“Just being in a national park when no one else is, just to know how busy this park gets in July and August, it’s pretty magical,” she says. “You can stop and not have cars buzz by you. It’s just a unique opportunity in a national park.”

The chance of seeing a bear is slim, she says, although the Park Service advises carrying bear pepper spray. A buffalo jam on the road while riding isn’t that big of a deal, she adds. Just give them a wide berth.

“I imagine they’re like a gang,” she says. “Don’t look them in the eye and they won’t bother you.”

With my fears allayed somewhat, I buy my first pair of padded bicycle shorts and pick up my rental bike at The Spoke Shop — a 2011 Roubaix Expert SL3 made by Specialized. It weighs only 16 pounds, thanks to a carbon fiber frame. The bike’s technology is so advanced that in my test ride I can’t figure out how to downshift. I naturally assume the bike is faulty. The Roubaix rents for $55 a day. It retails for $3,000. I feel so out of my league.

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