Friday June 20,2025
Day 20
Wisdom, MT to Dillon, MT
Miles: 67.59
Elevation: 2,562
Time: 6 hours 21 minute
Total miles: 1,010.71
Total Elevation: 44,534
Total Time: 103 hours 1 minute
Dream weaver!
Thanks to the EpicRidwWeather app, we knew we were going to encounter wind today. And, the wind and gusts would get stronger as the day progressed so we were up and on the road just after 7.
The small town of Wisdom was still asleep when we slipped away. The road was long, straight and went on as far as we could see. It was such a peaceful start to our day.
We were in mosquito country again having received bites again last night. So today I rode in my thrift store pants and shirt saturated in permethrin. It has become a person mission to minimize bites on this tour having suffered terribly in 2023. I now am using two lines of defense-100% Deet up to my jawline and the treated clothes, being super careful not to touch my food with my hands unless washed.
Along Hwy 43, we so the most beautiful bald eagles and their nests. As well, Yellow-headed blackbirds filled the meadows with their bizarre voices.
After about 20 miles, we arrived in Jackson for ‘first’ coffee. We found a super cool place -Jackson Hot Springs Resort. Stop in if you’re ever there. One of the employees was returning the hanging flower baskets to the eves saying the wind was so fierce last night, he had to take them down and secure them. Oh boy. Had it all passed or would we have to deal with some of it?
After breakfast, we continued through the high meadows commenting how we remembered the road jogged to the left and then a climb began. We are still in amazement how our minds ‘video recorded’ these roads from 2023 and how accurate our recall was. I stopped briefly to snap a photo of a hay machine. There are HUGE rolls of hay everywhere in the fields.
Just beyond, a bald eagle was perched on an outcropping of rocks. I cannot describe how majestic and beautiful it was!
The further we went, the darker the sky became. As we approached the bottom of the climb up Big Hole Pass, the sky opened and the winds thrashed! With fierce determination, I opened the pannier to retrieve my rain jacket. Putting it on was met with challenge as I tried to put my hands through flapping sleeves. Next, my attempts to remount the bike, uphill with gusts plummeting me was met with a bit of frustration. About the 5th attempt, I was successful continuing my ascent at 3-4 mph. Grasping tightly to the handlebars, the bike weaved left to right in response to my slow speed and the gusts. I had the music playing and Stairway to Heaven began to play. At first, it seemed like some kind of morbid joke and then…then I remembered how I chose this path…how grateful I am to be healthy enough, strong enough to do this. As the wind traveled over my body, I relaxed imagining extracting all the electrons to give me strength. I was indeed on a path the heaven. In times of my greatest struggles, I think about what I am supposed to learn from it and how can I help someone else through my experience. You are indeed stronger than you think. I can’t say how long it took, but we finally crested the pass-Big hole Pass 7400 elevation.
Now, on the other side, the winds thrashed changed directions and we enjoyed a tailwind for several miles. Anther change in direction and the side gusts came into play. And we held on for dear life! We both were riding tilted towards the right just to stay upright.
With Drew’s tires already showing wear, our goal was to get to a bike shop in Dillon before 4 PM. A cycling event was planned for tomorrow-RATPOD, and we saw lots of cyclists in the area. There was also a big book signing event happening in Dillon tomorrow too, and the town was BUSY!
With the cycling event tomorrow, we were concerned the Bike Walk Montana camp would be crowded so we tried to find a hotel room to no avail. Well, we’ll just have to try to find shelter at Bike Walk. How blessed were we!! We contacted Larry Volkening and the was ‘room’ for us. Larry stopped by a little later and we enjoyed the most enjoyable evening discussing cycling, weather, geology and more. Larry is truly a most amazing person and we are so much richer knowing him. We talked about the winds of the day and he shared his perspective about weather coming for the next few days, including snow in Yellowstone. Having immense respect for Larry, we started to formulate Plan B. If we could get a rental truck where we could transport the bike and be safe, we would be able to stay on schedule. Uhaul trucks rentals were in Dillon but the first available return facility was in Worland. Well, we’d have to call in the morning and see.
Dinner consisted of pizza and nachos from last night. When you ride hard, you get hungry and it was a most amazing dinner! lol!
As we turned in for the night, we talked about something Larry told us-‘Live life’.
Yes. There are no dress rehearsals. This is it!
#RoadrunnerTour2025
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