This is the final blog post in a series of three (1st one, 2nd one) about my weekend adventure, which I’ve dubbed #H2H. My trip home from Toll Mountain began later in the day, around 10 AM. This was significantly earlier than the noon start I had when traveling there. And I had an aggressive route planned.
The plan was to ride dirt roads across the Valley to the Tobacco Root Range. Then, I intended to head straight over them through forest service access points and single track. I was set to cross two ranges with an ungodly amount of climbing. I was prepared to hike my bike for hours up steep slopes and grit my teeth on the descent into the Madison River Valley. But a river thwarted my plans. Not because it was in the way, but because the decision to cross involved finding a bridge. This bridge was way off course, and as I approached it, I realized that starting this mountain range crossing without a confirmed route was a risk, especially since I had to be back at work on Tuesday.
I abandoned the route for a later time and decided to return the way I came, with options to take the Madison River Road (dirt instead of pavement). So, a stop at Cardwell for a pint of ice cream was in order. After a thoughtful planning session, I set out to climb over the Tobacco Root Pass, which had nearly defeated me three days earlier.
I was cautious and suppressed my urge to push a big ring. I even stopped once to apply sunscreen. The sun was high and hot, so I just pedaled and waited for the heat to raise my heart rate and the impending heat stroke to take over. But it didn’t, and I topped out on the pass, just flying. It felt so easy… easy peasy.
And that’s how I returned from #H2H. The rest of the adventure was a matter of just pedaling and counting down the miles before I rolled into my apartment complex. Oh yeah… and my plans to ride the Madison River Road, you ask? Well, a huge storm loomed, blew, and rained on me a bit, so I stuck to the pavement and outran it home. Had to skip another future endeavor. Anyone coming along on #H2Hv2?
Boneshakerbike 
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