The final day of riding was a short jaunt to the south of Jackson, partially on a multi-use path. Roger rode with us again on a mountain bike. The route was not particularly scenic, but was designed to be short enough for riders to get back to the hotel in time to check out. We had decided to stay until the next day, so we were not pressed for time. We did ride as fast as we could, however, because once again Roger was riding in a way that made us uncomfortable. The single moment that illustrates it the best is when he was riding uphill to our left, and a rider was coming down the hill fast towards him. This being a typical bicycle path, there isn't room for three bikes to pass abreast of one another. Roger didn't yield to the downhill rider or attempt to pull in front of us or behind us. They very nearly collided and barely missed each other at the last moment. After that, we gave it everything we had and pulled away from the others and maintained a short gap between us all the way back to the hotel.
After regrouping at the hotel and after the others had checked out, we met at
the National Museum of Wildlife Art just north of Jackson, pictured here.
(Click on the picture to visit their web site.) Their collection of art
was very interesting, and we had lunch at the Museum before exchanging addresses
with the other riders and heading our separate ways. We spent the rest of
the day getting the bike packed up for the return trip, and visiting other
places in town.
The next day we spent a little time near the airport just enjoying the views of the Grand Tetons before going to the airport to catch our return flight.
The flight back was uneventful, although we did suffer a little bike damage on the trip. Something got into the spokes on one of the wheels, bending the spoke. There was also a small gouge in the side of the rim from something hitting it. Since the bike was going right back to Bilenky so they could build us a new one, we didn't worry about it too much. It was fixed when we got the newly built bike, in the right size this time, in July. Next time we fly with the bike, I'm going to be more careful in packing the wheels to make sure nothing can get at the spokes or rim.
That's the end of the ride report. Despite the crash, the quirks of the tour leader, and the bike fit problems we had a good time. We plan to return to the area in a few years to do some touring on our own.
