Rocky Training

Mid-June I left the State for a slow trip to a cousin's wedding in Denver.  At one of the first stops along the way I explored parts of the 75 mile Coeur d'Alene bike path.  A rails-to-trails path, the Coeur d'Alene path is fairly tame with grades rarely exceeding 2-3%.  In-spite of this, I highly recommend the area as the view's and wildlife along the trail are quite magnificent.  On my first evening out, I saw moose, not once but twice, first in the lake adjacent to the path and then on the path itself.

After, Coeur d'Alene it was on to Montana, and then down to Yellowstone.  Cycling through Yellowstone and the Tetons was particularly special.  At Yellowstone, I did a number of training rides.  The two most notable were a 110 loop around the inner park and then a one-way trip from the lake area over to the Roosevelt camp.  Besides offering a dramatic backdrop one of the truly special things about cycling at Yellowstone was the chance to train consistently at higher elevations (6,000 - 9,000 ft).  While the higher elevations did make climbing a tad more difficult, cruising on the flats at elevation was awesome.