July 13, 2006
Day 64: Madison CG to Madison River: Montana!
Had to get up in the night-hate it when I mis-time my hydration. It's better for me to drink just enough that my bladder acts as an alarm at just the right time on those cold mornings so I have motivation to get out of bed. I guess getting into and out of West Yellowstone was motivation enough since I was on the road by 7 even without an alarm (phone charging problems lately ), excited to get out of Yellowstone and into Montana. The trip to West Yellowstone was a piece of cake, and I got to hear some baby eagles and see some more elk. I have to be the only person who went to Yellowstone and didn't see any bison. Oh well.
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Priority #1 was a real breakfast. Sometimes I'm indecisive about where to eat when there are too many options, but I saw Joe's bike parked outside one café and went to join him. I'd met Joe the previous evening when he'd pulled into the campground to refill water bottles. He was going to stealth camp someplace else but took the time to tell me about possible routes from the coast back to Portland and told stories of how he'd given input on the original TransAm route through Oregon. I thought he'd be far ahead of me already this morning, but I was glad for the company as we swapped stories from the road. Oh, and the bacon was GREAT, too!
Priority #2 was finding the library, and as I came out of the café with Joe, I ran into AC biker Ron. I left with Ron's (bad) directions to the library while he and Joe apparently figured out that they'd both been on the Pacific Crest Trail the same year way back before I was born. Ran into Helen and we hunted the library down with Jacques; Tim showed up, too, so we had a 'sit around and wait for a computer at the library' party (and here I thought I wouldn't see anybody this morning!).
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Used my 30 minutes of internet time, got groceries, hung out with Jacques and helped him find some soap (he originally picked up some feminine cleanser, so I got him straightened out about that!), looked for Toni, ran into Alvin, took some flack from Tim for not joining the 85 mile loop he and Erie had done the day before, and headed out of town with a half day of riding left. Forgot to get chain lube there oh well.
8 easy downhill miles later and I was skirting Hebgen Lake and reading roadside markers about the area's 1959 earthquake. At one roadside stop, two RV-ing couples invited me in for a late lunch of spaghetti and conversation about traveling. They even gave me the leftovers and a couple of snack bars, so I was set. It was a good reminder of nice, thoughtful people after the chaos of Y-stone.
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Then I rode my bike some more, meeting up with EB Peter and trading info over cold drinks at a lonesome roadside store. I had a hot headwind and he had a slow uphill slog, so anything cold was good. The headwind all but ruined my gradual downhill, but it was still better than an uphill!
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With all my stops to talk to people, I got to the camp area later than expected. I passed by a couple of RV places that were down steep inclines and headed for a forest service CG that I thought would be cheaper. Only problem was that the signs were a bit unclear and I ended up going backwards for over a mile on loose gravel parallel to the paved route I'd just been on only to find that the forest service 'Campground' was a few secluded spots serviced by an old outhouse DIRECTLY BEHIND one of the RV parks. I hadn't showered the day before and decided real toilets and a shower were better than pit toilets and hit up the RV park, only to find the office closed. Some guy pointed out a grassy area where the bikers usually stay and said he thought it was ten or twelve bucks for tenting. I didn't care. There was a shower.
If only I could get to that shower! I didn't even make it to the bathroom before becoming some campground celebrity of the moment. Seems like this is one of those long-term stay RV parks where everyone knows everyone else, so I was the new one they were curious about. (I don't even know which cg I was at actually-west fork maybe? it had some cabins and a grassy area with a half a basketball court if you're going through and looking for a cg. It's on map 45).
Representatives from at least 3 of the RV cliques asked me all sorts of questions about traveling by bike, how much my stuff weighed, wasn't I scared, and what the heck did I think I was doing out there alone! It was almost comical. I mean, all I wanted to do was go to the bathroom!!! I finally had to be really direct and tell people I'd come back and talk more after I got settled in, so they dispersed and let me take care of my business.
After getting set up, I went back to visit with Snaque, a lady who did a supported cross-country trip for charity. We had a good time comparing notes. She had her 17 pound bike and her husband driving their RV, making dinner and protein shakes and giving her massages while I lugged all my stuff over hill and dale just hoping to have a shower at the end of the day! Their little social group was getting together for dinner and invited me along. I knew I had a bag of spaghetti leftovers waiting for me, but what kind of biker would I be if I turned down a potluck?
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We had an evening of rowdy conversation and welcomed company. They asked me to stay another day or so with them, but I wanted to get back on the road. I had the legendary Virginia City hill to attack, so we said our goodbyes and I went to bed, hoping the night wouldn't be too cold. I'd set up my tent on the basketball court so I wouldn't have to mess with condensation, and the concrete held some of the heat of the day, so I had a pretty comfortable night except for one thing. I had a bug bite on my butt. I figured it would go away, but it was definitely tender. But there wasn't much I could do out there in the middle of nowhere, so I snuggled into my bag and went to bed.
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Today's ride: 58 miles (93 km)
Total: 3,218 miles (5,179 km)
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