Teton Mountain Bike Tours

So what exactly is the difference between a bison and a buffalo?
The answer . . .
Historians speculate that early European explorers used the term ‘buffalo’ as the name for the North American bison, as they were familiar with the species that existed in Africa (Cape Buffalo) and Asia (Water Buffalo). The terms buffalo and bison have been used interchangeably ever since that time.

Late summer is an important time for bison. It’s the season of rut, when the dominant bison bulls must re-establish their right to sire next year’s calves. There is much jousting between the bulls – and people going out on bikes with Teton Mountain Bike Tours are certainly getting an eye-ful!

Our Antelope Flats ride during this part of the year almost guarantees a buffalo sighting. The massive animal can be found in herds all over the area of Mormon Row where we bike, so guides and visitors need to be extra careful of their distance. In fact, we’ve had several occasions where the guide had to hitch a ride back to the van near trip-end so they could pick up TMBT guests and their bicycles. Only then could they safely drive through the bison lining the sides of the road!

Fighting among bulls during the rut can be fierce and their challenging roars echo across the grasslands. Buffalo are more aggressive and can be more dangerous during this time – and unfortunately, people are sometimes more concerned about getting the perfect picture! Just imagine how you would feel if someone in a compact car going about 30 miles an hour hit you. It is somewhat equivalent, however bison have horns!

In the late 1800s, buffalo were nearly exterminated by men. Today, they are no longer endangered and combined herds in the United States are estimated at approximately 80,000 animals.

Check out the “bashing bison” video put out by Animal Planet on YouTube!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPuo_–B3TI&feature=fvw

Teton Mountain Bike Tours had a rather large group come bike with us recently! The Destiny Foundation, which was created by Rabbi Berel in 1996, is an organization that translates riveting accounts of Jewish history into audiotapes, books and a series of drama and documentary film projects.

The group had a large amount of people, all wearing traditional Hasidic dress. The men were wearing dark trousers, white shirts and black shoes. The women were wearing long, dark skirts and sleeves past the elbow. Since the group was so big, we split them into two separate tours. One went biking up historical Mormon Row for an hour, while the other group enjoyed 2 hours of riding our most popular tour: Antelope Flats.

After making sure everything was properly tucked in to avoid bike chain rings eating their clothing (!!), we set off into the sunshine. The longer bike ride had a Rabbi, several children and an 83 year old grandfather. The grandfather was used to biking all of his life and never tired out! The kids had lots of fun pointing out the plentiful wildlife – hawks, pronghorn and bison.

Everyone was in awe of the beauty of the Tetons surrounding them. We shared the history of the Hole and our knowledge of the animals we saw on Antelope Flats. Almost everyone had a camera, and we happily snapped picture after picture for them.

By the end of the ride, the people of the Destiny Foundation were raving about Teton Mountain Bike Tours. A tour guide for women’s specialty journeys pulled us aside to tell us she would highly recommend our trip for her future tours to Jackson. Everyone smiled and waved their goodbyes, as they loaded onto their bus to town.

It was certainly another grand day in the land of the Tetons!

Here are some pictures from the tour:

http://picasaweb.google.com/TMBT2008/TheDestinyFoundation#