Day 2 - 9/7 - Riding Day #1 - Teton National Park to Lava Mountain Lodge
Leaving Teton NP early.
Unfortunately, I did not sleep well on Tuesday night. I figure that it was due to the excitement of today's ride and the temperature dropping through the night, which made it go from warm in the tent to cold. However, the day started well because we had breakfast at 8 and didn't leave until 9:15, since the mileage today was supposed to be fairly short.
The weather warmed up nicely and 10 miles into the ride, I took my jacket off as I took one last glimpse of those beautiful Tetons. The route was on some fairly busy paved roads, but they had nice berms to ride on. We started going on less traveled roads and ended up seeing some cool horse ranches, where you can go stay. Honestly, the scenery was beautiful, and almost every one of the riders who were full-timers said it was their prettiest day yet! So that was cool since it was my first riding day!
Things changed dramatically at Mile #25 as the road turned to gravel and went up for almost 9 miles. It was the first gravel road "hill" I've ever climbed on a mountain bike, but I did get it done. But I suffered and the following 3-mile climb on a paved road hurt me even more. Although I'd been alone for at least half of my ride, I was trying to ride with friends Bob and John, but I just had no energy. So, I ate something and made it to lunch at 38 miles. It was a beautiful view, but it was getting pretty warm and on the first day, I was kind of cooked. The food and the 2 Doctor Peppers (yes, even Tour de France guys drink pop!) helped, but after lunch, I started cramping. So, I decided to walk the bike and told my 2 buddies that if I had to walk the last 13 miles, I was going to do so!
You will see a picture of me by the Continental Divide sign at 9600 feet, and right before that is where I stopped walking. I kept going back to the sermon at church this past Sunday and it was on PERSEVERANCE. I wondered how the heck my perseverance was going to help me walk 13 miles. Well after a much more manageable 3 miles which I rode slowly and didn't cramp, we had a 10-mile downhill to our hotel! Incredible! I hit 40 miles per hour on one downhill and I was tapping my brakes to keep from going faster! Anyway, I rode 51.4 miles in 4:23 of riding/walking time with a climb of 3565 feet and 2513 feet in descents.
I was dehydrated, a common problem for me. We had a fantastic dinner on tables right outside our hotel room and when the cook called for seconds, some of us couldn't get there fast enough. One thing about something like this is they load you up with calories. The director discussed the next 3 days of 88 to 94 miles each, and some of us have already decided to take the alternate route, which is 90 miles rather than 94 and is "only 4500 feet of climbing rather than 6200! There will also be between 60 and 70% of gravel riding, so this will be a challenge! But I will be out there to do my best. I am thankful for the scenery, the incredible food and support from the GD team, for Bob hanging with me during my worst times today, and for all of the donations that have come in in the past 3 days! Thanks to all for reading this and GOOD NIGHT!
Bill
Drinking Dr. Pepper at a beautiful lunch stop