Ridin' Friday: National Elk Refuge Road or The Tale of a Kamikaze Sheep

The night after the abbreviated trip to the National Elk Refuge Road I talked about yesterday, it started raining. Then it started snowing. And then raining again. As much as I enjoyed finishing the book I was reading, I kept an eye out the window, hoping the sky would agree to quit with the precipitating long enough for me to ride the Refuge Road again.

Finally, on Sunday, the universe obliged.  By early afternoon things settled into a partly cloudy, dry, low-50s area and I decided to risk riding. One of the really nice things about cycling is that once you've been pedaling for a while, you're nearly always warm enough. By the time I made it to the Refuge, it even felt kind of muggy.

For about half the ride, you're riding past cool buttes and hills, plus little streams and tons of trees. There were only a few days left in April when I took this ride, so things were just starting to get green.

Once you get past the buttes, however....

You ride roughly parallel to the Tetons for the last mile or so, and dear God, is it gorgeous. Once the winter ranges in the Bridger-Teton National Forest open, as they did May 1, you can get even better views.

The road itself had some challenges to it I wasn't used to. First of all, it's an actual road. There's a subdivision down at the end of it, so there is some traffic. Not much - I maybe saw 10 cars during the whole time I was out there - but it's something to watch for. The trouble with keeping out of traffic on the Refuge Road is that you're on a constant hunt for the least uneven piece of ground. Sometimes that happens to be in the middle of the road, which drivers tend to think of as their territory. Luckily, all the gravel there means you can't so much as shift your weight standing without causing a surprisingly loud crunch noise, so an approaching car is kind of like an approaching herd of bison in terms of noise. It's even more noticeable because it's otherwise totally silent and largely very peaceful and still around you.

There was one notable exception on this ride because, as it turns out, you sometimes also get herds of bighorn sheep near the Refuge Road.

There was a herd grazing in the distance when I rode out, and I thought that was kind of neat. On the way back, the same herd of sheep was on both sides of the road, right up close. That was really cool, and one of those moments that I list among the perks of living in Jackson Hole. Less cool was the one sheep that decided the appropriate time to spring into the road was at the exact moment the biker was passing. Let me just say, it is a surreal and scary moment when you realize you are about to be T-boned by a freaking sheep, particularly when you're riding an aluminum-frame bicycle (yes, I found out what kind of frame I have, and yes, I had to ask).

I caught it in time to pedal like hell and so the sheep survived unscathed, somewhat in defiance of Darwinistic principles. But then I am not about to scrape my left side to shit and mangle my bike for natural selection.

At that point, I felt I'd earned a stop for pictures and looking at mountains before tackling the most uneven stretch of road.

The half-mile or so right after you turn off (or onto in this case) the paved town road is the bumpiest of the whole ride, especially heading back into town. There are potholes everywhere - everywhere! - and my butt was not a fan. Generally though, riding on a the unpaved road wasn't too bad once I got the idea. I had to pay significantly more attention than usual to where I was going over what I was seeing, and it was harder to gain momentum uphill and downhill, but I kind of liked the change. Good thing, I guess, seeing as how I could only imagine trails are even less predictable.

I wouldn't go on this ride without a bike built to take some bumps. I sure didn't see any road bikes that afternoon. I also wouldn't call it overly challenging. A few hills and a rough enough surface to make it worth your while, especially if you're a beginner like me, but nothing a beginner like me couldn't handle with a little effort.