Whew! Glad today’s riding is over. It was the toughest day so far with rocky sections, Fleecer Ridge and then more climbing.
Judd, Monica and their dog Loki met us in Wise River. Judd biked with us up and over the ridge and then Monica joined us for the other climb. Judd biked most of the 2010 ride with Joel but since he joined in a little south of here he hadn’t had the pleasure of Fleecer. It is 2100 feet of elevation gain and half of it was a hike-a-bike climb for all. As Monica said, I got to use some different muscles pushing the bike instead of pedaling.
After a nice lunch break with cold sparkling water from Judd, we soon approached Cruly Gulch and the climb up to our campsite. It was long, dusty, hot ride but it was nice to have company. It was one of those climbs where you hope you are approaching the top but you turn a corner and see how much more there is and then there is more after that. It was a maximum effort day.
Our wildlife sighting of the day was a Badger. We have lived in the Badger state of Wisconsin now for 6 months but had to come to Montana to see one.
Judd and Monica made our post ride time special by letting us use their van shower, soap, and towels. They had fresh strawberries, avocado, tomato and greens from the garden. The fresh veggies really elevated the classic beans and rice dinner.
Kathy supplied the finishing touch with two Sara Lee strawberry cheesecakes. My mantra today on the tough up hill was cheesecake, cheesecake. It was a good motivator.
We are camped at the Highland Trail Head which is also on the Continental Divide Hiking Trail. We saw a few hikers and I was happy to be biking instead of hiking today.
