At our first rest stop, we saw a one-room schoolhouse and decided to move back in time with our team photography. The small towns and Western landscapes made this look feel fitting and we hope you enjoy our creative masterpiece.
Ride Overview
Mileage: 107.6 miles
Elevation: +3,215 ft. / -2,637 ft.
Points of Interest: Blackfoot Reservoir, Wyoming State Border, Snake River, Snow King Mountain, Jackson Town, Antler Arches
Tales of the Trail
Leaving Soda Springs was a little colder than usual in the morning because we started an hour earlier. Turns out that time actually does matter! We were waking up because we knew that we had many miles in front of us and that this would be our last day riding over 100 miles as it appears to be planned. The cold air was welcomed though after so many days baking in the heat. The other nice thing about starting this early in the morning… no traffic. There were many times over our first 20-mile stretch, maybe even most of the time, that we could look forward and back and not see a vehicle anywhere in sight. That was awesome!
As we approached rest stop number one, which is where the team photo was taken, we were also treated to some gorgeous views to the West out over fields of yellow flowers and the Blackfoot Reservoir. So pretty was the scene that the group of Anthony, Vedang, Ehsan, and Cole took a good 10-minute stop just to appreciate its beauty before continuing their rides. At the rest stop, Max, Parker, and the others in the van had found an interesting looking general store, albeit closed, with a chicken farm out back. Parker definitely took a look at the animals and was disappointed when no one else who was riding shared his joy (sorry Parker!). Then, of course, we took our photo and carried on.
The land that we were on was open range, meaning that livestock could go wherever they pleased. All of the riding groups encountered some cows near the sides of the road and the van had a couple very close to blocking their path. At least this made for some interesting sight seeing along the way while we were in the valley having a tougher time viewing the mountains beyond. Maybe it was the location, maybe it was that they could roam free, but those cows were some of the happiest we have ever seen. We also had some that chased us as we were biking past. Cows. Running! When have you ever seen that?
When we turned East towards Wyoming, we had a climb up to the second rest stop on the road. In case you are wondering back at home, it is also very strange for us to have any miles going East. The Sun being ahead of us in the morning is the telltale sign and that was just weird to be heading into. At the top of the climb, the van was waiting with more snacks and water for all. Water supplies ended up being a sore subject on the day. While we did not realize it then, this rest stop would be the last time we saw one of our beloved water coolers. Left just in the blindspot of the van, our orange Igloo was never to be seen again and hopefully, maybe picked up by someone else who could make use of it. We will always remember our fallen cooler! It served us well.
The next stretch of the day was beautiful. We had 16 miles of downhill that took us all the way to the Wyoming border. It also just so happened to be through a gorgeous wooded canyon and riding it felt like we had been transported to a totally different place from where we were in the morning. The next rest stop came up so quickly we almost didn’t need it apart from the fact that the temperatures were now getting up into the more usual (at this point) 90°F range. What else was fun about this rest stop? It was right on the Idaho and Wyoming border where one side of the road was Wyoming and the other Idaho. We had a lot of fun with that as we started off down it when we departed the rest stop. “Woah, I’m in Wyoming right now and you’re in Idaho! … Want to travel to another state with me? … “Let’s cross the border.”
When we crossed into Wyoming for good, we saw others out trying to avoid the heat and swimming and paddle boarding in the Salt River. It looked appealing, but we were way too far from the end of our day to sacrifice comfort on the bike for a quick reprieve. The roads also became a bit busier here when we got on Route 89 towards Alpine. Despite definitely not being on back roads for most of the day, the traffic had been quite light, so seeing many cars to the rear was a sight we had not been used to for our hours on the bike at that point. Our rest stop was just on the edge of Palisades Reservoir before the point we would enter the Palisades Wilderness and just across the Snake River. We had heard from someone at a stayover a night or two back that we would be following the Snake River soon and here it was. The landscapes now had some large hills or small mountains to the sides and rocky barriers on the edges of the river. The temperature was now getting to the high 90s and we sheltered the best we could inside of the grocery store that we stopped at.
The rest of the ride was a slow but steady climb to Jackson and with the heat that was pretty difficult. From rest stop four to rest stop five, Cole left his water bottles behind at the van and it was a rough time for that to happen. Him and his team decided to take a detour around half-way through though at the Snake River and cool off. After watching some river surfers down below the road, Cole and Ren had seen enough to be convinced that this was the place to stop and to get in. Wow, was this a relief! They both cooled off and were feeling so much better before they went off to attack the second half of this stint. The river at this point also just continued to be a beautiful sight off to our right and we could watch the white water rafters any time we wanted to. There was no lack of engagement on this road!
At our last rest stop of the day was when we finally realized that the water cooler was missing and we were also doing our absolute best to stay out of the scorching sunlight. We sat on shaded steps and made many trips into the gas station convenience store to cool off. We knew now though that the ride would be certainly finished before sundown (always a worry in the morning on century-long days) and that gave us some peace of mind to take enough time for our bodies to recover here. The final total on the road was around 12 hours of time between riding and rest stops which was inflated by taking that time each rest stop to cool off. After reconciling with the news of the cooler and taking on some nutrition, we started the final leg on the trails that would lead us all the way to Jackson.
The Jackson Hole Community Pathways, the name of the trails we were on, were really fun as they went up and down with the terrain, curvy, and revealed to us some of the mountains in the distance. This wasn’t yet the Tetons like I am sure we will see tomorrow, but it was still special to be heading to one of the most popular ski towns in the world and see the mountains that surround it. The Sun was getting lower in the sky as we were approaching mile 107. Everyone made it to the stayover! We enjoyed our pasta and lentils and then made a short walk into town for some ice cream at Häagen Dazs. The team also snapped a picture at one of the famous antler arches.
It feels like we are getting back into adventurous territory and that is exciting! We are looking forward to making it into Grand Teton National Park tomorrow and seeing what all of the hype is about. Right now, we can just dream and imagine.
