Border - Eureka, MT: I rode it backwards, but I covered the miles! - The cat named Chevy won't stop this tour, and neither can COVID - CycleBlaze

July 26, 2020

Border - Eureka, MT: I rode it backwards, but I covered the miles!

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350 elevation gain

Jacinto tried to tell me that surely I have ridden an extra four miles somewhere on this trip - but I told him I have ridden every single mile since the Mexican border, I wasn't going to skip four miles now. That is the distance from the uhaul dealer to our motel. Plus, I still need to ride to the border.

Here's the plan. In the morning Jacinto is going to drop me off at the border and I will ride back to the motel. Then I'll take off for the uhaul place and Jacinto will give me a 20 minute lead. From there we will start the drive home. I'm hoping I won't get too sweaty riding 11 miles, although there's a couple of good climbs in there. I might be stinky . . .

The alarm went off FAR too early. I hauled myself out of bed. We had a long day. Now I was regretting not riding yesterday like Jacinto. It was 46 degrees and the sun still hadn’t come over the mountain when Jacinto dropped me off at the border.

There was zero traffic. It was early Sunday morning and the border was closed. Not one vehicle passed me going my direction on the six miles back to town. I watched the sunshine inching my direction. The warmth was appreciated when it hit me.

I stopped by the room to give Jacinto the 20 minute warning to pick me up at the uhaul. He didn’t think it would take that long, but there were two good climbs to get out of town. I did end up getting sweaty. It would be a smelly ride.

I had hardly stepped off the bike when Jacinto pulled up. It took no time to load the bike. I changed clothes in the back of the truck, using my bike clothes to wipe the sweat off before dressing.

Now it’s time to start the 16 hour drive home.

This tire is not supposed to be wrinkled at the bottom. I thought Jacinto was joking when he said I had a flat tire.
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Jacinto says it’s far too cold to ride, better me than him.
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It’s official!
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I’m waiting for the sunshine to reach me.
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Riding through Eureka.
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On Sunday morning, this was THE spot to buy coffee.
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Today's ride: 11 miles (18 km)
Total: 2,309 miles (3,716 km)

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