We slept decently on the lumpy, dusty couches at Twin Bridges’ Bill White Bike Camp, and woke leisurely at 657 am, long after sunrise. We cruised with our packing and somehow got out of there at 815 am, a pretty quick exit for us. We were trying to time the ride to Dillon, where we had some morning rain expected between 6-8 am and possible thunderstorms around noon. We began with a GLORIOUS, fat tailwind, and riding the mild, consistent incline toward Dillon was just easy as we were pushed strongly along as we pedaled in a big gear. It was as effortless of a pedal as there ever is - cool, clouded, and with a 15-20 mph assist from the rear that makes it seem like you’re riding an E-bike. But the skies grew gradually grayer, then blacker, then uh-oh-er, until we realized that we ought to look for some shelter. There are no churches out here to hide out at like there are every couple miles in VA and KY, only biggggggg farms and the occasional house or barn. So fortunately there were a few houses near the road when we decided we needed to shelter; we pulled up to a house where a woman was outside getting her mail before the storm hit. We asked her if we could shelter under cover there and she pointed us toward her big, red barn and said it looked locked but isn’t and we and our bikes can go inside for as long as we need. We went in and it was a blessing to be able to avoid the wind, rain, and most of all lightning, for nearly an hour. It was an allergy/asthma nightmare, though, and smelled like 100 years of dust; V had to wear a mask and I sniffled and sneezed until we got back on the road after about an hour in a light sprinkle with blue skies visible up ahead. The hills rolled up and down for the final 15 miles to Dillon and while they’d normally be easy, they weren’t today for Vanesa whose asthmatic lungs were now struggling from the combination of sleeping on a dusty, old couch in the Twin Bridges Bike Camp and the hour in a dusty, old barn. And I was struggling, a bit less but still not on my A-game, because mentally I didn’t want to be riding and because my butt hurt from a saddle sore. It’s day 13 in a row without a rest day and I’m tired. So we pushed along with just gentle wind in the nice, cool, late morning and got to Dillon by 1130 am. We stopped at Family Dollar for unhealthy snacks to soothe our broken minds and then headed to the Sundowner Motel (Billy and Greg had texted yesterday that they stayed there and it was adequate), where we’d reserved a room last night, knowing today would be a day of on/off thunderstorms today all the way from Twin Bridges to Jackson, and the ride past Dillon to Jackson is hard enough in good weather because of the incline and going over two peaks. As Vanesa was checking into the Sundowner Motel, and looking at the room before we pay (we often do this since our Pueblo CO awful motel experience), who comes around the corner but Thomas Camero, a friend of ours from Oregon, 81 years young and RACING the route we are touring! We greeted each other with a big hug. I’ve been following his GPS tracker dot and knew he was in the vicinity but figured we might run into him nearer to Missoula than here so it was a big surprise. So V and I spent a little while showering, cleaning our bike chamoises, and then chatting with Thomas about the route…our tour and his race. I walked over to Safeway as well as the Phillips 66 convenience store and bought a few essentials, then came back to write some of these ride summaries. After a while I took the can of double IPA I bought and walked over to Thomas’ room and we split it; while we were chatting, Vanesa came to join us and before long some dudes from Iowa (other hotel patrons) passed by and invited us for a barbecue they were having at the back of the hotel. Thomas, Vanesa, and I all joined them and bs’ed with them for 30-45 mins; Thomas and I ate the meat they’d barbecued, V didn’t (as expected), and we enjoyed the light banter. V had to leave because she was getting bitten by mosquitoes and Thomas left because he had stuff to do to prepare for his race, but I stayed and chewed the fat with the Iowa boys for a while. I swear people from Iowa are all friendly and cool; I think I’ve liked everyone I’ve ever met from Iowa (Wisconsin too!). One of the dudes even showed me a rattlesnake he had killed yesterday in a barn (wait, we were just wandering around in a DARK barn today for an hour and I never considered there might be rattlesnakes inside!!) and he pulled it out of the bag he was keeping it in and he let me touch the rattles. It was cool and creepy at the same time! Thomas, a legend in the Trans Am Bike Race community, brought over the book he always travels with and has everyone sign. We signed it, AND I located the signature I’d written previously about 4-5 years or so ago when Thomas had me sign it when we were all hanging out in Astoria for the start of that year’s Trans Am race. (This is Thomas’ FIFTH time doing the race, and he started at age 74!!) Later we just chilled out, rested, avoiding the thunderstorms we heard occasionally outside our hotel room, and replenished energy for the next ride. We did decide to finally take a rest day, as much because of the sketchy weather (with multiple heavy thunderstorms expected tomorrow on the way from here in Dillon to our destination of either Jackson or Wisdom) as our fatigue or body issues. This motel is a bit musty and drab, and Dillon isn’t cute or quaint, but when the weather and the body say “REST!”, rest we must. REST DAY: Thomas also decided to take a rest day from his race as well, though, so we’ve had some more time with him. When we went to McDonald’s this morning, he was there and invited us to join him so we spent a bit of time trading stories and talking about gear! Later, back at the motel, I did more ride summary writing and V watched a movie. I hung out with Thomas for a bit while he was cleaning his bike, tightening his fender bolts, and packing his bags for tomorrow and we traded stories about route lodging that might help each other as we go forward our separate ways. At one point, V found that one of her panniers had lost a screw (that explains the rattling for the past few days) and between Thomas’ and my spare parts (3 zip ties and a metal washer) I rigged up an acceptable pannier stabilization fix even though we didn’t have the correct spare nut/bolt to fix it properly. It’ll get us home to Oregon, I’m sure. V and I rode off looking for lunch but it’s the 4th of July today and nothing but McDonalds, the gas station minimart, and Safeway is open, so we ended up at Safeway buying some microwaveable veggie lasagna, some Triscuits with cream cheese, and a sushi sampler (they make it fresh in this Safeway…not as good as a Japanese restaurant, but acceptable when you have a sushi craving on bike tour in rural Montana). Later today we ventured on foot the short distance back to the gas station minimart for some bad snacks (V Hostess chocolate donuts and me Nutter Butters), as well as to the (oddly) O’Reilly Auto Parts store next door for a new can of mosquito spray. The evening was spent with V watching a movie and me listening to music, lounging on our motel beds. Thomas knocked on the door and gave us a hug goodbye and a little gift: a Trans Am Bike Race sticker for each of us to put on our bikes. Such a kind gesture from such a kind man. We won’t see him in the morning because we’re getting up at 4 to leave by 515-530, hopefully. It’s a 66-mile planned day tomorrow, with a couple of big hills in between us and the tiny town of Wisdom in the Big Hole Valley where we plan to stay the night with the gazillions of mosquitos that inhabit the area. But…we’re armed and ready!