Ty0604

You'd be happy to know I purchased a touring patch kit. As I said in that thread, I added and removed items as suggested. I was stubborn at first but it's in my possession now. Having only one flat tire in my four previous tours combined (and only due to slamming it off the curb) made the kit seem pointless. But again, I purchased one

Ty0604

I assure you that I'll be safe and not abuse my privilege. I would never do anything that puts the future of cyclist riding through any area in jeopardy; therefore why I went up the ladder to get permission. The only time you'll be seeing me on the news is when the local media there covers my story.

As for the Grand Teton NP bike trail, is it anywhere near Moran? I'm meeting up with friends at Signal Mountain there. Close to this area? Would love to hear more about it if you could provide me with a link.

bikemig 

Cool; think of it as a paperweight which you hopefully will not need to use.

Ty0604

I'm not ignoring any advice. I've taken it all into consideration and it's helped me prepare better for my ride through this part. I'm not going to completely change up my route because of it though. It doesn't matter which route you post on here, people will inevitably come up with A, B, & C reasons as to why you should change it. Just as people will come up with X, Y, Z not to change it. In this case, no one is right or wrong here. The people who've told me to change it have valid points just as the people who've told me not to change it have valid points.

Ty0604

Hopefully not. I had a flat once on a short tour (3 day, 250 mile one) and used a piece of gorilla tape to patch it until I got to the LBS. Maybe 20 miles away? Help up quite well. I have this with me as well as a last resort.

I also ditched the selfie stick. I can't believe I purchased one!

Miele Man

People in this thread have warned you that snow could block you. people have warned you thast GRIZZLY bears are a real hazard in early spring - the time you plan to ride through Yellowstone. People have told you that the camping you intend to do there is ILLEGAL, You choose to ignore them.

I have attended funerals of friends who were in a rescue service who dies trying to rescue someone or a body of someone who'd gone out of bounds with the attitude "IT WON'T HAPPEN TO ME!" but it did. Unfortunately far too many get injured or die trying to save the person who ignored all the warnings verbal and posted plus signage.

You're obviously determined to do it your way. good luck and I most sincerely hope that you are not injured in any way and that your trip is enjoyable. Good luck.

Cheers

Ty0604

How exactly will snow "block" me? The roads will be plowed. I understand the grizzlies are a danger but I don't fret over the small things. I'm just as likely to get run down by a car on my morning run. Doesn't mean I'm going to stop running in the morning. It may be "illegal" to camp there but I was given permission to do it. That makes it "legal." I'm camping in several places where it's normally "illegal" to camp but have been given special permission to do so because of my charity ride.

There's a reason I go directly to the top officials when making these request (mayors, police chiefs, park superintendents etc). Employees lower down are less likely to give anyone special permission because it could cost them their jobs. If you're the top official than you can pretty much do what you want (within reason) and don't have to worry about losing your job.

Example: I emailed a police officer in one New York town asking if I could camp in the city park during my ride. He said no because the park closes at dark. I then emailed his boss, the police chief, and was granted permission to do so. I will take the police chiefs "yes" over his officers "no" any day.

My trip will be great and I can't wait

Ty0604

I shared this thread with my friend, a lifetime resident of West Yellowstone, and he agreed: All the fret about bears on here is like a comedy show.

The odds of getting attacked by a bear in Yellowstone are 1 in 2.1 million. Want to know other stuff you have better odds getting injured from? Swimming (1 in 1 million), running/jogging/walking (1 in 1 million), Hiking (1 in 15,700), Flying (1.27 in 100,000), Dance parties (1 in 100,000) and the best one of yet? Cycling! (1 in 140,845). That's right! You're nearly 14 times more likely to be injured cycling than by a bear.

Forget the bears, cycling is dangerous

DropBarFan

Folks from Colorado used to laugh about flatlanders driving into the mountains & trying to feed grizzlies & getting mauled. Dunno how often it really happened; OTOH they noted that grizzlies can run amazingly fast (25 mph). & once a grizzly pawed at the outside of their tent, kinda scary but it wandered away.

indyfabz

And yet we had this last year: Yellowstone grizzly put down after killing hiker - CNN.com

staehpj1

I mostly agree, but will say that the risk isn't uniform throughout the year. Part of the reason the attack rate is so low is that there aren't many folks in the park at the time hungry, ill tempered grizzlies are waking up. So yeah, pretty low on the list of things to worry about, but a bit more care may be warranted that time of year.

BTW, Bison are much more worrisome than bears in Yellowstone IMO. They are often in the roadway and on a bike you are pretty exposed. Use caution in their presence. Still, risk is pretty low in general and even more so if you use common sense.

Ty0604

Sounds like darwinism taking care of the genetic pool there.

Ty0604

I agree. I've heard about the bison as well. The chances of getting injured by one of them was somewhere around 1 in 500,000 so over 4x as likely. I've never ridden through bison before (or even seen a wild one). Just herds of moose and elk before. They're both kind of sketch in the early spring when the little ones are around. They don't linger though so if you wait they'll move along fairly quickly.

Ty0604

I remember that. It's a shame they put her down. Sounds like she was protecting her cubs and not sure they know if the guy provoked the attack or not. Funny how when humans move in on wild animals it's the animals fault

Miele Man

Like when someone rides/camps in area that's closed because the Grizzly bears are just out of hibernation and are looking for food and when female grizzly bears have cubs? When that biker is told that: "A sow is protective of her offspring and will attack if she thinks she or her cubs are threatened."? "Female grizzlies are fiercely protective of their cubs, being able to fend off predators as large as male bears bigger than they are in defense of the cubs.[SUP][4[/SUP]" "They have been known to prey on large mammals, when available, such as moose, elk, caribou, white-tailed deer, mule deer, bighorn sheep, bison, and even black bears; though they are more likely to take calves and injured individuals rather than healthy adults." "Larger prey includes bison and moose, which are sometimes taken by bears in Yellowstone National Park." Those are from Wikipedia

Btw, "Mating Season: Early May through mid-July". That's from Grizzly Bear | Basic Facts About Grizzly Bears | Defenders of Wildlife

Good luck because it looks like you're going to need it if you actually do what you're proposing to and if you do it when you propose doing it.

Cheers

indyfabz

I met the deceased once upon a time. His ex-wife and mother of his two children (who I met several times) was a student of mine when I was a TA at law school. We later became very good friends and keep in touch to this day. Had dinner with her a few years ago prior to the start of a tour. Lance was a very experienced outdoorsman and, as noted in the article, had worked in the park for the last five years. I seriously doubt he did anything to provoke the attack.

Ty0604

Sorry to hear that you knew the man. I didn't read the article. Was only recalling what I knew from memory. Sounds like he wandered in on them and was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Ty0604

Too much fret about nothing really. If you want to worry about the small things in life that's fine but I don't let them bother me. Cycling is 14x more dangerous than bears but I'm not going to stop riding my bike. Walking is twice as dangerous but I'm not going to stop walking. The list goes on and on.

I'm sure what you posted is fairly accurate but Wikipedia, really? Anyone who quotes Wikipedia instantly loses credibility.

I don't think they'd given me permission to do it if they thought I was in any type of serious danger.

Thanks for your concerns, I do appreciate them, but I'll listen to what the rangers there told me.

Miele Man

I could have used other sources but Wikipedia is tthe quickest and most concise one.

It doesn't matter what the source is because you've long ago decide to do it your way despite people telling after you asked for suggestions that doing it when you plan to and how you plan to is risky at least.

FWIW, I don't really believe that you have that permission you claim you do. If something were to happen to you then both the granter and the Park could be held responsible for it.

If that alleged email from the park superintendent is NOT real then I suggest you delete that post and all references to "having permission" as it could land you in VERY SERIOUS LEGAL trouble.

Cheers

jamawani 

The main ranger staff has been informed of this thread.
Following up on yesterday's contact, the superintendent has indicated that he has authorized none of the above.
Impersonating a federal officer is a felony as is forging a National Park Service document.

jamawani 

I do not know why the OP has persisted in perpetuating myths; however, he may have crossed the line.
Here is the response I received back from Yellowstone N.P. :

<<<>>>

Thanks for passing that along. This is clearly a bogus, homemade permit. I'll pass it along to park law enforcement rangers.

One thing that is somewhat of a relief is that the text in his "permit" states he probably won't reach the park before mid May, at which time he may get over Craig Pass legally. It's scheduled to open for the season Friday May 13.

I think you said you are aware of spring and fall biking possibilities in the park prior to roads opening to public auto travel. The sections of road where riding is allowed outside of the public driving season are very specific, and Craig Pass is not one of them.

Thanks again for passing this along. I tried to open this document yesterday after you directed me to his posts but since I don't have an account at the site I was unable to look at it.

Matt Nagel
National Park Service
Visitor Services Office
PO Box 168
Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190
307 344 2109

seeker333

What gives OP? Congrats on a new level of trolling - AFAIK no one has ever fabricated NP permits here before.

bikemig 

+ 1. This is one heck of weird thread.

Ty0604

Except the permit was legit and I have the hard copy in my hand and voice mails as well

Ty0604

You posted an email from someone in Visitor Services? That's cute. Since I have the original permit in hand and spoke directly to the park I'm not too concerned.

I deleted the permit because I realized it could be copied and used falsely since the permit number on the form is tied to me.

The permit is written the way it is because I originally was going to leave the on April 10th but had to push it back due to an even on April 28th. I was unsure of my departure date so I gave an early date (April 10th) and late date (May 1) with more probability for the later.

Sounds like you're jealous. Not sure why you find it important to harass me over getting permission to do something you most likely can't do. Sorry you're upset but no need to take it out on me. Since you've continued to harass me I've gone ahead and "ignored" you so I cannot see any of your harassing replies.

I also attached the hard copy of the email. Not a copy and paste. Big difference. You could have easily typed that directly into the forum. If you looked closer at mine you'd seen it came directly from Yellowstone. And no, I didn't hack into the NPS email system to send the email. I assume that would have been your next accusation when you looked back and saw where the email came from.

Anyway no need to defend myself any longer. I don't care what you think but please leave me alone.

When I bike over Craig Pass before May 13th I'll send a photo with permit in hand