Bike Tour - Day 5

Thursday, July 2, 2009

We got to sleep in today!!! My own room and I got to sleep in. Life is good. After a yummy breakfast prepared by the guides, we loaded the bikes on the van and headed up Targhee Mountain. Well, some of us went in the van....

Jane and Patty (tour guide) decided to add some extra miles and ride up the mountain. I was in the front seat of the van, ready to take pictures of the super studs, but of course they were stopped at a lookout when we drove by.

Once we got to the ski resort we took the ski lift up to the top. I've never been on a ski lift and I was a little nervous about getting on and off, but it wasn't bad at all. The view was incredible! When we got to the top we walked up to the observation deck and found the coolest view!!

When you face West (Idaho) this is what you see.... beautiful green fields and mountains.

Jane and Dawn

When you face East (Wyoming) you see snow capped mountains.

Laure and Dawn

Check out the mountain bike on the ski lift.
You can take your mountain bike up, then ride down!

After our sight seeing and picture taking, it was time to ride back down the mountain. As we started getting our bikes, big fat rain drops started to fall. Hmmm... maybe if we hop on and get going right away, we can outrun the storm. I rolled up my right pant leg and in my hurry to get going, I forgot to apply bug spray. That proved to be a VERY bad thing....

As we were leaving the resort we had one short steep hill to climb. The altitude sucked my breath away so I had to stop partway up. Apparently I was the only live thing to stop in that area because I was quickly covered in mosquitoes!!!! I started swatting them away and tearing into my bag...spraying as quickly as I could. My spray was a combo sunscreen/bug spray and I hadn't been spraying my clothes, but those stinkin mosquitoes were biting me right through my clothes so I sprayed them too. I didn't even care if it ruined everything I was wearing. Soon the onslaught was slowed so I jumped on my bike and got out of there as fast as I could.

I was so excited to get to the top of the hill and start zooming DOWN!!! As I rode the rain got harder and harder. I never knew rain could sting so much. Hmmm.... maybe because it was hailing! At that point I started laughing. I was pretty much drenched. The water was flowing like a river through my shoes. I didn't wear cycling shorts because we were only going 12 miles, right? I ride that at home in regular clothes all the time. Problem is that I wore the long yoga pants because we were going to ride down the hill to yoga. Those pants are mighty absorbent!! Thankfully the rain stopped once I got down the mountain and my cycling shirt dried pretty quickly. By the time I got to the condos, my shoes and my pants were still drenched though. So much for wearing yoga pants to yoga.


I changed clothes, got warmed up and then rode over to the yoga class. Of course it started raining again, but not quite so hard this time.


Yoga was nice. She showed us some poses that I haven't done before that were geared towards our cycling muscles, but it was very different from yoga here. No soothing music or water fountains. The studio was beautiful though!

Here are links to the previous posts about the bike tour...
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

Bike Tour - Day 4

Right before our first hill. This view alone was worth it!

(Wednesday, July 1, 1009)

Today we got ready for the ride back down to Jackson. Remember that "mostly flat" ride the other day that slowly brought us UP to Jackson Lake Lodge? Well today it will bring us "down" to Jackson. But first we have to take care of some hills at the beginning of the ride.

Since we have a tighter time frame today, our guides offered to give us a "bump" (car ride) down to Jenny Lake so we could save some time and start after the "hilly" part. A "bump" was not even an option in my mind. After skipping the last 10 miles the other day, I was anxious to try it. If I ran out of time towards the end of the ride, I'd let them help....but I wanted to see how far I could get.

It wasn't easy, I was sucking wind and I was slow, but I am happy to say that I rode those first 10 miles and loved it. It was beautiful, especially the trail from North Jenny Lake down to South Jenny Lake! I joked around when we pulled into the parking lot and I said "there are no tears at Jenny Lake today!" Turns out nobody really knew I shed a few tears behind those sunglasses the other day.

After a brief restroom stop, we continued on our way. I have to say I definately enjoyed the bike trail much more this time! But then I heard that telltale noise that meant.....flat tire....grrr..... Thankfully I was with Jeannie and Lori and they were anxious to practice some of the skills they learned at the bike maintenance class yesterday. I got the tire off and Lori was happy to inspect the tire. We were almost done when Rose (the Teton tour guide) showed up with the SAG wagon. Good news is that Rose helped me get the tire back on and put the stinkin difficult brakes back on. Bad news? She didn't have the floor pump on the van?!? That meant we could only put in as much air as we could with a hand pump.....and it's virtually impossible to get enough tire pressure that way!! (When I checked my tires the next day...I had 20 lbs. of pressure!)

Again, we were given the option to get a "bump." We were getting to the fun downhill part and we wanted to ride. So after contemplating whether we could make it by 12:30....we hoped on our bikes and went for it. They could always pick us up later... So I rode the last 15 or so miles on an underinflated tire and made it by.......12:15!!! Oh yeah baby!

After a picnic lunch, we loaded all the bikes up on the van and shuttled over the pass to Driggs, Idaho....after a brief stop in Victor for Huckleberry Shakes.

The condos we are staying at are absolutely beautiful. We have washers and dryers and..... our own rooms!!!! Jane is a great roommate, but it sure is relaxing to have my own space. There's a router in the master bedroom, but I haven't been able to connect to the internet. I can plug in directly....but it's not my room, so it's not really convenient. (which is why I'm behind on posting!)

My bedroom at the Condo

The view out the door of my bedroom.
Can't you just picture that pond frozen over in the winter?!

I plan to post laster about all the amazing food we have eaten...but just know that I had some fantastic prime rib and shrimp at this restaurant that was right next to the airport!

Need to catch up on the Bike Tour Posts? Here are the links to the previous posts.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Bike Tour - Day 3

(I'm home safe and sound from my trip, but I'm a little behind on the blogging. Wifi was hard to come by for a few days so I got a little behind. Stay tuned for the rest of the updates.)

Jane and Dawn - River Float - Snake River

Day 3
I woke up feeling good. I’m not even sore from yesterday. Too bad I was struggling with my cold and the altitude, otherwise I think I could have finished the ride yesterday. The good news is that I’m on antibiotics now, so maybe I can get rid of the stuff in my chest and be ready for our ride on Wednesday.

I had planned to go on a little hike this morning, but ended up riding a couple of miles down the road towards Colter Bay. It ended up being a great decision. As soon as I got on the bike my right shoulder was killing me. I rode a while to see if it loosened up and then headed back to the cabins. Linda (one of the guides) was prepping stuff in the trailer when I got back and she helped re-fit my bike. We couldn’t adjust the handlebars, so she had me lower the seat a bit and boom, it was instantly better. It’s amazing how tiny little adjustments can make such a big difference.

This afternoon we had a bike workshop. We learned some bike maintenance and some tips on shifting. Every time I go to a bike maintenance class I remember something different. I think I could learn how to change a tire a million times and still learn something different from the person teaching it. Everyone has their own little tips/techniques.

Tonight we went on the Dinner Float trip down the Snake River. As we were walking down to the dinner area, it started to rain. Next thing we know, it’s raining pretty hard and we are all huddled under a canopy. By the time dinner was done cooking, the rain had cleared and the sun was coming out. It was amazing.

Our group was split between two rafts. Apparently the other group were the trouble-makers. I heard their guide "chastising" them for tightening their own life vests. :-)

The dinner was delicious. They bbq'd steak and trout, plus had corn on the cob, salad, mashed potatoes, rolls and cobbler.

Luke

We ended up having perfect weather for the rest of the float trip. Our guide (Luke) was really interesting. He shared so much information about the park and the animals that the time just flew by. The water is incredibly high on the river right now and it is cutting new channels every day. We saw many trees leaning into the river because all the soil around them was being washed away. We also saw a bunch of different animals including a bald eagle.

If you look closely you can see the Bald Eagle in the tree.

Michelle, Lori, Jane and Roberta

I felt so relaxed after floating down the river! I think I’m going to sleep good tonight.

Bike Tour - Day 2

Bike Tour – Day 2

The plan for today was to ride approximately 42 miles to Jackson Lake Lodge. We got started bright and early and the weather was perfect for riding. It was crisp and cool. While the tour brochure says that it this tour is “mostly flat,” it does not say it is all flat. We figured that out right away as we started our first little climb. I’m not the best hill climber in San Diego. Add 6,000 feet of elevation and it’s even harder for me, but I’m happy to say I did it.

In fact the first 22 miles were an absolute breeze. I loved it, especially the National Elk Preserve. The road was so smooth! And then we hit this section with rolling hills where you get enough speed going down that it almost carries you up the next hill. We were having so much fun that I completely blew right past our turn. We figured it out soon enough…when the road became a dead end. Thankfully we’d only gone about one mile. Just as we were turning around, the Teton guides caught up with us. Ooops. I’m sure I should feel bad about going off track, but it was so much fun. And we got to see a bull Bison too.

Once we got back on track, we got stopped again by a herd of Bison. They were crossing the road. Apparently Bison are not all that friendly. Thankfully the Teton guides were there with the van and they helped lead us through. We waited for a break in the herd and then continued down the road. I was watching the approaching herd as we rode by and then I turned to look to my right and looked at the part that had already crossed and several of them had turned back and were paying a little too much attention to us little bike riders. I was more than happy to scurry along. I was able to take one picture while we were waiting to cross. Sadly I couldn’t capture the little baby that was on the other side of the road.
When we stopped at the visitors center, I was feeling good and flying high and so we continued along on the new bike path that goes to Jenny Lake. It was “mostly flat,” but you pretty much had to pedal the entire time. It was a long slow incline. Nothing too difficult…but suddenly I was struggling. My silly cold was moving into my chest so I was coughing. I had no energy and had to stop a couple of times once I hit about 30 miles. I was getting a little dizzy and it took everything I had to get to Jenny Lake.

Once I got to Jenny Lake, I sat down, snacked a bit, drank some Gatorade and hoped it would pass. Sadly, it didn’t. I was done. I had to face the reality that it would be irresponsible for me to continue on when I knew I was feeling so bad. I’ve ridden a lot and I have never felt so awful. It was such a hard decision to make!! I really wanted to ride every single mile available. It took another hour or so, and lunch and water and soda and Gatorade….before I started feeling better. Of course, by that point, I probably could’ve floated up the hill with all the fluids I drank!

We’re staying at the Jackson Lake Lodge and it is absolutely beautiful. We have adorable little cabins with the most amazingly comfortable beds! Tonight we were even treated to a little thunderstorm. It was so fun listening to the thunder and the rain.

July SOTM Blog Hop

(If you're following my blog because of the bike trip. I'm alive, well, and having fun! Please excuse this little diversion. I gotta keep up with regular life too. :-) Each month I do a blog hop with my fellow CTMH consultants, featuring our special stamp set for the month. It's pretty fun. You might want to check it out while you're here. I'll update about the bike ride again tomorrow. )

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring July's SOTM, which is You've Got Flair, a set of 8 stamps. If you have come here from Sherry's Blog, you are on the right path!

This month we have 39 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

Here's the first card I made with the set.

As I was playing around with the placement of the stamp, I realized it would make a nice patterned background. I was packing/preparing for my bike trip, so I just did a sample so you can see the possibilities.

Then I made one more card. You can add the sentiment of your choice to the little half circle.

Now "Hop" on over to Brae's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the July SOTM is only available until July 31st! Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!

Here's a complete list of the consultants that are participating, in case you get lost on the hop or find links that aren't working. Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to leave a comment. I love comments!!!!!!

Jena Devries
www.livelovelaughscrapbook.blogspot.com
Wendy Kessler
www.myscrapbookingblog.com
Sherry Thompson
www.picturespatternsandpaper.blogspot.com
Dawn Heuft
www.stamptildawn.blogspot.com
Brae Montgomery
http://thebrae-er.blogspot.com
Melissa Laverty
http://www.fancymelissa.blogspot.com
Karen Norman
www.gettinscrappywithit.blogspot.com
Deb Young
http://www.scrapbookczar.blogspot.com
Adeline E. Brill
http://adeline-brill.blogspot.com
Tammy Lea Pinchard
http://www.creativeimpressions-pinchme.blogspot.com
Jen Rubio
http://www.jenrubio.blogspot.com
Cibele Glazer
www.flowerfoot.blogspot.com
Laurie R Newton
http://scrapsfromthebeach.blogspot.com/
Kami Welter
http://www.scrappin4memories.blogspot.com
Helen Onulak
www.hookedonstamping.com
Sarita Schraeder
http://www.blessedscrapper.blogspot.com
Chris Shouse
http://www.houseostamps.wordpress.com
Paige Dolecki
http://www.paigespaperparadise.blogspot.com
Dawn Ross
http://www.iamahappystamper.blogspot.com
Jamia Bankhead
http://www.papermadnessinc.blogspot.com
Nona Davenport
www.nonapearl.blogspot.com
Haley Dyer
www.inkyscrapper.blogspot.com
Misty Jackson
http://www.misstscraps.blogspot.com
Jennifer Patrick
http://www.roxybonds-scrappin.blogspot.com
Carla Ironside
www.carlacreates.blogspot.com
Jody Gustafson
www.cre8nmemories.blogspot.com
Heather Painchaud
http://www.twindragonflydesigns.blogspot.com
Julia Menssen
www.ralphandjulia.blogspot.com
Lori Miller
www.clearlyfromtheheart.blogspot.com
Pamela OConnor
http://www.cherishyourmemories.blogspot.com
Reba Poquette
http://www.thedirtyscramper.blogspot.com
Anne Beck
http://www.anniemuses.blogspot.com
Shannon Pelletier
www.shannonmvt.blogspot.com
Caren Goldsein
http://www.scrappycaren.blogspot.com
Jan Moxey
http://scrapandstamp4ever.blogspot.com/
Kristie Horness-Herdener
www.goofyscrapper.blogspot.com
Alanna Moses
www.damoses.blogspot.com
Leslie Markland
http://pandascrapper.blogspot.com/
Barbra Otten
http://barbraotten.blogspot.com/
Traci Godbee
http://createwithtraci.blogspot.com
Jill Lucas
http://scrapwench.blogspot.com
Amy McVey
www.clearlystamping.blogspot.com
Laurie Levnik
www.creationsbylaurie.blogspot.com

Got Bikes?

We got our bikes today. Woo Hoo! So much fun. The best part is that they are hanging out in our rooms with us!! I kind of feel like it's so that we can get to know them. There's probably a more practical reason than that, but I like my reason better. I've been telling my bike that we are in for a fun adventure!

I'm riding a Fuji Silhouette. So far I've only ridden it around the parking lot, but I like it. I love that it has pretty much the exact handlebars that I have on my Schwinn... and believe me, there are a ton of different varieties of handlebars so that's kind of cool. AND... my saddle matches the paint job on the bike. I think little mister Fuji was meant for me. :-)

Jane is riding a Terry Madeline and it is absolutely beautiful! It's a women specific bike and it has a smaller front tire. We've read about the design before, but never seen one. Jane is trying to get used to what it looks like, but she said it "rides like a dream."

By the end of the week we'll either love these bikes, or be grateful to be reunited with our own bikes at home.

Our group seems really nice! We had fun getting to know them at orientation and dinner. We seem to have varying degrees of experience. There are even a few who have done some tours before. Our guides (Patty and Linda) are both great. Very easy going personalities. We had fun chatting with Patty at dinner. Turns out she met one of the guys riding in the Great Divide Race last week! So we had fun talking about different tours and all things cycling. (I'm sure a couple people at our table might be a little scared of me now that they know I'm obsessed with cycling and blogs and know all about the crazy people riding the GDR.)

Well tomorrow is the big day. At 47 miles, it's our longest day. I'm a little nervous to see how well I'm able to keep up. The whole group has to meet up after about 22 miles so that we can enter the Grand Teton National Park together. I'm really hoping that I don't have the entire group waiting on me. :-)

After I posted on the blog last night, we made a late night run out to the street corner.... Turns out there is a live webcam on Town Square so we decided to embrace our inner dorks and go wave to our honeys who have been tracking our every move. Vic and Rick have looked up our tour on the internet, call for constant status updates, check the weather for us and all sorts of other sweet things so we thought they'd enjoy the webcam. I think they might have... both of them saved the screen shots! Too funny! So here's us hanging out on the street corner last night.

Yellowstone

So we had this grand plan.... We were going to drive to Yellowstone and see all the sights. We were "just" gonna drive the whole figure eight loop. It only takes a couple of hours, right? We started around 9am and we got back around 7pm. Not bad eh? Well here's where we went....

First we took an interesting route through the Grand Teton National Park, which included a very muddy dirt road. Our white rental car look fabulous now!! We got a sneak peek at where we'll be staying on Monday and Tuesday and it is absolutely breathtaking!!! (My favorite spot from our whole trip today!)

We finally got to Yellowstone, after what seemed like hours of driving and slowly made our way to Old Faithful. We had absolutely perfect timing. We only had to wait 15-20 minutes to see it erupt. It was pretty amazing...and a little stinky! The wind was blowing our way so we enjoyed a little mist too.

When we first walked up, we saw several people enjoying some yummy looking ice cream cones and they were pretty big. Of course, we had to have one. Jane ordered first and very confidently said "Large, swirl please." We both laughed when we saw what a "large" looked like. Thankfully I was able to learn from her mistake and I ordered a small....yummy!

Jane and her large ice cream cone!

After the eruption, we walked along the boardwalks and looked at the other geysers and springs. It was a nice little walk. It felt really good to stretch our legs after being the in car for so long.

After a quick little shopping trip, we were ready to hit the road and continue on the "little" loop. When we decided....we were done. We came, we saw, we enjoyed and we were tired. So we turned around and headed back down to Jackson.

We were both exhausted and had to play games just to stay awake on the ride home. I can't even imagine how we would've felt if we had continued on.

Yellowstone was gorgeous, but it's definately not a one day tour! You'd need several days just to make a dent.

When we got back to Jackson, we went to Bubba's BBQ and had the MOST amazing ribs!!! They were delicious. Good thing we will be riding soon. We need to start working off all the delicious food we have been eating. Tomorrow we check in with the tour and get our bikes fitted!! Woo Hoo!!! Can't wait to share pictures of where we are riding!

Jackson, Day 1

Day 1
We made it to Jackson….well two of us did, anyway. Candace got a pinched nerve in her shoulder/neck and had to cancel her trip. It’s just not the same without her. We’re having fun, but we’re missing her!! But it does seem that a little piece of Candace’s spirit has come along because everywhere I go, I seem to be making friends with strangers. It’s either Candace or she’s been rubbing off on me.

I chatted with a girl as we boarded in San Diego, made friends with a grandmotherly type in the airport in Denver and talked to the girl in front of me on the plane to Jackson. I’m friendly, but I don’t usually make that many friends in one day!

The Denver airport is HUGE. We know that because we had to hike from one end to the other. The moving sidewalks saved me. Otherwise, I might’ve passed out trying to keep up with Jane. Walking with her is just like riding bikes with her. She is quick! At one point, I couldn’t help but laugh. I had to try and take a picture with my cell phone. You might think it’s blurry because it’s poor quality, but I think it’s because we were moving so fast.

Jackson is absolutely beautiful and so so green! It was raining when we got here and then we saw a gorgeous rainbow.

After we got all settled at the hotel we were starving and thought this restaurant was pretty appropriate for us.
I had the most amazing mango shrimp wrap. Yummy!

Here’s the view from our balcony at night.

Tomorrow we’re heading to Yellowstone.

11 more days...

11 more days and the countdown no longer strikes fear in my heart. I ended up cycling about 70 miles last week. Not bad! I enjoyed it. I wasn't sore. I didn't have to push. It was a nice, easy 70 miles. That means I rode over half the distance I'll be covering on the tour; while working full-time and taking care of all the other things in a full and busy life.... and now I'm excited!!!! I think the additional miles on the tour will push me a bit and help me to feel like I truly accomplished something, but it shouldn't break me. :-)

And with that, I am officially done with training! I have really done all I can do. I'm not going to experience any great gains in strength or endurance over the next 11 days so it's time to just relax, have fun and pack....

Here are my tentative plans:
Drink more water (I am sooo bad about this!!)
No junk food!

Riding:
Monday - Commute (I'm switching to the longer route, but it's easier 11-12 miles)
Tuesday - Lake Murray (17 miles - 2 laps, plus ride down to the lake)
Wednesday - Commute (11-12 miles)
Thursday - Commute (11-12 miles)
Saturday or Sunday - ?? Maybe a beach ride? I'd like the do the 26 mile ride again.
Monday - Commute (11-12 miles)
Tuesday - Lake Murray (17 miles )
And that's it!!!

We leave next Friday, but I'm going to stop riding on Tuesday. We're supposed to taper back a bit since we're not used to the elevation AND more importantly... I need to wash all my gear and pack it. I forget something almost every day...so I need to make sure I give myself plenty of time to pack everything up. I don't want to forget something because I used it right before the trip.