Up Your Cadence: Day 50 Rest day Jackson

Today started off as just a normal day. We went into Jackson for our rest day (a very touristy town, by the way). A pleasant surprise was that the Chris Ewing's sister (our host in Lousville, KY) lives out here and offered to do all of the team's laundry for us. It's amazing what some people will do for essentially strangers. Our team encountered her in a parking lot in Jackson by sheer coincidence, and yet here she is, offering to help our team so much.

After just lounging around Jackson, we decided we would go on an aerial tram that takes us to the top of Rendexvous mountain, which is a part of the Tetons. We were at the top, enjoying amazing views and taking great pictures when we received word that Joanna, who had gone hiking with a different group in the Tetons, had hurt her ankle on the mountain side. We were incredibly worried, and the next several hours became all about getting her and the rest of the team down safely. Fortunately everything worked out okay. She ended up being airlifted via helicopter off of the mountain (she went up incredibly high apparently, even higher probably than the Grand Teton, the tallest mountain in the area). Although all the logistics were a bit complicated and we ended up having to drive back and forth quite a lot, we picked Joanna up at the hospital in very good spirits (although she was quite hungry). It was a stressful end to the day, but I think we handled as well as we can. Unfortunately the ankle is broken, but Joanna is going to try to see a specialist in Jackson as soon as possible. It's really too bad that she probably won't be able to ride into Portland with us, but I know she'll be there and she'll continue to be a part of the team in every way possible.