Dillon to Wisdom - Sea to Sea - CycleBlaze

July 10, 2022

Dillon to Wisdom

This was a challenging day with two significant mountain passes.  I haven’t been at the local altitude for too many days, so I was concerned about my ability to navigate steep grades at altitude.  I pulled out of camp at 7:30 and made my way through the streets of Dillon to eventually link up with Rte 278 toward Wisdom.  The first ten miles were relatively flat, but I was still gaining altitude, needing to climb around 1700 feet to Badger Pass.

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The final 500 feet of climbing was at grades 4-6%, necessitating frequent stops.  After the pass, there was a long, winding downhill to about 6000 feet.  I met another rider on a coast to coast trip, and even with a fully loaded bike, he was faster than I!  After touring through a beautiful valley, the next climb began about 10 miles later.

Pioneer Mountains to the right.
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Being the second climb of the day, it was tiring and I stopped several times.  Two guys on fully loaded bikes cruised right up!  The pass topped out at 7400 feet!

Bighole Pass
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The remaining 30+ miles was mostly downhill through the beautiful Bighole Valley.  An annoying headwind from the west turned into a cross wind as the route turned north toward Wisdom.  

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There are not many options for accommodations or provisions in Wisdom, so Cheryl picked me up and drove us back to our camp in Dillon for the night.

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Today's ride: 66 miles (106 km)
Total: 726 miles (1,168 km)

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