TA 2 - September 14

Yesterday was a rest day, or "free" day, in Lander. Of course, the irony of that terminology is that our free days are generally the only days that we have to spend money to feed ourselves.  I'm fighting a chest cold, so I pretty much tried to avoid people and take it easy all day. I wandered through town, had a nap and visited the local museum. I thought the museum was excellent - both an indoor section detailing Indigenous and European history of the area and an outdoor pioneer village. There is obviously a pride of community around here.

Back on the bikes again this morning. We really are in the middle of nowhere. Our destination is Jeffrey City, population 58 as of the last census. There is no hotel left in the ghost town so we needed to be shuttled back to Lander at the end of the day. Rather than endure the shuttle ride some folks chose to simply ride a loop closer to town and some folks chose to turn around halfway and ride back to Lander. About half of us rode the prescribed route.  And it really was an enjoyable ride. Lots of emptiness, quiet roads and inviting pavement stretched out before us.  One big climb from about mile 27 to mile 34. We had a bit of mild headwind early in the day, some moderate crosswind mid-day and a strong tailwind to finish it off. It's hard to take meaningful photos of such a vast landscape, but here's a sampling.

At 40 miles we crossed the Sweetwater River and the historical Mormon Trail Handcart Site. Unfortunately it looked like the Visitor  Center was closed.  Apparently this area offered one of the easiest routes to points west, so many of the historic trails came through here.

Looks like wind is a common issue around here. Miles and miles of snow fences.

And finally into Jeffrey City, the biggest bust of them all.......

Great day!

Stats for the day:
Lander WY to Jeffrey City WY
59 miles. 95 km.
2725 feet up. 1807 feet down.
Temps: 10C to 29C. Bright and sunny all day. Lots of tailwinds!

TA 2 - September 12

What a difference a day makes!  We had pretty much ideal riding conditions all day today. Beautiful scenery, light traffic, and tailwinds much of the day. I could have done with a few less cracks in the shoulder but at least they were perpendicular  to our direction of travel  .

I took a quick walk around Dubois before breakfast this morning. The Wind River is still full of red mud after yesterday’s storm. 

There are a couple of nice bronze statues in the park downtown, as well as (another) antler arch.

For quite a while we rode along with rolling hills and snow-capped peaks on our right and what looked like canyon walls to our left. The morning light was exquisite.

And then - in the middle of nowhere - we came upon the National Museum of Military Vehicles. Who knew?  It looked to be a work in progress.

At 43 miles we left Highway 26 behind and continued on US 287. The sweeping vistas were amazing and the gently undulating road ahead promised a continuing great ride.

Finally - we arrived in Lander; home for an unprecedented 3 nights!  A cute little town which we will have time to explore tomorrow.

A fabulous day!

Stats for the day:
Dubois WY to Lander WY
75 miles. 122 km
1990 feet up. 3524 feet down.
A net downhill day and lots of tailwinds gave me an average speed of 27 kmph, without pushing hard and maxing out on gears on the rental bike more than once.
Temps:  10C to 23C. Perfect weather all day.

TA 2 - September 11

Well...... that was an interesting day. Given the forecast and a relatively short distance to cover, we planned to meet at 9 and assess things from there. In retrospect, an early start would have been the way to go. It had started to rain during breakfast and rained steadily harder the longer we waited. Then the rain turned to snow by the time we were finally ready to go. We had 7 women who were keen to start cycling and see how long we could go. The first 10 miles was to be uphill to the Continental Divide and Togwotee Pass at an elevation of 9658 feet. Another 7 women wanted to take a “bump” to mile 19 and then ride the rest of the way. Everyone else was happy to just pass on riding today and take the van over the pass and in to Dubois.

By the time we got the go-ahead it was around 11:45. Here’s a photo someone took of me heading out.

And one of Cy loading up the van.

As we climbed higher the snow started to accumulate a bit, and before long we were riding through slush. No pics through here as I wasn’t about to unbundle and expose my phone to the elements.  It actually wasn't a bad ride.  We had a wide shoulder and the traffic (which was light) gave us lots of room. I found the faceful of snowflakes kind of meditative.  But - about 6 miles into the ride my pedals stopped turning and I realized the slush had accumulated on the drivetrain and frozen in place.  Hard to go uphill if you can’t pedal!  Right at that moment I spied the van & trailer ahead with Cy pulling us off the road. But - there were still people at last night’s lodge waiting to be shuttled over the pass. So we drove back down, loaded up, and headed out once more. Here’s a shot of my bike on the front of the van as we approached the Divide.

I think the picture  below was taken as we offloaded at 19 miles to ride again. My (rental) bike on the outside.  Had to chip the ice off before I could ride.

Cy negotiated the drive superbly and breathed a sigh of relief after we were over safely. We did pass a snowplow going the other way but our side had not been cleared yet.  Four of us jumped back out of the van at mile 19 and started riding again from there. We were below the snow line but it was still raining pretty good. Thank goodness for good rain gear and warm layers!  All went swimmingly for about 7 miles and then my chain twisted itself into a knot which I could not undo. Of course there was no cell coverage out in rural Wyoming so I had to wait for another rider to make it in and alert one of the guides to come back and fetch me. They were still shuttling riders from last night’s lodging so I managed to walk the bike over 3 miles before Sue was able to come and retrieve me. But - I still made it in before some of the shuttled passengers. I just took a look outside and Cy is busy putting a new chain on my rental bike. Hopefully that will solve this issue as well as some other shifting problems the bike has had since day 1.

All in all a pretty crazy day. Part of the fun of “epics” I guess.  Sue is busy in the kitchen stirring up a stew for us. Should be good!

Stats for the day:
Moran WY to Dubois WY
14 miles. 23 km. The whole route was 39 miles.
688 ft up. 1329 feet down. For the whole route:  1921 feet up & 3582 feet down.
Temps:  We started at 1C, dropped to -2C (when my drive train froze up), and then back up to 4C by the time my chain jammed. Precipitation  of one form or another all day.

TA 2 - September 10

The day dawned promisingly (is that a word?) enough. Cool, but a bright sky - yay!  We rode through Jackson on the way out. Might have to come back here some day to look around. At the town square/park they have one of these antler arches at each of the 4 corners.

Then out of town and directly onto a lovely bike path that paralleled the road for about 20 miles.  We rode by an Elk Refuge area on our right and had views of Jackson Hole ski area on our left. We also passed this interesting building. I hear it’s a really good museum, but no time to explore.

Next up - Grand Teton National Park (again).

Almost the entire bike path was an ever-so-slight uphill with a bit of a headwind, so we had to work a bit.  But, no complaints, as the weather seems to be holding. Nice views of the Tetons all the way.

We crossed the Snake River at about 13 miles and continued on to Jenny Lake where we (sadly) had to ride on the road once more.

A final SAG stop at the Jackson Lake Dam where I had a piece of cold pizza for lunch (can't say it's  my fav but it will get me up the hill).

We left the park and headed east just in time. The weather was moving in behind us......

Pleasant, flat-ish riding for a while and then we started climbing almost 2000 feet at about mile 46.

Partway up the climb the sun came out and the temperature skyrocketed to 21C .  Wow; I seem to be overdressed!  Not for long.....  The skies grew darker and the temperature  plummeted from 21 to 7 in a matter of a few (uphill) miles. Just as I got in, the thunder started and the downpour followed soon after I had retrieved  my luggage from the trailer.  Lucky me; I think quite a few women probably got drenched out there. Once the lightening started, I think the guides took the van out to pick people up. Here's a picture of our cozy cabin for the night.

After a nice hot shower I signed in to the Internet and was welcomed with this lovely message.

Wonder what tomorrow  will bring....

Stats for the day:
Jackson  to Moran, WY
87 km. 54 miles.
3276 feet up. 950 feet down.
10C to 21C to 7C.