Category: Bike Ride of a Lifetime (C)

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! 

July 2, 2018

Day 15 – Idaho Falls, ID to Jackson, WY – 91 miles, 6,450 feet vertical

The favorable winds continued to blow and the sun continued to shine on us as we left Idaho Falls at sunrise today.  Good thing too, because we were in for a brutal climbing day with two mountain passes.  As always, the morning scenery was breathtaking and the setting moon was bright in the western sky.  Randy must have read my post yesterday because I think I shamed him into riding at the back.  It wouldn’t last long.  

There were two milestones of note today.  First, very early on, our cumulative mileage passed the 1,000 mile mark.  Frankly, this is still hard to fathom.  [I haven’t been tracking the cumulative miles here, because they are noted on each pin on the Where’s Jeff map.] 

And, we crossed into Wyoming, our third state on the journey.  

Today, we continued to see breathtaking scenery, pine tree covered forests and the inexorably flowing current of the Snake River.  But the road eventually turned up and we climbed to the summit of Pine Creek Pass at 6,784 feet of elevation.  After a thrilling downhill, we then climbed up and over Teton Pass at 8,731 feet.  This one was brutal with a sustained gradient of 10% for over two-and-a-half miles.  I had to stop several times to give the legs a break and I had to do mini u-turns in order to clip back in to my pedals to continue climbing.

The downhill was exciting, but a bit terrifying and I think even steeper.  I had to stop several times to let my brakes and carbon wheels cool off.  Riding or even just feathering brakes for miles at a time builds up a tremendous amount of heat.  At one point, I wondered what would happen if I just rode into the runaway truck ramp! 

We’re overnight in Jackson, WY at the foot of the Snow King ski area and a short ride from Jackson Hole.  The town is very quaint, but a bit touristy and commercial. 

I took about 150 pictures today, trying to capture the sheer beauty of the terrain.  Even after culling out the obvious clunkers and dupes, I still have about 100.  I will try to cut even that down to the best 25 or so.  

Sometimes, less is more.  I hope this one of those times.  

 

 

 

July 1, 2018

Day 14 – Pocatello to Idaho Falls, ID – 67 miles, 740 feet vertical

“Hey, look at that,” I said at our first and only SAG stop. “Peanut butter filled pretzel nuggets! I love these things,” and grabbed a giant handful.  “How come I haven’t seen these before, Karen?”

“Oh, you know, we like to surprise you with something special on a One-Day SAG.”  

Of course, she meant a One-SAG Day, but my mouth was too full of peanut butter pretzels to say anything.  [There’s only one rest stop on a short ride like today. And, … technically, a One-Day SAG is called a Rest Day!]

It was a flat easy day today and so the Staff called for a 7:45 ABC check (mini-lesson on how to check your bike’s key components) and 8:00 load and go time.  Pam warned us that the rooms in Idaho Falls would not be  ready until after 2pm, so plan accordingly.  Our plan was to have a second breakfast and roll out after 9:00. 

Once again, we had our now-standard tussle over exactly what constitutes “holding it back” in the paceline and I suddenly realized why I have so many morning pictures of the Randy’s back.   After lassoing him back a couple two, three or four times, we settled in around 20-21 mph.  We looked at today as a recovery day in anticipation of several tough days ahead.  “I don’t want to have to work,” said Tami, a plaintive cry that belies her ability to smoke almost anybody up the hills. 

We were missing two cylinders on the engine this morning.  Garry (from Australia) decided to ride ahead with his friend John (from Australia), since John is leaving soon.  John composed a song for us on Day 1 and has been adding verses every day. His simple infectious tune has become an earworm and he is leaving early because his life is now in danger from those who can’t get the tune out of their heads.  And Gina decided to head out without breakfast number two. 

We said goodbye tonight to Rich, who is dropping out here at Idaho Falls after riding ONLY 1,000 miles.  We celebrated his departure last night as well as Tami buying Jaegermeister shots in honor of her team – the Jagerdogs – doing its annual MS Ride. 

It was another day with favorable tailwinds and that led Randy to muse that we’ve been blown all through Idaho.  I told him to stop talking like that lest the winds change.  We spent most of the day zig-zagging east and north past miles and miles of potato fields, stretching as far as the eye could see. 

Somewhere around 50 miles or so, we passed a newborn foal lying in the field under its mother, looking fresh out of the oven.  What an amazing sight.  At that point, we realized it was time to finally slow down to sub-light and stop and smell the Idaho potatoes.  

Tomorrow is going to be a bruising day with two mountain passes, including the summit of Teton Pass at 8,431 feet and followed by a long, steep technical descent.  

So, … it’s time to visit the sandman. 

Check out these photos from today’s ride and don’t forget to check Where’s Jeff at jeffblye.com

 

June 30, 2018

Day 13 – Twin Falls to Pocatello, ID – 86 miles, 2,550 feet vertical

The alarm went off at 4:30 this morning and it was a five snooze button day – plus the backup alarm on the iPad.  After yesterday’s leisurely, almost brunch-like morning, it was back to work today with a 5:30 breakfast and 6:30 load and go for our 86-mile jaunt over to Pocatello. 

I always say, “It’s impossible to be a grouch when you watch the sun come up every morning.”  We may have missed yesterday’s sunrise, but we made up for it today.    The morning sun was positively brilliant and blazed low in the sky as we set out on our eastward journey.  This made for some amazing shadows and photos on an otherwise chilly morning.  

The only obstacles were the massive irrigation systems, watering the acres and acres of potatoes and other crops.  Several of them overflowed onto the street and showered us.  This actually worked for me since I had no water in the room this morning.  (Without a morning shower, I had to do what the French do.) 

The main feature this morning was about a thirty mile stretch of pure open range terrain.  It made us think of covered wagons and wild west frontier.  It was desolate and spectacular.  And it seemed to just go on forever.  

Not much else to add.  Just the usual stunning vistas, amazing rock formations, miles of freight trains, and lots of smiles and laughs. 

Please check out the photos of the day and don’t forget to click on Where’s Jeff at jeffblye.com.

 

 

June 29, 2018

Day 12 – Twin Falls to Burley, ID – 38 miles 1,385 feet vertical

Yes, you read that right – 38 miles.  An unexpected gift.  Last night at Rap, ABB staffer Karen actually said that when she handed out the cue sheet for the short ride. “It hardly pays to put on your shorts.”  Dave from Michigan, who had a great day after his tire punctures yesterday, commented that at this rate it would take us six months to get across the country. 

Today was also the day for the official Across America North Scavenger Hunt, and we had formed teams of various sizes.  I was inducted with my hammer train colleagues on a team Tami dubbed the “Jäeger Taters”.  I was really flattered at how much they wanted me on the team.  

At the beginning of my journey, I decided I would collect hotel keys from every hotel along the way, including the extra days I spent in Portland and Astoria.  I thought this could be pretty cool and everybody likes to collect something notable.  Tami is taking a picture of the view from every one of her hotel rooms. Gina collects stamps from every National Park she visits.  And so on.  But somehow, people had been making fun of my choice.  “That’s really weird.” ”You’re a nerd.” “Won’t that get heavy?”

But at 9:00 this morning, when the scavenger hunt sheets were handed out, I suddenly had a lot of new best friends.  And there it was – Item 4.  Room key from the Marriott in Boise (four days ago).  “Hey, Jeff, good buddy, can I buy you a beer?”  “Here, let me help you with your bags.” “Say, Jeff, can I see that room key collection you were talking about? It sounds so cool.”  It seems I am blessed with many friends.  (Actually, that’s true even without the room key.)

With the same strong westerly wind from yesterday (“westerly” meaning “from the west”), we had a welcome push as we headed out.  Because it was such a short day, there was only one “load and go” at 9am, allowing for a very leisurely morning.  Two blocks from the start, we met Jon Dobbs, who had also just set out. He was all smiles as he called out, “Good morning, Mr. Blye. This is the earliest you’ve passed me yet!!”  (Jon’s been clocking the train going by him each day, usually at the 20-25 mile mark.  If nothing else, he has a grand sense of the absurd. )

The 38-mile day let us do some optional sight seeing to two sets of waterfalls: Shoshone Falls and Twin Falls.  (Oddly, Twin Falls is a single waterfall – don’t ask.) The two waterfalls were off the route, with each one adding about four miles to the day.  “Oh, what the hell,” we all agreed.  We descended a few hundred feet for each gorge, passing through stunning rock formations.  After a lot of oohs and aahs and a lot of pictures, we eventually got back on track.  

The paceline was fast today –  no sense in saving yourself –  so we steamed along at 25-26 mph, 30+ mph on the downhills, and with my Garmin flashing “error” much of the time.  We were smoking.

We staged a human pyramid for the team photo, with everyone on hands and knees. I was on the bottom.  Hmmm.  It actually felt really good and I won’t need a massage later.  Extra points are awarded for creativity.  Looking forward to a lot of fun and laughs at the Scavenger Hunt finals tonight.  Results may be posted later.  Or not.  (But do check out the photo from the Fab Five.)

The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh. Tomorrow he giveth an 87-mile day.  Breakfast is at 5:30am.

Say goodnight, Gracie.

Check out the fun photos below and don’t forget to click on “Where’s Jeff” at jeffblye.com to see where we are.