Day 26 Madison County Fair in Twin Bridges (The Ruby Valley)

Gregory enjoys a stop in the Polaris Dealer in Dillon, MT.

We geared up for rain at someone's "gate house".

Delicious fair food including pulled pork sandwiches, beans, coleslaw, mac salad, brownies and lemonade!

Scottish Highlander

Gregory's favorite is the bunnies.

Balancing on a motorcycle trials bike after a stunt show exhibition

A young lady came up to us at dinner and gave Gregory the inflatable camo machine gun.

Madison County Fair Ferris Wheel

The Big Slide

Drying out a damp butterfly at the bike camp

Twin Bridges Bike Camp

Date: Aug. 14, 2009

From: Dillon, Montana

To: Twin Bridges, Montana

Route: Hwy. 41 North

Passes: None

Miles: 30 miles in two and a half hours

Weather: 60 Degrees and Rainy!

We took our time packing up this morning watching the intermittent rain showers from our cozy straw bale guesthouse. Gregory found a comfy spot to sit down and read his book and I finally posted 6 days worth of journaling and pictures. (I’ve been typing in Microsoft Word each night and posting when I get Internet access.) Many concerned friends have tried to contact us because they hadn’t heard from me in a while.

We finally headed out around 10:00 A.M. even though it was spitting a bit. We stopped in at the Polaris dealer because Mike was hoping to find some grease for his squeaky seat post instead we found a “toy store” for Gregory. I was outside holding up the bike in the drizzle when he came out and emphatically insisted, “You have to come in and see Mom!” There were motorcycles, four-wheelers, snowmobiles, etc. and he hopped on a couple and we snapped a couple of shots.

Upon a recommendation we had breakfast at “The Klondike” (restaurant and casino) and “The Garbage Omelet” was the best! It had everything but the kitchen sink including sausage, bacon, onions, tomatoes, peppers, cheese, etc. The owner kept coming out and offering Mike vanilla and chocolate creamer from her secret stash and we tanked up on about 4-5 cups of coffee each! Out front Mike greased his seat post with white lithium grease he picked up across the way at ACE hardware. It worked like a charm and I was pleased because the squeaking was really annoying for me. We didn’t get on the road until 1:00 P.M.

As we headed out of town the sign read 61 degrees and the skies were ominous. Mike and I had on rain jackets but Gregory had both jacket and pants on. However, it wasn’t long before we stopped and all suited up. The rain was starting to come down heavily and we were fortunate that we could pull off the road and find shelter under someone’s “gate house” near the entrance to his or her property. Again, we had luck smiling on us. We were warm (except faces) and dry all the way to Twin Bridges with relatively mild rain. We made great time because the threat of a serious storm is a great motivator. It took only 2 and half hours to come 30 miles. This is really good for us. However, Mike’s neck and legs were screaming from pushing so hard the whole way without a stop.

Twin Bridges has a special “Bike Camp” just for cyclists with a shelter, hot shower and bathroom and a utility sink for dishes and whatnot. And best of all according to Gregory is that it is right across from the fairground and the Madison County Fair is on this week. Gregory and I went right over and got the skinny. Unlike California there is no entrance fee. But, like home it is $20 for a wristband for 5 hours of unlimited rides.

After getting cleaned up we went back and had the dinner to support the Senior Community Center. We loaded up on pulled pork, beans, coleslaw, macaroni salad, brownies and lemonade. We watched two young men on motorcycle trials bikes do stunts and tricks. After their show Mike and Gregory tried to balance for 30 seconds on the bikes. It wasn’t as easy as it looked! We saw all the animals including the cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens and rabbits (Gregory’s favorite). Gregory went on a couple of rides (buying individual tickets) holding out for the bracelet for tomorrow. He was going to go on the Ferris wheel alone when the handler waved me over to join him (free of charge). He knew I wasn’t eager to go up top since it was pretty chilly and the wind was blowing. He kept us up there for a while and we went around over a dozen times. (We were the only ones on the wheel!) Gregory also did the giant slide once and we headed back to camp around 9 P.M. to hit the sack.

We slept pretty well for a couple of hours until people taking showers awakened us. Apparently the word is out about the free shower at the bike camp. Our tent was right next to the facility so Mike and I were wide awake for hours until well after midnight. Gregory slept through the whole thing. Though we were on the opposite side of the building from the fair we could still hear the festivities. So, the location had both pluses and minuses.