It took a Village and Clean Underwear

Hats off to the Yellowstone Coalition.  It takes a lot of resources and logistics to support and safely move 400 riders.

Had to be at least 100 staffers supporting the ride.  We are talking 3 meals a day plus 4 water stops per ride.  Not to mention the little cities that were set up every night.  Ice trucks, septic trucks and porta potties, shower trucks, drinking water trucks, luggage and tent trucks as well as a full restaurant stuffed into a couple 18 wheelers. Not to mention the all important beer truck!!!!

A shower truck was a key component of the ride.  Somehow 12 shower stalls supported the needs of 400 riders.  Amazing as somehow we never ran out of hot water.

Now I was able to get face shots of all our group - except Russ.  I did manage to get his backside at the shower truck...

Russ retired as the CEO of a local MO agriculture bank - banks that lend to the local farmers to help them manage their cash flow (seeds and feeds).  I met Russ on the Sante Fe ride where unfortunately Russ crashed and broke a bunch of ribs. 

Russ is one tough cookie.  A couple months before the Yellowstone ride, Russ had a stent implanted in his heart.  And here he is riding 70 plus miles a day in 90 + degree weather.  Never jumped in the sag wagon and completed ever ride.  Too much.

As for the clean underwear....   

We were limited to one bag per rider.  Again we are talking 400 large bags.  

The bags needed to carry your sleeping bag, pillow, inflatable mattress, sundries, etc. - not to mention your riding gear and camp clothes.  Given the swings in temperatures you had to be ready for every weather situation.  Cold, hot, rain and even snow.  So you opted to limited your "camp clothes". 

The ride advertised that they supplied laundry facilities - so my plan was to wash my camp clothes (think t-shirt, shorts and underwear) every two days.  But much to my surprise when I found the "laundry facilities" was a bunch of the following "machines".....

Think salad spinner for clothes.

They might have helped wash your bike clothes which dry pretty quickly.   But trying to clean and dry your regular clothes did not make much sense.  Hence I had to make do with two pair underwear (rotated daily to make me feel like I had a new pair every night).  

Luckily, Ken suggested we leave a change of clothes in the car for our ride back - so when we reached the hotel in the ride back - I was really able to put some clean clothes on.

Until Next Year.....

In any case the Yellowstone ride is in the books.  After all the complaining we did during ride ride (it's too hot, it's too cold, it's too hard, etc) - everybody is planning on the ride next year.  The route changes every year and next year's ride will all be in Montana (Red Lodge area).  I think most of the group will "hotel" it and skip on the camping experience.

Not sure I can make the ride next year- as a week ago I signed up to ride across the US to "celebrate" my 70th birthday.  Going to ride the Southern Route (San Diego to St. Augustine, FL) starting March 1, 2019.  

It's a 50+ day ride and it's camping all the way.  

So stay turned.  

Dubois to Lander

Sorry for the delay just got access to the internet... so able to upload more photos.

Thursday was a scheduled rest day with an optional 100 mile climb to reach the Continental Divide.  You had the option to choose Ride All (100 miles), Ride Some (60 miles) or Ride None (0 miles).  I elected the Ride None option - as did Ken and the MO riders.  The day before ride was just draining and we all needed the rest.  We did miss out as the riders who went got to see some grizzly bears and moose (what is the plural of moose - mooses?).

The good news is that the rest day was in Dubois, a real "cowboy" town.  The center of the town is about 3 blocks long with a couple of art galleries and restaurants scattered among some really neat bars.

Notice the wood sidewalks in the top photo.  The town rebuilt the sidewalks in about 2004 and locals could "buy" one of the planks and have their names or personal messages engraved in their plank.

Also in town is the Big Horn Interpertive Center.  

It seems that the surrounding hills and mountains around Dubois is the epicenter for Big Horn sheep.  At one time there were millions of Big Horn sheep in the area but the population in the States has been decimated by disease, hunting and human encroachment.   In order to repopulate, sheep are "exported" from Dubois to other areas in the US.  

Our campground actually had trees and shade (all the other campgrounds were in large open spaces) and close to a river that really helped cool down the area.  Really needed a respite from the heat.

The final ride of the Yellowstone ride was from Dubois to Lander, Wy.  It was a 75 mile ride all downhill!!!!!  We basically went down the hills we had climbed two days earlier.  Where on Weds (I think it was Weds) I averaged 4 miles per hour, I flew on the ride to Landers and averaged over 17 mph.   And this included climbing about 1800 feet during the ride.

I arrived at the lunch site at 9 am - about 50 miles into the ride.  Of course they did not have lunch there so early.  Some of the other riders complained that the lunch wasn't sent up.  Had to tell them "Dude we just had breakfast".  I finished the ride by noon - and missed the heat.  Really a great ride.

The final ride to Landers made us all forget about the pain we had endured the previous days.  

As Ken and the rest of the team had already ridden Sink Canyon which was the ride scheduled for Saturday - Ken and I loaded up the car and decided to head back to Squaw Friday night.  

We got as far as Winnemucca, NV where upon we checked into the Red Lion Casino, grabbed a beer, took our first real shower and ordered the biggest steaks on the menu. 

Good way to close out the ride.

Dubois

We woke up in Pavillion to the fact that about 150 of our bike tires were flat.  Seems there were goat head thorns where we parked our bicycles.

,

These little thorns are not only like needles but they are almost impossible to find and get out of your tires.  I had a flat on my front tire and Ken had one on his rear tire.  You actually need tweezers to remove the little buggers. I tried replacing my tube only to have it blow up - as I missed finding one of the thorns.  Gave up and went to the bike mechanic who proceeded to find the perpetractor and repair my tire. There were so many flats that the bike mechanic team ran out out inner tubes.

And that was the high point of the day.

The ride from Pavillion to Dubois was only 63 miles (turned out to be 66) but had another 3000 feet of climbing.  Temperatures again in the 90's.  Didn't think the wind could get stronger but it did.  Had to be at least 20 mph with gusts exceeding 25 mph.  It was so strong that you had to pedal downhill in your lowest climbing gear.

At some points the wind was so strong I was afraid to take my hands off the handlebars to reach for my water bottle.  Ended up stopping once a mile to get off my bike just to get some water.    At some points I was going only 5 mph. 

Finally got into town and first thing I did was stop to buy a extra large bottle of Gatorade.  Took about a minute to drink.  From there went into camp and grabbed and downed one of my water bottles and two Diet Cokes. 

Given my speed I figured I was one of the last riders into camp - only to find out that most of the riders were still out on the course.   Had to be one of the toughest rides I have ever done.

Decided to play it safe and went to the medical tent to have them check my blood pressure.  Being good medical people they are - they peppered me with a thousand questions.....  Do you have a medical history.... are you experiencing pain,,,,,  do you have a history of high blood pressure.

All I wanted was to get my blood pressure checked and for a moment thought I was going to be airvaced to a hospital.  Ended up that my blood pressure was probably best ever.  Who knew?

Found Ken and after our showers got a shuttle ride down into town and headed to the first bar we could find.  Took about a minute to down two beers, two packages of beer nuts and one bag of chips.  So much for the keto diet!

Once again the food was superb.

Tomorrow is a rest day with an optional 60 or 100 mile climb up the Continental Divide.  You had to let them know what your ride choice was..... ride all, ride some, or ride none.  I elected the "none" ride.

The heat wave has broken and we are back to "normal" local temperatures.

We work up to 40 degrees and proceeded to put on every bit of warm clothes we had.

Again today is rest day -   Going to stay in camp.  They have a building with real heat, electric outlets and real flush toilets.

Then a downhill ride to Lander tomorrow.  Hoping that what goes up has to eventually go down.

Pavillion

Finally got some internet so going to catch up.

First a picture of two more of the guys from Missouri.

On the left is Steve.  He runs his own insurance agency.  On the right is Tom, a retired Telephone executive.  They are all smiles but we hadn't started the ride....  

The ride to Pavillion took us up through the Wind River Canyon and it was a 75 mile ride with about 3000 feet of climbing.   The Canyon was spectacular and the view is what riding is all about.

The road parallels the Wind River.  Riding up, I understood the "river" part of the name and as soon as I rounded the bend in the photo above - I learned why they added "wind" to the name.  We ran into about a 20 mph headwind that dropped our speed down to less than 10 mph.  Then the mind takes over.  You originally figured the ride would take about 5 hours - now you are thinking - this is going to be a 8 hour ride. Crap.

At the top the pass we had to go through three some tunnels and the highway patrol was kind enough to let us close down the road as we passed through.  Out the other side and the scenery changed back to the badlands....

The temperature climbed into the 90's again and with the wind and climbing it was a really hard day.  Finally made it into Pavillion where we stayed in the town's rec/rodeo arena.

That night the dancers and singers from the Wind River Reservation provided us with about an hour Pow Wow.  

This was the real thing.  The moderator was a teacher from the school on the reservation and described each dance and song.  Quite interesting and had everybody's attention.

Right after that the town put on a calf roping event in the arena.    Had a couple of the riders leave as they thought the event was not only cruel to the cows but to the horses as well.  

I can attest no animals were harmed during the event - though the horse with the 300 pound cowboy probably was a little sore the next day.

Meeteetse to Thermopolis

Still no internet or cell service.  Short posting. Sorry.    Taking 10 minutes to upload a photo.

Started in Meeteetse (been spelling it wrong)...

Today  was a treat.  75 miles downhill.  Still hot and windy but downhill trumps everything.  There were some places where I was going 35 miles an hour.  Scary.

We had a bunch of water stops - desperately needed.  Temps still in the 90's.   Couple snacks along the way...

P.S.  You are supposed to take your sweating gloves off.  This is really gross.


But lunch was at an interesting place for us riders...

Pulled pork sandwiches and whiskey.  For those interested they gave tours of the distillery and they offered all us sample tastings.  I passed.  We had another 15 miles to town and drinking whiskey did not make much sense.

Arrived in Thermopolis and we are staying in the Fountain of Youth RV park.  Sharing the park with other travelers.  They are all in air conditioned in 50 foot RV's and we are in tiny tents..  While there are free hot springs (hence the name Thermopolis) to use - it really smells here - like bad eggs. 

Passed on the free springs and headed to the showers.  Started a new personal tradition today.  It's called a shower beer.  Start at the beer tent and order a beer.  Then head to the shower truck.  Turn on the cold water and stand there until you down the beer.  Definitely lowers the body temperature - and replenishes your electrolytes.   Only issue is there was a line for the showers and I downed 1/2 my beer before i even got to the shower.  So tomorrow going to start with two beers.

What goes down...... goes up.  So tomorrow we are going to climb 75 miles.  Praying the heat wave breaks tonight or we will be all using the following.....

Day 1 Cody to Mateetsee

No cell or internet service  so blog is one day late.  Taking about 3 minutes to upload one photo.  So might have to do a posting at the end of all the shots of the week,

Our first day adventure started with a 72 mile ride to Meeteetsee.  As I mentioned yesterday we are experiencing a heat wave.  So we tried to leave exactly at 7 am to beat the heat.  We met up with the boys from Missouri and we were going to ride together but the logistics of coordinating 400 riders made it almost impossible to connect.  I did run into Kyle (former MO State Police) and he was looking pretty fine.

Kyle is an artist and does painting of the old frontier.  And a good rider.

In any case Ken and I launched at 7 am and for the first 40 miles it was all downhill and cool.  But really rough terrain.

We stopped for lunch at about mile 55 and by that time the temperature was about 80 degrees, Hot but manageable.    But right after lunch it was like someone turned a heat lamp on and the temp jumped to 103.  It was so hot my water bottles were so hot you could not drink them.  But there was nowhere to get new water - so the last 25 miles was uphill with the tar melting.  Sucked.

Luckily we got into Meeteetsee about 4 pm and the town welcomed up with open arms.  They let us camp in their football field and opened up their pool and showers for us.  That's is a lot given there are 400 people riding.  They even hosting an event in town where you got to taste local food.  You  got a small taste from each resident and if you like the food you drop a tip in the jar. At the end of the night the local person with the most money won.  Great charity idea.

Food has been pretty good and for the interested riders there are round tables about Yellowstone.  Last night it was standing room only for the black ferret discussion.

Donald Trump and Yellowstone

After dinner there was another speaker from the Yellowstone Coalition and he was talking about how for the last 10 years they have been fighting to prevent a dam on the local river.  He started his discussion with there was a major decision this week.  He said "Donald Trump".  "Donald Trump" and the crowd jumped and were about to shout and boo.  

All of a sudden he finished his sentence...  Donald Trump this week signed the Preserve the Wyoming River Act that prevents any dams or development on the local river.  The crowd did not know what to do.  Some clapped and most were shocked that the President had done this.  As one of the guys from Missouri said.on  ...  Do you think CNN covered this?

It cooled down in time to grab some sleep.  So we are ready the next adventure.  On to Thermopolis.  

Cody - 109 degrees!

Ken and I arrived in Cody today and our last hotel for a week.  We decided to go over to the campground and get our bikes for a short ride.  We got there in time to help them unload the bikes.  First they lost the keys to the truck.  Then when the finally unlocked the truck we help unload the bikes.

The last bike came off and Ken's bike was missing (it's a very expensive bike).  We looked everywhere and could not find it.  I told him - its like his missing helmet  - just go buy another!!  I started making fun of him to only learn I lost my mirror.   So down to the local bike story to purchase another.

We looked one last time for his bike and I found it in the bike corral.  Every bike here is high end and they all look the same.  I figured with 400 riders and $4000 plus per bike we are talking some serious change.  And that is not counting all the $500 buck electronics everybody is using (except me of course).

As mentioned in the title we went for a ride and climbed up to Buffalo Bill State Park.  At the top of the pass,  Ken's garmin registered 109 degrees.  Even we after we headed back down the pass the temperature in Cody hit 99.  Went directly to the local brewery.  Thank god it was air conditioned.

Tomorrow for the first official ride we are expecting 100 degrees,.

Tonight we are in tent city. (at 8:30 pm it's still 94).

We have no internet and I am using my phone as a hot spot.  So blog entry tonight is going to be short.  Again official ride starts tomorrow.  72 miles to Meeteesee.   Town is 3 blocks long and reputed to have two taverns.  

Forgot to mention we have a beer truck following us from town to town.  Sweet.  

Hot Hot Hot.

Sink Canyon

We meet the boys from Missouri today and had another pre-ride ride.  I will take a photo of the team and introduce you tomorrow.  You will quickly identify the guys from MO from their NRA hats.

Today's ride was in Lander, WY and it was a ride up Sink Canyon.  This was a 15-20 mile ride - should I say climb.   The total elevation gain for the ride was 3333.3 feet (from Ken's GPS).  Everybody made it to the top which was about 9700 feet high.   Total ride was about 35 miles.

A shot of Ken at the top....

For the sake of full disclosure, everybody (but me) made it to the top.   I was about 1 mile from the top and for unspecified reasons had to do an immediate and hasty turn around

In any case all ended well. About 2 pm, Ken and I jumped on the shuttle to Cody.  It w as about a 3 1/2 hour ride and while we brought a couple of beers along for the ride - the bus did not have a bathroom - so we elected to forego our drinks.

The bus pretty much followed the route we are going to ride on our bikes and everybody on the bus was freaking out  Lots of climbs, 90 plus degree weather, rough roads and cars buzzing by at 70 mph.  And without exaggeration (maybe a slight exaggeration) we did not see a house, store or green grass for a couple hundred miles. Scrub brush followed by more scrub brush, followed by more scrub brush.  No shade whatsoever.

We are in Cody now and have internet service.  Our last experience with beds as tonight we begin our camping adventure.  Not sure about internet service - hell even my phone doesn't work here.

So blogging might be a challenge.  Will try to get some shots of the land and the other team members.  Cheers....

Jackson, Wroming

Ken and I arrived in Jackson last night for a pre-event Yellowstone ride.  The ride from Jackson to Yellowstone in my opinion is one of the most beautiful rides in the United States (plus it is flat!).

Took us thirteen hours to get here from Squaw.  On the way Ken realized he left his helmet home and we had to take a slight detour in Idaho Falls to buy a helmet.  Unfortunately when we got to the hotel he had stuffed his helmet into one of his bags - so he is now the owner of two really good helmets (plus extra sunglasses).

Ken is my next door neighbor in Squaw. He bought his condo in 1997 just about the time we bought our place.  Ken worked for IBM and I was working for Amdahl and our schedules never connected together.  One day around 2014, I was riding up the Squaw Creek chairlift with a couple and we started talking.

Ken: Where do you live?  Me: I live in the Valley
Ken: Where in the Valley?  Me:Valley View Condos
Ken: What unit number?  Me: #2
Ken: Damn, I live in Unit #3
Took us 15 years to meet each other!

So here we are 21 years later riding around Yellowstone Park!  As I said we left a couple of days early so we could ride our bikes in Jackson.  We only had a short amount of time so we cranked out a 25 miles on the bike path heading to Yellowstone.  It goes right through the Teton Elk reservation (on the right and on the left you have the majestic Teton mountains.

On the way back into town we stopped to get our picture taken under the Elk Arches.

Now heading to Lander, Wy where we meet our buddies from Missouri.  Short right tomorrow and then the "official ride starts with check-in on Saturday afternoon.

For additional pictures see my post from my ride across USA ....  Click here

Jackson