Sun June 25 – Day 36 – Wise River, MT

I was right about the terrain. I got up early this morning to give myself the chance to do a monster day into Butte, but I could tell right away it wasn’t in the cards. As soon as I started rolling, I could tell I was dragging – and not just the normal morning stiffness. It felt like a really deep soreness. Then a climb that should have been easy – 1000 feet over 10 miles – kicked the crap out of me.

I made it to Wise River by 1, had a bite to eat, and pondered. There was a spot called the Wise River Club marked as a hotel, so I figured I would check it out and if it was decent and cheap I would take that as a sign. Turned out it was both – this old style restored hotel with nice rooms and dorm-style bathroom. And at $30 a night it was a screaming deal. So, I was off the bike by 1 or so, and I feel a lot better now. Hopefully I won’t be feeling those monster days in my legs tomorrow.

Some folks from Ireland stopped by while I was cleaning my bike. They were here for some sort of organized road bike ride out of Dillon – 150 miles I guess. One of them married a Montana girl, so they had a local connection, and they (4 guys plus the wife from MT) piled in a pickup and were cruising around hitting up all the local bars. They loved Montana, they said, and the size of the country blew their minds.

My hands are in really bad shape. They keep tingling, even when I’m off the bike (sometimes it gets worse then). I have a different pair of gloves to try out tomorrow – we’ll see if that helps.

Day 36 stats:

58 miles
1500 feet up