Day 15. July 1

Day 15. July 1.  Idaho Falls to Jackson, WY.
As mentioned yesterday, we left Idaho Falls  this morning just after 6:30, it was a bit cooler, but the sun was up with some nice white clouds against a blue sky. Gorgeous morning. Again, left the hotel with a number of people and a pace line was quickly formed. The strong group went ahead, but our group, led by Dan, husband of one of the ride leaders, and Judy - the ride leader. They led strong for the first 10 miles or so. It's nice to have the line leader know what they are doing. Some of the others are a little afraid to ride close, so you don't get as much effect of the slip-stream as when everyone is riding within two feet of the wheel in front of you. But an 18 mph line to start the day is good. 

Then about mile 15, the state of Idaho supplied us with a freshly laid chip and seal road for the next 15 miles. It was a little bumpy, but could have been worse. Our forecasted "light and variable" winds then turned into a 15 to 20 headwind, as we rode up to our first SAG stop. But we were greeted by a spectacular view of the Snake River. Just gorgeous. I hope the pictures came out.

The next 30 miles weren't too bad, some uphill, but by then the wind had stopped, at least directly in our faces. At mile 44,  we turned the corner and the fun began, as we climbed to the top of Pine Creek Summit. Actually, there was a strong uphill, then it flattened out for a few miles before it was up again.  By that time, several of the others were out of sight, but the scenery here was absolutely

spectacular. The flat farm fields of Idaho gave way to the rolling foothills. The colors were several shades of green, from dark to yellow-green, all with the purple mountains in the background. It was hard to pay attention to the road. Finally, after nearly 14 miles of climbing at 4 to 6% grades, we were greeted by the second SAG at the top. And then the descent. Fun! At 35 mph.  We had about 5 to 8 miles of flat and were greeted by the Welcome to Wyoming sign. We have now completed out trek across Oregon and Idaho! But 6.6 more miles of climb and it started pretty much right at the Wyoming line at about  6 % grade. We were climbing to the Teton Pass Summit at 8431 feet above sea level. The hill started out hard enough, then, about 2 1/2 miles from the top, it steepened to a 10%

grade. I was going between 4 and 5 mph, breathing about as hard as I ever have. Every time we rounded a bend in the road, you saw it went higher. I stopped 3 times those last 2 1/2 miles. But if you keep peddling, you do eventually reach the summit and we were rewarded with one of the most beautiful vistas I have ever seen, overlooking the Jackson Hole area. There were several cyclists from our group and we were giddy and proud to have reached the summit. Lots of high fives and congratulations.  And then the 5 mile descent. Again, trying to keep it between 30 and 35 was a challenge. Some of the curves were a bit technical so I wanted to take it relatively slow. Some of the guys topped out at over 50. Too scary for me.  

Fortunately, we were down the hill and onto the flats again, about 5 miles outside Jackson, when my bulging rear tire blew. Luckily, I was only going about 22 mph. We called for backup and began a long wait.  Then one of our riders came along and he just happened to have some good old duct tape. I lined the weak spots of the tire with tape, put in a new tube and off we were, arriving at the hotel about 4:30. All in all a successful day of riding. We have now ridden more than 1,000 miles!!

We had supper tonight at Bubba's Bar-B-Q. Wow, what a plate of meat. As we were waiting for our table, I started chatting with Eleanor and John, vacationing from Louisiana, or as they say "Looziana." They had spent the last two weeks visiting the Grand Canyon, Los Angeles, the Sequoias, the Redwoods, up the entire California coast, into Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming. They will visit Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore and an Amish village in Missouri before returning home. All this to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Congratulations, Eleanor and John.

Some of you know that I taught undergraduate social work between 1980 and 1985. I remembered that one of my students, Barb, had moved to Jackson shortly after graduating. With a little research, I found her number and called. I think she was a bit surprised, but had a nice chat. She had majored in social work and special education and was able to combine both in her work out here, partly in the school system and partly at an agency that works with people with disabilities. She and her husband have a son and three daughters, one of whom gets arrived in two weeks. Congratulations, Barb!

Well, it's after 9:30, way past my bed time. And we have another 85 mile ride tomorrow.
Goodnight. Be well.

Don