Today was all about the cows. And the wind. I think that Montana is slowly introducing us to Wyoming, the state known for its strong enduring winds.
We also saw a badger and a nice sized herd of big horn sheep. They blend in so well with the landscape they are hardly noticeable. And oh yea I accidentally ran over a small snake. Didn’t mean to. Just happened.
Both of us are salivating in our tent right now for a LaCroix. We have been drinking lots of water but it’s just not quenching our thirst. It wasn’t super hot today but the route over Medicine Lodge Divide was all day sun and sun wind.
Click on the image below to view the video.
Looking forward to hitting Lima tomorrow in about 15 miles for some carb loading – like carbonation. We need some COLD bubbly water.
Had pepperonis and string cheese on tortillas for din din with assorted other snacks. Not missing the stove. Not one bit.
It was an easy roll up and down paved Scenic Pioneer Highway so we decided to call this our “rest” day even though we are still riding. Both of us feel good! Legs, lungs and hearts are full and feeling strong.
Before we fell asleep last night in the tent (sans fly) we noticed ashes falling on our tent from the nearby Wise River forest fire. We quickly put the fly on – good thing we did as we got rain overnight (and no holes). While packing up quickly Tom asked me if it was Friday today and my reply? “Yes honey. Yesterday was Thursday our normally scheduled date night and you took me down the Fleecer Ridge death march.” 😂
We heard a tremendous amount of racket up the way – didn’t know if they were slaughtering cows or tickling them. However the closer we got, we saw cowboys moving a herd of about 75 cows to a new pasture – 12 miles down the road. What was most intriguing to me what that the 10-12 herding dogs knew exactly what to do. Good puppers!
Since it was our “day off” with lots of pavement and mostly flatish roads we decided to be tourists today and stopped by Bannack State Park. The Park features a historic village and we missed the festival by just one day. But… it was worth a stop to hang around for the afternoon and tour the village.
On to Grant, MT to the Stage Stop Saloon, Cafe and Hotel. The saloon is over 150 years old and originally rolled down the road to its current location. It could not have come at a better time. After leaving Bannack we were chased by storms late afternoon and a nice tail wind pushed us all the way into Grant.
Tomorrow we return to gravel and more climbing over Medicine Lodge Pass. 🚵🚵🏻♀️
The day started not with my phone alarm but from the coyote’s yipping and the cows mooing around our tent. We packed up as usual and started our day with a few unexpected steep climbs but then a wonderful descent down the mountain we climbed last night.
We knew all about the huge challenge ahead of us with the 10 mile climb up Fleecer Ridge, and the bigger challenge of descending the other side. This part of our map offers an alternate route to bypass Fleecer, but that is not the way we roll.
The climb was not too bad for the first 9 miles. We also got to see Butch on his ATV twice during our climb. He is local to Butte and comes RV’ing with his family. He was out for a 17 mile drive this morning in the mountains. He warned us what was at the top of Fleecer, and said don’t even try to ride down the other side, it was at least a 30% grade down and totally washed out. So we made it to the top after a “hike-a-bike” up the chunky, too steep last .25 mile. Time for the fun (not). With both hands on the brakes, we started the descent. It reminded me of wrestling a steer down a mountainside. I was never so happy to get to the bottom. The rest of the decent to Wise River was much deserved.
As we rolled over the actual Wise River, we stopped to chat with a fly fisherman who told us about the forest fire six miles away. The town was on alert for possible evacuation. It was definitely a smoky day for us but extra smoky in Wise River.
We stopped at H & J Saloon for pizza (Butch’s recommendation and finally connected to WiFi to open up our forest fire app (thanks Dan). We were going 13 more miles south which seemed safe from the fires.
Prayers go out to those up on the mountain fighting this fire to keep it out of town. Thirteen miles later we found our campground named 4th of July Campground. (Since we started our ride July 4). We found the perfect camp spot along Wise River, a perfect place to take a dip and get cleaned up from a very trying day 😁👍
It was a quick pack up this morning since we were sleeping in the Basin Community Center. Once out of Basin we noticed the geography was again changing with the addition of lots of rock formations.
We thought it would be a quick peddle to Butte but the ride ended up taking longer. I think Lava Mountain the day before sapped some of our energy. After lunch and getting supplies for the night in Butte we headed to our campsite. Our target was an “informal” campsite at a CDT (Continental Divide Trail) trailhead. We weren’t sure what “informal” meant on the map but we took our chances.
It was twenty more miles to our campsite with the last 10 miles uphill. Camping at 7,300 feet! A first for both of us. There were two CDT section hikers camping there – “just” doing 1,000 mile section this summer.
It was lovely up there although a little hazy from all the smoke. Apparently there is a forest fire just six miles away from Wise River, a little town we will ride through tomorrow.
After a quick dinner, we stashed food in a bag and tossed it up on the roof of the privy. Seemed like as good a place as any to keep Yogi away.
Woke up about 9pm and we were surrounded by cows. They’re quiet when they sneak up on ya! They left us alone though.
At some point in the night I had to leave the tent for a bio break and noticed the Big Dipper positioned right over us. And so many stars. Just perfect!
Ya know how Dorothy says she’s not in Kansas anymore? Well today it became REALLY apparent that we’re no longer riding the flat Monon rail trail in Indy. What a great day of riding and at our highest elevation yet! We didn’t go long but we went high.
We were a little apprehensive about Lava Mountain based on other rider’s experiences. Even our grandson Archie who loves volcanos said, “I don’t think Lava Mountain is a good idea” when we checked in last night. But it’s on the route…so there’s that.
We rolled out of Helena and stopped at a gas station for our usual (food and bio break) and within just a couple miles we were already into our first climb, just an easy six.
And for the first time we got a little rain but it was nice as it cooled the temps off and settled the dusty roads a bit.
The 12 mile climb up Lava started easy enough but the last few miles were ratchet with cascades of boulders, deep erosion, downed trees and extremely steep inclines. There was quite a bit of hike-a-bike at the top.
The descent was the same at the top – lots of hike-a-bike but before we knew it, we were bombing down a road that ran adjacent to Cataract Creek – gorgeous.
The route took us right into Basin where Mike served us some dinner and bevvies at the Silver Saddle. #tacotuesday.
It seems like we are getting in our groove now as far as packing up, finding our way and resupplying when necessary. Hoping for a little more mileage tomorrow as there aren’t any ginormous climbs.
No animal sitings today – not even deer flies. 🤙🏻
Sleeping in the Basin Community Center tonight on the carpeted stage. It’s been here since 1908 and costs cyclists just $5 a piece to sleep here. There’s electricity, cell service, water and a bathroom. What we else would ya need? 🤷🏼♀️
Heading to and through Butte tomorrow. Camping destination unknown.
And just like that… we are finished with the first map. When we first loaded our Garmins with digital maps we had 371 miles to go and 28 climbs. All done with those now. ✅
Lemme tell ya… there were MORE than 28 climbs. I don’t know who’s doing the counting but they need to check themselves. 😂 An added bonus – we are out of grizzly country so no more singing and states and multiplication review to alert bears we’re in their lane.
The morning started with a very peaceful ride to the beginning of Mullan Pass.
Another chunky climb lead to majestic open countryside at about 6,500 feet. Soon after, we dropped down to open cattle grazing until the route brought us to Priest Pass. This wide open Montana is different from what we experienced last week but equally spectacular. It’s so vast.
Next as luck would have it (‘cause we’ve been pretty lucky 🍀 on this ride so far), we ran into the Dicksons, a northbound couple I’ve been following on Instagram. It’s a lot of fun running into these folks in the middle of nowhere. I feel like I already know them.
In Helena this evening sleeping with pillows and sheets yay! Tomorrow we ride to Basin.
We are both in heaven right now sitting in the shade on Barbara Nye’s front porch at the Llama Ranch. The hummingbirds are buzzing around and the breeze is blowing. She’s lived here 32 years and a few years back she decided to host Great Divide cyclists. It is an oasis for cyclists in every way and she provides it ALL at no charge. Her only request is that we “pay it forward” and return the kindness she has shown us to others.
There are 5-6 different sleeping structures or bikers can pitch tents with the llamas if they wish. Each structure is like a tiny house, well except for the Teepee.
In each tiny house are beds, a way to cook, food, snacks, drinking water. Heck there’s even butt butter and a bottle of wine. Barbara has truly been thoughtful about taking care of our needs.
She had cold drinks and sammies (Turkey for Tom and tuna fish for me) and she just walked out with half of a freshly baked cake for us. I’m telling you, she’s Saint status in my book.
I’m blogging and Tom is checking out the map. I’ll take couch over concrete any day for blogging as concrete outside the gas station was it for me this morning.
Ok… so the ride today was short as we knew we wanted to stop at the ranch. However the climb up Poorman Pass was steep, rocky and hot with a lot of big biting flies. I know it’s the same old story but that’s what it was. And you know what? That’s what we came out here for (except the biting flies lol)
The thing about the flies is, you’re pushing your loaded bike up steep rocky paths and you can’t swat the flies so they just gnaw on you. #hateem
If you’ve followed us in the past you know jigs or dances are part of our gig. Today was my turn to do the Victory Dance atop Poorman. Tom that means you’re on deck.
We have seven days of riding in and have camped every night. At this point we are averaging 57 miles a day. #statfacts
A little info on the SPOT tracking link above. Because the route is a lot more remote than our cross country Northern Tier ride in 2018 Tom opted to buy a SPOT which is a device that tracks our movement and location and also has an SOS panic button should we need immediate help. As it is, cell service is infrequent and the SPOT uses satellite signal. So all good here!
When you click on the link you can see where we are now, the last hour, day or week.
Tom also sends a text via the SPOT to our kids when we start the ride and again when we finish. Isn’t it funny that we used to want to keep track of our kids and now they want to keep track of us. 😂
And on the blog posts and videos… we try to blog everyday. For one it’s a way to bring our family, friends and neighbors along on our adventure. It also serves as a travel journal for us. There is a video at the end of every blog post with many more pics from the day. If you’re not seeing it, ensure you’re actually going to the blog site, not just viewing in an email. They are kinda fun to make and view. I apologize in advance for the typos. As a former teacher they drive me nuts… but I’m doing all this on my iPhone and cell service is sketchy. So proofreading is scant.
Tomorrow we saddle up and ride to Helena, the state capitol but not before going over Mullan and Priest passes. And a motel stay is scheduled!
Although there were a couple “longish”, straight, dusty, gravelly roads there were many twisty turns that presented some surprises today.
We woke up to a chilly 45 degrees at Seeley Lake. After quickly donning puffies, getting food out of the bear box and packing up we peddled down to the gas station for coffee and breakfast sammies. Delicious!
Many of you have seen news of the freak and tragic event that happened in Ovando last week where 65 year old retired nurse and cycling champion Leah Lokan was killed by a grizzly bear while camping. Our route took us right through Ovando today and we wanted to stop to support the community. It might seem like a odd thing to do but riders on the Great Divide and the communities that support us are like family so it seemed like the right thing to do.
After putting away a second breakfast of pancakes and bacon at the iconic Stray Bullet we were off to tackle Huckleberry Pass and a couple of unexpected surprises.
As mentioned before we cyclists are a bit like family. Before we ventured out on our ride I followed several riders already on the route. Most I never expected to meet but today, as we were climbing up the rocky road to the pass, here comes Marion and Fred! They are northbounders who started in Antelope Wells which means they are almost done. They are speedy riders and putting in some high miles most every day so I’m glad the route was rocky at that point otherwise they may have whizzed by on their decent. They are lovely people who post about every other day on Instagram. Their advice for us to was to slow down because the ride goes much too quickly. Not sure if I could go any slower than I already was riding up that pass. 😂
It’s hot, dry and most of the roads we cycle on are gravel so when cars and ATVs go by they throw up a lot of dust. Here’s our solution to getting dusted.
Once up and over the pass we headed to Lincoln, Montana where we planned on tenting in the city park. Turning the corner to head in to town we were surprised to find… wait for it…
The Lincoln Bike Rally! I mean there were hundreds of motorcycles everywhere! We were pretty hot, hungry and tired and anxious about finding quick food and bevvies and a place to bed down down for the night. Certainly all of the motels in the small town would be occupied and it seemed like many of the events were held at the city park. What to do?
We asked our waitress at the Steak House if she had any ideas besides the city park and she suggested The Wheel Inn down the road.
Sure enough the owner said we could throw our tent up with the others in bar/restaurant’s back yard. Owner Doug and wife Laurie have four grown children and eleven grandchildren and have made Lincoln their home for many years. Laurie has worked with local government to get Lincoln to support the many Great Divide cyclists who ride through as well as many Continental Divide hikers. I mean these are goooood people who like to give back.
Doug let us know that the event organizers, The Tenacious Dames, were headed back his way for the event’s wet tee shirt contest and we would get to see who won “Best Bike” at the 2021 Rally in the Valley. Doug actually got to be on the panel of voters! (For the motorcycles not the wet tee shirt contest.)
Soon we found ourselves in the midst of more leather, motorcycles and unique tattoos than we’ve ever seen and it was a blast to see. We didn’t take part in any contests mind you, but enjoyed spending the evening with folks we might otherwise never met.
Tomorrow we tackle our highest pass yet and then on to the Llama Ranch miles north of Helena. Thanks for following our ride!
Just take one bite at a time. This advice comes from one of my fave books about the Great Divide. Written by Grace Ragland, Divide by One provided not only inspiration but lots of laughs and some ride intel. I resonate with this particular quote because today I was anxious about the single track and its preceding climb. Thanks for the advice, Grace… I chewed both up, just one bite (mile) at a time. And I most enjoyed it with the love of my life.
There was little hiccup this morning when packing up. We were all ready to go and I was getting ready to load the course for the day and I couldn’t find my Garmin. Crap! Was it lost? Was it in the tent that was already packed up? 🤷🏼♀️ Tom remembered I slept in my puffy the night before. Sure enough… it was there in my coat pocket. #allgood
And then there was the other day when I thought I left my riding glasses at the last rest stop and I was wearing them. 🙄 Thank goodness for Tom’s patience and Grace’s sense of humor. For sure she’d say something to make light of it.
Early during the ride today an elk bounded across our path. Sorry no pic but believe me, she was grand.
Because the brush was so thick today, we’re in bear country and we were on a bit of single track in a fairly remote area we are practically hoarse from naming our states and capitals, playing rhyming games, reviewing multiplication tables, and seeing who could name the most Indiana breweries (so glad Dan and Christie aren’t playing ‘cause they would surely win) all ALOUD and loudly. Does anyone know any military jodies they would like to share? #lemmeknow #scarethebearsaway
Our Spokane amigos consisted of five friendly riders that happened to be parked at the RV camp a couple nights ago. They were riding the same route as us but are exiting via the Missoula Spur.
We were leapfrogging all day, applauding for each other when we hit a summit. Then came the navigation snafu. The Garmin said left and the paper map said straight. What to do?
Tom and I opted for the Garmin directions and went down into the abyss and unknown to us, so did dos amigos. It was trail ratchet most of the way. We had to get off bikes frequently to navigate the steep ditches and rocks. #notfun But the road spit us out after about five miles and soon we saw our buds again. We’ll miss them and wish them well. Nice peeps.
When we got to Big Larch campground it was bike maintenance, a swim and dinner. Is there such a thing as a routine when riding the Great Divide?
Tomorrow we head to Ovando for some pancakes and resupply. Then perhaps on to Lincoln. We’ll see how we feel. We sure appreciate all the follows, comments and prayers. We’re having a lot of fun!
It was a roly poly type of riding day with frequent ups and downs with all the riding on forest roads. Well there was that one part of grassy single track and all that makes for a slower day than on pavement. We only saw two cars all day.
But we did meet this sweet couple from Denver who is riding a small section of the Divide in western Montana. They are leaving the trail to close on their first house in Denver. Congrats to Andrew and Anna!
Although it was a roly poly type of day it ended up with us finding the sweetest campsite yet atop a hill overlooking beautiful Holland Lake.
Our friend Finn tipped us off about Holland Lake Lodge. We popped in and the best news of the day was was they had Chicago style popcorn. It was like a oasis in the middle of nowhere. Christian filled our water bottles and then we Adhirondacked it with a couple of bevvies overlooking the Mission Mountain range. Pictures do NOT do it justice. Well not our pics anyway.
Shorter day tomorrow due to shelter availability. Heading to Seeley Lake.
Keep Calm and Pedal On 