A full breakfast was a great way to start the day. I shamelessly made the most of this, as the day ahead of me would require a lot of energy. Today would be the first of three consecutive days where a mountain pass was along the route, and today's pass was Pine Creek Pass which was approximately 1270' of climbing in 21 miles. While this doesn't sound terribly challenging, the majority of the elevation gain was in the final nine miles. This was also toward the end of the day, which already had about 1550' of climbing. Before leaving town, I stopped in at a local bike shop: Dave's Bike Shop. Dave was extremely easygoing and generous in that he came in an hour before opening to help me resolve a minor issue with the front disc break. We had a good time chatting, Dave fixed ther front disc break, and most importantly he educated me on adjusting the disc breaks. I really enjoyed visiting the shop and meeting Dave. This is undoubtedly a bike shop that I would go to regularly if I were a local! I was on the road toward Victor shortly before 10:30am. About ten miles outside of town, I had an unusual experience when a horse ran well over 50 yards to the fence line while Queens of the Stone Age's song "If Only" blared from the blue tooth speaker. Later during the ride, a calf ran off from the it had been grazing when Metallica's "Master of Puppets" played as I pedaled by. Toward the end of the ride, a different horse bobbed his head gently to the beat of Avenged Sevenfold's "Chapter Four." Perhaps the takeaway here is that horses, apparently, enjoy rock where calves (or at least this calf) do not enjoy rock. Shortly after 2:00pm, I began the final uphill grind toward Victor. Along the way, traffic was reduced to one lane. This was nice, because after passing this stretch of road reduced to one lane, traffic passed by in predictable clusters. After a cluster passed by, I had the peace of mind knowing that the entire lane was available to ride in for several minutes before the next cluster of cars. Moreover, I could see traffic approaching me along the steep 6% switchbacks in my mirror. During this ascent to Pine Creek Pass, no fewer than four motorists traveling the opposite direction gave me an encouraging thumbs up as they drove downhill. Little affirmations like this gave me that extra push uphill toward the top of the pass. Once at the top, I didn't touch the pedals for at least four miles as I cruised downhill toward Victor. I stopped at Fitzgerald's, a local bike shop in Victor. I realized well after leaving Dave's that I had forgotten a valve cover (inexpensive threaded piece of plastic that, you guessed it, covers a valve). Afterwards, I went to Grand Teton Brewing Company for a well earned beer. From here, I made my way to my host's residence. Savanah and Hank were really great hosts and their company was great to share. We had a good time chatting about the area, music, touring, and other odds and ends. Hank made a delicious spaghetti dinner that hit the spot after a laboring day on the bicycle. Both Savanah and Hank have great advice on the route for ther following morning, as well as tips for getting on the road early to avoid heavy morning traffic. This was all great information to have, as tomorrow's pass (Teton Pass) would be the most challenging of the trip.
