Tuesday, July 19th
A day of two halves. One fast, one slow. In the morning I left Beaver Creek and rejoined the highway which ran alongside earthquake lake – a lake created in just a few short weeks after an earthquake struck one night in 1959. Tree tops poke out of the top of the water, apparently some cars and houses still lie at the bottom.
The road was downhill for a change, this, combined with a tailwind of the kind I’d only experienced once before in North Dakota, enabled me to travel at 20-25mph for the whole morning.
My right calf still hurt. At the campsite in the morning I’d applied a cooling patch to it. I’d bought them from a 7/11 in Korea, and carried them with me until now, and it seemed to help ease the fatigue, though made it look like either I’d just tatooed my leg or had some kind of serious accident.
The land flattened out and looked less alpine and more desert. Telegraph poles disappearing into the horizon, ranches, sun and rocks. But the mountains were not far away.
I reached Ennis around 1 or 2 where I had an extended stop. I checked out an antiques shop and bought a couple of old photos, and the shop owner gave me a copy of Bill Brysons ‘A Walk In The Woods’ a bear peered from the cover. One thing I’ve regretted while travelling is not making the time to read. I thought maybe a real paper book might stimulate me more than the Kindle that rarely held my attention.
I ate a burrito then headed to the supermarket. Outside I met Craig and Nicky one of three couples taking a cross country route to Boston. I grabbed a few things and then we sat outside on the bench avoiding the heat and what lay ahead for each of us. They were from New York and it was nice to meet some people which I shared some common ground with. We exchanged some tips as they were heading exactly where I’d come from and I made some notes in my phone.
Eventually we split and I began a two hour climb up to nearly 7000ft again, Virginia City lay on the other side.
The wind stopped me in my tracks. Coming in fast from the side it made even keeping the bike level difficult, let alone propelling it forward. But I slowly turned the pedals and inched my way forward, catching a slight tailwind when the road pointed east.
I thought I’d reached summit, but it was hard to read the mountains and where the road would lead. the ground plateaued slightly then dipped down again, providing me with one last gruelling climb to the top. The ice coffee I’d stowed in my bag as a prize for reaching the top would definitely be warm now.
Finally I began the downhill, hands off the brakes, all the way down into Virginia city. A digital display displayed my speed back to me – 35mph, 10 over the limit, this was a small achievement.
The city was an old Victorian gold rush town, persevered in immaculate condition. Everything was made of wood at wonky angles. The shop owner of a gift store I popped into to buy a Montanta state flag pin pointed out the original detail of her ceiling.
I had intended to keep going 8 more miles to Alder, but I liked the feel of the town, and there was a bakery inbetween here and Alder which Craig recommended, if I stayed the night here I could take breakfast there in the morning.
So I turned my bike around and climbed the short but steep hill is just broken the speed limit on to reach Virginia City RV park. As RV parks go it had a lot more charm than you’d usually expect to find. It overlooked the town and he mountains and hills gave it a dramatic backdrop at sunset.
I paid $15 to camp, then decided to upgrade to the teepee, it seemed fitting in this town somehow, and nearing the end of my trip I felt I should take advantage of opportunities like this which might not come around any time again soon.
I did laundry, checked emails, and charged things as the sun set over the cabins and vehicles parked on the hill.
The owners said bears weren’t something to worry about here. Of course I still worried a little, I packed all my food and toiletries up at a safe distance from the teepee.
I began to regret the upgrade slightly. Outside I heard a rabbit munching on the grass, that I could deal with, but Inside the teepee spiders and beetles seemed very attracted to me. I buried myself in my sleeping bag, and, like a few of the uneasy nights I’d camped recently, looked forward to daylight again.
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