9/8/2018 – Jackson Hole to Park City, UT

Got an early start today and headed out to a couple good moose hangouts to try and see one before left. Unfortunately, we didn’t see one. Since it was raining when we got up this morning, we cancelled our Phelps Lake hike at the Lawrence Rockefeller Preserve and hit the road to Park City a little earlier than planned. BTW, by the time we left, the sun was shining. We passed in and out of states 4 times on the way to Park City. We travelled through a lot of very remote areas, but the trip was very scenic and relaxing. Thank goodness because it got a little tense once we got close to our destination…..

But first……there was a major bike race today, called the LoToJa Classic, that starts in Logan, Utah,  and ends in Teton Village just outside Jackson Hole.  We first heard about it from the couple in the RV next to us in Jackson Hole. Their daughter has been participating in the event for quite a few years and last year she finished 3rd among the women. So they had driven up to watch her cross the finish line. The LoToJa Classic is a long distance one-day amateur bicycle road race from Logan, UT, to Jackson Hole, WY, that was started in 1983 by a Logan cyclist and a local bike shop owner. It is held on the first Saturday after Labor Day, which this year was today.  And luckily for us, a lot of the race route is on Hwy 89, the road we took for a good portion of our trip from Jackson to Park City.

Here’s a little more info on the LoToJa  Classic bike race from Wikipedia     LoToJa has grown into one of the nation’s premier amateur cycling races and continues to be a grueling test of one’s physical and mental stamina. Many compete to win their respective category, while others just ride to cross the finish line. At 200+ miles, LoToJa is the longest one-day USAC-sanctioned bicycle race in the country. Cyclists must conquer three mountain passes as they pedal through the scenic terrain of Utah, Idaho and Wyoming en route to a finish line below the rugged Tetons at the base of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort…… Along the scenic 206 mile course are three mountain passes, plus hilly to rolling terrain that results in more than 7,000 feet of climbing. (OMG!)

The race has been completed, and won, by some of the country’s top cyclists. The current course record is 8:45:38 set in 2014. The women’s course record is 9:35:00, set in 2013. We got nice pics of the cyclists. There is a lot of coordination with state and local governments and there are a lot of volunteers manning rest spots with water, medical, attention, etc. along the route. It was really cool to see the event happening while traveling to Park City.

This years race included 738 Men and 69 women. We saw the first cyclists (a group of 3) about 60 miles outside Jackson, and continued to see many more cyclists and their support vehicles for many miles until our route to Park City pulled us off Hwy 89.  Some of the very long uphill climbs we saw were just brutal! Check the LoToJa website if you are interested in the 2018 results.

Now back to our trip into Park City…….as we got close to our destination, we managed to pass by the exit and got a little lost. There was a comedy of errors made by the GPS, the lady we called at the resort and us…but Nancy figured it out and got us here with only a 15-20 minute delay.  We got here at 4:30. Nancy checked us in told me we were given a nice BACK-IN site. UGH! I had a little trouble getting in (even with Nancy’s very helpful and continuous instruction over the phone). The situation was compounded when the trailer brakes locked up while I was turning and backing up. We spent about 10 minutes pressing/releasing/pressing every button on the dashboard and turning off and re-starting the engine….all with no luck. I was just getting ready to call a Dodge dealer when it occurred to  me to check the trailer’s emergency braking system. There is a cable that connects the trailer’s hitch to the hitch in the bed of the pickup. If the trailer somehow comes disconnected from the truck hitch (maybe the only thing that hasn’t happened yet!), the cable will pull the pin from the trailers hitch and apply brakes to stop the trailer. Sure enough, that was the problem. We stuck it back in and were in our spot in just  a couple more minutes.

So, we had a few tense minutes when we got to Park City……those of you that have done this before will understand. But all is good now.

We are relaxing in the RV this evening and eating in…..tomorrow we plan to explore Park City.

Traveling on Hwy 89 before we saw any cyclists…..

The LoToJa Endurance Race – phenomenal athletes!