Another long but highly rewarding day in the saddle. I got up early for the ride out of Yellowstone and into Grand Teton National Park. I set off just as the sun was rising and it was a frigid morning, again getting down to freezing.

Just as I was leaving the campsite and turning onto the main road a car behind me paused in the road and then pulled up beside me and told me that a wolf was stalking me up the road. I looked at them in disbelief and assured them that I had never heard of a cyclist being attacked by a wolf so they drove off and I carried on. I looked back and indeed I was being chased, but not by a wolf, by a coyote. I didn’t really know what to do, when I looked at it it dashed into the woods and when I carried on it continued pursuing me up the road. I stopped and put my bike between myself and the coyote and it just stopped and looked at me for a while, before dashing into the forest again. I was at the top of the short climb at that point so I decided to just pedal like mad and put some distance between us, and that seemed to work. I carried my bear spray on my belt the rest of the morning, there were cars around but fewer in the early morning.

By the time I got to the south entrance to Yellowstone it was finally starting to warm up a little and I finally got a little feeling back into my hands and face. As I got further south and the Teton mountain range finally came into view it was as awe inspiring as everyone told me it would be. The cycle around Jackson lake the mountains became more and more prominent against the skyline. I stopped at the Jackson Lodge and the view from the deck was stunning.

I continued on down to Jenny Lake campground for the hiker/biker sites. The campsite is amazing, we are at the base of the mountains tucked up against Jenny Lake with Jackson Hole stretching out to the east.

Just like Big Hole, Jackson Hole is named because it is a huge plain surrounded by mountains. The afternoon I followed the bike path which stretches in a massive loop from Jenny Lake to the town of Jackson which is located at the very south of the “hole”. It was a 20 mile ride each way, I needed to get groceries and I hadn’t had internet access in 2 days in Yellowstone. It added a lot of distance to an already long day in the saddle but in the end it turned out to be a blessing, the ride back from Jackson in the evening as the sun was setting behind the Teton mountains was simply stunning. What a magical day.

I am spending two nights at Jenny Lake, the first time I will sleep in the same place since I started. Tomorrow I plan to hike in the Tetons which I’m really looking forwards to.