We soon had our tent set up and made our way to dinner and to meet the group. The food was some of the best we ever had by an outdoor catering company (contracted by the tour company for the night). The group of 50 seemed to be in the range of “normal” and the tour leaders seemed to have their act together. A positive start to our ten-day tour of the Yellowstone-Teton area.
Bozeman to Ennis
As usual, the majority of riders are up early, getting to the breakfast place, eager to get out on the road. The pace is always faster on the first half of the first day than it is on any other morning. We were quickly away from the urban edges of Bozeman and out into the rolling land and big sky of Montana. The sun was shining, warming the cool morning – a beautiful day to be riding except for the headwinds slowing my descents more than I would have liked. At almost 40 miles we began a three-mile hill. Not knowing what the days to come would bring, I put my bike in a low gear and settled into a comfortable pace. There’s usually a reward at the top of fine views and a nice downhill, but this one also hosted our mid-ride “picnic.” When the tour figures it’s time to refuel, which usually has nothing to do with the time of day. The “picnic” was the best “on the road” food ever, a good variety of proteins, carbs, salts and sweets. This did not waiver as the week went on, there was always a “special of the day” and some other items to follow the theme and then the usual sandwich fixins’ and other mainstays. The great view completed the package. For desert a marvelous downhill and flat roads for the rest of the way into the Ennis High School, our camp for the night. There was time for us to walk into town for a snack and then hang around camp until dinner is served. A number of us went into town again after dinner picking out the tavern that we thought would have the least smoke for a beer.
52 miles
Ennis to West Yellowstone
Leaving the High School we gradually gained 2,500 feet over the next 50 miles. We crossed or were next to the Madison River with its many big white swans most of the day, so there was always some beautiful scenery to look at. We also started to see more fly fishermen, art of me thought “what a bore,” but part of me could see the allure of it; the peacefulness, the rhythmic flow of the cast and lots of time to think and relax. At 44 miles we arrived at the visitor center that educated us on the huge earthquake that happened many years ago. The exhibit included first-hand accounts, re-enactments, plenty of scientific explanations and a big window to see where it all happened. A few miles later we were at the highest point for the day and continued at that elevation to West Yellowstone. We bypassed the tourist trap and continued on to our camp eight more miles down the road. I was hot and sticky at this point which the big biting ugly deer flies loved. We tried to set up the tent, avoiding the dog (or ??) poop piles and slapping at the feisty flies – I went completely cranky crazy. I was never so happy to get a tent set up, have a shower and get cleaned up.
80 miles
West Yellowstone to Grant Village
Into Yellowstone we go! We’re up early and pedaling the same eight miles back into town for breakfast. After stuffing in as much as possible, we rode into the park. Early on we came to an eagle nest with a nesting pair of eagles almost old enough to fly. A ranger was there (before the no stopping protection zone) with a scope, so we could stop and see the babies, whereas the cars bypassed the site. More miles down the road we stopped to observe a group of elk in a river, again most cars passes by. Then we turned onto Firehole Canyon Drive, there were not many places for cars to stop, but on bikes we rode on the edge of the road and could easily look over the edge and into the river canyon at the rushing water. When we wanted to stop for a longer look at the beautiful waterfalls, we could stop wherever we wished on the narrow shoulder because we didn’t block traffic. On the way to our lunch stop we also spent time at the many geysers and paint pots. Some rain fell on us the last miles before Old Faithful, but ended by the time we actually got there. We poked around in the various buildings and looked at the displays until it was time for Old Faithful to do her show. The display over, it was back on the bikes, but not before getting pictures of the bison crossing in front of us. The climbing started and we crossed the continental divide two times. Once at 8,262 feet and another at 8,391 with 600 foot drop in between. The grade was very doable, I kept waiting for the “hard part” that never came. A downhill run into Grant Village was about as much fun as you could have. It took us all day to ride the 67 miles with all the stopping (the slowest with good weather ever), but the sites worth every minute.
67 miles
Grant Village
During the night we could hear several coyotes barking far away, they seemed to be talking to each other relaying important information. A day off the bikes, we hoped to take a bus tour to get to the other parts of the park we couldn’t get to on bike in one day, but they were all booked up and we ended up going to some ranger talks and relaxing around the lake and at camp. Before coming to Yellowstone I was a little worried about riding a bike in Yellowstone having heard it would be dangerous, but I found this not to be true and felt quite comfortable.
Grant Village to Jackson
We were not allowed to ride the rest of the way out of Yellowstone. Something about us being a group. If you were an individual cycle-tourist, you’re not stopped, but I guess a group of 50 is considered a hazard. From the vans, we could see that the road was not as nice as what we had been on, but I wouldn’t have had any worries if I had been on my own. Out of Yellowstone with our bikes returned to us we began cycling in Grand Teton National Park. Bob and I went “off route” on to a secondary road west of the main highway. It was a beautiful ride, the Teton Range spectacular! We saw bear at one point and stopped at the Jenny Lake Lodge and Jenny Lake. After lunch we joined our prescribed route at Moose Junction. A few miles later, 3 miles from the Park boundary, we were stopped by the Park patrol. We were not allowed to ride any farther. They said our tour company had not paid the proper fees and so we were not allowed to continue. The officer suggested we backtrack a couple of miles to a village where we could wait in more comfort until our vans could pick us up. Apparently some of our group was stopped immediately upon entering the park and others were stopped in-between. We were not happy about being stopped and delayed for whatever reason, and we never did get a good explanation from our tour leader.
53 miles
Jackson
For our day off in Jackson, Wyoming we decided to go river rafting. We were picked up by the rafting company at the campground entrance and slowly made our way to the office and through the routine of getting signed in. Then it was on the bus for the ride to the “put in” point. Our guide for our raft of eight tried to entertain us with his bad jokes and got the raft into the rapids where we would have the most fun. The season was waning some so the white water wasn’t too wild which was fine with me. The gal behind me did manage to get tossed into the river through one of the rapids. It was sunny and we had a great time. Back in town we had a beer and snack at the saloon with horse saddles for bar stools (and they think bike seats are uncomfortable). While we were inside the skies opened up and hail plummeted to the earth. I’m so glad we took the morning raft trip, others in our group where on the river during the storm. Spent the rest of the day sightseeing and had dinner at a really nice restaurant with good food, but a very inattentive waitperson.
Jackson to Ashton
We rode about 3 miles to breakfast at a coffee/bagel place. Immediately after leaving we started the 5.5 mile climb to the top of Teton Pass. We could go on the main road or take the old highway that would have some rough pavement sections and places where the woods would be taking back the road, but most riders chose the old highway for the lack of traffic. Who needs drivers in cars watching you struggle, I would rather suffer alone or at least with other riders who are going through the same thing. This was the hardest climb I had ever done, supposedly 7% to start and 10% at the top. I concentrated on the flowers to keep my mind off my legs and back and kept waiting for the little flat spots to come like on every other climb where your body can catch up a little, but this only had less steep spots. Finally at the 8,440 foot summit, everyone was taking pictures and marveling at where we had just come from. The downhill wasn’t as fun as it could have been, because of the steepness and the way the wind would blow us around, I had to take it easy and stay in control. Down on the flat land we were directed onto a sweet bike path, former railroad grade that paralleled the road, perfect for pumping your pedals and moving fast, the tailwind didn’t hurt either. After lunch we still had almost 40 miles to go through a very hilly section and the former lovely tailwind was against us most of the time. I finally got to the school where we would spend the night on their wonderful grass lawn. I staked out a spot for our tent and got back on my bike and went into town where I figured Bob had gone to find food. He was coming back down the street having scoped out the whole town and we headed for this old fashioned car hop type place. There was a picnic table and we settled in to eat a couple of burgers and fries, a great place to hang out for awhile before heading back to camp. After dinner most of the riders walked into town and took over one of the bars with a big screen and watched the days results of The Tour. Our small town bar came with the crusty bar tender, moose head, bored patrons and one really angry and noisy wife hunting for her wayward husband (he calmly finished his beer before heading home).
65 miles
Ashton to West Yellowstone
More pedaling to do through some pretty a varied terrain. A good climb had us moving back up into the trees. I was going to meet Bob at one of the waterfall overlooks and we were going to ride together for awhile, but I think I stopped at the wrong one and not seeing him, moved on. Peddling along through the high trees and meadows, I was having a good time moving down the road, when finally Bob comes up behind me. I figured he was way ahead at the lunch stop by now, but there he was, so off we rode. Lunch was great at usual, even though we were getting to the end of the trip and thought they would be getting rid of stuff by now, it didn’t seem that way. Fortified with lunch we again rode together for awhile until he split off to do an optional route. I continued on to a nature conservancy viewing area, but I think it was the wrong time of day to see animals. There was another 7,072 foot continental divide coming up so I was mentally trying to get ready for that, waiting for the hard part to come, but again it never did, the grade again being shallow. Some tourists agreed to take my picture, but nobody stayed long at the summit as the ugly deer flies were there biting. I got back on my bike to out run them on the down hill, but it took some doing, those suckers are fast. I got back to the same campground with the flies and poop we had be visited at the beginning of the trip, but we had already reserved a hotel room after the previous bad experience.
56 miles
West Yellowstone to Bozeman
Last day of our trip and we were hoping to make good time so we could get a good start heading home. Again we rode the 8 miles into town to stuff in one more biker breakfast and headed on down the road. We had just a little bit of climbing to do and then it was a downhill run along the Gatlin River. The wonderful scenery took my mind off the increasing heat. There were plenty of sections of the rivers used for rafting and we saw many groups making use of it, they looked very cool on the water while we were soaking bandanas in cold water trying to stay cool. As we got close to Bozeman, farming became more prevalent and we started to share the road with farm equipment, passing some of it at one point. The hills also got more numerous and sapped more strength out of our legs. Finally in the distance we could see the edges of Bozeman, like horses smelling the barn we found our second wind and cruised on in, even adding a few extra miles to make it a complete century ride.
100 miles
