Day 44: August 18, 2024 - Rest day

I began the day by repairing the tube that had been punctured the previous day. When the repair was complete I installed the tube in my front tire. Can you think of why I would go through the trouble of removing the good tube in the front tire and installing the repaired tube which requires inflating it with my small hand pump which is a tiring task?

A few days ago I notice that my trunk bag was not mounted to the rack tightly enough, so I adjusted the mounting mechanism so that it would be tighter.

Throughout the afternoon I felt tired and did not look forward to the prospect of riding 52 miles to Grant Village the next day. As I left for dinner I went to the Ho Hum office and paid for another day.

The weather forecast for the next few days shows a low of 50 in Yellowstone. My next two destinations, Grant Village and Colter Bay, have campgrounds with hiker-biker sections costing just $8 and $13 per night. I plan to camp at both locations and hope that I’ll be able to get decent sleep. Provided I can  do that those locations with their low prices would be perfect for rest days if I need them.

I spent some time studying the elevation changes I’ve made since leaving Missoula August 10th, and the elevation changes I will experience between here and Hoosier Pass. In Missoula I was at 3200 feet and now I’m at 6700 feet, so I went up 3500 feet in one week, and during that week I was up as high as 7400 feet.

Between here and Kremling, Colorado, the highest elevation is 8700 feet at the Tugwotee Pass. When I  was home I planned to ride 65 miles from Colter Bay to Dubois, Wyoming, but I now see that I need to split that day into two in order to share the 16-mile climb from 7,000 feet to 9,500 feet between two days. In order to do this I will need to spend a night at the expensive Tugwotee Mountain Lodge.

After Dubois my biggest concern is the 14.6-mile climb of 2300 feet up to Hoosier Pass.

I find West Yellowstone to be a tacky tourist trap. The signs on all the businesses are gross. I considered having dinner somewhere other than the Madison Crossing Lounge where I ate the previous night, but the food was good there and so was the ambience (in contrast to the general tackiness of the town) so I returned.

See all of my daily routes here: Cross Country 2024

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