It will be cool to down-right cold at the start. Expect temperatures to be around 30-45
degrees and dress accordingly. Also, the
weather in Yellowstone is unpredictable so be prepared. Steve and I got rained on for most of the
last 13 miles. It was actually kind of
pleasant, but that’s not always going to be case.
The roads are generally very good. Most of the route has about a 3 foot wide
rideable shoulder. However most of the
stretch from Lake Village to Canyon does not have much of a shoulder so use
caution there. The shoulder between
Canyon and Norris has some big ruts and potholes just outside of Canyon, but it
gets better as you go up the hill.
Even though the park is shutting down, traffic will be
busy. Our pre-ride was on a Monday and
traffic was constant all day. The
stretch from West Thumb to Lake had the lightest traffic. Watch out for the big coach tour busses, they
didn’t seem to be interested in giving any room. Other than that, motorists were pretty
courteous. It seemed like we were passed
by the same vehicles all day as they would stop at every road side attraction
and then come by again.
My advice is to take it easy on the first leg from West
Yellowstone to Old Faithful. Other than
one hill just past Madison Junction this is a pretty easy stretch. But don’t blow yourself up, as there’s some
big climbing to come.
After Old Faithful we climb up to the Continental Divide and
cross the divide twice. The first
crossing is Craig Pass, then there’s a short descent and then more climbing to
the next divide crossing. It never gets
terribly steep (maybe 6%) but the second peak is 14 miles away and 2000 feet
higher than Old Faithful. Then it’s a
short non-technical descent to West Thumb and then gentle
rollers to the Lake Hotel. It’s about 40
miles from Old Faithful to our next control at Lake. This was by far the toughest section for
Steve and I and we needed a long break in Lake to recover. So make sure you’re well fed and hydrated out
of Old Faithful and have plenty of supplies along.
As I said, the road from Lake to Canyon doesn’t have much
for a shoulder. This is in the Hayden
Valley and there will probably be lots of bison out-and-about. The wildlife’s presence does tend to slow
down the cars and trucks. But watch out for motorists around a bison jam-the
drivers are more unpredictable than the animals.
If you’re not too tired, the section between Canyon and
Norris is fun. There’s a short steep
climb for a mile or so then the climb becomes pretty easy (if the wind is
right). Then there’s some big downs and
ups with a short 8% descent mixed in.
It’s not that long so I didn’t need my brakes. Also, traffic wasn’t too heavy here when we
rode.
The best road surface was from Norris Junction to the
finish. The shoulder is pretty wide and
rideable. But it is very busy from Norris
to Madison Junction and there were lots of tour busses.
Controls:
West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce parking lot: You can park here all day. There are restrooms that were open for us in
the morning, but they were locked when we got back. This control will be staffed by my loyal
volunteers Brenda and Jackson.
Old Faithful: The Old Faithful complex is huge and
everything should still be open for our ride.
Steve and I went to the first available store. Take the first left after going over the
overpass and on the Old Faithful entrance road-signs are there to guide
you. If you want to see the visitor’s
center or the geyser itself keep going and follow the signs. There’s another store by the lodge and
visitor’s center. Waiting for the geyser
can take a long time depending on when it last went off. Personally I wouldn’t wait for it. After it does go off, it will be like rush
hour getting out of there for a little while.
Lake Hotel: The only thing still open at Lake will be the
dining room in the Lake Hotel. This
place is pretty fancy and it’s a sit-down type of restaurant. I’m planning on having Brenda and Jackson
meet us outside the Lake Hotel in the parking lot with some snacks and water.
Canyon Village: If
you want to actually see the canyon take the right turn on to north rim drive
(after the turn to the south rim, and the turn to the brink of the upper falls. The north rim drive will loop to Canyon
Village and it only adds a couple of kilometers). If you’ve never seen the Grand Canyon of the
Yellowstone then the side trip is worth it.
The restrooms in the Canyon Village Visitor’s Education Center should
still be open. These are super nice
facilities and they have water fountains with a spigot to fill water
bottles. The only place open to get food
in Canyon will be the Outdoor Adventure Store.
They have pop, chips, candy bars and gas station style sandwiches.
The scenery on the whole route is amazing of course. The views of Lake Yellowstone are especially
wonderful. Don’t forget to look around
now and then.
Other than bison and a few elk there wasn’t much for
wildlife when we rode, but keep your eyes open.
If bison are on the road try to keep a car between you and the
animal. The bulls are especially grumpy
this time of year as it is mating season.
It took Steve and me 10 hours and 40 minutes to complete the
ride, including two long rest stops at Lake and Canyon. We finished with plenty of daylight, but we
did turn on our blinky taillights for the last 20 or so miles just for safety
sake as it got cloudy. Steve observed
that when he turned on his taillights cars seemed to give him more room. I would recommend everybody take a taillight
and a headlight along just in case you’re delayed and it starts to get dark.
I would recommend that we let ourselves get spread out on
the road. Don’t form a long pace
line. It is Yellowstone after all. You don’t want to be staring at someone’s
back tire for 200K. Also, ride single
file and save the visiting for the rest stops.
It’s too busy to ride side-by-side and the park rangers really frown on
it. Here’s a little video about riding
in Yellowstone HERE (scroll down to the bike video).
1 comment:
Jason,
Thank you for the ride details. It looks like a lot of fun!
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