Lee Vining to Yosemite

Stressful does not even begin to describe today's ride. The first 12 miles were the most rewarding and were spent conquering something known as Tioga Pass. We climbed 3200 ft in 12 miles at an average 8% grade. I made several stops along the way but made it up pretty quickly all things considered. As soon as we passed the ranger station at the top we had first lunch and a 3 hr dance party/celebration.

The day was 75 miles so we still had a lot to go. The roads were narrow and windy and though Emily, Bri and I were often going or exceeding the speed limit cars did not seem to pay attention to that and passed us carelessly around blind curves and with opposing traffic. We had several harrowing experiences and spent the rest of our miles on edge, never knowing which cars would wait for us to find a pull-off and which would be too impatient. People seemed to be rushing to see nature when nature was all around. I saw some really angry looking kids, upset their parents has dragged them there for the weekend. But, crowded roads and bad drivers aside, Yosemite was gorgeous and such an amazing opportunity to be able to bike through.

Second lunch was sad as we ran out of bread and instead had lettuce turkey wraps. A lo-carb option for those of us watching our weight. Haha.

We stopped at a gas station and for a break from the stress of the roads. I had an amazing ice cream sandwich called an it's-it. Mint flavor...pro. We were joined by many other B&B'ers there and witnessed a woman making a mixed drink in the trunk of her car while her husband drank some beer and pumped gas. They then tried to drive off but didn't remember to close the side door of their car. We spoke with a park ranger and alerted him of the situation, but this put us even more on edge for our last 15 miles as they were not the only ones we saw drinking there.

We finally made it to the school in which we were staying. Dinner crew made a late evening but delicious dinner and we all took a freezing cold hose shower. I was in bed shortly after 9 to prepare for our day off which would include lots of hiking. But more on that later.