Madison, Yellowstone, WY

I started the day with an elk following me a few paces out of the campsite. Following the rangers' advice I cycled slowly on, not making eye contact and trying not to look aggressive. Luckily once the elk saw I was not a threat it stopped following.

Cycled the 35 miles between Grant and Madison stopping at every sight along the way - and there were lots of them!

After crossing the continental divide (for the 3rd time) it began to hail. By the time I got to Old Faithful I was so cold I put on all my clothes. It made my panniers less full anyway! Like the Lake District though you get all the seasons in one day at Yellowstone and I warmed up again later.

I walked around the geysers at Old Faithful and then rather then fight the crowds I watched Old Faithful itself erupt from the nice warm visitors centre. Still a good view! I then visited Biscuit Basin, the grand prismatic spring (that's the really colourful one!) and fountain paint pot. Many photos of geothermal activity below.

I was travelling along when I came to a 2 mile queue of cars. This is where bicycle travel comes into its own! The shoulder was wide enough for me to undertake the stationary cars and get to a view of a grizzly bear and two cubs, which was the cause of the jam! The bears were across a wide river, near enough to get a good view but far enough away to feel safe. One of the little cubs did a very cute little run around, but momma bear looked big even from a distance. As I don't have proper camera equipment all I managed was a fuzzy blur photo which I've attached anyway. It was pretty exciting to see a wild grizzly and cubs, even in conjunction with all the car drivers!


The traffic got busy at times but overall not too bad. I imagine July and August are worse. Even so the cars often had to wait for parking spaces at the sights whereas I could roll up to my own personal bike rack. I saw a good few other cyclists, some of whom I think were doing the Trans Am race West to East. The racers travel very light. Nights in Wyoming must be unpleasantly cold, but then they probably don't sleep much anyway.

Camped at Madison. The campsite there is great for hikers and bikers. You are always guaranteed a space at the fraction of the cost of a vehicle. The rangers have made a shelter to cook in if its wet and they will charge your phone and make you coffee in the morning. Luckily it was a dry evening as my tent needed to dry out, slightly above freezing again.

I shared the site with Mike who is doing the Trans Am west to east (not racing!) and Jenny & Randall who have cycled from LA up to Portland and are now making their way to New England. Cue another brilliant selfie.