July 1, 2018
Jackson – Virginia City
170 km (106 miles)
1114 m (3654 feet) elevation
6:27 moving time
2029 km (1261 miles)

Had a great night’s sleep in our little cowboy tent. Had to put wood in the furnace twice during the night too keep it warm but it was still a wonderful experience.

Ate a bagel and muffin each for breakfast. We had gotten those from the next door bar the evening before as there were no services (food, water, etc) for the next 78 km which included two nice sized climbs. Who knew that cycling without a proper breakfast would be harder than after having a nutritious breakfast and coffee?

Climber our highest pass so far, Big Hole pass at 7400 feet.

The landscape was rather cowboy-ish. Barren with grass and few trees but we could see forests in the distance.

When riding out of Dillon we heard someone calling our names so we stopped and turned around to find Jeff and Janice while we had met at the Big Hole visitor center the day before. He is riding the TransAm with his wife’s support. He rides without any bags in the morning and then she drives to meet him and they spend their afternoons together. Very nice and friendly couple.

We rode through Nevada City and ended up in Virginia City. Both cities are little gems. They look like old miner-towns with amazing storefronts and the buildings look almost intact.

Had a great dinner at the steakhouse who is run by Scott and his wife Amanda (hope we have the name right) who were our Warmshower hosts for the night. The steak was possibly the best we have ever had.

Scott and Amanda invited us into their home to take a shower and meet their three beautiful kids and four amazing dogs. Then they showed us to our place for the night which was on the second floor of a barn. There was a mattress and pillows with clean sheets. We had a wonderful sleep in the cool maintain air despite a grizzly living in the nearby hills.