Day 12: Hoodoo Creek to Butte - 45 miles

I awoke early in the morning and listened to my short wave radio. It has been a source of much enjoyment as it has travelled with me around the world. It is always interesting to hear the views of different countries and I am consistently surprised at what one can pick up. This morning I found the Australian Broadcasting Corporation who were discussing nutrition in athletes. A subject of great interest right now!

Sean was still asleep so I eventually rose and wandered around. There was a bridge over the creek which I stood on and warmed myself up in the early morning sun. Even though it is still summer the mornings are quite cool at these elevations. There were old mine workings around the stream with the remnants of large sluice gates. This area had been heavily mined over the last century and today we passed the remnants of two larger mines.

Sean eventually emerged and after we dried off our tents in the morning sun we packed our bikes for the downhill run into Basin. It was a nice change not to have to slog our way uphill first thing in the morning. It was a good call of Sean's to stop the night before as the road was difficult in the daylight. Sean had his panniers come loose twice on the rough surface. Mine have a better securing mechanism so I zoomed off downhill, waiting for Sean at the bottom.

When I approached the end of the road I found a large number of elderly cyclists - all in their 60's and 70's. They were doing the route from South to North. Very impressive! They were supported by a van and trailer which carried all their personal gear and food so they only had to cycle without the heavy encumberances that we have. However, that doesn't detract from the fact that they were out here tackling the difficult challenge.

Instead of doing it in one lump, every year they did a different state. This was year 4, the final year, and they were in Montana. We told them that they had a rough day ahead of them. The driver asked if it was possible for him to take the van over the route. Uhmmm, no. We helped him withan alternative route that would avoid the nastiness which we had the previous day.

Some of the ladies had been to NZ where they hiked the Abel Tasman as well as cycled. I hope that I'm that active in 30 years time. I plan to be, body willing! They bid us save travels and we cycled into the thriving metropolis of Basin for brunch.

With 186 registered voters, the town consists of a bar/cafe, a pizza parlour and a gemstone business. Oh yes, and a post office. Hard to believe that 100 years ago this was a thriving community with one of the richest mines. But as has happened all over, the mine played out and the town languished or even died.

The town's current clame to fame is the "Merry Widow Health Mine". Once mined for gold and silver, it now offers 'Radiation Hormesis'. The mine has Radon, a colourless, odorless and tasteless gas caused by the decay of radium. It is claimed that in the right amounts it is a cure for such diverse ailments as arthritis, asthma, allerdies, diabetes, eczema, psoriasis and many others. People stay 10 to 12 days for 32 hours of therepy at 3 hours per day. It is suggested that the radon assists with DNA repair and by stimulating the immune system. As always, I'm a bit skeptical, particularly since people spend a lot of money to rid their basements of radon gas. Still, there must be a market ...

We went to the cafe and I had my usual pancakes while Sean had bacon and eggs with hashbrowns. It took quite a while for the food to come but when it did the portions were very generous. Unfortunately, my pancakes weren't thoroughly cooked, but Sean enjoyed his meal. At the next table was a couple with 6 children--all girls--under the age of 10. I was very impressed by their manners. The kids didn't whine or make a lot of noise but sat there very politely and obediently. Great to see well mannered children.

After eating we filled our water bottles at the counter and headed out. Next door to the cafe was 'The World Famous House of Earl". He came out and sat on a bench and I asked him why it was world famous. "Because I decided it was" came the laconic reply. He lamented how full Montana had become, going from 0.5 people per square mile when he was a child to 2 today. This state is anything but heavily populated when the largest city has about 35,000 people in it.

We eventually headed out and the road took us under the interstate before we turned right past the old mine workings and ran parallel to the highway. Although it was marked as an unmaintained cattle trail, it was a lot better than quite a few of the 'maintained' forest roads we have been over lately, particularly yesterday! There was a gentle gradient, in fact it was so gentle that were it not for the stream running quickly in the opposite direction we wouldn't have known we were heading uphill.

After 5 miles we crossed under the interstate and saw the route ahead of us going up a steep hill. You can see it to the right of the interstate. I presume that the interstate took over the original easy route and this was put in as an alternative. It was very steep and the loose sand at the beginning made it extra hard going. I managed to cycle all the way up, heart pounding, while Sean wisely pushed his bike. He doesn't have gears as low as I do and I've been impressed by the steep hills that he has managed to climb, but then his is definitely a lot stronger in the legs than I am.

 

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Once over the hill the road was up and down before becoming an old railway line with very moderate gradients. The surface was generally good and we were able to make good time. The previous day had knocked the stuffing out of us and we stopped for frequent rests. At one point I lay down on the side of the trail and promptly fell asleep! Sean said that he stayed standing since he knew if he sat down he would be out for the count.

We eventually came to a tunnell that was built in 1911. It was made of reinforced concrete and was in excellent condition. I contrasted it with the tunnels I've been through in NZ which were masonry and leak something fierce. When I travel through them I'm always expecting something to fall down on me!

 

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After some more up and downs we turned onto a paved road which ran parallel to the interstate. It was delightful to be on a hard surface, one doesn't appreciate just how much effort it takes cycling on gravel and sand until presented with an alternative.

We stopped for a break and took shelter from the strong wind under a bridge. At least the wind was coming from the side as it would have made for very difficult (if not impossible) travel had it been a head wind. There were a series of bird nests which were at the top of the support beams. They were made from mud/earth and the size of small bees nests. I'd love to have seen how they were made.

Our break over we moved on. Sean was feeling a bit under the weather so we didn't travel too quickly but on the paved road and with a slight tail wind we made good time. However, the clouds darkened and it soon began to rain. I saw that there was an interstate exit up ahead so we made for the bridges to take cover as fast as we could. It was a good thing that we did since there were a couple of lightening strikes quite close. I used the opportunity to call my parents on my cell phone and say hi.

Once the storm had abated and we had blue skies again -- about 15 to 30 minutes in total -- we were on our bikes again. After 10 more miles we came to the Continental Divide for crossing #4.

 

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We could see the town of Butte 1500' below us in the valley. There was a downhill run ahead of us which we were looking forward to.

 

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The route took us along the interstate. It is legal to cycle on interstates in Montana and there are 6'+ shoulders. We were particularly spoiled here since one of the sides was closed. It was the only time that we will every have a chance to cycle down the middle of an interstate.

 

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After a few miles our private road ended and we were onto the shoulder. It was a great downhill run and I hit 37 mph. Sean passed me at just under 40 mph. We stopped at a lookout over Butte and 'admired' the town. Admired is a bit of an overstatement; it was a mining town and the remnants of mines dominate the landscape. It is still possible to see many of the old pit heads on the horizon.

We found our way to town where there were many motels, but all were too pricey for us. The tourist information centre was still open so we made our way there and they referred us to "Eddy's Motel" since were very price sensitive. It was fine enough for us and after dropping our bags and showering we headed out to 'Grans Homestyle Restaurant' which had an all you can eat buffet. It was a long ride, but it was worth it as we had a good large meal. A little of it we worked off on our trip back to the hotel where I called Lis and worked on the journal before crashing.

On to the next day ...

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