Our first taste of national parks came to an end today with leaving Yellowstone National Park. It was a chilly day that progressively got hotter and hotter. We were able to meet with a 2014 I4K alumni in the short time that we were in Montana today! Afterwards, the day was filled with groups trying to find things on the side of the road to later gift as a present to someone else on the team to celebrate I4Kristmas!
quote of the day
“Blow meeeeeee!!!!”
ride overview
Mileage: 90.7 Miles
Elevation: 1,584 ft.
Points of Interest: Espresso West, Montana, Frost Stop
Ride Dedication: Douglas Porter
Tales of the trail
It was a typical chilly morning waking up in our tents today to get going for the day. As the teams were leaving Yellowstone, we passed by some wild Bison close to the side of the road!The opposing lane in the road had a long line of traffic due to cars stopping to watch the bison, meanwhile we got to ride on past and admire the beautiful beasts. A fun fact that many of us learned on this trip is that the scientific name of the bison is actually Bison bison bison! Upon leaving Yellowstone, we crossed into Montana! No sightseeing here, it was just the state we went through for a couple of miles to get back into Idaho. While we were in Montana, we met with a 2014 alumni rider, Ellen! We met at Espresso West, a coffee shop (of course), to chat with her and update her about the ride and I4K. She, along with the 2014 team put in efforts to restock our team with snacks the day prior, so thank you so much for providing us with some much needed snacks!
Along our ride we ended up encountering some backed up traffic along the road, it was quite comical as we passed the cars along the shoulder while they were backed up, only for them to move ahead of us, get backed up again, and us passing. This happened for about 2-3 cycles until we got to the end of the traffic, it made for some great encounters and motivation from strangers in their cars. One of the final rest stops of the day was at Frost Stop, which is a classic Drive-In diner, similar to Sonic. Many of us ended up getting a root beer, shake, or some food. The sunscreen we were wearing also ended up mixing with the paint on the tables, staining us! Nothing a little soap and water couldn’t fix though. Today was also July 25th, meaning it was Christmas, but for I4K! Everyone was tasked with finding items on the side of the road to wrap and give to a person they were assigned at random earlier in the ride. It made for some funny bits with items ranging from something small like a patch to something massive, like a traffic cone, that others gifted to each other at the end of the day, surrounded by our homemade I4Kristmas tree.
Thank you to the principal and vice principal of Sugar-Salem Highschool, who let us stay at the high school for a night to have a place to shower, eat and sleep! We greatly appreciated the meal donation with Little Caesars Pizza and for all the refreshments that were provided in the fridge. It was lovely meeting you guys!
cyclist’s Corner
Today’s Rider: Alex Ziminski
How are you feeling today?
I'm really tired today, but I'm glad today's over.
Which chore have you been doing for the team in the past week? Can you share your process doing this chore?
I've been helping Matt with the water jugs and policing, and basically all we do is we just fill up ethe three water jugs very morning so the team can fill up their bottles at every rest stop. And also, we make sure that our stay over is all cleaned up, all the lights are turned off, all garbage is taken out and just kind of leaving it as we found it.
What’s the best food you’ve eaten on the ride so far?
I feel like nothing has like stuck out that much. But I'd say, when we were in Rockville, and we were at Randy's, they made such a good meal for us, both dinner and breakfast, that was probably the most memorable of the trip.
Do you have a favorite accessory to wear with your ride uniform?
Of course, I have my Rolex that I got in, got in New York City, and it goes everywhere with me. Never ride a day without it, and if I ride a day without it, then I usually bonk.
Any favorite team memories so far?
Even though it's recent, I really, really enjoyed eating the habanero pepper with everyone. It was just so crazy, and it was so funny seeing everyone's reaction to it. I also did like crossing into the national parks with everyone, stopping to sightsee, and taking pictures.