Yellowstone Ride

My roommate and I rode our bikes to yellowstone two weeks ago. Our journey took us through Teton National Park and then into Yellowstone. Each direction was 85 miles. We left from Jackson Hole, WY, and rode to the Grant Village Campground. We got prematurely excited when we entered Teton Park as it had Yellowstone listed as only 40 miles away, as opposed to our calcuted 90. Then we realized the drastic difference between the entrance to the park and Grant Village. About a thousand feet, well I don't really know that for sure. But the whole ride from their forward was all up hill! Hills aren't usually so bad, but Matt was towing the kid carrier which had all of our food, water, and camping stuff. The thing is heavy and very cumbersome. Think of trying to pedal a 1972 Lincoln Town Car and you get the idea. Then the rain started, which wasn't so bad, until the temperature dropped. Reportedly it was sleeting, < but I didn't notice as I was so focused in every revolution of the pedals. So we work our way up the hills and through the rain and finally we reach the campground soaked and hungry. We decide to go find somewhere to eat rather than battle with starting a fire and cooking. So we head to a restaurant which was really a makeshift Ponderosa type all you can eat food bar with food that tastes like summer camp. You know its really bad when you are starving and at first it tastes good, until you have a second taste. So we ate what we could between stomaching the food and having enough energy to feed ourselves and we parted ways with the Lake House Restaurant. We got outside and just as we stepped out it started raining. Matt ran off to the general store for a lighter that we forgot to buy before we left Jackson, while I sprinted back to the tent whose rain fly was laying on the ground not stopping any rain from accumulating inside of it. The rain lasted about an hour. So we gathered wood and started a fire. I hung out until at 8 pm my body said no more and I went to bed. At about the middle of the night I woke up to a HUGE clap of thunder, and Matt saying, "It's right over us." I in turn responded to the downpour, "Does your tent float." Matt laughed and I drifted back off to unconsciousness. Oh yeah I forgot the bears. So Me still fearing the allmighty and powerful bear slept with the bear spray in my hand until I decided that it really wasn't a good idea as I could accidentally knock off the safety tab and fill our tent with Pepper Spray and we'd have to sit in the rain or the bathroom the rest of the night, and thankfully I let go. Because everytime I heard even the slightest noise I would jump awake in panic with my heart beating as if Paris Hilton and George Bush just made coherent public statements, and the end was truly upon us. Eventually around 4 am I finally decided that I was working way to hard to look for a bear that I really didn't want to be there anyway, and that if a bear was actually there I wouldn't have to look for it because it would make itself known, and I slept like a baby for the next three hours.

That morning was soggy, everything outside the tent was soaked. It took me 30 minutes trying to start the fire before it actually caught, maybe it was 45. we ate breakfast and decided to scrap going to see Old Faithful which would allow us to achieve our first Century (100 miles in one day) and give us the amazing opportunity to watch the Earth spew water out of a hole. So we scrapped the extra 30 miles and gave ourselves a couple extra hours to rest and recover. Knowing that most of the way was downhill we felt confident in our time appraisal.

The way home was fairly uneventfu, beautiful weather, mostly downhill, two hours less riding time for a completion in 5 and 1/2 hours, and the soarest ass I hope to ever know. I towed the railer for the ride home and it was terrible. It left me glad that I didn't have to pull it the whole way there, but also remorseful that I didn't make Matt split up the towing on the way there.

Over all it was an amazing trip. As soon as I get a more comfortable saddle I'd love to do some more tour rides.