We stayed with Rachel and Mike Posthumus, Warmshowers hosts in Ennis. We were joined by Ed and Henry, two British cycletourists, we met at the hostel in Saratoga, Colorado last week.

The seven of us plus Loki, Rachel’s remarkably friendly and mellow Bernese Mountain dog, had a great time. We initially had to work around a water cutoff situation. Our hosts tried all manner of creative work arounds. Ultimately the city turned the water back on so we could take warm showers and launder our clothes. During the outage we worked on our bikes in their garage that is outfitted like a bike shop.

Rachel is co-owner of Switchback, a bike shop, outdoor gear store, coffee bar, beer bar, and gathering place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As Mike, who co-founded the business with Rachel, described it, the business model is to get people outside so they have a first hand appreciation for the environment, thereby becoming supportive of environmentalism and environmental policies.

Mike works with a company that designs schools of the future, mostly overseas. He’s the liaison between the clients, and the educational futurists, architects, and builders who are working to meet the clients’ needs. He obviously loves his job.

Rachel and Mike treated us like royalty. Snacks and drinks were followed by a delicious dinner. In the morning, Rachel cooked us a breakfast that far surpassed anything I had during this tour. (Her scrambled eggs were amazing. The secret ingredient is butter.)

We reluctantly hit the road and began our 10 1/2 mile, 1,900 foot assault on the pass to Virginia City. The first few miles were a false flat that made all of us grumpy. Then we hit the steeper stuff.

Damned if my legs didn’t wake up. Two good nights of sleep and fabulous food and drink had me climbing like it was 2018 again. My legs never felt tight; my lungs never maxed out. I just climbed and climbed. Grades of six, seven, and eight percent didn’t matter. After a few miles I decided that I’d ride to the top without stopping, hence no pictures of the valley I was leaving. (It was a cool sight over my shoulder, believe me.)

The summit came one full mile later than my map said. No worries. Pedal. Breathe. Relax.

After Corey and Mark reached the top we began the hairy high-speed descent into blustery winds. I confess I let The Mule loose. I have no idea what my top speed was but it was one helluva wild ride. I could see the tall grass near the road ahead blowing this way and that so I was ready to counter the gusts as they came.

We came to a stop in Virginia City, a famous gold mining town of the 19th century. We had celebratory ice cream cones then descended some more through Nevada City into Alder Gulch and passed historic sites where robbers and vigilantes squared off. This was the old west of countless movies.

The windy conditions made for honest work. We met Mark, an eastbound tourist, outside Sheridan. We took his advice and ate at Bread Zeppelin, a pizza and sandwich shop. I loved the Italian sandwich and tomato soup but Mark and Corey were less impressed.

In any case, it was too much food. I slowed down considerably. No worries. We were headed only ten miles further. The ride was slightly downhill into that annoying wind.

We reached Twin Rivers, like Ennis a fly fishing hot spot. We are camping at the town’s bike camp. Showers, a sink for washing up, and a loo. We’ll be camping next to the Beaverhead River. Nice.

Miles today: 44. Tour miles 2,111.5