Sunday September 30

We’ve had such good weather on this trip that it seems a shame to end it on a different note. Perhaps it’s a sign that it’s time to go home.  The forecast had not been promising - a high POP, perhaps snow and perhaps brutal headwinds at some point in the day. I poked my head out the door as soon as I was up.  It looked somewhat promising.  No moisture on the ground and not any colder than a few of the previous days.  So I packed some rain gear in the bike bag, dressed for biking, and headed out the door for breakfast. Oops - the snow had started.....  During breakfast in the guides’ cabin, a bit of a blizzard moved in. Cy called it - too dangerous to ride, so the van would be loaded up and make two trips to West Yellowstone.

I was a bit disappointed to miss our final day of riding, but I respect the decisions made by the guides. Lots of women had already made their personal decision not to ride, so the van was already pretty full; I would be on the second shuttle. Just before they pulled out, though, the snow abated and we were given permission to ride if we wished. Why not; it seemed like a better option than killing at least 3 hours in Ennis in my bike clothes.  Unknown to those of us left behind, at some point on the first trip the van and trailer pulled over to the side of the road to tend to a loose bike some miles from Ennis and a police car stopped to check on them. He reported that conditions further ahead were not good due to sleet & snow. Cy called (chef) Sue to hold us back, but we had left by then. Oh well....The road was wet but not icy and there was nothing new falling from the sky. A tad chilly though...  We started out at -1.1C at about 9:30 and it didn’t reach 0C until 11:51 - brrrrr!  The clouds hung very low on both sides of the road, but every once in a while we would catch a glimpse of mountain tops on either side of us which were beautifully adorned in fresh snow.  Not much to look at today, though. About 14 miles into the ride we came upon a cattle drive with hundreds of head of cattle and about a dozens cowboys and cowgirls. The poor cattle stopped in their tracks and just stared at us. I’m sure the cowboys thought we were crazy too!  The first photo is mine; the second is from Patricia, taken from inside the van.

The profile today was a gentle uphill the whole way, so it helped me to stay warm but I had to shed some clothes in order not to work up a sweat. The delicate balance of moisture management.....

Our second SAG stop was at about mile 43, the Earthquake Lake Visitor Centre. The Centre itself was closed for the season (I'm OK with that since it would have been quite the climb to get up to it on top of the landslide - 2nd picture below) but there were some interesting information boards along the road. A large earthquake happened here in August 1959, damming the Madison River and creating a huge lake. Twenty-eight people, mostly campers, were killed.

Eight of us did some riding today. Only 4 of us did the whole distance. The others came to their senses along the route. Shortly after Earthquake Lake (aka Quake Lake) came Hebgen Lake, a very large reservoir.  Oh - and can we be far from Yellowstone when we start seeing bison signs?

The route flattened out, signs of civilization started to appear and the sky significantly brightened. When I stopped to take this picture, though, I looked behind and the black sky looked gruesome. We had a good tailwind at that point and I thought for sure we were going to get dumped on.

I only felt about 5 drops coming in to SAG #3 at about 62 miles. The storm luckily went around us - whew!  Just a final easy nine miles into West Yellowstone.

I took the time to savour the views and reflect on what a terrific trip it has been. Everything was just great - the route, the scenery, the weather, and especially the people. Outstanding guides and just a really, really great group of women to travel with. We went out for a final dinner together and then back to the hotel for a fun gift exchange and heartfelt farewells. It looks like lots of folks have signed up for Part 2 next year. I hope we get most of the group back for an encore!

Stats for the day:
114 km / 71 miles from Ennis MT to West Yellowstone MT
3126 feet up, 1403 feet down
Temps: -1C to 16C. Cold and overcast for a long time. Finally turned into quite a pleasant day for maybe the last 15 miles. Quite a downpour came through town after we were all safely in.

Total stats for the trip:
1890 km / 1174 miles from Florence OR to West Yellowstone MT over 20 days of cycling.
54,741 feet of climbing
Temps:  from -1C to 30C and everything in between. Way more sun than cloud and way more tailwinds than headwinds.
Calories burned:  20,774
Pounds lost:  0

Saturday September 29

Well, yesterday turned into a somewhat unscheduled rest day since we did 2 days in one the day before.  I had planned on sleeping in, but the internal clock decided 6:30-ish was a good time to get up and do laundry.  I did beat the rush.....  It was a pretty lazy day in Dillon.  Laundry, walking the main street, lunch at a very popular sandwich shop and lazing about the hotel.  The highlight of the day for many was a visit to the Patagonia outlet store.  Not sure why they would have one in this little town, but they did lots of business with us.  There were waaaay more puffy jackets around the dinner circle last night.  Pat and I also took our turns at the local straw maze (like a corn maze at home) and did manage to find our way out again.  They had a great little bookshop in town with lots of local authors, but my bags are too heavy already.  After dinner the van took lots of our folks to the college rodeo.  It seems a good time was had by all.  I went to the high school football game; "Friday Night Lights".  It was a bit of a classic - a good chunk of the town shows up to watch the local boys take on Stevensville.  Quite a commitment to play high school sports in this area.  We passed by Stevensville 3 days ago!  BTW - the women who went out on their bikes today to finish off the previous day's ride didn't enjoy quite the great conditions that we had.  Colder, less sun and less favourable winds.  But - they all came in with smiles on their faces!

Our guide, Cy, keeps us in stitches each night with her fact (real or imagined)-filled tidbits about the local lore and various historical points.  Tonight's performance included 41 "don'ts for women on bicycles" (published in 1895).  I was particularly conscious of #11 today as we took on our big climb, into a strong headwind, with grades up to 9%, 55 miles into our day.  #11 states:  Don't cultivate a "bicycle face".  Not sure I was successful.........

We pretty much knew what we were in for today.  Seventy miles, lots of headwinds, and the big climb at the end of the day.  We also knew it would be chilly to start the day.  What we didn't count on was the fact that it didn't warm up nearly as much as what the forecast was predicting.  We started the day at 1C and didn't get over 6C all day.  In fact, the temperature dropped back down to about 3C at the top of the climb and didn't quite get back up to 6 by the time we reached "home".  Thankfully the front desk gal at the Riverside Motel and RV Park had cranked up the heat in each of our cabins before we arrived.

We spent most of the day again today in "big sky country".  However, we had heavy cloud cover all day so some of the magic of the views was lost.  And - my fingers were not terribly functional for long periods of time due to the cold.  The result - not a lot of pictures.

Our first 15 miles were pretty much wind-free.  We passed this massive straw maze under construction not too far from town.

Then we came to some historical points of interest - The Beaverhead, after which this entire valley is named.

Now, it was a cold day but I think Frosty is pushing the season a bit............

Lots of ranches and hayfields today.  Also lots of irrigation still going on.

There were quite a few historical markers along the way.  Always a good reason to stop and shake some feeling back into my hands and feet.

We also had quite a few small towns along the route - Twin Bridges, Sheridan, Laurin, Alder, Nevada City and Virginia City.  I had planned to stop in Nevada City, with promises of a bakery on the cue sheet.  Alas, everything was closed up tight for the season but it was interesting to see all of the preserved buildings from the gold rush in the late 1800s.  Virginia City was just a few more miles down the road.  It also was preserved in wild west fashion but also had a few open shops, including a cafe where I stopped for soup and hot chocolate.  Once warmed and refueled, I was ready for the climb - about 2000 feet over 4 miles with grades up to 9%.  No summit sign at the top, but the downhill truck sign is always a good indicator of time to layer up for the descent.

Some sweeping views down to our destination valley.

I guessed right on the clothing requirements for the day, so other than cold hands and feet the rest of my body was pretty warm and dry all day.

Finally - in to Ennis MT. 

We all crammed in to our guides' cabin to eat the lovely turkey dinner that chef Sue had prepared for us.  The wind is still howling outside and it's going to be a cold night.  The forecast is for cold, wet and windy tomorrow - our last day of riding.  We've had such good weather on this trip, it would be a shame to have a yucky last day.  Time will tell.  I think we will all sleep well tonight.  It was a tough day out there today.

Stats for the day:
113 km / 70 miles from Dillon MT to Ennis MT
2917 feet up, 2909 feet down.
Temps:  1C to 6C.  Heavy cloud cover all day.  Cold & windy.  If I were at home and had the choice to ride or not, I would have stayed inside today.  Just sayin'

Thursday September 27

Some of us did a double dose of riding today.  The original plan called for a 51 mile ride from last night's lodging to Jackson MT.  But - the place we were supposed to have stayed apparently has now closed for the season.  Tomorrow's ride was to be 49 miles from Jackson to Dillon MT.  So we are booked in to the Dillon Best Western for 2 nights.  The guides arranged to shuttle riders from Jackson to Dillon (and will return them there tomorrow morning).  But, I'm guessing about half of us decided to just ride both days today (100 miles) and take a day off tomorrow.  And what a fabulous 100 miles it was!!

We had an early breakfast and were on the road by about 8.  It's not light much before that, so no point in eating ridiculously early.  It was a tad chilly at that hour though.  One lonely degree C for quite a while.  Good thing we started with an 8 mile uphill; good for warming up the whole body!  At about mile 8 we reached the Continental Divide at Chief Joseph Pass.  I almost missed the sign.  It was tucked away on the far side of the road.

Time to put on a layer and start the descent.  It was still a bit brisk out.  I don't think the temp got over 4C until about the 20 mile mark.  At about 23 miles we came to the Big Hole Battlefield National Monument and Visitor Centre.  In the space of about 10 minutes the temperature rose from 4C to 17C.  Now - that's more like it!  The Visitor Centre was really well done, and sobering to read about so much carnage in 1877 on this lovely landscape.

 

I also found it interesting to see the map of the full Nez Perce Trail and see both the sites we've seen the last few days as well as where they crossed the Missouri River (which we saw on our Missouri River paddling trip in July).

I didn't stop for very many pictures today for various reasons - lots of miles to cover, I don't normally stop on the uphills (although the views on all the climbs today were glorious), and the tailwind-aided downhills were just too fun to stop.  I saw lots of pronghorn, including these at about 30 miles.....

And these just before coming into Dillon at the end of the day.

At 33 miles was the town of Wisdom.  Even though I found Wisdom, I kept on biking anyway.  As did Minnesota Sue and Caillie.

I took a few shots of some typical scenery for the day.  We are definitely in big sky country.  The wide open expanses were incredible!  And after each of the three rather intense uphills, the downhills were to die for!  They went on forever, and we had a substantial tailwind almost all day.  Together with very little traffic on the roads, it made for a truly magical ride!

We stopped at Jackson, where our cue sheet promised lunch at Rose's Cantina & Cafe. 

Super-guide Cy, though, had called ahead and realized they too were going to be closed.  So - she set up a table of goodies to fuel those of us who were going further.  About 10 folks decided they had had enough biking for the day and jumped in the van for the shuttle to Dillon.

So - it was on to cue sheet #2.  49 miles to Dillon.  Two climbs, but nothing as big as the one first thing this morning.  Here are some pics on the way up to Big Hole Pass.

Magical sweeping downhill for about 15 miles and one last climb to Badger Pass.  Another almost 15 miles of more magic.  Just one stop for a couple of pictures (plus the second batch of pronghorn).

In the end, my average speed was the fastest yet - even with all that climbing and distance.  When I checked the bike computer at the end of the day I found that my top speed was over 76 kmph.  That was without even trying!  The final tally was about 15 women who did the full century.  Far more than the number who set out to ride the full distance this morning.  It was just that good!!

Stats for the day:
161 km / 100 miles
4956 feet up, 5001 feet down
Temps:  1C to 24C.  Just about a perfect day.  Cool for climbing, pleasant temps for most of the day, sunny, TAILWINDS!