Day 51, Tuesday, June 10

Dubois, Wyoming to Jackson, Wyoming

Our 51st day of the tour would prove to be the most spectacular bicycle ride I am ever likely to have.

Normally John and I both wake up around 5:30 AM, without an alarm. But today we set an alarm for 5:00 AM. We had agreed to get up earlier than usual to take advantage of the better morning weather. Plus the Kiwanis were meeting at 6:15 AM in church's Community Room.

Because of the Kiwanis's meeting the other cyclist, Ty, had to get up too, so he joined us for breakfast at the local convenience store. While we were there another westbound cyclist, Brennan Kelly, pulled in. He was riding the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail from Yorktown, Virginia to Astoria, Oregon. We invited him to join us for the day.

As the three of us rode away from Ty I felt for him. I know he did not want to hang out in Dubois waiting on his new wheels. On the other hand, if he had left with us it would have been embarrassing because the man is a beast on a bike. His route from KC to Dubois went through the Rockies in Colorado and he was only nine days into his trip. His longest day so far was 195 miles.

It was a beautiful morning. The temperature was in the mid 40s, warm enough for shorts, but I did start with my long-sleeved shirt and rain jacket for warmth. There was no wind at all.

Dubois is about 30 miles from Togwotee Pass and the Continental Divide in the Absaroka Mountains. However, the average grade of the entire climb is only 4 percent. For the first twenty miles it was less. We still took our time, pedaling in low gears, giving us plenty of time to take in the scenery. 

We thought we could find second breakfast about 20 miles from Dubois at the Lava Mountain Lodge. Sadly it was closed. It is under new ownership. The manager said we could rest on their porch and use the bathroom, but they would not be open until July.

As we mounted up to ride away she told us not to worry about bears, there was only a sow and her cub up there. Her attempt to mollify any fears we had did not really work: I know how protective bears can be.

After the lodge, the last ten miles get steeper, probably 6 or 7 percent gradient. I just put it in a smaller gear and kept pedalling. Fifty days and tens of thousands of feet of climbing had prepared us for this. 

At one point we were riding by a pullout on the other side of the road. A man pulling a fifth wheel was parked there, and he called over to ask if we needed any water or a soda. So we crossed the road and he gave each of us whatever we wanted.

The generosity of complete strangers to people on bicycles is overwhelming. I mean, a soda is not much, but it means a lot to us. Also, I have no doubt he would have done everything he could to help us if we were having problems. 

As we climbed, the view got better. But the best was yet to come.

We reached the pass just before noon. This was the biggest milestone of the trip, and I think it was an emotional moment for all of us. Standing on the side of the road at almost 10,000 feet, it felt it would take something truly calamitous to stop us now. 

We did not stay at the pass very long. We had thoughts of going all the way to Jackson. So we started the descent, 18 miles or so of mostly -6% gradient. 

By far the best part of the day was this descent Riding 30 MPH without pedaling is great, but that does not compare to watching the Tetons all the way down. 

A picture cannot do it justice. I think I made the entire descent with a goofy smile on my face. For that hour, there was no place on earth I would rather have been.

The descent flattened out eventually and we came to Hatchet Resort around 2:00. This was about 48 miles into the ride. We had lunch and tried to decide what to do.

There was a campground nearby where we could stay. It would be a short day, but we had climbed up to the Continental Divide. There would be no shame in calling it a day.

Alternatively, we could press on to Jackson, 38 miles away. That would set us up to leve Wyoming the next day, and all the way to Idaho Falls the day after that. We decided to go for it. 

After making that decision we had to find a place to stay in Jackson. All of this was taking some time, so we told Brennan he should go on. We would be parting ways eight miles down the road anyway, when he would turn north toward Yellowstone. There was no point in him waiting for us to make our plans for the night. He took it advice and headed out.

We finally settled on a place to stay in Jackson, made reservations and got underway. We should have checked the weather. 

It was eight flat miles west to Moran, then we turned south toward Jackson. Here US 26 runs through Teton National Park, along the Snake River on the east side of the Tetons. This being summer in a national park, the traffic was insane. 

The closer we got to the Grand Teton, the angrier the sky looked. I hoped the storm would stay on the mountains and we could sneak by, but eventually the rain caught us.

As we climbed a small wooded ridge i the rain started. At the top the woods ended, and we could see we had miles of open road to ride on the valley floor, exposed to wind and lightning and anything else the gods wanted to throw at us. 

We stood on the side of the road, at the edge of the woods, contemplating the distant thunder and lightning. It was not a great situation. We were still 20 miles from Jackson and it was getting late. Eventually we decided the lighting seemed far enough away that we had to chance it. 

We took off. I was in front, pushing as hard as I could to get through the mess we were in. We were about 12 miles from Jackson when I heard a curse behind me. I looked back to see John shaking his head. He had a flat.

As John fixed the flat I put on another layer of clothing. Standing in the rain tends to make one cold. However, the rain slackened, and before John was finished it had stopped completely. 

With the flat fixed, we set off again, happy it was not raining but still miserable with all the traffic on the road.

A mile or two down the road we found a bicycle trail that would take us all the way into Jackson. I had not even told John about it. I read it was paved but I have been fooled before, and I did not want to raise his hopes only to find it was really gravel.

But it was paved, so we hopped on the trail and made very quick work of the remaining miles to Jackson, arriving there about 7:30 after a long fulfilling day. With the end of the storm, we were treated to the most magnificent views of the Tetons I have ever seen.

The entire day was magical.