Friday, July 2 - Day 19 - 96.2 Miles - 1336.1 Total Miles

Ok.....we rode a long way today. The goal was 102 miles (more on that later). I have ridden 100+ miles many times before, but today was the most enjoyable one I have ever ridden. If I am home riding by myself, I only care about riding as fast as I can. I always have a goal of 5 hours. Today was all about taking in the sights and just cruising along. Neither Bobby nor Kyle had ridden a century (bike lingo for 100 miles), so I was just trying to help them reach that milestone. With a huge climb up to 9,200 feet, we knew that weather was going to be very important for us to reach our goal. The good Lord was kind to us and delivered a tailwind that helped us to our 96 miles.


Why 96 miles, you ask? I am sure you saw me write 102 miles. All right, here is the deal. We were about 95% of the way up the climb to Togwotee Pass when the road began to get real bad. Seems that they are in the middle of a complete overhaul of the road through the pass. That is when we were informed that we had to put our bikes in the back of a pilot truck (2 times) and be driven out of the worst section of road. The reason I tell you this is because of something the workers told me when I arrived. When he informed me of the news of the ride I had to take, he backed away to see my reaction. When I was all smiles, he informed me of the last two riders before me that were made aware of the ride they had to take in the truck. They did not take the news so well....to the point where the sheriff had to be called. Give me a break. Am I going to feel like I did not ride my bike coast to coast because of this? Not at all. I was given a map that showed me how to get from one coast to the other. I will ride all legal roads between the two points. I will not purposefully ask for a ride....but, if circumstances dictate that I get in the back of a truck, then in the truck I will go. Sometimes people take themselves a little too serious.


Ok...glad to get that off of my chest. Here are the details of the day: We traveled (by bike and truck) from Yellowstone campground to a motel in Dubois. We are traveling 75 miles to Lander, Wyoming tomorrow and staying with a man from warmshowers (see earlier posts). We will visit with Luke Stacy and his mom and dad in Lander, as Luke is in Lander doing an internship. Kim and the kids visited the Grand Tetons today while we were slaving away on our bikes (and back of a truck).

As you can see, WIFI has been sporadic at best.....we will update when we can. Thanks for following.

Kim and Nathan at the Top of Signal Mountain in The Grand Tetons

Our View in Dubois, Wyoming Tonight