Yellowstone Paddle & Tetons Pedal

5 miles Paddle/42 miles Pedal
TANDEM Pedal Time: 3 hours 19 minutes, average speed 12.6

Our adventure started early this morning with a 3-hour drive back to Yellowstone National Park for our O.A.R.S. Kayak tour on the West Thumb of the Yellowstone Lake and around the West Thumb Geyser Basin. We were at the Grant Village boat ramp by 9:00 a.m. for our 9:30 tour. April, Megan and Leah were there to welcome us and get us psyched for the trip. The ticket price for the two of us for this trip was $180 and it was worth it. Nowhere in the park could you get as close to the geysers as we did in our kayak. Yellowstone lake boasts being North America’s largest lake above 7000 feet and lies at the center of an immense caldera left behind by the collapse of the Yellowstone super-volcano during its last eruption 600,000 years ago. The volcanic activity continues to this day and there are many examples of the region’s characteristic geothermal activity along the shores of the Yellowstone Lake’s West Thumb, including geysers, hot springs and mud pots. We paddled a pine-fringed shoreline to view these geothermal features from the seat of an O.A.R.S. touring kayak.

We experienced beautiful views along with historic commentaries. The Fishing Hole Geyser was an interesting story. An explorer found he could cook a fish in a geyser and he began selling the idea to visitors who would come to cook fish and eat it as a novelty until it became too dangerous—standing over an active geyser was recognized as unsafe and the discovery of arsenic in the sediment put this sport to an end.

This geyser basin used to be the center of attention but now visitors flock to Old Faithful because of its predictability. The geysers here are now covered by the lake and our guides ensured we stayed a safe distance away by creating a barrier between us and these geological formations.

The kayak trip ended too soon but biking was planned for the afternoon and our kayak guide, April lead us south towards the Grand Tetons and Jackson, WY for a recommended route. We had a wonderful lunch in Yellowstone and then pointed the van towards the Grand Teton National Park for some more Wyoming biking.

We were elated to find a newly paved bicycle trail and got on it just south of Jenny Lake. The trail allowed us to view the Tetons from the seat of our tandem—what a treat! We biked 42 of the most beautiful miles at the base of the Tetons on a moisture-free day and even experienced a moose sighting. The temperature was in the upper 80’s with no wind making for a spectacular ride. We biked through the Teton Village and then on to Jackson for a light supper.

Jackson was a touristy town with many restaurants willing to quickly reduce a vacationer’s savings by asking $20-30 for one meal. We found a nice little Bread Company willing to serve us a sandwich for under $10 each.

It was now getting late so we began pedaling back on the trail to where our van was awaiting us. We still had a 4-hour drive to get us back to Big Sky and the sun was beginning to set. We decided to drive through the Teton Pass into Idaho so we wouldn’t have to follow the slow traffic through Yellowstone. This was sure a full day. We reached the Summit Hotel in Big Sky at 11:30 p.m. Mountain Time. We have now toured 4 National Parks on this western trip: The Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, and the Grand Teton National Park and were able to bike in 2 of them—life is good.

Continue West to Cody, Wyoming

New Biking State—WYOMING: 5.71 miles TANDEM Pedal Time: 32 minutes, average speed 10.4

We found ourselves in Cody, WY today where we had room reservations at the Cody Legacy Inn & Suites. After checking in, Dennis and I got the bike ready for its first Wyoming miles. We biked around this busy little town looking for a new adventure. We saw a drive-thru liquor store and thought it would be fun to capture a picture. We didn’t expect the saleswoman to play along in our silliness. Today’s miles weren’t many but they did satisfy our qualifications to add one more state to our growing roster. We then pedaled back to the Legacy Inn to rest up for more adventures to come.

Badlands Nation Park, South Dakota

New Biking State—SOUTH DAKOTA: 4.64 miles TANDEM Pedal Time: 20 minutes, average speed 13.2

Dennis, Jill and I began this western adventure with a final destination of Big Sky, Montana. We planned on viewing a few sights and taking extra time to enjoy this route west. We broke up this day’s 10-hour trip by detouring through South Dakota’s Badlands National Park. The entrance fee was $15 per vehicle. We drove down the Badlands Loop Road until Jill offered to drive the van to the Ben Reifel Visitor Center so that Dennis and I could pedal the tandem through this beautiful section of the Badlands—what a treat this was to have our own SAG service through this National Park. Fabulous scenery was packed into this 5-mile route. This was also our first time biking in South Dakota which gave us another new biking state for this year.

July 4th Neighborhood Ride

4^th of July Ride: 11.52 miles
TANDEM Pedal Time: 59 minutes, average speed 11.5

Happy 53^rd B-Day, Dennis. We were pedaling by 8:30 a.m. on this hot, humid 4^th of July. The temperature was already 81° so this short trip to St. Charles was all we were up for today. The temperature was raising equal to our increasing miles. By ride’s end, the bike computer was reading 94° and it was only 9:30 in the morning.

The farm crops in our area are looking very healthy with the corn definitely greater than knee-high this 4^th of July. The sky continues to have a hazy cast caused, I’m sure, by the Colorado fires. A little rain about now would sure help to keep the farmers happy.

I had a hard time spotting flags on this July 4^th journey. I was able to capture a few while on the bike but hope to see more as we travel towards Spring Valley for an afternoon of tubing.

Paddle and Pedal

RRT Paddle & Pedal: 14 miles Paddle/30 miles Pedal
TANDEM Pedal Time: 2 hours 19 minutes, average speed 12.9

The van was ready to go with the kayak on top and the tandem tucked inside. We were joining the River Rambler Kayak Club for an organized trip on the North Branch of the Root River.

We met up with 11 other boaters at the Eagle Cliff Campground near Whalan at 10:00 and all boats were in the water by 11:00. Joe Reischel was responsible for bringing this group together for this event.

The north branch of the Root was surrounded by towering rock formations which is a side of the Root we rarely get a chance to see. Other than the water level being low and the boat scraping on many rocks, the trip went well. It wasn’t until the last two miles when we met up with many tubers that caution and concentration was a must. One of our boaters capsized while trying to maneuver around a group of tubers, canoes and rocks—she escaped without a scratch and had quite a story to tell at day’s end.

We all made it back to the campground by 3:30 p.m. which allowed Dennis and I to unload the tandem and get some pedal time in. Our first mission was to pedal to the Barn Resort for food. We were quite hungry after paddling for 4 hours.

We then biked on to Preston and beyond. Our plan was to get 30 miles on this last day of June to boost our total monthly miles above 300. We reached and exceeded our goal and sailed back into Lanesboro before the sun set. We packed the bike and discussed how wonderful a clean shower will feel after this day of labor on the Root.

June 2012 — Total Biking Miles 315.71
Accumulative Miles 1354.28

A Neighborhood Challenge

Chatfield Loop: 43.81 miles
TANDEM Pedal Time: 3 hours 22 minutes, average speed: 12.9

Because Alan and Michelle are still recovering from their bike injuries, we drove our van to Dover to have lunch with them. Prior to the bike accident, our foursome would have been out biking somewhere adventurous on a Friday such as this—we do miss Alan and Michelle’s company but know they will be back at it again soon. After lunch, Dennis and I decided to challenge ourselves and bike to Chatfield. We haven’t biked the Chatfield route in quite some time so had forgotten how scenic the route was. In Chatfield we found a tasty treat at the Dairy Queen and enjoyed answering the questions other diners had about our tandem travels. One couple visiting from Ohio was curious about biking the Root River Trail and wondered if we could suggest routes and camping accommodations—no problem there. I think I should get a job working for the Lanesboro Tourist Bureau. We finished our ice cream treat and continued on down the road towards Eyota and then back around to Dover where we picked up Hwy 14 to loop into St. Charles. Just one more challenge to home—the category 5 hill out of town. It was very humid today and this was a hilly ride but we do it because of the adventure and the thrill of the challenge.

Brewskies Run

Utica Route: 19.37 miles
TANDEM Pedal Time: 1 hour 34 minutes, average speed: 12.3

We biked to Utica, MN, home of Brewskies Bar & Grill. It’s been a while since we stopped in to say “hi” to the Brew-Crew. Carla and George took good care of us and even took time to sit a bit and chat. There are still many hills on this route but even though our legs are getting older, we still have the power to get the tandem to the top. This was another wonderful mid-week ride.