Day 30- Another Climb, Another River Valley

I was up and on the road a little early today. I was supposed to be in the town of Ennis by 1:00 and it was 44 miles and a decent climb (again).

The sun was out although it sprinkled a little bit early this morning. Life on the road makes you just deal with the variability of the weather. So off I went. A gradual climb to Virginia City and then a more serious gradient for 5 miles to the summit of the climb.

I don’t know what it was about this section of the route but there were a lot of cyclists on the road today. Meeting touring cyclists is pretty funny. We just stop on the side of the road and start talking to each other. The questions are always the same. Where are you from, where did you start, and where are you going. First I talked to this guy Stewart from Australia. He said I could expect to see a lot of others today. Next I met Lynn and Jenny from Michigan. When I told them I was going to be going through Michigan later, they said I could sleep on their floor and they would make breakfast for me in the morning. That sounded pretty good so I gave them my contact information so I can possibly coordinate with them later if they are home by then. I really hope I hear from them.

Then in Virginia City, I met more cyclists. 2 from The Netherlands and 2 more from Missouri. They were all going in the other direction, but there were supposed to a lot of others just ahead going in my direction.

Speaking of Virginia City, it is another old mining town from Montana’s gold rush past. Unlike Bannack, Virginia City and nearby Nevada City are developed for tourists with lots of tourist shops and attractions. I only stopped to briefly talk to those cyclists I saw there. I still needed to get over the big hill and get to Ennis.

The steeper part of today’s climb started right after Virginia City, but it was no worse that the other recent climbs. The top came in under an hour.

Even though there wasn’t any sign to designate the top of the climb, there was the favorite sign that cyclists love to see!

The view was really nice from the top. There were several mountain ranges to see on both sides of the valley along with the Madison River.

I would make Ennis by 1:00 easily now. Flying down the downhill to Ennis was fast and effortless. I ended up at the Hwy intersection in town and bought some drinks. By the time I got out of the store, a familiar pickup truck was there. My Parents. They had driven the 50 miles from Bozeman to meet me and drive me back to their house.

I am now officially “off the bike” for a week now. A vacation within a vacation as I like to say. I will be enjoying my nieces birthday, playing some golf, visiting with my brothers, but mostly eating my mother’s (and father’s) home cooking.

So take a rest from the blog along with me but I will be back on the road before long. Still lots of adventure to come. National Parks, BIG mountains in Colorado, the Great Plains, and more.