Waking up to rain while on a bike tour is generally not ideal. That was the case in Jackson this morning. So we delayed our start a bit, waited for the clouds to clear, and pedaled away from the Tetons towards the Wyoming cowboy town of Dubois (pronounced like DEW-Boyz). The clouds eventually yielded spectacular views of the snow-covered Tetons.

Pedaling up Togwotee (TOGA-tee) pass brought us to the highest point on the cross-country tour: 9,584 feet at the Continental Divide. The Pacific watershed behind us, the Atlantic ahead of us. In theory, it should be mostly downhill from here, all the way to New Hampshire?

It was really cold up there at altitude, with a biting North-west wind. Thankfully I had my rain jacket with me, and fortunately, the wind was in our favor, blowing down-valley to our destination. With a 20mph tailwind, it felt like I was riding an e-bike (electric-assist bicycle). In actuality, I guess it was a w-bike (wind-assist bicycle) today.

Remember motel keys? Not those plastic card things that take 3-4 tries to work, but actual metal keys? That’s still the tried and true method employed by the friendly western folks here at the Stagecoach Inn. Not much changes in the town of Dubois, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

I can see and hear the aptly named Wind River from my room window. Tomorrow we follow the river, and hopefully the wind, down to the easily pronounceable town of Riverton (RIVER-ton).

~Dan

Hail Victor! That’s Victor, as in the town of Victor Idaho, and hail, as in frozen precipitation. I’ve been very fortunate with good weather through the first 14 days of this coast-to-coast journey. Oregon offered nothing more than a few sprinkles, and Idaho was mild and dry, up until about 5 miles from the Idaho-Wyoming border.

65 miles into our ride, after successfully climbing and descending Pine Creek Summit (elevation 6764′), a fellow rider and I stopped at the Big Hole BBQ in the small mountain town of Victor to fuel up for upcoming Teton Pass. A couple others soon joined us. While waiting for lunch to arrive at our sunny outdoor table, we noticed ominous black clouds looming over the beautiful mountain valley behind us. Within minutes after moving to an inside table, a thunderous storm flung menus and pine cones onto the sidewalk and soon unleashed a torrent of pelting rain and hail. A few other passing cyclists sought shelter with us as the storm continued. The small BBQ shack suddenly became a very popular mid-day destination.

Like most mountain storms, this one departed almost as quickly as it arrived. Within an hour, the sun reemerged and I continued on up the wet road to the Wyoming Border and over the steep and challenging Teton Pass (elev. 8431′). I enjoyed a sparkling view of Jackson Hole from the top, took a few quick photos, then made a quick descent into Jackson before the next storm rumbled in.

91 miles with over 6,000 feet of climbing makes for an epic day. Toss some crazy weather into the mix, and this becomes one of those memorable days that us cycling geeks will be talking about for years to come.

~Dan

It’s great to be back on tour! One year after completing the first two-week segment of my coast-to-coast ride in the small college town of Pocatello Idaho, I’ve joined up with the 2019 tour to continue the ride. On this opening day of year 2 for me, I’m reminded of the old English bridal advice of ‘Something old, Something new, Something borrowed, Something Blue’.

Something Old: Four of the six-person support crew are back for 2019: Judy, Karen, Rob and Robin. And last year’s oldest tour rider, Bob, is back for another full tour. Just one year shy of an octogenarian, Bob is an inspiration for all of us – and a strong rider to boot. So good to see Bob and the returning America-by-Bicycle support crew. ABB’s tour journals are both old and new, with pictures and commentary on both the 2018 and 2019 tours. Here’s a link to a picture of me and tour mechanic Rob riding to Idaho Falls today:

https://blog.americabybicycle.com/aan/2019/7/7/day-14-pocatello-to-idaho-falls-id

Something New: A brand new band of cycling mates to share in the cross-country adventure. I was curious to see how this year’s batch of riders would compare to the 2018 bunch I started with – and they are remarkably similar. So welcoming and encouraging. An instant spirit of camaraderie somehow develops among a group of like-minded adventurists, evidenced by this wonderful new crew. And, I’m on a brand new bike this year – but more on that in future blog posts.

Something Borrowed: I borrowed a friendly local Lyft from from the 2-gate Pocatello Regional Airport to the Pocatello Best Western, borrowed the expert skill of tour bicycle mechanic Robin to re-assemble my bike from it’s shipping box, and borrowed the electronic route maps from tour leader Judy to guide me though the myriad of picturesque Idaho farm roads today. And I borrowed the restroom of a laundromat in the sleepy town of Blackfoot where the attendant was absolutely thrilled to chat with riders passing through.

Something Blue: The Snake river is so aptly named as it slithers through the countryside and reflects a brilliant blue Idaho sky. The river has been a companion throughout most of Idaho, and it was nice to be reacquainted. I also sported a streak of blue on my jersey from George’s Bicycle shop in Boise – a memento from last year’s ride and a perfect shirt for kicking off this year’s 1,000 mile segment.

Great to be back in the saddle.

~Dan