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

Thursday, July 1 - Day 18 - 72.5 Miles - 1239.9 Total Miles

First of all, the storms did not hold off last night. In the middle of the night, a strong storm rolled through dumping a good amount of hail onto our campground. It was pretty cool lying in the tent, listening to the hail bounce off of the tent. It was quite loud and tent moved like someone was outside shaking it. I think Kim was expecting me to come into the van, but as long as my tent stayed up, I was ok where I was.



The next morning looked like a possible repeat of the night before. Just as we were about to take off on our bikes, the skies got dark and we got hailed on again. Luckily, it did not last long and we were able to hit the road toward Yellowstone National Park. I am not a big fan of parks where people can "get in touch with nature" from their cars. People stop to take pictures of the weirdest things at the weirdest times. Cars just stop in the middle of the road and people jump out with cameras rolling. The real lazy ones shoot the pictures from their seat. Kim and I figured out a long time ago, the only way to visit a place like this is to go to a part of the park where you have to take 10 or more strides to see the views and no one will be there. Sure enough, Kim found a trail that had to be walked to see the sights....and the parking lot was empty. Taking off the seat belt to see nature is just a little challenging sometimes.



We set up our campground at Grant Village Campground in Yellowstone and set off to see the only thing that we all wanted to see....Old Faithful. We all agreed that you can't visit Yellowstone without going to Old Faithful. It is an amazing natural phenomenon and I think the kids really enjoyed seeing it.



One day of Yellowstone was good for all of us. We are getting up early tomorrow and trying to get in a 100 mile day to get out of this car/rv infested area on our way to Dubois, Wyoming. There is one good climb that happens 60 miles into the ride, but it is all downhill from there. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. Sunny skies and tailwinds would suit us just fine.

I was about to end this post, but was just strong-armed by my wife...turns out she has something to say as well......

(Enter Kim) Steve made it seem like the kids and I did nothing today! We stopped and saw several things in Yellowstone along the way. Firehole Canyon, the Painted Pots, the great Prismatic Spring, and several other geysers and boiling pots. They were really cool. The weather was super, the kids enjoyed it, and we managed to see a bison or two along the way. After securing our camping spot, we all (bikers included) doubled back in the evening to see Old Faithful. Very amazing! So, enjoy the pictures/video below!

Wednesday, June 30 - Day 17 - 83 Miles - 1167.4 Total Miles

Today was a fairly tough day. We were in the saddle (aka sitting on a bike seat) for about 5 hours and 45 minutes, and most of that time we were working pretty hard. I say that because some time you are descending and some time you have a tailwind. Today we climbed a lot...even though it was gradual for the majority of the time...it was still work. The rest of the day seemed to have a strong headwind, nearly stopping us in our tracks a couple of times.

Early on in the day, we passed through two really cool towns, Nevada City and Virginia City. They both looked like they had some things Kim and the kids would enjoy....so they did just that...more on that from Kim later. For now, I will just say we rode a while today without the support from our support van.

The day's route took us on SR 287 and US 287. The roads weren't bad, but there was NOTHING and I mean NOTHING for long stretches of road. Again, not good without the support from the support van.

We eventually made it to our campground just past Quake Lake, a lake that was formed by an earthquake in 1959. Here is more info on the lake:

On August 17, 1959 an earthquake in the Madison Canyon River Area, near West Yellowstone, formed Quake Lake. The earthquake created a massive landslide of about 80 million tons of rock, which stopped the flow of the Madison River in the Madison River Canyon gorge. The landslide caused 28 deaths, flooding and about $11 million in damage to the forests and highways in the area. The lake measures six miles long, one-third of a mile wide, and 190 feet deep.

Anyway, we are staying at a campground near this lake and heard the rumors of storms in the area. We have to do a little more preparation for sleep since we are in bear country. Getting all food into the closed van (with Kim and the kids, ha!) and out of our tents is one of the rules of camping in this area. I am not interested in visitors in the night...Bobby doesn't seem to care too much...but, Kyle and I are getting everything out of our tent.

(Enter Kim) Okay.....a couple of things. As I read the above entry, I decided I needed to clarify a thing or two. The "support van" was otherwise occupied today for a very good reason. To begin, Steve told me today to "take my time" and enjoy the sights. So we did! But, we got a lot more than we bargained for, let me tell you! To make a long story very short, Nevada City and Virginia City are only 1.5 miles apart. Nevada City is an old "Ghost Town" and Virginia City is populated (like 150 people!) But they are very unique western towns with a small railroad inbetween the two that many tourists, such as the kids and I, often ride back and forth. Well......the ride from NC to VC went flawlessly, and we had a great time taking in the sites in VC. On the return trip, however, it was a slightly different experience. First of all, Nathan, Anna, and I were the only 3 passengers among the 50+ preschoolers and their chaperones. Fun. And secondly, about 100 yards into the ride, over the top of a small bridge and stream, the train DERAILED! Yes...that's right! It derailed. So, I found myself helping to unload 3,4, and 5 year olds from a train, off of the bridge, and into a nearby field. By the time this situation was remedied (which involved a shuttle AND a refund!), I was a little behind on the whole "support van" thing! Makes them appreciate me for all I do, huh???? Enjoy the pictures below!



Sample of the Buildings in the Ghost Town, Nevada City




The Dreaded Train Ride


Time For A Haircut...Steve, You Can Fix It When We Return