Epic Bike Ride Day 44 July 11
Thoughts from Kelly: Today we left the campground and quickly made it to Ovando, another place we were excited to see after all the hype on the GDMBR Facebook page. We had a great breakfast and enjoyed a visit with Kathy who does an amazing job of updating about the Tour Racers and also had lot’s of great info/advice for us. We bought some cool Ovando shirts and hit the road again. We had some nice roads and beautiful views. I loved the huge pine trees in this area. We pushed ourselves to make it to Condon and found a spot to camp at a business that allowed tent camping. We were right on the road with 4 other cyclist and a few cabins. One of the cabins had a group from New Mexico, so we went over a chatted with them for awhile. Three of them went to UNM-Go LOBOS!-and one went to NMSU-sorry for him!-it was good to chat with them. The other cyclist were southbound and had great stories of their adventures so far and gave us advice on where to stay next.
Thoughts from Mark: We got up decently early (for us), and rode into Ovando. It was just as cute as advertised, and we had a nice breakfast in the only restaurant. We asked about Kathy, who is “internet famous” in the bikepacking community, as she is constantly providing updates on the riders coming through on the GDMBR Facebook page (Kelly and I both follow it). She happened to be helping out washing dishes in the restaurant, but we went next door to her store, and got to give her a hug and take pictures with her. Kelly just about made her cry when we told her about our ride, and the fundraiser aspect of the ride. We gave her a sticker, and went across the street to buy some ice, as well as some batteries for my SPOT.
I went into the old jail in Ovando, where cyclists can spend the night. It’s long been abandoned, and is now just a museum, with two bunk beds hanging from the walls with rope mattresses. Some cyclists have said it was a decent place to stay, and I suppose if there was bad weather, it would probably be nice and dry.
After breakfast, and the extra running around in Ovando, we finally hit the road, and got some miles in. We eventually ended up in Seeley Lake, where we stopped for a break, and I had a restaurant meal (a very yummy burrito), while Kelly didn’t feel like eating restaurant food. The town definitely had a “touristy vibe,” and we didn’t really hang out for very long. This deadline of needing to leave Banff by July 20th or 21st is starting to make me feel like we can’t fiddle-fart around. I decided to ride on MT 83, which is a pretty busy highway with lots of semi trucks, and very little shoulder (in spots). It was nice pavement, and I was able to ride fairly fast, which helped ease some of my anxiety about not having enough time to finish the ride. We stopped in Condon, a small town with a combination grocery store, rental cabins, lawn camping, showers, and laundry. We got there just as the woman running the grocery store was closing for the night, but she let Kelly come in, and pay for camping. There were several other cyclists camping there, and we had a nice chat.
One of the cabins was being rented by a group of 4 or 5 guys, and one of the cars parked in front of it had New Mexico plates. Kelly went up to them, as they were sitting outside, and began talking about her home state. All of them had gone to college in New Mexico, with the majority being Lobos like Kelly (UNM alumni), and one of them was an Aggie (New Mexico State University alum). The Lobos gave the Aggie all kinds of shit, and it was fun for Kelly to reminisce about her time in Albuquerque. The guys were there for a celebration of life for one of their buddies who lived in Montana, and were already a couple of drinks deep by the time we spoke with them, but well behaved.
Miles for the day: 60.71 Feet climbed today: 2,852
Total miles ridden: 2,081.69 Total feet climbed: 128,304