Day 16 July 14

Last night was incredible! The wind was so strong it tore my tent pegs from the ground, Twice! As I crawled out of my tent to fix the pegs I was stunned by the amount of stars in the sky! It was like every planet and every universe was lit up that night. That morning the wind finally subsided and we packed quickly and left. We had one pass to climb before Basin and it is super steep! We arrive at the base of volcano trail (our climb) and there is a lonely 16 four wheel drive jeeps waiting to get their shot of the trail. We follow closely behind them. The terrain is difficult for the vehicles which need a huge line to get through an area but it is easy for us. (in my opinion the jeeps were slowing us down. We reach an open meadow and the petroleum athletes (people who use ATV's, Boats, Campers, or any other gasoline powered vehicle to get exercise) decide to take a break. The jeeps are doing multiple day ride called ride the divide. What a coincidence! We leave the jeeps and descend to Basin. Basin is a small town basically just a name on the map. However, it does have a cafe to eat in! There is another rider at the cafe. We have lunch with him and find out he has been the rider we have heard about since we started the trip. His name is Bill Wagner and he is riding the divide for MIMA a fundraising organization (bikeformima.org). We swap stories and eat lunch. Oddly every conversation begins and ends with the mysterious Matthew Lee and how he rides so well. We leave Bill and ride for 30 miles on boring pavement and over one pass into Butte. We go to the outdoorsman to get our bikes checked by Mr. Leipheimer himself! (Levi Leipheimer is a famous American cyclists currently 6th inthe tour and his brother owns the shop we stopped at). We end the day At the hotel that adjoins the bike shop.

Miles 49.2
Average 10.6
Time 4:36:07
Total 703.14