Day 21 July 19

Woke up to the sound of trumpeter swans this morning. It's an odd mix of a horn and a honk but it is a pleasant sound to wake up to. We rode on trail and gravel road until we arrived at an RV park. Of course being the divide riders that we are we went straight for the ice cream and each had some. The rest of our ride was on pavement. We found a track that connects straight to west yellowstone and after 20 miles we arrived at west yellowstone. It is the oddest feeling going from backcountry to urbanville. There are thousands of people outside of the park in the small town. So we quickly moved on to the park. At this point we had completed 60 miles. A good days ride. However, from the gate to the 1st camp site is 15 miles more. So we ride on the next leg to find out that there is no food or restaurant in that campsite. We have the choice of riding down to Old faithful 37 miles away with two mountain passes or to canyon which is 26 miles without mountain passes. Of course we choose the shorter route. The road to canyon is super hilly with construction for 4 miles. We get put at the end of the line riding through the construction and back up the other side for 45 minutes. Never have I ridden by so many unhappy peopleblaming cyclists for keeping up traffic. We finally arrive at canyon and like a gift from the heavens they have an all you can eat cafeteria. We eat like we had never seen food before. Spaghetti, chicken, pork, salad and all the other foods created by man we feasted upon. It has been a long day but we made it. Vacation time at yellowstone national park! 


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Day 20 July 18

Maybe it's the exhaustion from the ride or bad dreams and thoughts but last nights sleep was rough. We start our day late with breakfast at a cafe. We are dehydrated from yesterday and we drink more than our fill of milk and water at breakfast. We get our drinks and food resupplied at the exxon gas station at Lima. Our ride isn't long but it is nice and peaceful. We pass by a dam, with thousands of gallons of water flushing through it and take the time to admire the lake created by the dam. It's another kodak lake, glassy, reflecting the mountains absolutely perfect. We continue riding occasionally together sometimes apart and even with herds of cows. Later in the ride we meet a father and son duo riding to Mexico. They are doing the ride as a charity event to raise money for cancer research. They had just recently lost the mother to cancer. We continue traveling and end up at lakeview campground. It is a nice campground by a lake with fresh water for drinking and food. This is the main home of the rare and elegant trumpeter swan which at one point was near extinction. The only downfall to the camp is the Mosquitos. There are thousands of them. They attack ferociously yet they are not quick like Florida Mosquitos. They are dumb and slow but they are plentiful. Smoke from the fire seems to keep them at bay.

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Average
Time
Total

Day 19 July 17

This is it, the big day. The test to see if we are as tough as the divide riders. We are doing 100 miles. This is not your 100 flat Florida road miles, or your 100 miles tour de France style with a message, food, and all luxuries at the end. This is mind numbing, cow killing 100 miles through the desert. Yet, it's not all bad. Through what has been recently discovered as Jeff's Law -all things that can go right will go right- we stumbled upon the festivities known as Bannack Days. Like a time machine or the car from back to the future, we are whipped back to the old western days. Cowboys; with their 10 gallon hats, boots, and spurs walk up and down the boardwalk. Little girls dressed in plain dresses holding sun umbrellas sitting in the shade and the faint sound of a piano playing old tunes. Finally, there is us. Two bikers in our spandex shorts and synthetic jerseys eating, laughing, and having a grand time. In the little time we were in Bannack Days, we drank freshly squeezed lemonade, visited every attraction and thrift store, and of course we eat food of all sorts. Sadly, we had to leave that western paradise and continue our 100 mile day. At this point we are 25 miles in and the wind has picked up. We ride for hours on dirt road with no shade and a blazing hot sun above is. We see no one and nothing except the trail in front of us. The scenery is fixed. Mountains around us and trail rolling in front of us as far as the eye can see. It is around mile 50 and a divide rider appears riding toward us. He is not northbound, he is whipped. The headwind on us all day and the steepness of Medicine Lodge Pass has forced him to turn tail and return to the highway. He asks us to tell the group he is with his plans. Of course we agree to his quest. We finally near the summit of Medicine Lodge. It's so steep, there is a cow at the top, dead from exhaustion. We continue on. The cows journey is over bit ours is not at it's end yet. We believed after hitting the top of the climb we would descend for awhile we were wrong. We continued climbing, very gradually but the wind in our face made it worse. We find the lone riders group. They are exhausted and barely understand what we tell them. They are done for the day. We keep moving. Our water supply is at zero. We are parched, dry throated and burned. There is a small river near the mountains edge. The land we have been traveling on is full of livestock. I don't see any cows nearby. Oh well we need water. It's the sweetest coldest water ever. We blaze the last 20 miles, passing huge rock walls and running rivers and finally end our day 105 miles later in the city of Lima.

Day 19 July 17

This is it, the big day. The test to see if we are as tough as the divide riders. We are doing 100 miles. This is not your 100 flat Florida road miles, or your 100 miles tour de France style with a message, food, and all luxuries at the end. This is mind numbing, cow killing 100 miles through the desert. Yet, it's not all bad. Through what has been recently discovered as Jeff's Law -all things that can go right will go right- we stumbled upon the festivities known as Bannack Days. Like a time machine or the car from back to the future, we are whipped back to the old western days. Cowboys; with their 10 gallon hats, boots, and spurs walk up and down the boardwalk. Little girls dressed in plain dresses holding sun umbrellas sitting in the shade and the faint sound of a piano playing old tunes. Finally, there is us. Two bikers in our spandex shorts and synthetic jerseys eating, laughing, and having a grand time. In the little time we were in Bannack Days, we drank freshly squeezed lemonade, visited every attraction and thrift store, and of course we eat food of all sorts. Sadly, we had to leave that western paradise and continue our 100 mile day. At this point we are 25 miles in and the wind has picked up. We ride for hours on dirt road with no shade and a blazing hot sun above is. We see no one and nothing except the trail in front of us. The scenery is fixed. Mountains around us and trail rolling in front of us as far as the eye can see. It is around mile 50 and a divide rider appears riding toward us. He is not northbound, he is whipped. The headwind on us all day and the steepness of Medicine Lodge Pass has forced him to turn tail and return to the highway. He asks us to tell the group he is with his plans. Of course we agree to his quest. We finally near the summit of Medicine Lodge. It's so steep, there is a cow at the top, dead from exhaustion. We continue on. The cows journey is over bit ours is not at it's end yet. We believed after hitting the top of the climb we would descend for awhile we were wrong. We continued climbing, very gradually but the wind in our face made it worse. We find the lone riders group. They are exhausted and barely understand what we tell them. They are done for the day. We keep moving. Our water supply is at zero. We are parched, dry throated and burned. There is a small river near the mountains edge. The land we have been traveling on is full of livestock. I don't see any cows nearby. Oh well we need water. It's the sweetest coldest water ever. We blaze the last 20 miles, passing huge rock walls and running rivers and finally end our day 105 miles later in the city of Lima.

Day 18 July 16

We leave Wiseriver and begin heading out to elkhorn. The road to elkhorn is newly paved and under construction so the worker Jacob has us get a ride on the pilot which we gladly take because we have to ride 100 miles tomorrow. 4 miles lAter we are dropped off and we continue riding. It is boring road the entire way and is getting hot around mid day. To make matters worse, the trail has a climb that ends up having 3 switchbacks and being very steep. We finally make to elkhorn and have lunch. Afterwards we relax in the old hot springs and hangout in the lodge until dinner. Tomorrow is a big day! I'm nervous it's my first 100 mile ride.

Miles
Average
Time
Total

Day 21 July 19

Woke up to the sound of trumpeter swans this morning. It's an odd mix of a horn and a honk but it is a pleasant sound to wake up to. We rode on trail and gravel road until we arrived at an RV park. Of course being the divide riders that we are we went straight for the ice cream and each had some. The rest of our ride was on pavement. We found a track that connects straight to west yellowstone and after 20 miles we arrived at west yellowstone. It is the oddest feeling going from backcountry to urbanville. There are thousands of people outside of the park in the small town. So we quickly moved on to the park. At this point we had completed 60 miles. A good days ride. However, from the gate to the 1st camp site is 15 miles more. So we ride on the next leg to find out that there is no food or restaurant in that campsite. We have the choice of riding down to Old faithful 37 miles away with two mountain passes or to canyon which is 26 miles without mountain passes. Of course we choose the shorter route. The road to canyon is super hilly with construction for 4 miles. We get put at the end of the line riding through the construction and back up the other side for 45 minutes. Never have I ridden by so many unhappy peopleblaming cyclists for keeping up traffic. We finally arrive at canyon and like a gift from the heavens they have an all you can eat cafeteria. We eat like we had never seen food before. Spaghetti, chicken, pork, salad and all the other foods created by man we feasted upon. It has been a long day but we made it. Vacation time at yellowstone national park!

Miles
Average
Time
Total

Day 20 July 18

Maybe it's the exhaustion from the ride or bad dreams and thoughts but last nights sleep was rough. We start our day late with breakfast at a cafe. We are dehydrated from yesterday and we drink more than our fill of milk and water at breakfast. We get our drinks and food resupplied at the exxon gas station at Lima. Our ride isn't long but it is nice and peaceful. We pass by a dam, with thousands of gallons of water flushing through it and take the time to admire the lake created by the dam. It's another kodak lake, glassy, reflecting the mountains absolutely perfect. We continue riding occasionally together sometimes apart and even with herds of cows. Later in the ride we meet a father and son duo riding to Mexico. They are doing the ride as a charity event to raise money for cancer research. They had just recently lost the mother to cancer. We continue traveling and end up at lakeview campground. It is a nice campground by a lake with fresh water for drinking and food. This is the main home of the rare and elegant trumpeter swan which at one point was near extinction. The only downfall to the camp is the Mosquitos. There are thousands of them. They attack ferociously yet they are not quick like Florida Mosquitos. They are dumb and slow but they are plentiful. Smoke from the fire seems to keep them at bay.

Miles
Average
Time
Total