Saturday, August 2, 2008

Day 4 - WIND!

Most of us thought today would have been an easier day at only 90 miles and not a lot of elevation on the route slip. But mother nature had something else in mind. Strong headwinds for the entire day. We were also climbing all day, but at a very easy pace - maybe 2% on average. But with the headwinds it felt like almost 6 hours of non-stop up hill.

The scenery did help to make up for some of it. We mostly rode along the Gallatin River - which is just beautiful. Also passing some fields of wildflowers. But the wind was always there and it was work just to stay at 12 mph.

The day started of fine and then John Morgen flatted, so I stopped to lend a hand. That put us considerably behind our regular group. But that was fine with me, as I wanted to take it easy today and make several stops just to enjoy the area. I did ride the last 40 miles with Jim and Will Slauson and that was a huge help - thanks guys!

I have never been to this area before. Southern Montana skirting the north east section of Yellowstone Park. It seems to be very quiet in this area and just beautiful. A real gem. We saw a few people fly fishing too.

All in all though, a tough day. Toughest so far. Tomorrow we may take the optional (and unsupported) route through Yellowstone and the Tetons ending in Jackson. The PacTour route is on the other side of the Tetons. I'm actually undecided at the moment.

Stats:
Day 4 - 90 miles
RT - 5:47
Avg - 15.5
Elevation gain - 3445 ft.
Weather - Outstanding/Hot










1 comment:

Matt Kavanaugh said...

Joel,
Thanks for the great posts. I'm enjoying following your progress. The pix are awesome. Amazing scenery. Keep up the good work on and off the bike!

Matt

P.S. Nice to see the Sundance jersey in the Day 3 photos :)