Jackson to Twin Bridges

78 miles. With a 5 hour siesta.

McKinley and I followed Ed's lead and left camp a little after 6 to beat the head winds. The locals say the winds pick up around 10; well they picked up a little after 7. We had such a horrendous cross wind that we had to push our bikes the last mile up the first pass. It took everything to stay on 2 wheels, but it was just too difficult to ride 3 mph with probably a 50+ mph wind. Frustrated is an understatement. However, it was a beautiful, sunny and cool morning.

We had a second breakfast on top of the pass; mine was a Twix bar and spicy Doritos at 8:30 am. My mom would be proud.

The rest of the way to Dillon was mostly downhill, but the winds slowed us down and whipped us all over the road. I've never experienced such intense winds as a constant, it's crazy! We've been in all cross and head winds for 2 weeks now.

Montana is just beautiful, I can understand why It's called Big Sky Country; skies for endless miles. The landscape is so open and free, and there's free range animals everywhere.

Early this morning, we passed free range cows; we stopped to listen to them moo. Have you ever heard 500 cows chatting up a storm? What have they got to say so early in the morning? Some sounded distressed, and some sound like dogs, It's the weirdest thing. I've also never seen a cow run until this trip, who knew they could be so limber!

We took a 5 hour siesta from the sun and wind. It was so much needed after fighting for 50 miles! I love afternoon siestas, they make the rest of the day a bit easier. Especially when a very large dessert is included after a nap.

Luckily, a tail wind pushed us the last 28 miles to town. Wahoo, finally, tail winds! We rode hard and made the 28 miles in just over an hour.

There's another TransAm cyclist here, Max, from London. He's headed west and then riding down the coast. Max just graduated college and is exploring before taking on the real world, something everyone should do before finding a job.

Ok, we're shooting for another early morning so we can siesta in the afternoon. Siestas are amazing! Good night, Montana.