Day 20 – Wisdom

By Mark Heggestad
Today was a day of challenges and accomplishments.  We started in Hamilton, MT and rode 75 miles to Wisdom, MT.  In between we hit a couple milestones.  Milestone one was climbing a 7,200-foot mountain.  That beats our previous highest summit by 1,800 feet.  But it wasn’t without testing our resolve.  The significant climbing started about 40 miles into our ride.  We climbed a 5% to 6% grade over the course of about ten miles.  I had to stop to catch my breath often.  Not just because of the steep continuous grade, but also the thinner air.

Milestone two was biking in the rain.  A first on this trip.  As soon as we hit the summit it started to rain and we still had 26 miles to go.  Granted, there was a major descent for the first 10 miles; but traveling down a mountain at 30 plus mph in a hard cold rain just takes a little of the fun out of it.  In fact, the main goal became trying to see the potholes through the wet blurry sunglasses.  Which brings me to the point of today’s blog.  It is appropriate we are staying in a little town called Wisdom, because I may have been missing some today.  You decide.
  • Taking on our first 7,200-foot summit the same day we bike 75 miles.  Wise or foolish?
  • Not bothering to put my rain gear on when rain looks imminent.  It just seemed like a pain to stop and do so, and I’m sure the rain will miss me.  Wise or foolish?
  • Riding down a mountain at 30 plus MPH in driving rain.  Wise or foolish?
  • Bruce, bless his heart, drove the pick-up out to meet us about eight miles from our destination because it was raining so hard and the temp had dropped significantly.  Our response – no we don’t need a ride, we’re good.  Wise or foolish?
Took a long time in a hot shower to warm up this evening.  But it felt so good.  And yes, I did a few foolish things today.  But at the same time, it feels great to have accomplished so much.  To have tested our mettle and not give up.  There were times I just smiled through the cold driving rain.  Foolish? Yes.  Amazingly rewarding?  Definitely.

The Bitterroot River

On the ride up the mountain I looked for distractions.
A picture of an old wagon wheel seemed like a good reason to stop.

Top of the Summit.  7,200 feet!


Comments

  1. UnknownMay 21, 2017 at 5:30 PM

    Mark, thank you for your stories and pictures, both are amazing!! Enjoy the ride, and be Wise!
    Jacki

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMay 22, 2017 at 7:23 AM

    We loved riding the Harley through Chief Joseph Pass! Great pics! Ride on!!

    ReplyDelete

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