A lot to say about this 4th of July. One of the riders was thoughtful enough to bring each of us a small American flag, which I secured to my saddle bag. We all also wore our America By Bicycle red, white, and blue cycling jerseys. As we exited Idaho Falls people were already setting up their lawn chairs for the annual parade. We got a lot of waves. Something really cool about being in a small western town on the Fourth.
The second SAG stop, after a challenging enough climb at 60 miles, was at Pine Creek Summit, elevation 6764 feet, followed by a descent into the small town of Victor, At the 72 mile mark we said goodbye to Idaho and entered Wyoming. Then came the agony, a very steep 6.6 mile climb to the Teton Pass Summit. The last 2.5 miles had a grade of 12-13 percent. It turned out to be the hardest climb of my cycling life. Between the grade, the altitude (8431 feet at the top) and the afternoon heat, and heavy holiday traffic, I was averaging about 4 miles an hour (barely keeping any forward momentum). I took advantage of several turnouts to catch my breath but it was very hard starting again on the grade and with the lactic acid built up in my leg muscles. Many took to walking the bike to the summit- absolutely no shame in that. I am sure the scenery was spectacular but truthfully my brain and lungs didn't absorb enough oxygen to really notice much.
After the wind swept summit there was harrowing five mile technical descent. I pumped the brakes constantly. Without the traffic and with a smooth surface I'm certain 50 mph was easily obtainable, but no way I was going to let loose today. I was just glad to get down in one piece. Another ten miles of cycling took us into the upscale, tony town of Jackson. We found a DQ (of course) and regrouped. Later,we had a nice dinner at a local BBQ restaurant. At 10pm the town fireworks began. I listened from my hotel room, too exhausted to go out and even take a quick look.
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First SAG stop 
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Looks like the show Bonanza! Love Wyoming.
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