So, I left Bozeman about 5:00 in the afternoon. The plan was for me to leave just after noon so I could meet up with Daniel and Liz in Livingston (they were taking a bus for that leg) then we would ride south toward Yellowstone together. But guess, what? I was a bit late leaving Bozeman. Maybe it was all the Schlitz. Whatever the reason, I left late and had to make up for some serious lost time. So I took a bit of a short cut. This short cut would take me up and over Bozeman pass along a gravel road, but it would cut many miles off the total distance-- so I took it. It was a beautiful ride, and I was very grateful to be off the Interstate, where the drivers are all more than happy to kill a cyclists rather than change lanes. I made it up and over the gravel pass, no problems-- but then the weather stated to take a turn for the worse.
Thunderstorms were forming behind me and starting to catch up. Soon the wind was howling; it was all tailwind, but it was blowing at least 25-30 miles an hour; much faster than I could ride fully loaded on a gravel road. Thunder was rumbling directly overhead, and here I am in the middle of the mountains, no cars, no houses or shelter, wind roaring around me blowing dust in my face. Not good. So I am bombing down this gravel road in an effort to get off the mountain before the real storm sets in. The whole time I am praying for no flat tires, no wipe outs or any other mishap that would leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere during this storm. It was intense. The dust was bad enough that at times, I couldn't see more than 10 ft down the road and the wind kept trying to blow me off the edge of the road down into the ravine. Then the rain started up and I was still not to the bottom yet. At least the rain stopped the worst of the dust. A fork in the road comes up that was not on my map. I go left. It got so steep toward the end I could smell my brakes and all I want is to not get hit by lightning.
But I made it!
Just as the really heavy pouring rain started the gravel turned into pavement and I was on the highway heading south to Yellowstone. Some people in a big truck picked me up and took me to the nearest campground, less then a mile away. There I met up with Daniel and Liz and we waited out the rest of the storm. Thank you, Surly for making such a bad ass bike. Thank you Tubus for making such bomb-proof racks and Ortlieb for your oh-so-watertight panniers.
Whew.
That evening I had a bit of a moment. Daniel, Liz and I set up camp behind a Church in the Town of Pray. It was dark and the next day wasn't Sunday, so we figured no one would hassle us. Daniel and Liz went straight to bed, but I couldn't sleep so I went around the corner to have a snack with out disturbing them. And there I was, on a dark night, behind a random church in a random tiny town in the middle of MT. I spent the afternoon almost being killed by a thunderstorm and now here I am eating trailmix and watching the stars. And the stars were amazing-- shooting star every 2 minutes and milky way was as bright and clear as I've ever seen it. Tomorrow we will ride out before anyone knows we were there.
This is, without a doubt, the best summer ever!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment