July 22, 2023
Day 72 Driftwaters Resort and RV east of Cameron to Ennis MT
I was off to a late start at 9 o’clock as today was another short day because of where Peter had scheduled the next camp site. I was riding downhill about 1.2 miles from camp when I felt a big bump. I had just moved from bright sunlight to deep shade cast by the rock wall to my right and my eyesight hadn’t adjusted. It turned out I had hit a six to eight inch rock. I had two flat tires and couldn’t evaluate the wheel well so I called the team to pick me up.
Back at camp we could see a bend in the rear rim which Peter straightened as best he could, then filed down the rough edge. When I replaced the tube and pumped it up, eagle-eyes Peter could see a defect in the tire so I replaced that too. Luckily Mark Owens from Tandem Diversity in Bellingham WA had given me a free tire when he put my handlebars and stem on Peter’s bike for this trip. Thank you Mark! I replaced the tube on the front tire and it looked fine. Being a bit concerned about the rear wheel, I decided to ride without panniers today to test the rear wheel. One of the benefits of having a sag.
The ride was a delight with a gentle downhill. I had the Madison Range far off to my right and the Gravelly Range and Madison River to my left with an expansive valley in between. It makes you feel so small. My only complaint was that some idiot had placed wide rumble strips on the shoulder rendering it essentially useless. I mostly rode just inside the white sideline; two pickups honked at me but the other drivers were courteous. I’m not in Kansas anymore.
I stopped for a snack under the shady porch of the Blue Moon RV park Cafe and Tavern which were closed. There were no more hills and I had fun going 15 to 20mph without the panniers. About 7 miles before Ennis, Peter pulled over in front of me. I had left my riding gloves back at camp after the flat tire fiasco. Now I’m really happy. Except for the rumble strips in Ennis. Who puts rumble strips in a town? Never seen that before.
There’s a nice restaurant at the entrance to the campground with outside seating so the three of us are going out to dinner. It’s 91 degrees- too hot to leave Henry in the truck even if we could find some shade.
Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 2,633 miles (4,237 km)
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