Day 17: Dubois, WY to Riverton WY - 81 miles with 1250' of climbing

Started the day with a short ride west of town for a hearty breakfast at Chandlers Roadhouse where the Willy Nelson looking cook fed us pancakes, potatoes, eggs, bacon, sausage patties and links, fruit and juice. The walls of the place were adorned with stuffed caribou, elk, deer, cougar and of course jackalope.

Today's ride was rather quick and took us through painted desert, red rock vistas and the small town of Kinnear (population 44). We stopped at what looked like a yard sale only to find it was actually called Gary's Genuine Wyoming Trading Post. The yard was full of saddles, bridles and all kinds of leather, straps and hardware that only a real cowboy would know what to do with. Just then a couple of ladies pulled up in a fancy car and started looking through the tables of stuff. Gary, the owner, said now this isn't a Lord and Taylors or Gucci ya know? This a "genuine" Wyoming trading post. The ladies asked him just what made his place a "genuine" Wyoming trading post? Gary said: "Well just yesterday a couple of fellas stopped by and tied thier horses right over there where they pooped in the driveway, then a couple of dogs got in a big fight under these here tables and we had to break it up, then a drunken Indian stumbled over here and passed out on the lawn over there. That's what makes this a "genuine" Wyoming trading post. Any other questions?"

We took it easy for the remaining 20 miles and arrived into Riverton before 1:00 with plenty of time to do laundry, eat and rest for tomorrow's 120 mile ride into Casper, WY.

Roadkill tally is up to: 118 (Today we saw 2 deer, a red fox and squirrel.
Flats: 0
Hurts: Sore quads ( Will take it easy tomorrow)

Day 16: Jackson, WY to Dubois, WY - 88 miles. 3800' of climbing

Left Jackson with temps in the mid 40's. Rode over 30 miles through Grand Teton National Park for some killer mountain scenery and saw a group of pronghorn antelope. (Some riders said they saw bison way off in the distance but I think it was actually a group of ground squirrels a hundred or so yards off.)

Our biggest climb was interupted by road construction which prevented us from riding over the Continental Divide. The construction crew loaded us on a flat bed trailer and shuttled us through the construction site. (Flatbed trailers of course come with no seatbelts or air bags) It was a thrilling 10 mile, open air ride over gravel, by big earth movers and through snow covered hillsides. Once through the construction zone we were dropped off and began the cold descent. At the bottom we stopped at the Lava Mountain Cafe for some chile and hot chocolate before starting the final 20 miles to Dubois into a headwind. We joined 3 other riders and formed a paceline where each rider rotated off the front every few minutes to make the ride in more bearable. It was a long, cold day and didn't get in until 4:45.

Roadkill: 114 (One coyote and one deer)
Flats: Still zip
Hurts: Sore leg muscles following a short rest but it fades within minutes after riding

Day 15: Idaho Falls, ID to Jackson, WY - 94 miles. 5,500' of climbing

After putting Idaho behind us, riding over Pine Creek Summit at 6764'and covering over 70 miles we started the climb up the 8431' Teton Pass. The scenery was beautiful but the slope to the top had me in my lowest gear and it was a real workout. After greeting several others as they reached the windy top, exchanging high fives and taking photos we started the sharp descent toward Jackson. Because of severe sidewinds and curvy roads with little shoulders I kept on the brakes to keep from exceeding 40 mph. It was a scary ride down to Jackson.

Roadkill: 112
Flats: 0
Hurts: Sore quads and tendons around the knees

Day 14: Pocatello, ID to Idaho Falls, ID - 65 Miles, 760" of climbing

Day 14 was an easy day of riding. There was little climbing and we stayed on rolling country roads for the majority of the day. We passed many beautiful horse farms, cattle ranches and miles and miles of fields full of Idaho potatoes. Everyone took their time today to conserve their energy for tomorrow's ride over the 8461' Teton Pass. We ended the day by inspecting our bikes to make sure they are ready for tomorrow's steep descents as we go over the Rockies and enter Wyoming via Teton Pass.

Roadkill count: 108
Flats: 0
Hurts: Life is good.

Day 13: Burley, ID to Pocatello, ID - 89 miles, Climbing around 2,260'

Woke up to a temperature of about 45 degrees, ate breakfast and started riding around 7:00. Rode through mostly open rangeland where cattle roam free without fences. We also passed a few hawks, a huge herd of sheep, and a few elk. Road through only one town (American Falls) where many of the buildings downtown were vacant. Rodeos are popular around here. We passed one billboard that said, "When in doubt, sit it out", encouraging cowboys not to ride following a concussion.

Roadkill tally: 103 (Todays were mostly jackrabbits and skunks)
Flats: 0
Hurts: It's all good

Day 12: Twin Falls ID to Burley, ID 45 miles, 1000'

Today's ride was short but included a couple of scenic detours to both Shoshone Falls and Twin Falls along the Snake River. The rest of the ride was on country roads between fields of potatoes, beets, wheat and alfalfa. As happens on many of these country roads we got chased by dogs as they bound off the porch barking as they run toward the road to catch us. Today our adrenaline was spiked by the sound of severals barking dogs only to discover it was "herd" of 5 chihahuas. Their bark was in it but their legs not so much. Not sure what they would have done if the little guys would have caught us.

Roadkill total so far: 92
Flats: 0
Hurts: All's good

Day 11: Mountain Home, ID to Twin Falls, ID - 97 miles, Climbing 3,745'

Today's 97 mile ride took us through irrigated croplands,desert and eroded canyons. In addition to the sag stops we stopped at a small "store" at around the 70 mile mark. The store was in the middle of the desert with missing siding, few working light fixtures and very little food or drink. The lady running the store was thrilled to see us come in and spewd stories from canning corn and potatoes that the local farmers brought her including various canning recipes to the snow crippling winter of 1992. I guess visitors to her store are few and far between. The ride ended near the 490' Perrine Bridge which spans the Snake River Gorge where we saw several base jumpers leap from the middle of the bridge to land on the side of the stream below. What a crazy sport.

Roadkill tally: 88 (Mostly skunks and jack rabbits)
Flats: 0
Hurts: Life is good