Dillon - Jackson, MT - The cat named Chevy won't stop this tour, and neither can COVID

July 17, 2020

Dillon - Jackson, MT

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3,295 elevation gain

The wind was blowing when I woke up. That was the story for the day. It just got worse and worse.

I rode out of town on Highway 91 for five miles. Then we made the turn onto Highway 278. It was delightfully empty of traffic. Which was a double edged sword, because a little help against the wind would have been nice.

In the beginning, the wind wasn't as bad. The forecast had said the further we got from Dillon, the gentler the wind. I was totally going with that idea. I rain into Bill about a mile from the top of Badger Pass. We had a long chat about his trip (a week on the Great Divide) and ours. We talked about wearing good, old jerseys (his was 20 years old) and my old phone and GPS. We had a great chat. Finally we departed. I was happy and not concerned about wind. It was another easy mile to the top. Hurray! I was feeling great and had no worries. The wind on the downhill didn't concern me at the moment.

I was just started on the downhill and I saw two heavily loaded men almost to the top. The didn't seem inclined to stop and I was going downhill. I waved happily and off I went.

There wasn't a whole lot to the downhill with the headwind . . . well, hell. OK. I would have to pedal today. But I was still happy. I don't know why. Usually this much wind would channel total unhappiness. Maybe it was having a day off? Perhaps it was knowing it should be our last really tough day of the trip?

I continued downhill. I saw more cyclists coming. What? Can you believe this? After weeks of not seeing any cyclists, now I've seen five in one day? We are on the TransAm route (also the Lewis and Clark). We stopped and talked for a few minutes. I didn't get their names, but it's a couple also doing the entire TransAm. They knew about the two men in front. Bill had told me the restaurant in Wisdom was good. This couple said the mosquitoes in Wisdom were fierce and that they had splurged on a room in Jackson and had stayed late, getting their money's worth. Off we both went . . .

More supposed downhill, that didn't feel down at all because of the wind. I don't know where this happy feeling is coming from, but I wish I could package it and save it for later. I kept eating and drinking all I had on board. I ate a Cliff bar. A banana, an apple, two bottles of Liquid IV, two waters, a Spiz. I don't know how many Perpetuem and Anti Fatigue . . I had enough water that I was down to pretty much ice only. What an ironic situation to be in. It reminds me of Harpo on his Phoenix trip where he froze all of his water bottles and was SO, SO thirsty while he waited for them to thaw.

There wasn't a sign at the first pass, but there was at the second one. It's always nice to get a visual confirmation of the work done.

Traffic today was very light. This is a wonderful cycling road - it would be even better without a headwind. I feel badly that Jacinto didn't get to experience the ride at it's best.

I kept creeping towards town. Spoon entertained me sending texts the last few miles. I was happy that they came through. I could see the town from a short distance. It doesn't look like much of a town, but it's an oasis for me. I was on the road so long that both of my lights ran out. I spent more than an hour talking and seven hours riding. My lights last about six hours . . . that's usually sufficient.

Jackson is a happening place. Lots of trucks pulling campers and people with places to be. I went inside to check in and waited for 5-10 minutes. there was one woman working both the bar and the check in. The bar was completely full. Finally it was my turn to check in. The room was prepaid (no cancelations, and no changes - once you reserve, it is your room!). Check in didn't take long. I got a drink in Spoon's honor - gin and tonic. It was so good I had a second one. Jacinto showed up. The first thing I said to him is that I'm drunk, let's fuck. You should have seen the look on his face. That's not my typical greeting!

I did have food to help absorb the alcohol - fish tacos without the shell because they only had flour tortillas. But I don't drink much and I don't usually have two drinks. Today felt like a celebration sort of day. I hope I'm not hung over tomorrow. We have 56 miles to ride tomorrow with 1,700 feet of climbing over Chief Joseph Pass. We've done most of the work already, so I'm hoping for smooth sailing. Jacinto says the weather app says 10 mph is the worst it should get. Neither of us trust the forecast. We'll see what we get.

The restaurant has either prime rib or rib eye steak tonight. I hope it's the real thing. The last time I ordered rib eye, I don't know what I got - but I don't think it was the real thing . . .

Our room is very nice. A good sofa to sit on, a nice king size bed. Roomy for the bikes. Good shower. It's much better than camping with the mosquitoes, which is what we did in 2005 with the ACA trip. That was on my birthday (July 3rd) and my journal from that trip said I had a heavy frost on the tent in the morning! Brrrr.

Look at the cute bears on this ranch gate.

See this box? Is it for birds? Bats? It looks like the ones I saw on Highway 141 near Gateway. These also had numbers and went on for miles.John McDonald kindly sent the following information and link. They are houses for bluebirds. I have some some bluebirds, hopefully they are residing in their nice homes. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/overview

Bill from Missoula was doing a section of the Great Divide.

This couple is riding the TransAm. I didn't get their names.

Spoon, I stopped on the downhill to get this for you. I hardly ever stop for a photo on the downhill.

The second pass had a sign. Badger Pass didn't . . .

In person, this was scenic. This photo looks washed out.

This looked like a lonely place to live.

The town of Jackson as seen from the rise.

I have a gin and tonic in Spoon's honor and towels for the hot springs.

We have a great room! The wi-fi is non existent and there's no TV either . . but the bikes fit and the bed is firm.

Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km)
Total: 1,944 miles (3,129 km)

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