I'd Have Ridden Up the Pass Twice if I Could Have Skipped the Down Hill

June 16, 2025

Started riding at 7:30 this morning at the bottom of Pillow River Pass. The short version is 21 miles and 2 ½ hours later I was at the top of the pass.

The longer version is it started a little chilly, so I wore a couple of shirts. One mile later I was sweating profusely and shed a layer. 12 miles later, I stopped for a drink and to change out of my soaking wet clothes and into dry ones for the final 8-mile ascent. When it was over, I had climbed almost 4,500 ft. The scenery on the lower west side of the pass was literally prehistoric. The signs said the rock formations dated back more than 50 million years…very cool. Along with that there was of course the river running through it (no not the river in the Brad Pitt movie), and lots of greenery. Further up the pass the scenery transitioned to typical higher elevation forest and then more meadows than trees at the top.

And then came the descent (this explains the title of the post). About 21 miles of STUPID steep, winding, 70 plus mph (cars and trucks, not cyclists)downhills , and lots of semis and RVs towing cars whizzing by, with random 5-6% grade uphills thrown in as additional torture. Am I exaggerating…NO. There were constant signs telling trucks to use lower gears (to save their brakes), frequent brake check pullouts, and a sign that read “Catchnet Cable System in Place for Runaway Trucks”. Oh yeah, forgot to say that it was really cold at the top of the pass, so I put a jacket on, which came off quicky at the first ascent part of the downhill.

And finally, I made it to the flatter section moving through Buffalo, WY and then another 12 miles to shorten tomorrow’s ride a bit.

For the day, I rode 71 miles, climbed 5,800ft and descended 6,400ft!

People that I met…A motorcyclist who was climbing the pass. He circled back to ask about my trip and wished me luck. And while I didn’t really meet them, a few cars/trucks honked to cheer me on!

Picture of the day…there were two choices, so I have included them both.

Can’t think of too much more to share today, so I’ll leave it at that.

Until tomorrow,