You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August 2009.
I apologize for the lameness of the amount of pictures in my last post. I was having difficulties with my camera. Here are a lot of pictures.
Tetons! We had this view from the road during the decent from Togwotee Pass, on the way to Jackson (Click on the picture to see the whole thing).
Erika and Peter navigating our way through Grand Teton National Park
Bike & Builders in Grand Teton National Park!
Getting our Energy Legs ready for Teton Pass!
The view from the top of Teton Pass (Click on the picture to see the whole thing)!
Hello Idaho! This was taken at the bottom of our big decent from Teton Pass. (We’re attempting to spell Idaho.)
A pit stop between Ashton, ID and West Yellowstone, MT
Hello Montana!
Yellowstone Chariot Chasers in Yellowstone! This is Peter pulling Shawn through the park in the chariot.
Taking in Idaho the right way. This is the view from a pit stop along a bike path between Wallace and Coeur d’Alene.
Lake Coeur d’Alene
Today we rode from Coeur d’Alene, ID to Spokane, WA. It was a short, 30 mile day, so Shawn, Peter and I went sailing on the lake! It was my first time sailing, but both Shawn and Peter have a lot of experience, so I got a private lesson! Here’s a few pictures:
Sailing Shawn and I on Lake Coeur d’Alene
Sailing Shawn and Peter
Peter trying to upright the boat after Shawn made it capsize intentionally.
I typed this up a few days ago while in Bozeman, MT, but my internet access has been limited and this is the first opportunity I’ve had to post it.
The last few days have been the best days of the trip so far, without a doubt. Overall, Wyoming was incredible and completely lived up to my expectations.
Staying with the family in Lander was a great experience. Jake had bought a small amount of fireworks earlier in the day and when he asked our host how she felt about fireworks, she walked into her garage and pulled out a huge box of fireworks left over from July 4. We spent about an hour setting them off in her driveway. After fireworks, four of us, Shawn, Ariela, and Chonger-man spent some time in her hot tub and had an awesome chat.
Dubois, WY was a great little town. It did not have a tourist feel to it and was pleasant to walk around. We found a great little shop of an artist who made carvings out of moose antlers. He would cut into them, creating different scenes of animals, mountains and American Indians. We even got to talk to him about his work.
The ride from Dubois to Jackson was my favorite day of the trip so far. It was about an 80 mile day. The first thirty miles consisted of climbing 2,600 feet up to Togwotee Pass. We reached our highest elevation of the trip, 9,658 feet and crossed the Continental Divide. I was surprised with how easy the climb was though. I was sure that we still had more to climb when we got to the top of it. It was not until I saw the sign that said there was a 6% downhill grade for the next 17 miles that I was sure we were at the top.
The rest of the day was awesome. We descended down right in front of the Teton Mountain Range and were able to ride through Grand Teton National Park and down to Jackson. Overall, a really awesome day.
The next day was epic. It included the hardest climb of the trip. In the first 12 miles of the trip, we climbed 2,200 feet above Jackson. The hardest part was about four miles long at a grade of about 10% and took me about an hour to climb. For all of you familiar with Lehigh University’s campus, South Mountain’s grade is somewhere between 8% and 9%. It was probably one of the hardest physical challenges I’ve ever completed. The whole group met at the top of the climb and we all cheered for the rest who were finishing. Then we had a great dance party. One of the great rewards was the descent afterwards. My max speed on the descent: 50 MPH. Oh yes, faster than the cars.
The next day we rode into West Yellowstone, MT. After spending about an hour or two in town, Isabel, Danny, Peter, Shawn and I set off on our own fantastic journey. We rode into Yellowstone National Park to camp at the nearest campground inside the park. It quite the eventful 14 mile ride. I saw both a beautiful bald eagle and a buffalo on the way. The buffalo was huge and I rode right next to it. If I had tried, I definitely would have been able to touch it. I found out later that buffalo have been known to “gore” people. I don’t plan on getting that close to one ever again. That night the five of us sat around the campfire and it was glorious. The next morning was a slow one and we had a great breakfast that included summer sausage, something I never had eaten before. The rest of the day was awesome. We rode all the way down to Old Faithful. That geyser itself was incredible, but there were also many others in the area that we walked around. After visiting Old Faithful, we went on a short, but beautiful hike. We were able to find a trail with hardly any other people on it, which was a nice change from the crowds at Old Faithful. There was a fire in Yellowstone in 1988, so there was an eerie combination of dead trees laying on the ground and a lot of really young trees. It was really interesting. We finished off our awesome day in town with elk and buffalo burgers. Overall, the day was incredibly satisfying. I loved being able to take my time going through a small portion of the park.
Here are some pictures of the week:
