The ride was beautiful as these pictures show.
The ride was very challenging; at least, for this old man. The first 20 miles were nice; however, heading to the first summit we encountered a 10-15 mph headwind. Couple the wind with the road just getting new chip seal and the 3-6% grades made for tough going. Chip seal roads reduce rolling resistance by ~1 to 3 mph let alone the rough ride and flying rocks from passing vehicles. After about 15 miles of this and after the first summit, we reached smooth roads and the winds died down; wow, what a difference. The second summit had grades of 4 to 6% that only prepared us for the Teton Summit. This summit was about 20 miles long starting out with 2-3%, 3-7% and then for the last ~ 3 miles 8 to 10%. Unlike the Rockies in CO, where normally as you approach the summit the grades get smaller and smaller, the Teton Summit is goes from 10% ascent to 10% descent in ~half mile. The descent was nice as there were no switchbacks nor crosswinds to handle. These 7 of the 90 miles were fun.
Nearly all of our riders made it through this tough day, a tribute to their tenacity. The young Taiwanese lady was really proud of her accomplishment as she should be. She just about called it a day at the last SAG stop but to decided to give it a go. Congrats to her. Many others, including 3 over 70, felt the same of their accomplishments. Proud of all of them.
The Snow King Ski Resort is in Jackson and the ski runs could be seen behind our motel.
The town square has wooden sidewalks and there is a big pile of antlers on ever corner. Jackson is a neat town with lots of cabins to rent, flat, easy to walk around and pretty surroundings.
Tomorrow, Anne and Michael will start and take the tandem 33 miles to the first SAG stop. Our guides told us we should see roaming Buffalo and great scenery along the way. Then, Michael will take the single bike the remaining 47 miles, including going over the Continental Divide at over 9,000', to
Dubois, WY.
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