Admittedly I haven't been in every clime and place this planet has to offer. So I may be a bit arrogant to say this but I'm fairly certain there's no place on Earth quite as spectacular as the Tetons.
Around the Rock is a 154 mile mixed surface, self supported adventure ride held every June. Organized by Fitzgerald's bike shop in Victor Idaho, it requires no entry fee and isn't even considered a race. 50% of the route is on gravel with the rest on pavement and includes 8800 ish ft of climbing. Think of it as a one day bikepacking race. (Though some do it in two)
I've known about the ride for a few years and always thought it was a bit insane. I just couldnt see the appeal of riding more than 100 miles in a day.
Thanks to friends like Austin Gregerson one thing led to another and I found myself bundled up in front of Fitzys waiting for the ride to start this last Saturday.
As the ride started out I was honestly unsure of how the day would go. I haven't been doing much endurance training and the 82 mile gravel race I had done two weeks prior really beat me up.
I took the pace extremely easy and made my way through the flat and smooth gravel roads on the west side of the Tetons. The weather was cold but sunny, and I quickly found myself removing warming layers. Thankfully it never got hot enough to remove my long sleeve shirt.
The climbing really started after turning off of the Ashton-Tetonia rail trail and this is also where some of the rougher parts of the course became aparent. With steep decents and rocks a plenty I found myself airborne more than once as the smoothest line was often over the top of a 12" boulder. I felt grateful to be rocking my 29x2" mountain bike tires after I passed not one but two people with serious tire/wheel damage in this section waiting for rides home.
Despite the physical challege and looming storm, I really did enjoy Flagg Ranch rd. The scenery was next level, the gravel was spectacular, and the wild life was also pretty entertaining. At one point a deer jumped out of the woods and ran a long just 5 to 10 feet in front of me before disappearing back into the forest.
I rode mostly by myself through this section until I started catching other riders after several long climbs. We all rode our own pace and so ended up leap frogging eachother several times. I actually welcomed the company as it meant having a run in with a bear would be much less likely. (And also these riders were a pretty rad bunch)
6 or 8 miles before Flagg Ranch I hit my lowest point. As we had gained elevation the temperature started to drop, then as storms rolled in overhead it dropped even more. Add that to the fatigue of the ride and the cold I had been fighting and suddenly I began to feel chilled, achy, and just slow overall. It also didn't help that the added weight of the trail helmet I had worn that day was doing a number on my neck. I pulled over, put my vest back on, donned my warm gloves, ate some snacks and pressed on.
The last couple miles descending to Flagg Ranch were the some of the roughest, loosest and most washboarded of the entire ride.
At Flagg Ranch I met back up with Austin and Boyd. I quickly purchased supplies ie a cinnamon roll, jerky, Dr Pepper and gatorade. I ate half the cinnamon roll and then refilled all 3 of my bottles with the Dr Pepper/Gatorade mixture before setting off again.
Thankfully once you leave Flagg Ranch the most difficult parts of the ride are over (with one exception). The gravel is basically done and as much fun as gravel riding is, there is no mistaking how much slower it is than a paved road. Plus most of the climbing is over too so in terms of effort Flagg Ranch is a lot farther than halfway as the mileage would suggest.
We rolled through the park at a zippy 18 to 25mph thanks to great roads and a slight tailwind. In terms of scenery there arent many paved roads in the world with the scenery of the park road in Grand Teton National Park. Even better it has a nice wide shoulder the entire way to Jenny Lake and from there it has a separated bike path.
Getting to Wilson is accomplished by turning off the main Park road and on to the Moose-Wilson corridor road. This section has the last bit of gravel for the ride with a 1.5 mile section that, apart from a few potholes didn't give us much grief. This road is quite narrow and certainly carries it's risk with motor vehicles. It is also quite popular with wildlife. We saw a moose along the way but when the berries are ripe theres a pretty good chance you'll see a bear or two.
Once in Wilson we were faced with climbing the infamous Teton Pass. On the one hand we were almost done but on the other we had to climb the most monstrous bike path I think Ive ever seen. A 5.6 mile climb that gains 2200ft of elevation definitely had me wanting for some lower gears. This is by far the hardest part of the ride especially considering that it starts at mile 136. Honestly I wasn't too bothered. I rode most of it and walked when my knees felt too tight. It was crazy hard but mentally I was fine.
It was freezing at the top of the pass so I zipped my vest back up, put my gloves and sun glasses back on and got ready to drop in.
I gave Austin about a 1 minute head start and Boyd had climbed the pass quicker than us so he was long gone. I knew the quicker I got down the quicker I'd be warm. It's easy to go fast coming down the pass but I tried to play it safe, mid thirties through the corners and mid 40s down the straights. I caught Austin right before the road started to mellow out a little bit and we rode together from there.
About two miles from the finish I was sitting behind Austin who was coasting and feeling like I was going to freeze to death. I took off pedaling at a hard tempo just trying to warm up. Unfortunately I missed the final turn and rode about a quarter mile too far down the highway. Luckily the ride organizers saw me do this and adjusted my time accordingly.
We finished 154miles in 13.5 hours and I honestly felt pretty great. I was really cold at the end and my stomach was shutting down but otherwise I felt solid. There's just something about getting on your bike in the morning and literally just riding all day. Ill definitely be back next year if I can.
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