Hello, this is day 26 and I’m in Colter Bay, Wyoming, right outside of the Tetons. Isn’t that a beautiful backdrop? With the exception of the waterless marina.

Last night, while I was in West Yellowstone, I had to make a really tough decision.

I’d had four or five days of tough back to back riding. Today was supposed to be 88 miles and 5,000 feet of climbing through Yellowstone, so full of tourists and a very narrow road. And I just knew that I wasn’t up for it, that my legs weren’t up for it.

So I made the tough choice of hiring a shuttle to take me from West Yellowstone to here, Colter Bay. It was only tough on my ego. It was probably the right decision because if I had ridden it, I know I would have been so tired that I would have had to take a rest day here. And it’s a total tourist trap, so outrageously expensive to do that.

Really, it was my mistake in planning. I should have split Yellowstone Park in half and done some tent camping halfway, and then come over. But that’s not how it turned out. And I had a reservation here that was $350 and nonrefundable, so I needed to get here today.

So a little disappointing, hard on my ego, just to be honest, but nonetheless, part of the adventure. Tomorrow I will continue on.

What’s interesting is I just finished riding yesterday and I’m already looking forward to getting back on the bike, so that’s a good sign. But I’m a little melancholy because I didn’t do what I said I was going to do by riding this trip.

So anyway, there’s the update for today.

If you ever get a chance to come to see Teton, it’s worth the trip.

I hope you’re all having a great day. Enjoy the ride. I am.