GDMBR Day 44
Start: Montana ranch house
Finish: Bannick State Park, Montana
Miles: 116.4 miles
Odometer: 1,979.5 miles
Ascent: 5,400 feet
Descent: 6,100 feet
Location: https://share.garmin.com/Judice
Highlights:
Today I broke the 100 mile barrier! The terrain was rolling and nice and easy. I love accelerating down a small hill with the momentum carrying me halfway up the next hill, then sprinting over the crest, and then repeating this over and over again. I can usually make pretty good time doing this.
While I have met a few cyclists heading northbound like I am, and a few cyclist doing southbound sections, today is the first day I ran into southbound riders that started in Canada. I ran into eight of them all in one day traveling by onesies and twosies. They are pretty hard-core (compared to me) traveling light and moving fast and. A Dutch cyclist rode 135 miles yesterday. He is trying to cover the entire route in under 30 days. This evening another southbound rider from Kansas told me he’s attempting the 30 day trip as well stating, “My wife says I have 30 days and she’s picking me up wherever I am on day 30.” He is having a pretty miserable time of it, though, and describes hellacious climbs with his single speed bike, gastrointestinal problems, running out of food and water, and generally feeling a bit discouraged. He is 45 years old but looks a lot younger and is fairly fit. I threw out the idea that perhaps he wanted to cut back the miles and enjoy the trip a little more, and even if he doesn’t make it to Mexico he can still have a good time of it. I also gave him a tent stake since he lost one and he doesn’t have a freestanding tent. He took the stake but I’m not thinking he’ll take the advice.
Today was my second thunder/hailstorm in three days. I was climbing up a mountain pass when the storm clouds moved in. Well I know I should seek the lowest point, but I did not want to give up the elevation so I pulled over, dropped my bike, and crouched in a cow pasture ditch. With a little time on my hands while the hail pelted me, I began trying to sort out how far away from the titanium bike I should be. Does titanium serve as a lightning rod? And then I look over my shoulder and see all of the cows running down the hill to a much lower elevation, and when they get there they’re all lying down. I wondered if I should follow. What do they know that I don’t?
There was a small break in the thunder and lightning and I took the opportunity to jump on my bike and push as hard as I could over the crest of the pass. This took a bit of energy. I saw another storm system moving in my direction and I was not only worried about getting struck by lightning but based on past experiences of this trip, I did not want to ride on wet roads with the potential of getting stuck in peanut butter mud again. Interestingly, the other side of the pass was dry but it was a race against time, and black clouds, to avoid a sticky situation. And then a miracle occurred! I got I tailwind to help push me down the long descent. And not just any tailwind, but a very strong tailwind. So I descended for about 20 miles with a strong tailwind hoping to outrun another thunderstorm. Unfortunately as the wind was blowing me down the mountain it was also blowing the black clouds my way. But I rode hard. I was very focused and determined to ride as far as I could on dry road before being pummeled by rain and maybe even hail. And as it turns out I outran the clouds and rode a total of 116 miles all the way to a state park where I enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon in the hikers/biker area visiting with other cyclists.
While I was enjoying my tailwind I came across a southbound cyclist and we stopped on the side of the road to chat and swap intel about conditions ahead. The funny part is when we said our goodbyes, he gave me a parting, “May the wind be at your back.“ I replied, "Yours too.” And then we both realized at the same time how funny that was and started laughing. Not only was that impossible since we were headed in opposite directions, I think we both really wanted the tailwind for ourselves.