Butte-iful

Day 24: 75 miles - Last night we were trying to avoid paying for a campsite while still being close to shelter from the iffy weather. We hung around downtown Debois for a while and eventually ran into a guy named Josh who offered us the front yard of his dentist office. It worked out perfectly since it was less than a block from the public restrooms where we hung out for the rain and cooked some dinner. We waited to put up the tent until some of the rain had passed, so we ended up having a nice dry night on his patch of grass.

This morning we got up and got rolling to Lander with a very nice tailwind. Combined with the gradual descent, we averaged 24.5 mph for the first 40 miles. After that, the wind shifted a little on us and the terrain became a little slower as well. Even with that, we still set an average record for the day at 20.5 mph and had covered 60 miles before 12:00 noon.
As we descended out of Dubois, we rode through some really beautiful red-rock canyons. The colors and shapes in the canyon walls were pretty captivating for the first bit of the ride. After that, we got out of the canyon and rode through some high desert pasture. At one point, we saw a lone horse in the field next to the road, so we called and whistled for it and got it to run along side us for probably close to a quarter of a mile. Just a few minutes later, there were two Pronghorn Antelope running along with us before eventually turning up the hill.

After getting into Lander, I called up some of my parents friends who invited us up to their house just out of town. Before dinner, we took a ride up to Sinks Canyon, where a river flows into this cave and then reappears about half a mile down the mountain. It was pretty interesting to see the river bubbling up out of the side of the hill. Also while we were there, a Big Horn Sheep made its way right up to the visitor center. Afterwards, we returned for an incredible dinner of antelope burgers, home grown asparagus, and homemade apple sauce. The best meal we've had on the trip by far.

Tomorrow we're going to try to get out of here early and make a long haul to Rawlins, WY. Hopefully the wind and weather will be with us, making the 124 miles doable. If not, we'll probably end up in Jeffery City for the night.

P.S. Apparently here you say, "ride with the wind" not "ride like the wind".

Togwotee Pass

Day 23: 66 miles - Today we rolled out of Colter Bay and got a few last glimpses of the Tetons across the lake before heading up hill. Looking at the maps, I knew there was going to be a lot of climbing today - almost 3000 feet gain over 20-25 miles. As we started up, the grade was pretty moderate, allowing for a smooth, steady cadence. The first 10 miles of the climb passed pretty quickly and we stopped at the Togwotee Mountain Lodge to inhale a powerbar and take a breather. I didn't realize that we had already dealt with most of the elevation gain. From there, it was only slightly uphill for the next 5 miles and then a short 4 mile spike to the summit. After we crested the pass, Andy and I both commented on how much smoother it went than expected. The second highest elevation of the trip out of the way - no big deal.
On the climb, once we had gained a little elevation, we got a great view from behind of the Tetons and Jackson lake. Further up, we lost the view of Tetons behind us, but got to scope out the two peaks on either side of the pass. Also, we spotted a red fox part way up the climb. I think I was quick enough on the draw to get a picture, but I'll have to see later when I get them on a computer.
From the top, it was pretty much all down hill with a tailwind to Debois, WY. I don't think we really dropped below 25 mph for the 30 miles into Debois. Overall, the day was really pleasant and flew by much more quickly than I had anticipated.
Tomorrow we have a pretty gradual day to get to Lander, WY. Let just hope we don't have too much wind to fight. Wyoming is known as the windiest section of this trip.

Tetons

Day 22: 42 miles - Descending out of Yellowstone this morning, I saw probably the most snow all trip. In most places in the park, there was spotty snow but here, there was at least a 4 foot wall on each side of the road. We also rode by Lewis Lake which was still completely frozen over. It's weird to see both of these things when it's 65 degrees out wearing shorts and a jersey. After a ways further, we entered Tetons National Park and came up on Jackson Lake with our first view of the Tetons. The view of the mountains over the lake is probably my favorite thing so far. Being able to experience something that rugged is awe inspiring.


Tonight we're camping at Colter Bay just on the other side of the lake from the mountains. Tomorrow we'll be heading to Dubois, WY and hitting the second highest elevation for the entire trip over Togwotee Pass at around 9700 feet.

Yellowstone Lake

Day 21: 42 miles - Today we continued on our alternate route through the park at our super east rest day pace. We rolled out of Canyon Villiage early this morning and realized that we had missed a trail yesterday that led down into the canyon to the top of the falls. We figured we had all day so we took a hike, and it turned out to be really cool to see the canyon and falls from a lower vantage point. From there, we pedaled up the Yellowstone River to Yellowstone Lake. The view of the lake with the mountains was one of the most amazing views so far. Beyond that, we stopped at the West Thumb Geyser Basin where we saw more subthermal activity. At this location, there were actually geysers in the lake. Also, the geysers and springs here seemed much clearer and with a bunch of different tints and colors. We finished up the day in Grant Village in a campground that hasn't opened for the season yet.
At the campground, we ran into Nick again as well as another group of a guy and two girls from Wisconsin riding from Denver to Canada. Matt, Liz and Lacey were heading out tomorrow on the same route we took today to Canyon Village. Nick is actually going to bust out the last 80 miles to Jackson tomorrow to finish out his tour. Congrats on the completion.
Tomorrow we're heading out of Yellowstone and into Grand Tetons National Park to Colter Bay.

Yellowstone

Day 20: 41 miles - We had planned to take our time through Yellowstone to give the legs a little rest and so we'd get to see everything we wanted to. Our maps gave us a route through the park but didn't really give much on great places to stop. So for that, we stopped at the West Yellowstone bike shop Free Heel and Wheel for some advice on the way out of town. They convinced us that taking a route through Canyon Village and Yellowstone Lake would be more worthwhile than the route by Old Faithful that the TransAm map provided. So we headed into the park following the Madison and then the Gibbon rivers to Norris Geysers. Along the way we saw some great rivers along with some Bison and Elk. We stopped at Norris and took a little hike to check out all of the geysers. It's amazing that all that heat from so far down can be transferred to the surface. From there, we rolled on to Canyon Villiage. Once there, we took a hike down along the canyon to check out the falls. I really didn't know what to expect coming into it, but it was really amazing. The falls was over 300 feet tall and the canyon walls were over 1000 feet tall in some places. It was awesome to see the Yellowstone River flowing for miles through this deep canyon.


It turned out that the campground at Canyon Village was not open for the season so we rode around the village looking for a place to pitch a tent. We went down behind the lodge towards the area with the cabins thinking we might find some utilities. The cabins hadn't been opened for the season either, but they had been opened up to air out before guests arrived. So as we rode by, several of the cabin doors were wide open. We waited for it to get dark and then quietly pulled all of our stuff inside. Long story short, we got a free bed in a heated cabin courtesy of Yellowstone National Park. What a treat.

We also met a guy who started in New Hampshire in early April and is riding to Jackson, WY. He had planned to move there to work in a resort town and figured he'd just ride his bike there. He's only about 140 miles away, so he should be finishing up his 3000+ mile ride here in a few days.
Tomorrow we're planning on taking another short day, heading south to check out Yellowstone Lake.

Wind

Day 19: 72 miles - I started out this morning excited about the days ride partly because it would get us to the edge of Yellowstone and partly because I had a semi functional rear wheel. The profile showed a gradual gain of about 2000 feet over the first 55 miles so I figured it'd be a pretty fast day. We pulled out from our campsite on the Madison River and immediately had the wind in our face...and it stayed that way all day. After a slow, 4+ hour slog, we finally got to West Yellowstone, Montana.
Once here, my primary goal was to do something about my wheel. We rolled up to one of the bike shops and the owner agreed to help me. We left to unload and pitch the tent, then I went back to get to work. When I got back, the shop owner offered to let me use his tools and truing stand in the shop. So in a little less than an hour, I got the drive side of my wheel rebuilt with new spokes for only $18. It was super generous for him to give me free reign of the shop and a big relief to have a reliable wheel.
On the whole, I was a little disapointed with West Yellowstone. I knew it was a destination town, but I expected a little more character. There a lots of little retail shops but the feel honestly reminded me a little of Gatlinburg, TN.
Tomorrow we'll be heading into the park and into Wyoming. I'm not sure where we'll end up yet, but I'm excited about seeing the park and doing some exploring off the bike.

Taking chances...

Day 18: 72 miles - I got up this morning not knowing if we were going to ride today or not. I spent all morning calling everyone I knew asking for advice concerning this wheel dilema. The general advice was either "you're screwed in Dillon if you need bike work" or "you're only real option is try to get to west yellowstone". As a last ditch effort, we rode by the local bike repair shop that I had been trying to call all morning to find out that it was closed for memorial day. With no other decent options, we decided we'd head out and I'd be as gentle on the wheel as I could. I knew the big challenge for not doing further damage would be the 2000 foot climb about 55 miles in. We slogged through the first bit, fighting a headwind most of the way before coming up on the climb. I took it really easy up the climb, spinning as smoothly as possible, and topped out without any more spoke casualties. From there we had a nice panoramic 10 mile descent into Ennis. Coming down, we saw a bunch of pronghorned antelope and some whitetail deer, but I was too slow on the draw to get any pictures.
While we were getting settled, a group of three cyclists rolled into the area where we were camping. They had started in south Texas and were heading for Alaska. I started telling one of the guys about my wheel problem, and it turned out he had a cassette tool and a few spokes that were exactly the right length that he offered. So with his huge help, I got my two broken spokes replaced and should be able to make it West Yellowstone without any trouble.
So tomorrow, 71 miles to West Yellowstone and the end of Montana.