Patrick and I had the best blueberry pancakes of our lives here in Wisdom. I wanted more, but I knew we had to climb a mountain for something like 26 miles, so I refrained.
The climb over Chief Joseph Pass was gorgeous. It was good to see trees again after days of more desolate and dry scenery. Patrick and I rode together up the mountain. I still think he was slowing down to stay with me, but he denied that. We took it pretty easy and stopped fairly often for butt and snack breaks. The climb was much easier than expected, but we were still happy to see the top. We nicked the corner of Idaho on the way to a rest stop but reentered Montana almost immediately. I squeezed more pus out of my spider bite and we were on our way down. Woohoo! I'm really glad we had the slow, gradual incline. I wouldn't have wanted to climb up the side we went down!
We made it! And it was a beautiful ride up (and I'm really glad I didn't have to come up the side we went down. Ouch!)
A headwind on the other side slowed our downhill progress a bit, but we still enjoyed the miles of downhill. I stopped at one point to let my rims cool and Patrick took the lead when the wind got really bad. I hate pedaling downhill, but that's what we had to do. It seemed to get suddenly hotter and the wind was really dry, so we stopped in Sula for more food (ah, the life of a biker). We saw and unfamiliar bike outside and went to introduce ourselves to Dan. Normally, touring cyclists are more than happy to share information about the road ahead or just talk, but Dan was a bit reclusive while he picked at his lunch. Suddenly he blurted out that he didn't know what he was doing out there riding a bike when he could be driving. He told us about all these horrible digestive problems he had and how he normally didn't start riding until about 11 a.m. and how he was only going 40 or 50 miles a day and how he didn't bother to check the mileage on the maps when he bought them. Consequently, he'd estimated the route at 3000 miles instead of the reality of at least 4200. He kept claiming the maps were really messed up as far as elevations and whatnot but couldn't really tell us anything specific. Using our mileage to that point, he figured he'd have to average 160 miles a day to get where he was going. We tried to be helpful and suggested that he drive or get a ride through parts of Colorado/Kansas/Missouri or whatever, but I don't know what he was going to do. I just don't think he got the whole touring thing.
I had this bear guard my bike while Patrick and I ate lunch and met a rather strange biker who didn't seem to know what he was doing biking instead of driving across the country.
With our two sit-down meals, my slow hill climbing, and all our snack breaks, we figured that a bunch of the group had to be ahead of us, but we really didn't know. Just after Sula, the ride became miserably hot when the narrow road entered a canyon that gave us a headwind no matter which way we turned. I was hot and tired but riding hard with Patrick drafting me. Patrick was on cooking duty for the group, so he was supposed to be in town by 4 something to meet up with Richard for dinner. Usually, Patrick is the last one it, but I made it my personal mission to get him there on time. He's usually a stronger rider than I am, but I was inspired by desire for cold beverages and had been thinking about a hotel in Darby for over a year (more later). Our water was disgustingly hot, but when Patrick said, 'For the love of God, woman, Stop!' we choked down the vile stuff. The break gave me a chance to hit the sprinklers nearby, too. They felt so good, but I dried off almost immediately in the dry heat.
I head for the sprinklers to get some relief from the dry hot wind in the valley as we headed toward Darby for cold wet drinks
(for Purdue people) I've been waiting for a year to get to Darby just to see the Bud and Shirley Motel. I'm almost there! And a dump station? who knew?!?
I knew we were getting close when the sign for the Bud and Shirley motel appeared. Even better was the sign for Conoco and cold drinks. How did we beat Tim? Alvin came breezing into town soon after as well, but he was on a mission somewhere and didn't pay any attention to us. Patrick and the rest of the group headed to camp while I headed to check out the Bud and Shirley Motel. Here's the deal on that. There are two professors in my department, Bud and Shirley, who often publish together. They are two of the most professional people you would ever know, well respected in our field and recognized for their scholarly contributions. The thought of them having a hotel as a joint venture or something (even though it really has nothing to do with them) is just absolutely funny to those of us who know them. Especially something out in unpopulated Montana. Some of the professors and staff at Purdue took up a little collection for me for the trip for me to be able to get a few hotel nights along the way, so how could I not stay there? Cinder block walls and bedding at least as old as I am couldn't stop me!
Dinner was microwave burritos and beer from the gas station, and I was settled in for an evening of the weather channel and trying to redraw the magic marker circle around the spider bite on my butt so Toni could look at it the next day. What an adventure this ride is.
Maybe we can work on the visual rhetoric of this room, though. OF COURSE I STAYED HERE! (Hey, I gotta support my professors)
