Mon 28th June to 5th July - Highlights

Photo's - Sorry these are out of order, organising them on the Blog seems to be not that simple....I'll have a go later; after my bike ride!! They do relate to this part of the ride though (spot the bear!). Photos to be added to other Blogs later.

Comment - This is the last posting and takes the blog up to the end of the ride at the Canadian border. Apologies for the absence of updates recently; as reported previously, it has been difficult to make the updates since we switched from hotel accommodation to the campervan.

Mon 28th June - Dubois to Grant Village - Yellowstone Park (7754'). 104miles, 15.5mph ave, 6.37.53 ride time, 5135' climbed. The days ride started with a ride up Togwotee Pass which topped out at 9658'. On the way down we were transported through a 1 1/2 mile section of road works on the back of a pick-up truck. This was on the insistence of the traffic controllers for safety reasons. We were then unsupported until Grand Teton National Park owing to the ladies having been delayed due to the discovery of a Bead Shop in Dubois! We eventually met up with the ladies at the entrance to the Grand Teton National Park and then again later at the entrance to Yellowstone Park at which point they were relaxing at a lovely spot by the river. The scenery through the Grand Teton and into Yellowstone Parks was nothing short of spectacular....the best ride ever. We also crossed the Continental Divide again within Yellowstone before settling down for night at an amazing forrest site at Grant Village.

Tue 29th June - Grant Village. Rest day for sight seeing with the ladies so no cycling today...the only non-cycling day on the whole trip. The four of us took a bus tour of the lower loop of Yellowstone Park which took the entire day. Many geothermal sites were visited including Old Faithful, the most famous geyser in the world. Much wild life was also observed including bison, elk and numerous other fury animals.

Wed 30th June - Grant Village to West Yellowstone (6763'). 53miles, 18mph ave, 2.58.37 ride time, 1555' climbed. The day started with another fantastic ride through the South West corner of Yellowstone and gave us another chance to visit some of the many amazing geothermal sites on this stretch of road missed on the previous day. It was only a short day in the saddle so allowed us time to indulge ourselves in visiting these extraordinary sites. Although the ride started in the rain the weather soon improved. More bison and other wildlife were observed on our way to the highlight of the day, the Grand Prismatic Spring at Midway Geyser Basin. As we left the park we saw elk by the Madison River and a juvenile bald eagle sat on the edge of its nest. There was also plenty of fly fishing going on and one guy caught a 10" brown trout as we rode past. West Yellowstone was vibrant tourist town on the outside of the park and we once again met up with the three cyclists from Ohio we met earlier in the ride.

Thu 1st July - West Yellowstone to Twin Bridges (4507'). 125miles, 19mph ave, 6.24.11 ride time, 3211' climbed. We were treated to a tail wind and relatively flat roads for the first part of this days ride, at least until we reached our first coffee and cake stop cafe. As we sat sipping our coffee we were able to watch the 'Ride Across America' go by. One guy, a nice Dutch man called Tom, had stopped for refreshment and was riding this event on a recumbent (one of those wacky machines where you lie back on it and are generally ridden by cyclist that are la ittle on the eccentric side!). The tour starts in the west at Seattle and rides across to the east coast. We also met a young chap that was cycling from Jackson (South Jackson Basin) to Missoula over four days to meet his girl friend! One amazing site en-route was 'Earthquake Lake', formed (as the name suggests) by an earthquake causing a land slide that blocked the river back in 1959. We only had one significant climb that involved 2400' of ascent. We then met the ladies again in Virginia City toward the bottom of the climb on the other side and indulged ourselves in the most amazing milk shake ever. We did have a couple short thunderstorms to ride through and unfortunately I had two further rear wheel punctures this day.

Fri 2nd July - Twin Bridges to Wisdom (6041'). 93miles, 15mph ave, 6.07.56 ride time, 4216' climbed. We stopped for our first cafe break at Dillon and met a guy called Dave who was riding a road bike with a fixed trailed loaded with enough kit to keep him going for eight months and 8000miles! The ladies then indulged themselves in a dip in the Jackson Hot Springs. It was a hard day in the saddle as the majority of the 93miles was spent ridding into a fierce head wind and included two passes, Badger Pass @ 6700' and Big Hole Pass @ 7360', but we still arrived at the campsite before the ladies (still in the hot spring!) so sat in the only cafe drinking coffee in the 'one-horse-town' as we awaited their arrival.

Sat 3rd July - Wisdom to Missoula (3181'). 122miles, 18mph ave , 6.44.47 ride time, 2077' climbed. The day started with a long steady climb that got steeper as we approached the summit of Chief Joseph Pass @ 7241' then descended a little to the junction and summit of the Lost Trail Pass near to the Idaho border where we met the ladies for refreshment in the RV. The camp site in Missoula was very pleasant and, for the first time since Denver, were not plagued with mosquito's. I was getting pretty fed up with punctures so bought a new tyre for the rear wheel as we passed through the small town of Hamilton. Result; no more punctures after this point in the ride! Missoula is the HQ for the American Adventure Cycling organisation who had provided some excellent maps for the trip....unfortunately they were closed by the time we arrived.

Sun 4th July - Missoula to Swan Lake (3130'). 114miles, 18mph ave, 6.14.17 ride time, 2441' climbed. Yet again, the day started with a long steady climb. This was Independence Day so we encountered celebrations en-route, particularly at Seeley Lake where we had lunch in a really nice town cafe. There were stalls-a-plenty to keep the ladies busy but it was the Quilting shop that received the greatest accolade. We had a final stop at a cafe in Condon before descending to Swan Lake into a mere zephyr of a wind. The campsite was a nice forrest site with only limited facilities.

Mon 5th July - Swan Lake to Roosville - Canadian Border (2728'). 111miles, 17mph ave, 6.46.17 ride time, 2291' climbed. THE FINAL DAY! Our first refreshment stop of the day was at Creston then lunch later by the road side in the RV. Our final break was in a nice cafe in Eureka only c.15miles south of the Canadian border. However, as we set off for the FINAL short ride to the border the heavens opened the result of which was Derek and I arriving very wet and cold (the temperature had dropped to 10C. The ladies were at the border awaiting the arrival of two elated and proud cyclists from Yorkshire who had ridden over 2500miles over the five weeks fro the Mexican border. Many a photo was taken before we set off for the RV site 1 1/2 miles back up the road. The views were amazing from the campsite at this remote location and we were fortunate to have nice 'atmospheric' restaurant *The Trappers Saloon) only a short walk away to celebrate our achievement.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!