Day 15 Idaho Falls-Teton Pass-Jackson

Miles:  90.69              Terrain: Hills, mountains, higher mountains
Depart:   6:06 AM      Arrive:  4:29 PM
Riding time: 8:06:10
Average Riding Speed: 11.2

            Today’s Garmin Download and Map (for cycling data junkies!) 

Today's Ride

July 4^th, Independence Day, was the most difficult day of the tour.  A 91-mile stage with a crossing of Teton Pass at mile 78. The last 3 miles of that climb were at a grade of 10-12%!  I got back on the bike today after sitting out yesterday with bronchitis.  During the first 40 miles I wasn’t too sure that I would make it through the whole ride.  But when I began up the first hill on the way up to the Grand Tetons at mile 50, I seemed to get some ener  Eventually I passed several member of our group.  I was shocked!  And happy.  Even though I still didn’t feel great.

The scenery going up through the mountains was fantastic, but I took precious few pictures.  Today we also entered our third state, passing from Idaho into Wyoming as we began the six mile climb to the pass.  With today’s mileage I have also passed 1,000 miles for this tour despite losing 60 miles yesterday due to illness.

At the top of Teton Pass the winds were blowing pretty strongly, and were tailwinds down the 10% grade on the other side.  Complicating the descent were occasional crosswinds.  It was a very scary descent because if you just let the bike roll it very quickly got up into the 40-50 mph range.  Not so good with some curves that are 25 mph!  I kept feathering the brakes to keep things under control and stopping every two or three miles.  When I stopped the rims were hot because of the breaking.  So each time I stood around for about five minutes letting the rims cool off before the next stage of the descent.  The last thing I wanted was an overheated rim to blow a tire!

The climb was so steep that from the Idaho-Wyoming State Line to the top, 6.1 miles, it took 1 hour and 15 minutes.  That’s a blistering average of 4.8 mph!  At times it was tough to stay upright I was going so slow and the winds were so strong.

Just before our second sag stop which was well before Teton Pass, somebody was on the adjacent trail to the road with two horses.  One got away and blocked traffic.  Finally it was corralled and things had just returned to normal when I got there. I continues to the sag stop, and while there the horse wandered into the sag stop, having gotten away again.  It headed right toward about half a dozen bikes lying there.  That’s when Fred from Canada came to the rescue.  Mr. Ed talked to people (actually just Wilbur, his owner).  But in this case Fred talked to the horse. And the horse listened.  Fred took him by the reins, led him away from the bikes, onto the trail and calmed him down.  Finally the owner showed up, and took the horse.  Since Fred did such a good job communicating with the horse, and in reference to Mr. Ed, he is now known as Mr.Fred!

Tomorrow is more climbing, across the continental divide.  Less climbing than today, and not nearly as steep of a climb.  So we are moving from the area where rivers flow to the Pacific, to where they flow to the Mississippi and eventually the Gulf of Mexico.

I hope that I continue to feel a bit better and can ride again tomorrow.  I’m tired right now.  Good night!