Upper Red Rock Lake, MT to Turpin Meadow Campground, WY
Mileage: 244.7 km (152.1 mi)
Riding Time: 18 h 03 m
Standing: 13th place
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| Day 8 Map |
Woke up at around 4:15am and I wanted to get going ahead of
Pavel. My set up around my bivy would
consist of putting my shoes near my head, covering them with my raincoat and
placing my helmet on top. I would read
my bible a bit and could turn the headlight off without unzipping my bivy. This morning my coat was covered in
frost! It was probably a few degrees
below zero at the coldest point of the night.
Tom passed by while I was packing up and I followed shortly after.
It was a cold ride out and the trail was nice and felt easy
even with the stiff legs. I rode up the
gentle climb up to Red Rock Pass and took my picture at the Idaho border. It felt great to leave a state behind!
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| Happy to be at the border! |
I continued down the hill onto some pavement that traversed
Henrys Lake. Pavel caught up to me and
continued past. Luke eventually caught up to me and gave me a
bunch more valuable advice. He knew the
route so well and I was trying to keep track of the good spots to stop and what
to avoid. I am sure I missed a lot of
it, but it was much appreciated. One
thing that stuck with me was bring more food and water than you think you will
need into New Mexico. You never know
what will happen and there are not too many places to resupply. We kept riding and I explained my strategy of
riding slow and consistent while minimizing stops. I told him about the hand warmers in my shoes
because I get cold feet and he seemed to really like that idea. There was a nice stretch of single track
leading up to Mack’s Inn that was fun.
Luke said he was going into the Subway for breakfast. I thought that would take too long so I went
into the big gas station to resupply and have some quick gas station food. Tom was there and just finished some
breakfast. He went on his way as I
shopped.
When I was about ready to leave, Pavel rode up. He needed a new pedal and was trying to hitch
a ride into Yellowstone. I left while
watching Pavel riding in circles on the road stopping trucks trying to get a
ride. Crazy Czech! The next stretch was the rail trail.
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| Infamous Rail Trail |
I was curious to see how tough the Rail Trial actually was
after all the research. It didn’t seem
too bad. There were some really loose
spots, but with all the riding in the snow I do in Canada, it seemed natural to
ride through. Always remember not to turn until you are out of the loose
stuff. Go with the flow. The big washboards were a bit tedious. They
seemed to be at the same spacing as my wheel base so you couldn’t sit on the
saddle without getting bucked off. I felt I was making good time as the riding
was flat (in elevation), dry and warm.
Warm turned into hot as I found Luke again. We rode together at times and apart at
others, but always in the same vicinity.
At one spot when I was on my own, I looked at my maps a little too long
and my front tire got caught in the loose sand lump in the middle of road. Down I went.
No real injury except some scratches and my pride. The trail started to follow along the Wise
River canyon and it was really nice riding.
The washboards dissipated and it was all downhill. There was a campground at the bottom with an
outhouse and spigot to wash off the dirt and sweat.
The road was paved all the way to another Tour Divide
friendly lodge. Squirrel Creek Elk Ranch
was the place. On the way there I was
about to put my elbow on my aerobar pad and a big bug flew in the way right as
I put my arm down. Gross! I debated stopping and I thought I would stop
to fill my water only. I ran into Tom on
his way out and he recommended the ice cream.
I stopped inside and succumbed to the temptation of ice cream. Eating my ice cream I made conversation with
a couple of tourers.
The road turned to gravel again and started to climb. I was a bit confused to see another border
sign, but apparently I was out of Idaho already and into Wyoming.
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| Entering Wyoming |
Sleepiness set in again and I fought the sleep monster for a
long time. The elevation profile on the
map seemed gentle but the reality seemed a lot tougher. I climbed and climbed in a bit of a stupor
for what seemed like forever. The forest
was very pretty, but it was hard to enjoy in my state. Over the top and across the Grassy Lake
Reservoir I went. I eventually made it
to Flagg Ranch for a resupply. The GPS
track was a bit confusing getting into the store. I ended up taking some foot path that led
past some cabins. I ran into everyone at
the store. Tom was already there and
just finished up his lunch. Pavel and
David showed up shortly after. I was
surprised to see Pavel since the last I saw him he was trying to get a ride to
Yellowstone. I had my first conversation
with a fan (of the race, not me) in the parking lot too. He was following Trackleaders and was excited
to talk to a racer.
I followed the pavement out of the store and had a few cars
cheer as I rode along. That felt
great! It was an amazing view of the
Tetons riding along the highway. More
pictures that don’t come close to giving the view justice.
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| Grand Tetons |
The pavement stretched on as the sun fell. One guy on a motorcycle yelled, “You’re going
to get yourself killed!” as he drove by.
I was a bit confused by that. I
felt pretty safe. At one point a driver
stopped in front of me. As I rode up,
she looked at me and the bike and said, “You really look like you know what
you’re doing.” She explained she stopped
to ask if I wanted a ride somewhere.
Very nice gesture, but I explained the race and we parted ways. It must be strange to see a cyclist on the
highway far from any town late at night. The outhouses looked so appealing to
sleep in as the night fell, but I wanted to make it to the Turpin Meadow
Campground for the night. Just after
turning left toward Moran Junction I looked at the top of a ridge on the side
of the road and saw a big buck deer silhouette.
The antlers were black against the dark blue twilight sky. I had my headlight on so his eyes were glowing
back at me. It was breathtaking and a
bit creepy seeing a black deer silhouette with glowing eyes. Awesome!
I kept riding the pavement down a nice, fast downhill over a
bridge. I looked down at the GPS and I
was off route. Backtracking I went up
the steep hill to the turn off. I rode
as twilight turned to night and rolled past several lodges. Through the windows I could see so many
antlers mounted on the walls. I rolled
into the campground past a bunch of horses. “No tents” the sign at the
campground said. What?! A campground with no tents allowed? It seems due to bear activity, only hard
walled shelters were allowed. I was too
tired to care and set my bivy up by a picnic table anyway. If they woke me up, I would just ride away. Another good night under the stars. I could hear the horses nearby and slept
well.
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