March 1st, 1872. This was the date that marked the establishment of the first national park in the United States: Yellowstone National Park. An area of high tectonic activity, Yellowstone is well known for its geysers and hot springs, as well as its appealing lakes, rivers, gorges, mountains, plateaus; essentially anything that usually comes to mind when thinking of the words “national park”. And we, as grateful and fortunate as we are, got to see it all by bike! :)
Ride Overview
Mileage: 68.3
Elevation: +3983’/-3950’
General Direction: Turn left onto U.S. 191 (Grand Loop Road) and remain on it for the duration of the route, northbound. Optional: Follow exits for Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic. Turn left into Madison Campground.
Points of Interest: Snake River, Lewis River and Canyon, Firehole River, Lewis Lake, Continental Divide (2x), Yellowstone Lake - West Thumb, Old Faithful Geyser, Grand Prismatic Hot Spring, Rocky Mountains, hot springs and geysers
Eruption of Old Faithful as seen by the 2023 Bike America Team.
Tales of the Trail
Yellowstone being next-door neighbors with the Tetons made for a quick ride into the south entrance of the former, and plenty of sign pictures were taken. Legions of lanky pine trees, whether old, new, or torched, made up much of our scenic palette for the route, the smell of which was quite pleasant. The earlier part of the day brought us alongside the ‘gorge-ous’ Lewis River to the right, deeply entrenched but quite shallow in its own right, as well as Lewis Lake and the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake. While not as prominent as at Loveland Pass in Colorado, we crossed the Continental Divide twice more at elevations of roughly 8000’. The only bothersome elements to our time were manmade and came in the form of skinny shoulders, a high volume of cars on the road, and plenty of road construction.
Girl Group takes the descent into the park entrance.
Nabeel and JB overlooking the Lewis River.
Sam M, Jon Y, Patrick, Sam R, and Paul at the Divide.
At mile 49, we turned right to pay a visit to Old Faithful, a geyser spewing 200 degree water roughly 100 feet into the air, as well as Yellowstone’s most famous natural attraction. Every group got the chance to watch the geyser erupt magnificently for a few minutes starting at roughly 2:00 PM. After some lunch, and ice cream for some, we continued down the main road to follow the Firehole River and saw a myriad of hot springs along the way. We made a brief stop at the Grand Prismatic Hot Spring at mile 58 where steamy, mineral-rich water met salty bacteria flats, forming a beautiful rainbow of color along the edges. A final long descent warped us to our campsite at Madison Campground.
Girl Group + Geyser.
Patty taking a pause at Grand Prismatic.
While we were setting up camp, we were greeted by Ellen, a 2014 I4K alum who lives in the area. She is awesome and works as a manager in the Department of Forestry, and we enjoyed some fun conversation with her and were given a large assortment of snacks for the van which we couldn’t be more thankful for. We are turning in for a clear and cold night in our tents under a starry sky, eager to begin our tour of Idaho tomorrow.
Tonight’s specialty: rice, beans, and cheese. Yum!
Settling in.
Cyclist’s Corner
Today’s Rider: Nabeel Hussain
How are you today? I’m pretty excited because before coming to the U.S., I had always heard about Yellowstone and its fame among the masses. I didn’t know much about Grand Tetons but it was amazing and blew my mind away and so I’m expecting Yellowstone to be even better. So, I’m in a very excited, anticipatory mood to see what it has to offer.
In your opinion, what makes a good I4K teammate? I would say somebody who is willing to go the extra mile for the team and just in general someone who spreads positivity and is willing to help others. Not someone who thinks of themselves as above the team, and someone with a willingness to help whether on the bike or with chores/other non-biking related things, etc. We have a good chunk of time outside of biking so it’s just as important to be collaborative on the bike as well as off.
Where was the best ice cream you’ve had so far? Ivanna Cone in Lincoln, NE. It was probably a half a mile from the stayover, so I had it twice while we were there over the two days. On the first day, I got Milky Way and chocolate, and on the following day, I had marshmallow and coffee which was a both mind-blowing and interesting combination. Honorary mention goes to the Black Cat in Des Moines.
How have you improved in handling the bike during the ride? I have improved, despite some unusual events that have happened, but I’m more comfortable on the bike in general and have a better road sense, I’ve mastered all of the formations depending on the amount of riders we have in a group, and I know when to take the lane and fall in. With bike handling, it’s more of a question of being able to master it and have those skills on standby, but I would say that I’ve definitely improved overall.
If you could snapshot one favorite or at least special sight, place, or moment in your mind that you’ve experienced on the bike, what would it be, where was it, and on what ride day? On the day we rolled into Grand Tetons, we approached Jackson Lake and it was a mind-blowing sight for me. I’ve seen natural beauty in Northern Europe and Pakistan, but this was where nature was at its best; it took me like ten minutes to process just how beautiful it all was. Nina, Patty, Sam, and I dipped our heads into the lake too, which was fun, but overall just a truly fascinating sight.
In ten words or less, how will you remember this ride when we complete it? The best summer of my twenty-four years of existence.
Please visit the rider profiles page on the website to learn more about this year’s riders! :)
~Dictionary of I4K~
Girl Group: Name denoting a ride group comprised of all amazing and epic women.
