jppe

My second organized Tour this year. 413 miles of riding over 6 days with a Loop out of Riverton, Wy. We flew into Denver and drove over to the start. Also did some sightseeing after the ride. Nicely organized with 350 riders.


Wyoming Day 1-Riverton to Dubois 78 miles

Great weather today for the 78 miles. Mostly uphill with headwinds. Blue skies with white clouds and varied scenery with views forever. We were on a road our family had driven years ago on one of our western 2 week vacation trips. That was the day I slept the whole way due to food poisoning and missed the fabulous views.

I had a deer jump a fence in front of me and then stopped in my lane and stared at me. Before that a horse had gotten loose and 6 people we giving it chase. We saw antelope on the way in yesterday.

Early starts every day this week as my wife is volunteering at the first rest stop. I probably wouldn’t have gotten a spot in the 350 rider field without her volunteering to help.

jppe

Wyoming Day 2-Dubois to Jackson-94 Miles

Longish day. We had a 30 mile climb of about 2500'+ feet to start the day. Cowboys moved cattle across the road in front of the first rest stop. Working dogs were used as well.

A couple miles from the top of the climb I was met by a swarm of mosquitoes. I'd get 20-30 on me at a time. That went on until I started the descent. Someone commented that you'd kill one mosquito and 100 more would come to the funeral!!

This was the day they were going to shuttle us by bus around Grand Teton National Park due to road construction......the road construction was not going on today, but the ride had to abide by the permit. I opted to turn into the Grand Teton National Park and ride through it myself. The Park would not give the group a permit to go through it for some reason.

I'm really glad I did. While it added some miles the views were spectacular. I felt like I could reach out and touch the Tetons. I also noticed a lot of more flowers, butterflies and smelled the pleasant aroma of Fraser firs while riding through.

I didn't drink enough today. It was perfect riding weather but I only drank two bottles over the 94 miles and 5 hours. I'll have to work on that or else I'll really start suffering.

Trsnrtr

A cycling buddy is from Wyoming and is on the tour this year.

jppe

Wyoming Day 3-Jackson to Pinedale-80 miles

Another 80 miler in the books-Jackson to Pinedale. 240 miles down with about 200 more miles to go.

Good steak supper at Million Dollar Cowboy in Jackson plus extra fluids helped me recharge. Got the day started right with pancakes and eggs.....yogurt and granola is just not real food in my book.

The first 20 miles today was really tough. It was mostly uphill and through a canyon. Head winds were horrific. Even little climbs were hard. It was a pretty steady uphill grade for the first 45 miles but at least the wind died down after the first rest stop. The last 30 miles was either a little downhill or flat and the wind was slightly helping so everyone enjoyed that stretch...

I saw a lot of deer that had been hit by cars. One was also supper for a bear which had ripped open the carcass.

jppe

Wyoming Day 4-Pinedale to Farson-61 miles

Quick day today. 61 miles at 3 hours. Averaged 20 mph riding solo on tired legs so felt good about that.

Only stopped at the first rest stop and talked to my wife. Took a lot of pictures of riders while passing them.

I got in so early and had to wait a while for my wife and bags. Farson is literally a crossroads. Not much here but they do have a store that offers the largest ice cream cone imaginable……but I don’t eat ice cream.

Unfortunately a female rider was hit by a vehicle entering the 2nd rest stop. The rest stop was on the left side of the road and she didn’t realize a vehicle was pulling a trailer and got hit by the trailer which drug her a ways. The speed limits are 65 mph on the roads which doesn't help. She was airlifted to Salt Lake City and latest reports are she is doing okay.

jppe

Wyoming Day 5-Farson to Lander-78 miles

A beautiful star lit sky perfect at 4:30 am and a great day to ride. Cool temps early with not that much wind. Today was very scenic......but compared to yesterday ANYTHING would be more scenic. Seriously the landscape was varied and gorgeous. The first 15 miles were directly into sunrise.

I've never seen a more beautiful sunrise. I could stare at the big round glowing ball as it crept up over the ridge ahead of me. Took lots of photos of it coming up while I was riding. After the sun came up I could not look straight ahead the sun was so blinding.

Went through two separate construction areas with pilot cars. We got to ride on new fresh asphalt which was really nice.

Long 1-2% climb today up to the first 50 miles so no break from pedaling. Ugh. Good legs today so I was the first rider at each rest stop which felt weird.

I enjoyed a terrific Mexican lunch with a pitcher of ultra-strong margaritas.

Pretty warm so shade was very welcome!

jppe

Wyoming Day 6-Lander to Riverton-36 miles

A beautiful day to complete the week! I was the first one to finish and was at the school by 7:30 am! Bike is packed up and waiting on a few breakables we want to send back with the bike. Will ship it from Fedex here in Riverton.

415 miles with an overall average of 17 mph. Perfect week for riding. The winds could have been much worse. There was a large balloon rally in town that weekend and several were launched when I came in.

Thanks again to my wife for getting me a spot in the tour by volunteering. She worked hard every day and is probably tired of cutting peaches!!

jppe

Bonus Coverage Wyoming Finale-Trip from Cody to Ft Collins

We wanted to see a few more sites as our return flight was not until Sunday afternoon. We did a long driving loop from Riverton to Cody where we spent the night. The next day we drove from Cody to Ft Collins via Bighorn National Park. Terrific views under normal conditions. However the Washington wild fires had it so smoky the views were very limited. We did take a 3 mile hike to see the Medicine Wheel which I highly recommend for the history and the views. I want to go back and ride up and over that mountain range one day. Long but very doable climb.

“Old Town” Ft Collins is a must see if you are in the area. Lots of shops and good breweries.

Barrettscv 

Wow, Thank's for sharing. I was fortunate enough to visit Bighorn Park many years ago. I enjoyed the quiet and natural beauty of the place. Is it still relatively undeveloped?

jppe

Yes, and still extremely scenic. I'd like to go back when the smoke clears and I can take my bike and ride up and over the climb. I was holding my Garmin while we were driving and it looked like the grades were 8-10% so very doable.

berner

Thanks! Beautiful country.

Oceanblue

Good stuff. Thanks for sharing.

GFish

Yes, yes, thank you so much for sharing your ride. Really like the day to day update with pics, very nice.

I've never been to Grand Teton National Park, but judging by your pictures, that would've been the highlight for me. Those towering peaks are just incredible. We have some scenic mountain ranges in Oregon, but nothing quit like the Tetons.

jppe

Gfish-you need to visit the Park. The pictures really don't do it justice. I didn't do it this trip, but take the boat across Jenny Lake and hike up to Inspiration Point. Incredible views,

eofelis 

Great pictures! Three of my local friends were on that ride.

I lived in WY for several years (Sheridan) and I loved the wide open wild spaces there.

Biker395 

Wow! Great photos!

I've ridden on a good part of that route ... from Driggs over Jackson Pass, though Jackson Valley and over Togwotee Pass and to Riverton through Dubois. Made some friends drinking beer in a Riverton bar called "The Boot." Had a chat about a murder the night before with someone off their meds in a place called the "Stagecoach" on the way to Dubois. Rode a giant Jackalope in Dubois (for the rest of you ... locally pronounced Dew-Boys).



OMG was that a great trip. Awesome.

That is a flippin beautiful place to ride, and I'm insanely jealous. I need to get back to bike touring.

jppe

I thought Dubois was a really good stop. We took showers the Stagecoach Inn (not sure if it's the same place) as they didn't have showers at the Community Center where we camped for the night. The locals in Dewboys were pretty "independent" to say the least. They still resent the feds making them change the town's name from "Never Sweat" to Dubois who was a Senator at the time. The intentionally pronounce is Dewboys just so it doesn't sound like the Senator's name. I got the feeling that if you didn't like doing things their way they'd "encourage you" to move on.

Sadly I don't think the Jackalope is still around.

I think you'd love this touring stuff.........if you could stand to just ride 70-80 miles a day!!

Biker395 

I LOVE touring! Ever see a labrador puppy the first time it sees water? That's how I felt on my first tour.

I rolled through there on the Cycle America cross country tour, and with people so awesome, we are still in touch. We've been reminiscing about it for the last couple of weeks.

Here is a pix of the Stage Stop between Riverton and Dubois.



My friend Cynthia wanted to use a restroom, and I try to buy something from businesses when we do that. So I sat down at the bar and ordered a beer. They had just opened their doors and we were the only ones there, save for the bartender. Wish I got a good pix of the place inside. Dark, and just a big open space ... not a lot of chairs. It had the look of a place that is routinely cleaned out with a hose.

Here's a photo of the bartender:



He told us that there was a murder there the evening before. The owners were Native Americans ... one of them a big, imposing guy, but he wasn't able to keep a couple of guys apart, and one of them got stabbed.

All the time he's telling us the story, he's licking his lips. Kinda over and over. It was noticeable.

After we walked out, Cynthia (a clinical social worker familiar with medications used to control behavior) told me that that symptom was typical for someone who's gone off a particular kind of anti-psychotic medication. Wish she would have pulled me aside and told me that earlier. lol