We were once dead legged then we became bicycle gods.
Pizza for dinner and a good night’s sleep led us to believe we would be recharged after the last week of climbs and headwinds.
It soon became apparent that our legs were not interested in our beliefs. We knew that today would be a long, downhill ride. We neglected to notice that the first 30 miles was more or less level. We pedaled hard but couldn’t maintain a decent speed. We stopped at a convenience store and complained about our sorry state.
We were riding around Hebgen Lake. Big surprise: it’s beautiful.
Roadside signs told us about a massive earthquake, 7.5 on the Richter scale, that hit this area. This is the biggest recorded quake in the Rockies.
The quake pinched off the valley and created Quake Lake. We stopped at the Quake Lake visitor center. It was on a hill overlooking the lake. It told stories of people killed and harrowing rescues.
We left the center under threatening skies. Somehow we managed to thread the needle in the storm. The road started tilting downward. Suddenly we were zooming along at 25 mph. We are gods. Then we noticed the grass leaning in waves toward Ennis. A big stinking beautiful tailwind! We were now in the broad Madison River valley.
Aside from some unpleasant traffic (I was coal rolled again) and a stretch where the rumble strips took up all but a foot of the paved shoulder, the riding was bliss. Even the few uphills could not slow us.
We made it to Ennis about 1 p. m. 73 miles.
This was our payback for that awful day along the Wind River last week.
I crossed the 2,000 mile mark for my tour this morning. Last night I started looking into the logistics of getting home. It’s too soon to guess when we’ll be done but 3 1/2 weeks isn’t far off.
We are staying with a Warmshowers host. Unfortunately the town shut off the water to her street, repairing some pipes. Our hosts offered to drive us to a friend’s house to clean up. Nice people.
Miles today: 73.5 Tour miles: 2,067.5
A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel 
There is a distillery in Ennis if you are interested. They have a sign advertising a 2 drink maximum in their bar/tasting room. It says “Even The Dude abides…” We’re due in Ennis tomorrow- this may be the day our paths cross. I haven’t been on the bike since Friday due to COVID. I’ll see if I can muster the strength to ride.
Don’t ride on my account. We’ll be on the road by 8
Since the beginning of your day is the end of mine, I will likely be in a white van pulling a white trailer when we meet, with my bike on top. In my COVID+ state, once I’m riding I have to make it to Ennis. The COVID bus won’t come back for me and the regular sag won’t pick me up. If we make our lunch stop in Harrison early enough, I may ride from there. I’ll see how I feel in the morning.
I didn’t even stop to think how you’d get home. What did you do last time?
In 2018 and 2019 I took my bike to a shop and paid them to box it. Then I used a company called BikeFlights to do the shipping. All my gear went into a duffle bag that I bought at the finish. In 2017 I took Amtrak. $20. No disassembly but the trip took 26 hours from Florida.