Day 15 On to Jackson Hole, Up, Up and Up

They told us Jackson Hole would be one of our toughest days.  It was a 90 mile ride that climbed constantly over the 90 miles with a bunch of 7 mile long 10 percent grades at the end to reach 8300 feet above sea level.

They told us to get ready - so we did the best thing we could do on the night before.  We turned our hotel into a New York tenement.

The hotel only had two washing machines so most people hand washed.  But with 100 degree heat it only took about 10 minutes to dry in the sun.

To beat the heat we started at 5:30 am - an ungodly hour to ride a bike.  My goal was to get to the 1/2 way mark by noon, before the really big, steep climbs started.   We were moving along quite nicely until we ran into a 15 mile repaving of the road we were using.  And. oh yes, what would the day be like without another 20-25 mile an hour headwind.  

We cannot catch a break.  About 20 miles into the ride we saw our target.  The Tetons that we would climb (to the top).

The more we rode, the closer they got, the bigger they looked.  It was hard to believe that we were going to go over these things.  This is about 30 miles into the ride.

Our sag stop was at about 40 miles with elevation of 6100 feet.  Great views from the rest area that we used.

The climbing was constant.  The grade was not that steep - but just kept going.  The road got better here as there was no repaving going on at this elevation.  At about 50 miles we saw the gap that we were going to ride through.  Still a daunting task in front of us.  

The climb got harder at about 60 miles.  We kept climbing and climbing.  The Snake River always on our side.

The one good thing about the climb is that as we gained elevation we did get some relief from the heat.  At about 65 miles (I think) we entered the Targhee National Forest.

Now my normal speed is about 12.6 miles and hour (my average).  By this time we were down to between 5-7 mph.  Slow and steady was the only way we could do it.  Somewhere around 70 miles we left Idaho and entered Wyoming.  

Up and up we went.  At about 70 miles the pitch of the road changed from 6 degrees to 10 degrees.  From steeper to steepest...

The crew was suffering... Speed now at about 3 miles per hour....

And hot

The last mile tested our resolve

It just kept going and going

Forcing some to walk...

But in the end we made it.  What an accomplishment.... what a relief.  We got to celebrate by taking our pictures at the 8300 foot mark - with the town of Jackson in the background.  

And with some of the crew...

My new buddy Bill (70 years old, riding for Wounded Warriors) made it to the top just after me..

Now going down is not that easy.  A 10 degree slope up means a 10 degree slope down.  It was like riding down a smooth ski trail - it was that steep. 

Here a couple of us are pulling over to cool our brakes and rims.  The rims we so hot you could not touch them.  If we had continued we could have melted our brake pads or blown a tire.  

Now I hit speeds of 35-40 mph and I was braking.  There were some guys that I would guess reached speeds in excess of 50 mph.  I was scared shitless at 35.

But the good thing about going downhill is that you don't have to pedal.  So the last 10 miles into Jackson were pretty easy. 

For those of you that don't know.  Jackson is the town and Jackson Hole is the ski area.  Jackson Hole is about 7-10 miles away from the town.  It's back up hill, I've seen it already and I am not getting back on my bike until tomorrow.

But I will check out some of the bars.  Got to go. Dinner time!