Rusty Crank Coast to Coast Bicycle Tour across the USA on the ACA TransAM Route

TransAm Day #43 July 8, 2018 Grant Village, WY - West Yellowstone, MT 61 Miles Ride Time 4:23 Hours Tour Total  Miles 3093 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180708-0822-49155 I slept great last night in my tent in Yellowstone. I ate so many s’mores last night! The plan was to get up early and beat the crowds to Old Faithful. I was the first one up. My tent collects a lot of condensation, so I had to shake out my fly and drape it over a picnic table to dry. My laundry was still damp and had to be put into my net bag to travel atop my rear panniers - my rolling dryer. Kyle and I pedaled out together, and Scott quickly caught up. Eileen would have to catch up with the pack.  I noticed yesterday while riding with Kyle that he’s not the neatest cyclist. He leaves his panniers open and unfastened. His lock, cable, tripod, and other things are haphazardly strapped to his bike. This morning we were riding down the road in a pretty tight ...

TransAm Day #44 July 9, 2018 West Yellowstone, MT - Ennis, MT 72 Miles Ride Time 4:20 Hours Tour Total  Miles 3166 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180709-0820-98819 I slept well last night at the Historic Madison in West Yellowstone. I left the Wild West Saloon before Kyle and Sam started dancing Irish jigs on top of the bar, but saw the pictures and videos this morning. Those guys are crazy! Kyle snuck Sam and Steph into our room in the middle of the night, and one of them snored until dawn.  I had been thinking about how to fix my broken pannier, which I did first thing this morning. I swapped the broken clips on the rear right with the front right. I noticed a hole in the rear right, which I duct taped. I zip-tied the front right pannier to the rack, which will hopefully hold. It’s now permanently attached and won’t be able to be removed when I arrive at destinations. My final issue is that I’m missing a sock. Kyle offered t...

TransAm Day #45 July 10, 2018 Ennis, MT - Dillon, MT 73 Miles Ride Time 6:12 Hours Tour Total  Miles 3240 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180710-0717-87319 I slept well last night in my tent out back of Willie’s Distillery in Ennis, alongside the mosquitoes, deer, and deer patties. I believe all the the deer were drawn to the grain from the distillery. I was having a dream this morning about rolling up my wet tent. I woke up and had to roll up my wet tent. I haven’t seen so much condensation since before the Rockies.  Last night after I filed my report, I met Scott and Eileen at the Bear Trap, where I had ribs. It was one of the nicest dinners on the tour. The $22 meal in the charming sophisticated environment would have easily been four times that price in Brooklyn.  I met a number of retired gentlemen yesterday in Ennis. They were all interested that I was a cycling across the country. At the campground where I took ...

TransAm Day #46 July 11, 2018 Dillon, MT - Wisdom, MT 74 Miles Ride Time 6:08 Hours Tour Total  Miles 3316 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180711-0921-02041 I slept very well last night on the floor of a stained glass studio in Dillon, MT. Larry and his wife Lois were our gracious Warm Showers hosts. Warm Showers is an organization that links touring cyclists with places to stay for the night. Larry and Lois are huge cycling advocates. Larry crossed the country with his son in 2005. He is active locally and statewide promoting bike trails and places for cyclists to stay. Larry is a retired physics teacher. He and Lois moved to Dillon several years ago and built a house on a large plot of land outside of town. Larry now makes and teaches stained glass art. He met us in front of the Dillon IGA with his pick-up truck. His place was five miles off route, up in the hills.  We talked for hours out on Larry’s back porch. He had physic...

TransAm Day #47 July 12, 2018 Wisdom, MT - Darby, MT 59 Miles Ride Time 3:58 Hours Tour Total  Miles 3375 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180712-1031-94344 This morning I woke up in my tent in the American Legion Memorial Park in Wisdom, and felt like a wreck. I had no idea where Scott and Eileen were. When I had gotten up in the middle of the night, I had mistakenly thought the large rock next to me was Scott’s tent. The stars above were amazing! Cows in a nearby pasture moo-ed, bulls hissed, and coyotes howled all night long. I heard people laughing in the early morning. A pair of cyclists had camped in the park, but not my companions. Where were they? With my tail between my legs I slinked back in to The Crossing for breakfast. The morning waitress was extremely friendly. There was no phone or internet service in Wisdom, but I was able to link back up with Scott and Eileen through the restaurant’s WiFi. They had been unable to ...

TransAm Day #48 July 13, 2018 Darby, MT - Missoula, MT 69 Miles Ride Time 4:48 Hours Tour Total  Miles 3444 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180713-0726-77451 I slept great last night at Warm Showers host Curtis’s house in Darby. It was wonderful to have a shower, shave, a washing machine/ dryer, and a big comfy bed. I woke up early, and was excited about visiting the mother ship- Adventure Cycling, in Missoula. We had looked at their cyclist visitor page last night and noticed several friends on the page. My photo should soon be there as well:  https://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/visiting-cyclists/ I left before the others got up and headed to the Parkside Cafe for Eggs Benedict. There I met Paul and Amanda from Bikepacking Roots. They are trail blazing the Wild West Route from Canada to Mexico on mountain bikes. It’s completely off road and rugged. They showed me their cue sheet and elevation profiles. The trail will op...