It was a dark and rainy day and I was an idiot. This is what it looks like today in Wisdom which is basically how it looked yesterday mid afternoon when I took off from Conner to ride the 55 miles to Wisdom. I was full of myself--well rested and on a new ride. I nknew I was going to have to cross Lost Trail Pass and Chief Joseph Pass which are at over 7000 feet which meant a 3000 foot climb from Conner. This is the Continental Divide .
I started mid afternoon thinking I would arrive at the Nez Perce Motel around dark or maybe a little after.
It started raining steady about 10 miles into ride and about 3/4 the way up Chief Joseph Pass I broke a chain. This can/will happen with any bike ever made but it was a first time for me. At that point in time the issue was finding a place to prop up bike so I could work on it and also the rain because I had to unpack a lot of things to get to tools.
Pushed bike about a mile to a guardrail and the rain let up some so I got busy and after trying to do it the wrong way a couple of times got the job done. A motorcyclist stopped by and offered to help and showed me a better way to fix it that what I was trying to do. Also a couple who lived a mile away stopped and offered a place to stay for the night and any other assistance I might need. When I said I was from Ohio they said they were from Miichigan but not "that" Michigan but the "good " Michigan as in Michigan State.
At that time I was considering their offer seriously but then I got the problem fixed and was on the raod again I decided to still get to Wisdom. I called Brenda who owns the Nez Perce and told her I was still on the way--to keep the light on for me. I rode some more and got a phone call that for some reason I answered as usually I let it ring and return call. It was Brenda and she said she was worried and would she mind if she drove her pickup out and picked me up after while. At first I was telling her no but then it really started raining again and I said OK. I rode several more miles and here came Brenda. She had a shortbed truck so I sat in the back to hold the bike which was a little too long to be secure by itself. It was a wet cold ride but a hell of a lot better than what I was trying to do on my own.
It started raining steady about 10 miles into ride and about 3/4 the way up Chief Joseph Pass I broke a chain. This can/will happen with any bike ever made but it was a first time for me. At that point in time the issue was finding a place to prop up bike so I could work on it and also the rain because I had to unpack a lot of things to get to tools.
Pushed bike about a mile to a guardrail and the rain let up some so I got busy and after trying to do it the wrong way a couple of times got the job done. A motorcyclist stopped by and offered to help and showed me a better way to fix it that what I was trying to do. Also a couple who lived a mile away stopped and offered a place to stay for the night and any other assistance I might need. When I said I was from Ohio they said they were from Miichigan but not "that" Michigan but the "good " Michigan as in Michigan State.
At that time I was considering their offer seriously but then I got the problem fixed and was on the raod again I decided to still get to Wisdom. I called Brenda who owns the Nez Perce and told her I was still on the way--to keep the light on for me. I rode some more and got a phone call that for some reason I answered as usually I let it ring and return call. It was Brenda and she said she was worried and would she mind if she drove her pickup out and picked me up after while. At first I was telling her no but then it really started raining again and I said OK. I rode several more miles and here came Brenda. She had a shortbed truck so I sat in the back to hold the bike which was a little too long to be secure by itself. It was a wet cold ride but a hell of a lot better than what I was trying to do on my own.
Once again I found a motel lady who took customer service to a level that was suprising to me. Maybe it is something in my voice that makes them feel sorry for a clown that can not take care of himself. In any case what Brenda did was greatly appreciated.
They will have my business every time I am in the area in the future.
Wisdom is in the middle of The Big Hole Country. As walked around the town I could not resist taking some pics . You can muster up your own thoughts on this.
There are several log made houses/buildings in town, almost everywhere you looked.
Interesting building. Those metal decorations are all made of recycled horse shoes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
One thing I wanted to see was the Big Hole Battle Field about 10 miles from Wisdom towards Conner. I decided to stay a day in Wisdom and check the area out. It rained hard all day and I guess I did not want to ride back up the road in the rain so I stuck around town and caught up on some internet business stuff and the blog. I also walked around town to check it out. It is a small town sort of like Noth Star Ohio if NS had 3 more bars, a gift shop, and a trading post. Both cities have about the same number of streets but unlike NS none of Wisdom's are paved--actually just gravel lanes that when rainy tough to even walk on.
The plan is to leave early in morn for Dillon Mt. about 60 miles away. It will have to be raining pretty hard for that to not happen. I am getting the itch to be on the road serious again.
No comments:
Post a Comment