Heading out of Jackson was probably the most anticipated day of the trip. After a quick 6 mile warm up we began our climb up Teton Pass. Teton Pass is a 10% grade for about 7 miles, and then a descent down into Idaho.
The whole way up I had chills as Chad and I pushed ourselves really hard. We took the bike path, and the views were absolutely breathtaking. Once we reached the top we turned around and cheered for the rest of the riders as they arrived. Soon the entire group was cheering on sweep as they made it up the pass. After lots of pictures, hugs, and all around good feelings we decided to keep going. We had only gone 13 miles, but it felt like we should have been done for the day. After a super fast, switchback filled descent, the next 60 miles were pretty hard for me. My camelbak (my backpack that holds water) had a leak, so I was only riding with one water bottle. This made the day longer because I was trying to conserve water, plus I had a slow leak in my back tire which frustrated me a little more. A little dehydrated, and just wanting the ride to be done with I had a pretty slow afternoon into Ashton, Idaho. That night I slept outside on the front porch of the church, and it was amazing.
From Ashton we had a special treat as we headed to West Yellowstone, MT. "Team Merica" (that's a patriotic combination of Marita and Eric) was riding sweep on a 57 mile day. The morning flew by with only a few stops as we helped Shira with her two flats. Team Merica somehow missed a few people who had stopped to go eat at a local restaurant, and we handed our duties over at lunch. I rode most of the afternoon alone, arriving to the host location fairly early. When we got to the host location, most everyone decided to pitch in $5 to cover gas and park fees, and we went into Yellowstone National Park. Joe, being the awesome leader he is, did a lot of driving to make the day great for all of us. First we went and swam in Firehole river, and then we went and walked around a boardwalk with several geysers on its path. Getting to see a glimpse of Yellowstone was definitely one of the highlights of a great week.
From W. Yellowstone we rode to Bozeman this morning. It was a 90 mile ride that just flew by. It was downhill almost all day, and it felt like we weren't doing any work at all. First lunch came quickly at mile 30, and then a group of us decided to stop at mile 45 in Big Sky for hot chocolate (it was about 35 degrees when we started our ride). I left the gas station alone, and missed second lunch because I never saw anyone. It was okay though because I just ate a Clif bar and made it in fine. When I got to town Ashley and I went to get ice cream (she missed lunch too), and waited for others to get to town. Soon Barbara, Mark, and Kourtney arrived and the four of us decided to go see the Dark Knight, the new Batman movie. It was great. Then we came back, ate dinner, had our town hall meeting, and now its time for bed.
Two weeks from tomorrow we reach Seattle!
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