Day 20- we break the 1,000+ mile barrier!!!!
Dillon to Ennis, Montana
Miles: 72.99 Total accent: 2,668
Totals: 1,006.79 miles. Accent: 36,576
87.58 hours in the saddle
Today, we ride to Ennis, Montana.
Adventure Cycling section 4- maps 41-44
Around 7:30 this morning, Larry Volkening arrives at.the camp and he and Drew share stories about long distance cycling while I sort, pack and prepare for the day. Lois is there a few minutes later, we place the bikes in the bike garage and off to town we go.
Over breakfast, we share stories about everything- work, kids, travel, fun experiences. It feels like we’ve known Larry and Lois forever and are best friends. Drew and I feel saddened that we couldn’t spend more time with them or weren’t closer so we could help with the camps. We love what they’ve done. Maybe someday??
Returning to the camp to retrieve the bikes, we head to Ennis under clear, crisp skies. Lois explained they just had a cold snap with night time lows in the 30’s.
Wheels rolling, we pass by Beaverhead Rock and we are entering territory where there are vigilantes. The signs on the side of the roads have changed. We pass through Twin Bridges-a beautiful, old town and head on to Sheridan. And then there’s road construction-8 miles of chip seal. It makes for a slow 8 miles.
In Sheirdan, we meet a young man traveling alone with minimal gear. He is riding Adventure Cycling Transamerica route from Yorktown VA to Astoria Oregon, covering about 75 miles per day, riding a Salsa gravel bike as well. He shares how cold he’s gotten and does appear a bit worn. Later, Drew and I discuss what it must be like to travel alone and decide it’s not for us. We’ve had so much fun laughing at ourselves, meeting new people and discovering as we go. It means more when you have some to share it with.
We pass through the small town of Laurin and stop to switch jackets as it’s beginning to get warm. Holy moly!! Within about a 2 minute time frame, I get bit about 40 times by mosquitos! OMG!!
We pass though Virgina and Nevada cities watching tourist, enjoy riding on the train and visiting the shops. In 1863, Nevada and Virginia cites were the largest of 9 gold mining camps. They have quite a history! As we leave town, I hear a strange noise by the stop sign and see a woodpecker pecking away at the sign. So funny!
Traveling through an area that looks like high desert, there are several streams along the road. It looks like beaver may be building dams every few hundred feet. There are tourist locations where you can pan for gold or look for garnets.
Nearly three hours later, we roll in to Ennis, Montana. A stop at the gas station for cold drinks and we check into the Red Bear Inn at the edge of town. Once in the room, I survey the damage. Why do the mosquitoes like me so much?!! I don’t want to use Deet but wonder if an illness carried by a mosquito is worse? A few days I took a benedryl to help with the itching but it wiped me out. Riding this hard makes my body tired so sleep is not a problem!!
We have limited service but try to catch up on communication. Since the mornings have been chilly, we’ve been leaving a little later and riding into the early evening. We’ll do more work in the morning. Tomorrow is another big day and if we push hard enough, we’ll be in West Yellowstone and back on schedule, making up the day from Missoula.
We chat about our day and the people we’ve met and things we’ve experienced realizing we are forever change; forever richer because of it.
