A Gathering in the Park
Yesterday’s ride was a short one of 30 miles. I’m loosely keeping an eye on average miles per day ridden to keep to a schedule of ending the trip in late October or the beginning of November.
This day was the start of week four on the road. I was happy to wake up to a temperature that was not as cold as what it was in Wisdom. However, it was still cold. Up to just a few days ago I wanted to wake up early on big climb days to get those out of the way before the midday heat arrived. Now it’s the opposite. Today there’s a big climb, but I’m waiting around for it to warm up.
Shortly into Thursday’s ride I ran into Patrick and Hannah, from Missouri and North Carolina. It’s great seeing cyclists approaching from way in the distance and then having twenty minute conversations with them on the side of the road. They had started from Yorktown, Virginia (where I’m finishing) and were telling me some excellent stories about towns they’ve been through. They mentioned a small town in Kansas where they say I have to stop at. The store owner there is very generous to cyclists, but also an over the top conspiracy theorist about all kinds of topics– which he is more than happy to share with you.
Afterwards, at a historic marker (Beaverhead Rock, where Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea were) I ran into a nice couple from Baltimore traveling with their two daughters by van. Then later a Dutch cyclist, Gunnar, who was happy when I told him that I had just seen Patrick and Hannah and that they were going to stay in Dillon, as he was. They’ve run into each other a lot over the past few months.
I arrived in Twin Bridges at 4:00 and immediately liked it. The town set aside part of the park for cyclists to stay. They have a small structure with a couple of couches and a chair, many electrical outlets for charging devices, a shower, a (well heated) restroom, and picnic tables. It’s right along a river and in a very scenic area. As I mentioned before, it’s so good that towns take the initiative to set places like these up.
I noticed that one tent was already set up and just as I was parking my bike I saw a girl walking back from town to the camping area. As she approached and I said hello I had a flashback to a few days ago after crossing Chief Joseph Pass. A girl on a very, very lightly loaded bike came flying past me. She didn’t even have any rear panniers (bags). She tapped the brakes, smiled and said hello, and was off. She must be out for a day ride, I thought. There is no way she is doing a cross country trip. But this was the same girl, and it turns out she is going cross country. Her name is Edie and she’s from northern Wales. So far she’s averaging 85 miles a day, camping wherever she finds a suitable place and cooking her own meals. That’s in a league way above anyone else I’ve seen out here so far.
After talking with Edie and getting cleaned up, I went across the bridge to check out the town. When I got back to camp a few more tents were set up. I noticed another girl and then realized it was Anja from Belgium, which was a surprise as she mentioned she was only going to go as far as the town of Dillon on this day.
Also having arrived were Brent and Jen from the east coast. They were on separate trips but met in Chicago (I think) and have been traveling together the past month.
So it ended up being a really nice group of people staying there. As the sun was going down over the river (and as the temperature was rapidly dropping) we were up until around 10:00 sharing stories about climbing dreaded mountain passes, places we’ve been and people we’ve met along the way.
