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Today I got off to an early start around 5. The other group and I had all camped out inside the cyclist shelter so when one person started to get up everyone got up. I packed and got a light breakfast of a banana and chocolate protein bar (for once not a cliff bar). One of the cyclists (Missy) let me have a small fitting for the inside of my pannier bracket that I was missing. Thanks! We all packed up then got a picture

They rolled out north, I went east. The sunrise was brilliant since it was only 6:20 or so. Here it is shining over the Tobacco Root mountains. 

I rode along in relative quiet for a good long while enjoying the pleasant farmland valley. The road was a mild uphill gradient so I went slowly. I reached my first waypoint of the town of Sheridan. Nothing was open but the gas station so I enjoyed some gas station sausage biscuits. I got back on the road for a long flat ride along a shoulderless road. Traffic was picking up but not too bad. The mountains emerging to my right were called the Ruby Mountains, which is funny because they actually found garnets in them, not ruby’s. I reached the town of Lauren and was greeted by a snarling dog that ran after me and tried to bite my panniers. The owner yelled and the dog came back. The owner wouldn’t look at me and didn’t even apologize. My heart was pumping and I got the hell out of there. I entered the small town of Sheridan which also had nothing (open or otherwise) and turned east. I entered a portion of the valley that had been mercilously dredged in search of garnets. The valley was filled with river rock. A historical marker said the river had been turned inside out and that seemed apt. The river didn’t even flow any more, just wandered between the piles of discarded rock

I rode further, climbing slightly to the towns of Nevada City and Virginia City (for some reason many of the landmarks in the area were named after states). These were old gold mining town that now stayed alive as tourist attractions

I saw another cyclist going westbound and told him my route and suggestions. I got some candy in Virginia City then started a climb. It wasn’t too steep or long but it was hot. 

The scenery was becoming much more deserty again

As I continued to climb I began to see glimpses of an upcoming valley. I rounded the pass and got this view of my next destination

I got a wonderful descent down into the valley (minus some impatient cars) and soon reached the town of Ennis right around noon. It was a nice town and I got a good chicken curry wrap. I was happy for anything besides burgers. I went to the town park and rested for an hour or so and tried to decide what to do. I could keep going and try and make it 20 or so miles to an off route BLM campsite or I could camp behind a distillery in town. It was 95 degrees as I was making this decision so that heavily influenced me. I decided to wait for a few hours for the heat to go down a bit and give myself some time to recover. I’m sitting in front of the library writing the first part of this post. I’ll update it later today with the second part depending on what I decide to do.
Update: it got cloudy around 3 and I decided to take advantage and head out. I may have been overeager because as I left town I saw these imposing rain clouds. 

I zipped up my bags tight and kept going. While the rain was threatened it never actually came down. There was a rumble stripped shoulder about 2 feet wide so better than many of the roads I’ve been on and I felt good. I went fast for a while until about 2 miles outside the small town of Cameron. Out of nowhere a headwind picked up. This is probably my strongest headwind of the trip: it felt like 20 mph but was probably closer to 15. It slowed me down to a crawl. Luckily it wasn’t a straight on headwind, it came from my front right so at least I had that going for me. I pressed on until a reached the small patch of trees that surrounded Cameron. I pulled into their covered patio and just enjoyed not being in wind for a few minutes. The town had an RV park so I decided to call it for the night. I called the owner and she was a sweet lady who provided a shower, wifi, and power for me to recover and recharge. I’m going to cook up some dinner then head to bed. The wifi reaches my tent so I may even get to watch Netflix for the first time this trip. What a treat!
I probably should have just stayed in Ennis, but I don’t mind too much. 10 miles closer to Yellowstone! I may even reach there tomorrow! Night!

Distance: 40ish + 10ish

Consumption:

  • Banana
  • Chocolate power bar
  • Jimmy dean sandwich
  • 0 calorie lemonade (why there’s nothing in this)
  • Cliff bar
  • Gatorade
  • Chicken curry wrap
  • Fries
  • Iced tea
  • Candy!
  • REI Mac and cheese dinner
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