idiot similar to mine close to Hoosier. 

After another 10 miles or so we entered a really cool canyon. I instantly recognized it from the cross country train trip I did in 2002. Of course there was no shoulder but the traffic didn't bother us since they seemed happy to take the time to admire the scenery and we kept pulling over to take pictures. When we came out of the canyon we were at our destination of Hot Sulfur Springs. A cute tourist town with free camping next to the river and hot springs which we could soak in for a fee. Nobody ended up soaking cause there was only 2 hours left and it was seriously hot out.

Breckenridge to Silverthorne

After finishing the hike up mount Baldy I went and grabbed my bike from the hostel and rode down to Silverthorne where Jim's friend's condo was. While I woulda enjoyed a third night at the Fireside Inn Jim and Keith wanted to get up and going early in the morning since we had a long ride tomorrow with hot springs available at the end. 

The ride from Breckeridge to Silverthorne was one of the top 3 of the trip so far. The entire section was slightly downhill, with a tailwind, along a bike path next to either a river or a lake. It was peaceful easy riding. I stopped off in Frisco to buy one of those goofy cyclist hats since I had apparently gotten sunburn on my head since I got my haircut in pueblo. I think it was from the hiking not the cycling but either way I got one of those stupid hats. 

When I got to Silverthorne I grabbed dinner with MeHap who had hiked the CDT with me and drove up from Denver. It was a great time but remanising made both of us want to get out and hike. MeHap was even talking about quitting his job and coming out to join me... Unfortunatly there is still way to much snow on the PCT to start so I gotta keep riding. If the rest of the trip is like today I think I'll enjoy it if its like Hoosier pass I'm quitting.

Breckenridge zero

So I have a rule for all my trips, never quit on a bad day. Yesterday was a bad day. Today after spending a night in what I considered the best run hostel on the entire CDT, The Fireside Inn in Breckenridge, I needed a day off. Keith, Jim and Bobby rode on to stay at a house of another one of Jim's friends while I stayed in the hostel. I had always planned to take a day or two off here. There was a section of the CDT that I took a shortcut passed by walking the bike path. I wanted to hike that section cause the rest of this part of the CDT was gorgeous and I had heard good things about it. However, that didn't work out. That section of the trail was still snowbound and the portions that weren't had overflowing creeks.

So instead of hiking along the CDT I went up to Breckenridge resort to hike around up there. There is a gondola that takes you from the center of town up to the resort and after riding it up I swore off gondolas forever. It was a windy day and the gondola kept stopping with my rocking and swaying all over the place due to the wind and start/stop motions. Unfortunately the trail I had planned on taking back down the hill was closed so after hiking around for an hour or two to let my stomach settle I got back on the gondola and went back to town.

I ended up taking a second zero and for the first half of the day Keith and Jim called up and suggested we do a nice little 5 mile round trip hike up a forest service road. The hike was really nice there were streams, waterfalls and at the end there was an abandoned mine. When we were exploring the mine a couple of state park employees mentioned there were a few more a couple miles up the mountain. We decided to go check them out since Keith was collecting rocks for his sister.

After getting up to the mines we took a break and admired the views and played a game of throwing rocks to see who had the best aim, I lost. Keith wanted to go up to treeline which we all agreed to but I said I didn't want to go any higher than that since I hadn't brought a jacket and knew it was windy I'd get cold if we went above that.

Of course we didn't stop there and went up to the false summit. It was another great set of views and even though it was cold once we crested the ridge we were able to hide out from the wind and take a nap in the grass.

High points and low points

We got up to frost covering our tents. Our plan was for everyone to ride out together to go over the pass. While the climb wasn't that bad the traffic was supposed to be the worst of the trip

Dillon to wisdom

I caught up with the others at a gas station where they were having breakfast. Today has us going over two passes then down into the big hole valley. I heard from the guys in front that these passes were more difficult than yesterday's, just cause combined they were longer. After the passes was supposed to be one of the worst mosquito stretches yet.

Turns out both were true. The first pass was short and not to steep but the second one hurt. I think just the cumulative effect of 5000 ft or so just wore me out. The mosquitos didn't bother us while riding but when we stopped in town they were everywhere. Luckily wisdom had setup a nice shelter provided by the American legion with mosquito netting. That gave us a place besides the bar to hang out and eat. Which was desperately needed cause they had freshly baked pie in the bar and I was going to go broke if I lingered there too long.

Storm dodging

Back to the ride again! One of the main reasons I was taking time off in Ennis is the big pass once you leave it. So I wanted to have the cold beat and coughing under control before starting. Mission accomplished. There was still a little coughing but a cough drop quickly got it under control.

When I was about a mile from the top I stopped at a scenic point. When looking uphill to the pass I saw this bright yellow thing on the road. Since it wasn't moving I decided it was a road sign of some sort. Nope it was the britts and flag wearing Americans. One of the Americans had a tire blow and was replacing it. Luckily someone in the group had a spare or he would have had to hitch to Dillon to get a new one.

We cruised over the pass and down to a little town where we got inside right as it started to rain. The others had breakfast while I just lurked before going to the next town 5 miles away that had a bakery for breakfast. Once again I got inside right as it started to rain. Instead of going for the lemon bars they were known for I tried out their newest concoction which was a lemon bar combined with a strudel. The pastry to filling ratio was off and slightly over cooked but for a first attempt at a new dish I had to give it a thumbs up.

Next up we cruised 10 miles or so into a headwind into the town of three rivers/forks/something where we did a 160 degree turn and headed back up the far end of the valley to the town of Dillon. This time we had a tailwind and we were cruising. The others went to stealth camp in a graveyard while I decided to get another motel room since I'm still recovering. Glad I did cause they had mouse issues with one of their tents getting a hole in it.

Ennis zero

Ennis is a cute little tourist town seemingly entirely devoted to fly fishing and selling ranches to billionaires. Other than one bar and maybe a real estate agency nothing was open after 7pm.

After spending the night in town I was still coughing so I decided to take a zero. Then I took a second one and visited the local doctor. He said it was just a normal cold going around with a lingering cough for up to 3 weeks. He gave me a steroid allergy shot and sent me on my way. While hanging out Jim and Keith caught up and we spent the day hanging out. But they rode on while I was taking the second zero. I should catch up to them since Jim is going to spend the 4th in Missoula with his girlfriend. I wouldn't see Keith again in this trip : (.

Earthquakes and tailwinds

I got up feeling much better. Only coughing a little and no sore throat. So instead of taking a zero in the campground with its huge temperature swings I decided to ride on.

It was chilly again, so much so that I stopped at a fishing resort to warm up with some coffee and a giant pancake breakfast. Next up was a tour around earthquake lake. Back in the 50s there was an earthquake and landslide here that ended up damming the river causing flooding and a few deaths. The landslide is really impressive. A giant chunk of the mountain just came off and slid down into the valley below. It's still damming the river but is getting eroded slowly. The lake it created still has dead trees sticking up out of it. The best part of it for me is they were repaving the road around the entire lake so I had 10 miles of brand new road all to myself except for when the cars from one side or the other would pass by.

After leaving the lake I had 50 miles of a downhill grade following the Madison river to the town of Ennis. This might be the easiest ride yet. The entire way had a good shoulder, well not counting the 10 miles or so that they put rumble strips in the shoulder, and there was a nice strong tailwind. I wasn't pedalling hard, I know cause I wasn't triggering any coughing, and was averaging over 17mph. When I finished the day my average was at 14.6 which includes my slow roll around earthquake lake.

Yellowstone zero

I was still feeling badly but no longer hada sore throat just a buncha coughing. So rather than aggravating the cough by riding the bike 75 miles we decided to go visit the part of Yellowstone we missed.

The main attraction of the day was Yellowstone falls. This was fantastic. The Yellowstone river was flowing strongly right over these 200+ ft falls and we got all the way right next to where it goes over the cliff. Like 2ft. or less from the edge. On top of that the water was crystal clear so you could see through it as it's going over. I was more impressed by this than old faithful.

We drove around for a bit more seeing different hot springs and waterfalls before heading back to camp and sending my sister home. It was a great visit, unfortunately I later found out that I got my sister sick which I was trying to avoid but I guess was inevitable after spending a day in a car with her.

Tetons to grant

What a chilli morning. I was off early since I had read that the traffic in Yellowstone was lighter if you go in early. Unfortunately Jim and Keith were not coming with me. They wanted to spend a day exploring the tetons, and who can blame them, while I was looking forward to seeing my sister in Yellowstone tomorrow. So for the first time since Kansas I had to ride solo. Leaving those two behind was hard since we had such a great time together but I should see them in Missoula or something so it's not goodbye for good.

Most of the morning was spent with my head cranked too the left so I could stare at the mountains. Every clearing I found had me stopping to take another set of pictures. I need to come back here sometime and see if there is more to those hills than visible from the road.

Since I was now solo I started to get the bearanoia going since I had stories from guys riding the other direction about encountering grizzlys in the parks. So I swung by the Teton lodge to pick up some beer spray and while there I decided the best way to warm up was to eat an all you can eat buffet there.

I was back on the road and eventually left the Tetons behind and crossed into Yellowstone proper. So far the traffic had been average and there was a nice shoulder to ride on so I was beginning to wonder if the reports of bad riding in the parks was outdated info. Supposedly they were working on improving the shoulders to allow safer conditions for cyclists and to encourage more people to ride.

Well they still have a ways to go. Once I got 5 miles in and started climbing up the hill to grant village the shoulder disappeared, the traffic got heavy, and I stopped having fun. I later learned that it was actually a good idea to come into the park in the late afternoon and leave in the morning since you would be going against the traffic rather than with it. The cars were actually very polite and there were no jerks that flew by without giving enough space. I was trying my best to let the cars pass by pulling off the road when I could but there wasn't that many opportunities since the road was along a canyon with a guard rail and a 1000 ft. drop. I was riding well into the center of the road for that section. It wasn't that I was afraid of the cliff I just wasn't confident in my ability to not fall off it on my bike.

While going up I started coughing like crazy and thinking it was my old nemesis cough I tried my usual remedy of slowing down, taking medicine and drinking lots of water. That didn't work. When I made it to grant village I setup camp and did laundry and had a shower for the first time since Silverthorne. This was by far the longest stretch I've had in this trip without one.