Momma Said They'd be Days Like This!!!
 

Momma said they'd be days like this!!! I had looked at the forecast from Idaho Falls and saw headwinds so at least I wasn't surprised. The first 30 miles was okay. But those last 58 miles, oh my. Nothing to break or slow down the wind. I was traveling north the entire segment and the wind was out of the north, I was ecstatic when I'd get my speed up to 15 mph!!!! Being taller and riding in headwinds is not fun.

I had a slow leaking tube so changed it at one of my wife's rest stops. I found a small cut in the tire so put in one of my boots as a precaution. I never did find a leak in the tube though. Will check it out later. Thoroughly check the tire but didn't find any wires or glass.

I actually rode further than I had planned so that's a plus. My wife enticed me to ride further to get some food for lunch and I agreed.

There was several miles of road construction with only one lane and a pilot car. I timed it perfectly. I was the last person through. Then I had the road to myself after the construction. Unfortunately I probably held up the oncoming traffic struggling to get through that 5 mile section in those winds.

Tomorrow is riding through Yellowstone! We slipped over and saw Old Faithful again this evening. Turns out we're here for the 100 year National Parks celebration.


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Wow!

I have been told often that hills and wind are our friends. Really? In all my years of riding I have never looked forward to meeting a friend named wind or hill.

Awesome!
 

Looking forward to next post.

You're riding like I like to tour -- ride in the morning and stop for the day in the early afternoon. That give you plenty of time to 'recharge' the old body while you take in the sights/museums/good local food/whathaveyou at your destination in the afternoon/evening.

The tour I have been planning is 'only' 1037 miles, but I plan to do it in three weeks, riding 40-60 miles/day and taking a couple of non-riding days. Stopping for the day around noon in a small town so I have plenty of time to take in the local 'color'.

Keep the updates coming!!!

That's a big poodle!

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Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 19008757)

… A couple of times on your [jppe’s]previous trip threads I referred to a cross-country honeymoon we did in 1977. Yesterday, I found I am “resonating” between that trip and your current one…

So I was wondering, besides cycling, how are your other “activities of daily living,” like finding a place for the night, getting started for the day,getting meals, finding your way… I’m not particularly looking for an answer currently, since your time is focused on the Ride, but I hope to hear in person when you arrive in Boston.

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Originally Posted by Cougrrcj (Post 19009775)

You're riding like I like to tour -- ride in the morning and stop for the day in the early afternoon. That give you plenty of time to 'recharge' the old body while you take in the sights/museums/good local food/whathaveyou at your destination in the afternoon/evening.

The tour I have been planning is 'only' 1037 miles, but I plan to do it in three weeks, riding 40-60 miles/day and taking a couple of non-riding days. Stopping for the day around noon in a small town so I have plenty of time to take in the local 'color'.

Keep the updates coming!!!

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So, jppe, I hope you don’t mind us spectators glomming and reminiscing on to your Ride threads. My recollections of off-the-bike activities are numerous, from usual local sightseeing, fine dining in Jefferson City, MO on my wife’s birthday, to laundromats about every three to four days.

A couple usual, notable activities were:

• Repairing flat tires. We had good success touring in Michigan on fully loaded French Mercier road bikes with sew-up tires, but experienced a lot of flats especially out West. A lot of our down time was spent on those tedious repairs on sticky black tires. Usually it took about two days for the black glue to rub off our hands, only to encounter a new flat.
  
  We lost three rest days when we would have to store the bikes in a motel and hitchhike to a city to buy more tires; we started off with six.

• Somewhere starting in around Illinois in mid-June, we would go looking for a Dairy Queen soon after we settled in each day.

Saw something in the paper about road closure in Grand Teton due to fire? Hope that didn't re-route you.

scott s.
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keep the updates coming!!

Mama said there'll be days like this....the Shirelles

Lyrics: The Shirelles - Mama Said Lyrics | MetroLyrics

Awesome.

When I was on the Xcountry ride, we came through Teton Pass and down into Jackson Valley. Stopped for a beer at the bottom. Stayed for a few.

Ya, the winds suck ... Or blow I guess. Especially when you KNOW that there will be no relief for miles and miles. I don't suppose you have aerobars on your bike?

No aero bars on the R3. However I did bring my TT bike.....I hope to use it a good bit a little later.

Looks like a great trip..but you really need to have it in one thread. I just ran across one of the posts, but I'm short on time this morning and won't have the time to figure out where you started, what direction you're headed, where you're going..etc.. (which post it first, second, third..yah..I know..look at a map, but connecting the dots..takes time..make it easy on your readers..)

I just look for the new posts he makes each day. Or look at the original posting date - that should put things in order for you!

Maybe when the ride is over, someone could somehow :crash: put the OP's original posts from each day into one cohesive thread, leaving all of the extraneous comments out. It'd be one heck of a cut/paste job, but worth it!

I agree. I read the Fifty-Plus Forum daily, so it's not hard to keep up. I suppose one could go to the Fifty-Plus page, and use the EDIT>FIND ON THIS PAGE [on Internet Explorer] to search for "jppe."

Note to jppe: Don't wander over to the Touring, Long Distance, Training or other such Forums. :innocent:

Well..sure..one could do that, but think a month down the road..any one post-segment is just a random snip of some larger journey that few(virtually none) will take the time to piece together..which is unfortunate as it looks like quite a trip. Makes much more sense to start organized and keep it together. :foo:

Well said, but I think regular readers of Fifty-Plus already know of his saga; in fact he even announced it last December. My particular interest is spurred because my wife and I did a cross-country ride back in 1977, and,

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Originally Posted by jppe (Post 18361844)

If I were to do a route that finished near Boston could you provide local knowledge on cycling around that area? I've visited and driven in the area a few times and I'd definitely need help on roads less traveled!!

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Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 18361937)

Consider me as Metro Boston's Ambassador to BikeForums.

I just need a couple or more days notice for any mutually agreeable meet-ups.

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I suppose it'd take one of the moderators to make a 'sticky' thread, with the OPs posts in order, and have it a 'closed' thread where no one could add extraneous comments. The Mods could add to the 'master' thread when jppe makes his trip updates, but nobody else.