Month: August 2017 Page 3 of 5

Feeling tired today – not surprising really – big days on the bike and not always getting enough sleep at night – woken up a few times by the sound of train horns as they passed by last night.

So today I had 2 choices – Just over 60 miles to Clearmont where I had been told that there was camping beside the shop or a big 100+ miles to the next town of Gillette – I had been aiming for Gillette but even getting out of my sleeping bag was a struggle this morning and my heart wasn’t in it – not helped that the route that I had planned to avoid the main highway came to a dead end and few miles of extra cycling were needed.

I set off to Sheridan (my 2nd Sheridan this trip) which looked like a nice town – there a few downsides to this trip – (1) I don’t always have time to explore the places that I pass through and (2) I can’t buy any of the fabby books and Christmas decorations I have seen (Nige breaths a sigh of relief).   I stopped at The Sheridan Bicycle Company – they didn’t have what I needed but very friendly and got some tips and pointers as well – they were quite sure that I would make it to Gillette and with a new spring in my step I set off.

Nice easy cycling and good going to begin with but tiredness was setting in and the weather was changing – the clouds looked ominously black and the wind changed direction – Clearmont it was then.   I stopped at the Clear Creek Food n Fuel Stop to enquire about camping and met Tammy – no camping but I could say in one of the cabins for $75 (not a huge amount for a cabin but trying to keep money for when I’m really stuck and / or the weather is really miserable) OR Tammy would contact the local Pastor and I could sleep and shower in the local church!   As most folks know – I don’t go to church – I’m not anti religion but I don’t really believe either so it seemed a wee bit strange to be sleeping in a church – any off I go to meet Shane the Pastor and both me and Bertie are welcomed into Clearmont’s new Church – Shane hasn’t had so many cyclists this year but had about 50 the previous year sleeping in his church – I can sleep anywhere and have use of the kitchen and shower facilities – the shower was fantastic – and I can also access the wifi (which I hadn’t been able to at the last 2 campsites or at MacDonalds earlier today).

Back to the shop for pizza for dinner and then back at the church I meet Melissa – Melissa works in a care home but also cleans the church – I hope I don’t make too much mess – and I’m invited to Melissa’s house for icecream and blackberries – thank you to Melissa,  her daughter Brooke and dogs Macy,  Holly and Sage – as well as meeting lots of cool folks,  I’m meeting lots of cool dogs as well.

Brooke and Melissa

Couple of days behind schedule but should catch up and there are also busses and trains if need be.   Night folks.

Ps – Thank you to Tammy at the shop for introducing me to Shane and thank you to Shane for keeping your Church open for cyclists.

Nearly shat myself – didn’t realise that the train line is just across the road from where I’m camping – one of the big monster trains is going by tooting his horn.

So going to start with another thank you – this time to Irma and John for treating to my breakfast yesterday – thank you very much.

Irma

So I still have a fat bruised left arm – it doesn’t like sudden movements but seems to be holding out on the bike.

Bertie and I made it to Yellowstone. Since setting off from Oregon we’ve travelled through a variety of landscapes – the birds and animals are different; the towns and buildings are different and the folks speak with a funny accent but a lot of the scenery is very familiar – there is just much much more of it. This applies to the start of Yellowstone too – until you get to the hot springs and geysers and then wow – I’ve never seen anything like this before – the heat, the smell, the colours – a constantly moving and changing environment – difficult to put into words and not sure if any of my pictures will do it justice – but definitely worth the effort to get there.

After leaving the Yellowstone East Gate (which involved a very long and cold descent in the rain) I ended up in Buffolo Bill territory – and this is much more like the scenery I remember from watching Westerns – not that I watched very many as I could never figure out who was the good or bad guy and who was shooting who – but the scenery is amazing – lots of horses too.

Easy flat riding yesterday, which I was needing and then, today, probably the biggest uphill I have ever done – typical of me I hadn’t checked how big a climb it was – I set off from the campground this morning about 7.45am and was still slowly going up well after one pm – never thought I was going to get there but I did and me and Bertie conquered the Granite Pass in The Bighorn Mountains – scenery amazing and so glad I did it but was questioning my sanity at times – long sweeping downhill to Dayton which was mostly good but I found the “there may be 12 miles of lorries out of control” (or something to that effect) a bit disconcerting.

A few more miles and I’m camping in a wee place called Ranchester. Cheated for dinner and had takeaway chicken and gravy and sweet corn followed by chocolate ice cream.

Now in my 5th USA state and loving everywhere I’ve been so far.

Hi folks – you might have noticed that me and Bertie have not moved very far over the last few days – unfortunately we had a pretty major bump a few days ago – before reading please rest assured that we are both well and being looked after and I am hoping to get back on the road tomorrow.

Before my “chilly night” I was dreaming of a comfy bed – it’s true what they say – be careful what you wish for!

Had a super ride in the morning – the smokey haze had cleared and I could see the surrounding mountains – good shoulder to ride on; very little traffic and super views all the way to a town called Dillon.   Really could be doing with replacing the rear tyre so wasted time finding a bike shop that is no longer there.   Not sure why but couldn’t phone but via internet I’ve arranged for a new tyre to be sent to Yellowstone Park where I’d hoped to arrive in a couple of days time.

I was carrying on to Twin Bridges were I planned to stay the night at the cyclists only campground – donation to stay the night and it has showers!   Approx 4 miles before getting there I stopped to have a drink – I wasn’t on the road,  I wasn’t on the shoulder – I was on the start of a gravel drive way.   Before starting off  again I was waiting for a semi (emphasis on the”i”) truck to pass – a big lorry!   It happened so fast I’m not sure what happened – I can only assume the truck crossed the white line – I just felt the impact on my left arm – the truck didn’t stop and my left pannier,  my tent and various other bits and pieces were strewn across the road.   I managed to gather all my stuff together and flag down the next passing vehicle – 3 girls stopped and then Zac and his mum in another vehicle – the girls didn’t have room but they helped get all my stuff in Zac’s truck and the bike loaded in the back and Zac and his Mum took me to Ruby Valley Hospital in Sheridan.   Blood pressure checks,  lots of x-rays, saline drip and lots of other checks – huge amounts of bruising especially on left arm but very lucky that it wasn’t  much worse.   Need to say big thank you to Zac and Anna  for driving me to  hospital;  Lynn the amazing nurse,  Joan the radiologist,  the Doctor who is Joan’s husband and all the other fantastic staff.   Another huge thank you to Lynn and her fabulous family for putting me up for 3 nights – hope to see you in Scotland next year.   Also a big thank you to Tony for looking after Bertie – surprisingly there doesn’t seem to be any real damage except to the pannier rack that Tony bent back into shape.

Zac and Ann who drove me to the hospital

The fantastic Lynn,  Andy,  Ryan,  Mike and Annie the dog who have been looking after me!

The people of  Twin Bridges (and Sheridan too) certainly live up to their name

New tent and panniers arrived today – tent is heavier than the other one but should do the trick – the panniers need some modification to keep them in place but will hopefully work – choice was limited by how quickly I could get them and get back on the road again.

Off to bed and back on the road again tomorrow.

Just realised that Jackson, Montana is at 6470 feet – that explains why I was chilly in my tent last night!