06/22/24 After fighting headwinds all day, we finally arrived at Jeffrey City, WY. We stayed in a church there that is no longer a functioning church,though it looks like some kind of worship happens in the sanctuary on the second floor. The basement is dedicated to bicyclists.
06/23/24 This was a tea tough day. I didn’t sleep well. The first bit was nice, but we couldn’t stop because the mosquitoes were ravenous. We both got 20-30 mosquito bites on our buttocks and outer thighs when we stepped for even 5 minutes. So we didn’t stop.
06/23/24 Then we changed direction and the headwinds nearly knocked us over. We stopped at a rest area called Sweetwater Station and should have eaten something there. But we wanted to “beat the headwinds” that were to get worse throughout the day.
06/23/24 Six miles outside of Lander, we finally stopped to eat something. Suddenly Rhe’s vision went all white, and she nearly passed out. Help arrived quickly in the form of a bag of ice over her shoulders and about 6 liters of water and a shower got her back up to snuff.
06/23/24 The upshot was that lots of sleep, keeping hydrated, making sure your water has electrolytes in it to replace what you lose, and eating regularly throughout the day are essential things neither of us did. It got up to 95 that day, but with the wind it was hard to feel the heat.
06/24/24 But the next day both of us felt better. We saw some fun things outside of Lander. - a bicycle mailbox, a train of mythical creatures, and what appeared to be an ent. We want to go back soon to see what we missed in the wind! Barbara gave Rhe a neckscarf to keep her cool.
06/24/24 But once we got to Crowheart on the Wind River Indian Reservation (after negotiating a chip-sealing operation on the highway), the headwinds started and we were fighting to stay on the road. Many of us gave up and rode in the van the last 10 miles. Some soldiered on the entire 73 miles.
06/24/24 That night we stayed in Dubois (pronounced Dew Boys) WY, where they had a bit of a gopher population problem. They didn’t bother us, so long as we didn’t stake out our tent over their holes.
06/25/24 Today we rode out of Dubois, climbed over a pass, and finished in Colter Bay in the Grand Tetons. It was a glorious day but for the headwinds that kept us from truly enjoying the downhills and the ride in the Park.
06/25-26/24 We found Brielle at the first overlook where we could see the Tetons. Magnificent! We rode into the park with Brielle and Stephen. Found our campsite at Colter Bay and settled in for a well-deserved rest day.
06/27/24 Last night we loaded all the bikes on the van. We have picked up a new leader, Bryce, from Adventure Cycling, who is going to drive the van while Brielle and Mark ride with us in groups. This fulfills the permit requirements of Yellowstone Park. We drove to Bridge Bay to start the ride.
06/27/24 We broke into two groups of riders, the hares and the tortoises. Paul and I were head tortoises, so we led the slow group to start with. And, guess what? We had headwinds almost from the start. We rode into Hayden Valley and saw a large herd of bison with lots of babies.
06/27/24 Between the head- and sidewinds blowing us either towards the drop-off on the right or the traffic on the left, and the huge volume of cars with trailers, motor homes, and sightseers not watching the road, the ride felt dangerous. So Paul and I decided to take the van. Others rode on.
06/28/24 On our layover day in West Yellowstone, our leaders took us in the van to several geyser basins and to Old Faithful. This was a much better way to enjoy Yellowstone Park!
06/28/24 Old Faithful went off on schedule. Then Paul, Jon and I had lunch at the Old Faithful Inn. The dining room had some intriguing etched glass windows probably dating from the 20’s. And Jon and Paul remembered a trip there when they were kids.
06/28/24 Then we wandered around West Yellowstone enjoying the sights, food, and beer.
06/29/24 Now we are riding in Montana on our way to Ennis. Past Hebgen and Quake Lakes. We stopped at the Visitors Center there, which was all about that fateful day in August, 1959, when a hillside slid and a new lake was formed and the Madison River was blocked.
06/29/24 Then we rode into the Madison Valley. In the first photo, guess which tree is not like the others? Then a squadron of pelicans performed maneuvers on a thermal rising over a ridge. The river was full of fishermen floating. Then we arrived in Ennis.
06/30/24 There was a coffee hut in the parking lot of our RV park. Stephen, who always stops for coffee, didn’t have to go far today. As we started out of town and over the pass towards Dillon, we saw a herd of antelope and an osprey nest being protected by Mom (flying overhead).
06/30/24 We stopped in Virginia City for a break, then travelled on towards Twin Bridges. Saw a family of Sandhill Cranes cross the road. We were happy to see there might be some attempt to remediate the Ruby River after it was dredged long ago, but concerned about a new mining operation there, too.
06/30/24 Headwinds continue to plague us, and today we also had some thunderstorms blow through while we were riding. Twin Bridges had a lovely park with a little library holding some Dr. Seuss wisdom.
06/30/24 We stayed at a special place built for bikers and walkers in Dillon. Only one toilet for about 20 people, but you have a choice of either an indoor or outdoor shower (both with hot water, but one had a brisk breeze to dry you off. Lots of bicycle art here. And a birthday party 🥳!
06/30/24
