Day 13: I believe a lot of riders set personal records today. Our 112-mile ride was on relatively flat roads with a nice tailwind most of the time. The day was sunny but not too hot. Julie and I rode together, having time and road space for conversation the entire way. The last 20 miles picked up a bit when Rich and Phil joined us in a pace line. I averaged 16.7 miles/hour with 1700 feet of climbing.
We biked through the Snake River Plain, one of the great volcanic plains of the world. We enjoyed beautiful views of the Snake River and irrigated farmland with intensely green potato and grain fields. Today, corporations own most of the large farms; only a few smaller family farms remain. The mountains we have been viewing in the distance are now in front of us and remind us that we are about to cross the continental divide.
Day 14: This was almost a rest day. Thirty-four very easy miles along the Snake River brought us to Idaho Falls. Our SAG stop was across the street from a country store owned by a third generation Swedish emigrant. A Swedish flag started our conversation, and his Swedish quickly improved as we spoke. The area we were in was a Swedish settlement, and he used to sell a lot of Swedish food items, but today not so many are left. He last went to Sweden with the Mormon Church in 1985 when a temple was opened in Stockholm. Two roads in the area were New Sweden Road and Swedish Schoolhouse Road.
As we had completed 25% of our trip, I had the mechanic rotate my tires, since the rear tire wears much more quickly than the front one. That evening I cleaned my bike and feel ready for tomorrow's demanding 89-mile ride including pedaling over the 8,431 foot tall Teton Pass.
Day 15: The day started very nicely with Chris, Jim and I riding at 15mph, saving our energy for today's long climbs. All of a sudden, headwinds kicked up, and our speed dropped drastically.
We had to work just to move ahead, while a vehicle accident forced us to detour a few extra miles. The SAG stop at 25 miles provided us with the usual energy build up items; Gatorade, cold drinks, bananas, fig bars, and animal crackers (I usually try to eat a bear, lion or something powerful). The wind died down and we started our climbing, a total of three consecutively harder climbs. The dreaded Teton Pass, at 8,431 feet, provided us with a spectacular view of the Tetons and the green valley below. To get there, we had 10% grades at times, or 2,400 feet in 6.6 miles. I sat on my bike seat, slowly grinding away at 5-6 miles/hr, dropping to 3.3miles/hr on the toughest part. It was better than walking, which even some of the strongest riders had to do due to not having the right gears. To my surprise, near the top I found I had one lower gear left that I had not used.
The worst part of the day was the descent. I never want to do one like it again, a 10% down grade, dropping 2,000 feet in 5 miles. Many others and I were braking a lot, resulting in overheated bike rims and added risk for tire blowouts. We had to stop several times to cool our brakes and tires. I even walked a half-mile or so. A few of our brave ones flew down at speeds exceeding 50 miles/hr.
Five miles from Jackson, I had my first flat. A thick copper wire went through my rear tire. With the help of Cristin, Jim and Julie (the official photographer), it was repaired. Tonight's pizza dinner was a good reward for today's work. Tomorrow we climb over the Continental Divide.
/Gunnel