Ennis

Ennis, and then north to Butte

My zero day in Ennis was such a relaxing day. I witnessed small town America celebrating its national 4July holiday with the town parade in the morning and fireworks in the evening, along with spectacular weather patterns shimmering off the mountains, from sun, rainbows, sun sets and moonlight shadows on the rocky outcrops. My hosts were unwaveringly gracious in their hospitality all day, and I felt so included in the family and community celebrations. I’ll certainly remember these few days here and this incredible family.

During the day I was able to plan the next leg of the trip, getting to Butte to meet Charlie on Monday and identifying some things we will do together in the few days she has in the US. First I need to get to Butte, around 95 miles away, so two days riding over a Pass then on to the town via Twin Bridges. Charlie will then drop me later in the week a wee bit north of Butte to allow me to reconnect with the Divide -hopefully by then my saddle wounds will have healed sufficiently to allow me to ride the final leg of the Divide from the border at Roosville to Banff. But we will see 😊. There are road options if I still can’t ride the trail, but I’m hopeful it’ll be ok after a complete rest.

Twin Bridges
I left my wonderful hosts after a fried breakfast and way too much coffee! Which turned out to be just as well as it was straight in to a 10 mile climb out of Ennis….pay back for the incredible descent a few days ago. There was an ominous sign from the time I put my butt cream on this morning …..it hurt like mad 😠 . And riding for over an hour up hill only made things worse….by the time I got to the top I couldn’t sit in the saddle 🥲. I enjoyed the downhill by riding out of the saddle and came in to Virginia City….a tiny cowboy gold rush town which was beautifully restored/maintained so it was like stepping back in time. The shops were all ‘olde worldy’ and quaint. I grabbed a choc milk and bar and sat in the morning sunshine watching the ‘stage crack’ tours and enjoying the ambiance.

Twin Rivers was 30 miles away, which seemed an eternity given the pain, but in the absence of any other option I climbed aboard Bob and we rolled out of town. The road was undulating, but nothing too strenuous tho I had to stop every few miles. I got in to a rhythm and managed to knock out the 30 miles to Twin by around 2.

I had identified a bike camp, a dedicated bike touring hut and camping in the grounds of the park so I headed there. It’s an amazing set up, with an inside ‘cabin’ with a couch and charging ports, and a dedicated shower accessed by sending a photo of myself and Bob to the town mayor!! And gee it was a sublime shower! I was there alone for the afternoon so dozed and read, then grabbed some food in the small town grocery store. I was a little unsure if it was ok to sleep in the cabin which would save putting up the tent, so I stayed up till late. There was nothing to stop homeless folks and teens congregating there as the cabin was open! So it was an uneasy evening waiting to see what would happen. I didn’t feel entirely safe with my tent up and Bob out in the open, so I decided to stay inside and dosed when I could – I knew I had a bed tomorrow so one sleepless night wasn’t too bad!

Butte bound
As it turned out, whilst I had a restless night due to some emotional baggage that had revisited me, it was an ok night in the Bike Camp cabin , sleeping on a rather smelly couch!

I awoke at 5:30 and got myself some breakfast before loading up and getting tyres to tarmac around 7. It was a delightfully sunny morning tho it was cold so I was well rugged up. I knew I had 55 miles to Butte and was aware of a climb mid way.

The first 20 miles were very chilled riding with little undulation and even a small tail wind. I had put on two bib shorts to give me some extra cushioning and it was working well.

Then the road went, er, uphill. And kept going. The scenery was stunning but the climb was long and hard. I think it was about 5 miles at around 6 % gradient. I named it the ‘Mountain of False Hope’ as time and again I thought I was at the top only to see the false ‘top’ take a further turn upwards. It was slow going but infinitely better than the rocks and gravel 😊. Mind you, after a few days on the tarmac I was perversely missing the solitude of the Divide. But I needed to get the sores under control so it was the right thing to be doing – I can endure (oops, I mean enjoy) the Divide again soon enough 😊. I wrestled Bob to the top of the climb and took a well deserved good break. It was only 22 miles to the outskirts of Butte. And so I enjoyed the downhill immensely- loads of switchbacks and fast corners, so Bob and I rolled in to Butte really early. From the outskirts of the town it was clear this was a town that had seen better days. It was ‘The Richest Hill on Earth’, a title earned by its historical mining boom – the huge open pit was visible as a backdrop to the sprawling town. Poverty has replaced prosperity.

I had booked a motel 9k out of town so took back roads to the motel, which gave me an insight in to the nature and level of poverty in Butte…and there was an underlying sense of unease as I pedalled through the outskirts of town.

I got to my motel around 1:30….and my room had a bath 🛀…..so I immersed myself in hot water for the first time in over a month. Oh gee how delicious it was.

It’s ironic I’m in Butte….when it’s my But that’s hurting so bad 🤣🤣.

An update on a few of my cycling buddies –
– Michael is going like a rocket and well on his way to the border.
– ⁠Jake is still camping out near Jackson as his Achilles heal (hopefully)
– ⁠RP, one of the Aussies I met before Grants has finished in Banff. Great riding.
– ⁠Chris the Forgetful is out of Helena and heading towards the border. He’ll get to Banff in less than 2 weeks.

The plan over the next few days is to catch up with Charlie tomorrow and then with her help pick a point to rejoin the Divide. It comes through Butte but the goes off east to Helena then back west towards Roseville border crossing. I may miss that loop as it seems to only go east to come back west! I can rejoin it north of Butte and enjoy the final 350 or so miles on the trail. Getting to Banff is my goal.

I’ll update when I’ve rested and picked a route to Banff.

Thank you 🙏🏻