Calling all riders in Wyoming, Montana, North and South Dakota

Heading off for a holiday to the states listed above and wondering if I should take my road bike. Before you say of couse why wouldnt you - well a couple of reasons:
1. We have no bike carrier ( I normally just put my bike in the back of the Suburban) and with loads of gear for three little kids this might be a bit squishy. Those mums out there will know that when you travel with kids you take everything but the kitchen sink.
2. The space thing aside Im wondering -NOW DONT LAUGH- am I likely to encounter any large mammals looking for lunch. Im Australian so please forgive my ignorance but I like to ride on the quiet roads and encountering a dog is enough to give me a scare never mind anything larger and hungrier.

If you are from these states or have spent time riding there let me know what you think and then I can weigh up the options of taking bike and leaving child (only joking) but packing light to enable bike to accompany us.

We are leaving tomorrow - I know I like to leave things to the last minute so if you have time to give me some info that would be great.

Signed Aussie on Grizzly lunch menu.

farm roads make great riding - I lived in Wyoming for several years and used to log lots and lots of road miles. And "no" to the mammals, at least on any road you would take a road bike on.

I've biked in both Wyoming and Montana, and while I did see large animals in both places (bison in Wyoming in Yellowstone National Park and bears in Montana in Glacier National Park), I didn't feel unsafe in either place. I was traveling solo in both places, no problem. The quietness of the roads depends on where in those states you are planning to ride, but in the overall scheme of things I found the roads pretty quiet.

--- Denise

I just got back from Yellowstone, and the roads leading to it. All I can say is that if you leave the bike home, you'll be kicking yourself every day. It is some of most beautiful country up there, and there were lots of cyclists around. In Yellowstone itself, most roads seemed bike friendly, although some sections didn't have much shoulder, but these sections were short. The roads through the Tetons was also incredible. It seemed that wherever we went, we were thinking how bike-able the roads were. Have fun!

(Oh - in Yellowstone, we saw a few bears, but they were far off the roads - unfortunately on our hiking trails :eek:, and the bison didn't really seem to care about our presence.)

Just beware that they grow the deer a whole lot bigger up there than California and the moose and bison own the place, but nobody will be out looking for you. I'd be more worried about the large kitties in Nevada Co than the aminals in those places.

Sadiekate - I know what you mean about the kitties here. A couple of months ago they sighted a Mountain Lion early in the morning on one of the roads I ride. I ride early to escape the heat and so my husband can look after the kids before he leaves for work. Since I saw this in the paper I have been a little more alert. Although people say if you see a Mountain Lion its generally too late to worry about it YIIIIIKES. The Mountain Bike riders around here are very brave I think. :eek:

Last time I rode Salmon Falls (outside El Dorado Hills), I rounded a corner to see a full grown lion standing on the boulder about 4 ft over Bubba's head. It was the perfect place to stalk prey. Bubba (my DH) had stopped there to wait for me because it is right at the end of the nasty narrow beginning of the trail where folks fall waaaay over the side (for the last time). I always take it slow and easy through there. He's decided that he'll wait for me in another spot in the future. I've seen lots of mtn lions (specially Cool area) but that was the only time we felt any danger. The poison oak is more likely to kill off Bubba than a mtn lion.

Sadiekate - aaahhh that is a bit too close for comfort. It reminds me of something my husband said when we were on holidays in Alaska before we had kids. The rangers were giving us our Bear brief in Denali before we went into the back country and after this my husband said its simple really you dont have to be faster than the bear just the person you are with. :eek:

I have decided if the bike can fit (we will see this evening as we fill up the Suburban) I will take it along, it would be great to see the scenery from my bike.

Thanks everyone for the info and tips.
Will let you know how it all went when we get back in a few weeks.

Trekhawk

you guys are getting pretty worked up about critters. Most of Wy, Montana, and the Dakotas are ranches, high desert, plains and grasslands. The big critters live in the mountains.

former resident ;)

Having had my most up-close encounters with deer and moose on Montana and Idaho "ranch" land, I stay wary. The deer haven't a clue what they're doing and are unpredictable while the moose do know and are willing to prove it. That said, they certainly aren't gunning for humans. If you're bicycling the roads of Yellowstone, you can have some even closer encounters with bison who are generally placid but can turn aggressive and are incredibly fast and agile. They think these nice paved paths were put there for their benefit. However, I'm still much more worried about mtn lions (OK, and skunks :D ).

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Originally Posted by SadieKate

OK, and skunks :D

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And squirrels! They're ferocious! :eek: (and can do some gnarly spoke damage!)

I'll never forget when I first started shopping for a road bike. I was test riding on the trail in Sacramento and the guy at the shop's main criterion was "you need to be able to stop and place your feet on the ground quickly and comfortably in order to avoid a squirrel". 'Course down there it's the rattlers that flip me out!