Day 63 - July 5 - Dillon, MT to Jackson, MT - Two Old Guys Take On A Continent

July 5, 2023

Day 63 - July 5 - Dillon, MT to Jackson, MT

Twin Peaks

Ed’s Story

Got up around 6 AM knowing we didn’t have a lot to pack before we left. Breakfast was the same junk as the day before…except today there was little to no waffle mix and the syrup didn’t pump well. Definitely not a 5 star or even a 2 star hotel.

We worked our way back to the route and headed out of Dillon. Started out with a few small rolling hills. Again there was lot to see.

We posted the Beaverhead Rock two days ago. I think this looks like an Alligator Head Rock.

Anybody interested in another fixer-upper.

If you’ve been reading the journal for a while, you’ll see that we have a subtitle. At times we struggle to come up with one, and other times they just come to us.

This is the elevation profile of our ride today. We had two major climbs today. One was overall 1600 ft; the other was 1300 ft. Hence the subtitle!

The first climb started increasing slightly for a 500 ft gain before the 6.2 mile long steep portion began for 1200 ft. The second was 6.2 miles long for the 1300 ft. The second climb started about 15 miles after the downhill from the first.

I slowly worked my way up both of them. They were definitely easier than the climb out of Ennis two days ago on the way to Virginia City.

From the top of the second hill to our overnight stop at Jackson was 11 miles and was downhill.

Needless to say Jackson MT is not a big town. I think the hotel owner said the town has a population of 36 year round.

Right now the only businesses open are the Harwood Bunkhouse Hotel (where we’re staying) and a hat shop.

The Jackson Hot Springs are not open, nor is the restaurant next door. We were looking forward to the restaurant but will end up cooking a freeze dried meal tonight.

We are sharing the hotel property with an Adventure Cycling tour group. They are heading cross country also. The tour leaders are sleeping inside on beds while the bikers are outside in tents.

John and I are staying in a room in the hotel. The queen size bed pretty much fills the room. There is no room for a sleeping bag on the floor. I’ll leave it to your imagination how we’ll be sleeping.

Tomorrow is a 57 mile ride to Sula, MT, with 1700 ft of climbing. It’s funny though in that Sula is about 2000 ft of elevation lower than Jackson.

I had my final beer with dinner (fruit, spaghetti including a sauce with plant based meat, and salad) we were served by the Adventure Cycling group. I guess you only can find it in Montana.

Moose Drool….it was actually pretty good.

Until tomorrow happy biking!

John’s Story

Cold morning. 40 degrees. Just when things were starting to warm up we’re moving back up in elevation. We should find some heat in a few days in Missoula. I feel sorry for you folks living down below in the furnace.

Almost from the start today we were riding uphill. You couldn’t tell by looking at the landscape, only by the slowdown in pedaling speed. On a flat smooth road with no wind we could probably easily pedal 13-14 mph. Before we even got to the first “climb” we were eking out 8-10 mph. Ed’s right, the two big climbs today were not as bad as the hill between Ennis and Virginia City, but the thing is, there were two of them. It’s the first time that’s happened.

Before we reached the first climb we were passed by the first of the Adventure Cycling riders. Then two more. Then a few more. We were riding loaded. They were riding unloaded. It makes a big difference. I did catch some of them at the top of the first climb as they were putting jackets on for the screaming downhill before them. I waited for Ed while they took off.

ACA riders preparing to jump off the hill, also known as Badger Pass.

The flip side of the first climb. I definitely wore a bit of material off my brake pads on the way down. I held my speed to 30 mph.

As soon as we hit the bottom of the first big hill we started the slow ride up the next hill to Big Hole Pass. I felt better about my cycling when I slowly started catching up with some of the ACA riders who had passed me on the first hill. Two of them stopped for a break halfway up the hill, but I kept going. Then I caught up with a third whom I found walking his bike up a steep section.

It was gratifying to see ACA bikers whom I had passed on the hill coming up behind me. Even Ed caught up with the two who had stopped for a rest. A good day for those of us carrying our homes on our bikes.

The view from the top of Big Hole Pass. More melting break pads ensued. It was so steep that when I released the brakes it felt like I was yanked down the hill by an invisible force. Gravity, I think.

Once over Big Hole Pass an imposing mountain range appeared to our west, the Bitterroot Range I believe.

At the top of Big Hole Pass I found a small universe of yellow flowers. I’m not sure if I’ve seen any of them before, so here they are.

It was downhill almost all the way to Jackson after Big Hole Pass, interrupted by only a few minor rollers. The miles melted away.

Jackson, Montana is one block long and arguably a block wide. The Bunkhouse Hotel where we are staying is a 1910 building that is not only a hotel, but the post office.

There are a few small rooms on the first floor, each with a queen bed with about 2’ of space around each side. We booked one of the rooms yesterday after we found out there was no other alternative if we wanted to spend the night in Jackson. Ed and I will have to share the bed. It will be the first time since we were kids. I can pinpoint the date. The night of October 1, 1962, at our grandmother’s house in Austin, Texas, the night before we left for the Philippine Islands to rejoin our father at Clark Air Force Base. He had gone ahead months before to secure family housing before he could bring us over. Ed had better behave himself.

Rick is the proprietor of this establishment. He retired last fall after 30 years as a police officer. He bought the place in 2014 and renovated it into the hotel/hostel/campground it is today. It was, as he put it, a side hustle before he retired. He didn’t know that Jackson was on the Transamerica bicycle route when he bought it, but his first customer was a Cuban kid who was riding the route, and now bikers like us are an important part of his customer base. He keeps a fridge well stocked with Montana craft beers. It’s on the honor system: tell me at the end of the evening what you’ve used and pay me for it.

Some Rick-isms: ….If you’re wearing spandex in Montana you’re either a a rodeo clown or a TransAm cyclist…Cyclists who jump a fence to pitch a tent call it stealth camping, but in Montana we call it trespassing….Cowboys don’t know what a hostel is, but they all know what a bunkhouse is.

Most of the ACA bikers are tent camping. The rest have rented rooms in the hotel.

The ACA group invited us to dinner, which we gratefully accepted. They are biking to Darby tomorrow, while we are going only as far as Sula, so today will likely be the last we see of them. They are taking a different route to the Oregon coast and will end up about 150 miles south of us at the Pacific.

Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km)
Total: 1,093 miles (1,759 km)

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