Day 16 – Up and over.

July 3, 2018

Day 16 – Jackson to Dubois, WY – 86 miles, 1,172 feet vertical

So, we all had a fun time in Jackson last night.  The message board called for an early dinner and so we had time to walk around afterwards and take in the kitschy touristy sights.  I don’t know about the kitschy part but we are tourists after all.  The town was packed. 

This morning we had to deal with some unexpected logistics.  Our planned route would have taken us through Teton National Park, but ABB staffers told us there was an issue with the required permit and – yada, yada, yada – it was “access denied”.  (This reminded me of my Montauk ride on Long Island where we always have trouble going through snooty Southampton.) And so, we loaded up the bikes on the vans and were driven through the park in two shifts.  This cut 30 miles off our route (the 30 flat miles, I hasten to add) and put us on rolling terrain leading up to a long (about 18 mile) climb up to the Continental Divide at 9,658 feet elevation. 

Above 9,000 feet, I started to feel it: slightly faint, light-headed and out of breath. I slowed down and took it very slowly the rest of the way.  Where’s my Sherpa when I need one?  About a mile from the summit, the headwinds picked up and became rather fierce. And it started to rain – it had taken 16 days for us to get wet. 

So, as everyone may already know, the Continental Divide marks the separation of the Atlantic and Pacific watersheds.  All water falling to the west of the divide will eventually flow to the Pacific Ocean and on the other side, to the Atlantic. On the grueling climb, I had toyed with the idea of relieving myself at the top on the precise line of division and thinking how, in a few million years, my carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen atoms would be dissipated between two oceans.  “After all,” Carl Sagan would have reminded me, “we are all made up of star stuff.”

Karen and Judy were manning the SAG stop at the top and after refueling, rehydrating and taking the requisite photos, we all started down.  Almost immediately, the weather turned ugly.  Dark clouds, penetrating rain and worst of all, angry headwinds and crosswinds that buffeted us all the way down.  My fingers were numb, my legs were cold and it was absolutely no fun.  I couldn’t decide between slowing down (and lessening the impact of the rain pellets) or going as fast as possible to get it over with.  I opted for the latter. 

About seven miles down, there was a mountain lodge where a number of riders had already congregated.  Michael, Arlene and I went in for coffee and to warm up while the storm passed.  

While I have tried to keep these posts non-political, I must say I was shaken by one of the items on the shelf.  “Did you see this?” Michael asked.  It was a set of three miniature heads, likenesses of three real people: (former) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, (former) Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and in the middle, (former) President Barack Obama.  

They were Christmas ornaments.  To be precise: “Hang Em’s” Christmas Ornaments.  

With rope.  

My jaw dropped.  I was speechless.  

Back to our ride, Rob kept checking the radar and we hung out until it cleared and then boogied down the remaining 18 miles to our hotel. We got in just as the skies opened again.  After I got out of the hot tub, we all spent an hour cleaning our filthy bikes to get ready for tomorrow. 

Please enjoy the photos and don’t forget to check “Where’s Jeff” to track our progress.  Thank you!