A Ride Through Yellowstone
Photos & Written By: Steve Reish / All Photos By: Live WYld
How it began
This all started when I was talking with my friend Dave A YEAR AGO. He was telling me about a bike trip he and his cousin were going to go on. I learned that Yellowstone National Park opens up early for bicyclists only from West Yellowstone to Mammoth. The road from Mammoth and Cooke City is open year round for cars and is a big destination for snowmobilers. He thought it would be a good article for our magazine and a fun collaboration for Live WYld and his YouTube channel The Wyoming Project.
How I got involved
The trip was planned for April 4th through the 8th and would include Dave, myself, and his cousin; however, his cousin ended up being unable to participate. Up to that point I was not 100% sold on the idea of biking Yellowstone, but with his cousin unable to ride with him, I felt I should go ahead and join.
His plan was to take off from West Yellowstone early Monday morning and ride to Mammoth and tent camp there. That journey is approximately 49 miles. Tuesday morning we would start riding to Cooke City which is 57 miles away and stay in a hotel. Wednesday morning back to Mammoth and back to West Yellowstone Thursday.
E-Bike
I was pretty nervous about going on the trip, seeing as I am not in the best of shape and he had been training for this ride for months. Dave was going to be riding a road bike, which he bought months prior and had been riding over 50+ miles several times a week - training. Dave mentioned I should get an e-bike to make it easier for me because I hadn’t had time for training. I was still a little apprehensive but started searching for a bike to rent. Sarah and I searched everywhere and hit every website from Cody to West Yellowstone, Billings to Bozeman ect.. I finally found a place in Gardiner, Montana (Big Sky Ebike Tours & Rentals LLC). I talked with the owner, Jay, and told him about our planned bike trip through Yellowstone. He was more than accommodating. We definitely want to give him a shout-out for all of his support. We know he got one from Dave’s Youtube channel as well. After hearing about Live WYld he did throw in a couple more items to ensure we were set to have a successful trip. He threw in an extra battery which was a life saver and an extra pannier to get some of the pack weight off of my back.
The ride
Of course in April there are unexpected weather changes. Which means we did have to change plans. Instead of starting in West Yellowstone we decided to start in Cooke City. Be sure and check out Dave’s video for exclusive content and behind the scenes stories we experienced prior to hitting the road. Monday morning came quickly and we were off on the road by 7am. I had yet to ride the e-bike so I wasn’t sure how it differed from a normal bike. It is already a heavy bike and to then add on two panniers and my backpack which probably weighed 50+ pounds.
When we started it was approximately 35 degrees, but we warmed up quickly. I started off with just pedaling so I wouldn’t use up the battery life and get stuck just pedaling. The bike did have a throttle on it, but I never used that because it could eat up the power - so I did use the pedal assist when needed and it was amazing. I couldn’t believe how I kept up with Dave and wasn’t dying. I used the assist mode in 1 or 2 for the majority of the trip and then powered it off on any downhill sections of the trip. The ride itself was amazing and quiet for the most part. There were cars on the road but nowhere near the amount as in the summer. We did stop periodically to take pictures and get some video footage for The Wyoming Project. As far as animals, all we saw was were buffalo. Only once did we have to stop for a herd crossing the road. We made a stop in Tower-Roosevelt Junction for lunch and a rest after 33 miles of riding. It did call for rain all day and we could see the clouds so we kept pushing to try and beat the storm. For quite a few miles after lunch it was a little rough going because it was uphill. Here is where the e-bike saved me. By this time I still had 3/4 of a battery left and an extra battery so I did decide to use a higher assist mode for the hills. On a few hills I needed to push the assist mode up to 5 again, it was a lifesaver. It made those hills so much easier and “fun”. Dave did struggle on this section and had to walk his road bike up hill. He does explain what he thinks went wrong on the hills in his video. The weather did pick up a bit and it started getting windier which of course in Wyoming, happens. That did make it a little tougher and colder but we pushed through and finally made it to the Mammoth Campground in 8 hours.
Campsite
We arrived at the campsite which is open year round and found a spot. It is $20 a night. I texted Jay from Big Sky Ebike Tours and Rentals and he was nice enough to bring me two fresh batteries because the campground didn’t have any power until they switched to summer services. We started to set up our tents and relax when Jay showed up with the batteries and a six pack of BEER! It was great after a long day on the road. We chatted for a while and after he left we cooked up our dinners with Dave’s Jet Boil. I think Dave went to bed at 8:00 and I stayed up a little bit and built a fire with wood I found lying around. During the night it got down to 20 degrees. I slept well but woke a couple times feeling the cold. We did hear a pack of coyotes or wolves, we couldn’t really tell which, during the night. Dave was pretty sure one or a couple came up to his tent sniffing around and stepped on the edge of his tent.
I woke the next morning hearing a truck plowing the road. I looked outside and of course we had a few inches of fresh snow. Dave and I looked up the weather forecast for West Yellowstone and it didn’t look good. We thought there was going to be a window to make it but mother nature had other plans. At that point we decided that we need to at least get Dave’s truck which was in Cooke City. We had talked with Jay the night before about catching a ride to get Dave’s truck if needed. Jay showed up with coffee this time (what a great guy) which was a nice pleasant and welcome surprise on a cold morning. I stayed back with our bikes and tents while Dave and Jay went to get his truck. I thought that maybe we would stick it out a day and take off for West Yellowstone on Wednesday morning, but they had been looking at the weather and it would have not been wise. We decided to pack it in and head back home.
Would I do it again?
As nervous as I was days before and right before the trip…. yes. Yes, I would absolutely do it again. I personally think there are things I would change. I would only do the Mammoth to West Yellowstone section and of course would include an e-bike rental from Jay. The Cooke City terrain is pretty steep and a difficult bike ride, I would probably 86 it from the route; but I am glad I experienced it.
Big Sky Ebike Tours
& Rentals LLC
As we discussed earlier in the article getting this e-bike was the best decision ever. I wanted to thank and tell our readers a little bit more about Jay the owner of Big Sky Bike Tours & Rentals.
Jay started this business in autumn 2019 when the National Park System started to allow e-bikes into Yellowstone Park. He is located in Gardiner, Montana at the North Gate of Yellowstone. They offer three different tours for those who would like the full experience of this beautiful country. You can also rent these bikes for 2 hrs, 3 hrs or a full day. Currently their tours run from April 16th to November 8th. They are waiting on permission to extend the tour season to include the spring and fall biking season when roads are closed to vehicle traffic.
I asked Jay if he has always been an avid biker and he replied “I was an avid biker at times in my life when time would allow.” When I asked him why he chose to include e-bikes in his rentals he said “I purchased my first e-bike in 2019 and was an instant fan. It allowed me to ride further and faster, I felt young again.”
Be sure and visit his website to learn more and book your adventure today. I know I will be renting from him again in the future.
