Dave rides his bike to school

 

Above: There sure are a lot of nice buttes in Montana.

 

Above: It’s all downhill from here.  Isn’t it?  [it sure doesn’t feel like it]

 

Above: Kenny, supreme badarse.  He’s literally racing from Canada to Mexico, along the Rocky Mountains on mountain bike trails.  Besides the fact that he’s intentionally riding up and down mountains the whole way, he also doesn’t have the luxury of mini-marts and gas stations along the way for supplies, like I do. 

Thursday, 6/29 7pm
Location: Simms, MT

Coordinates:
didn’t get a reading

Today’s mileage: about 60
Tomorrow’s destination: Great Falls (short day)

As I was leaving my campsite today, a guy on a bike named Kenny stopped me to ask if the bathrooms were clean.  He was riding a fancy full-suspension mountain bike, complete with downhill tires and disk brakes, with a hiking backpack strapped to his back.  Immediately, I realized that he must be doing the Great Divide route. 

The Great Divide bicycle trail starts at the U.S./Canada border near Whitefish, MT, and follows the Rocky Mountains south to the U.S./Mexico border.  It basically traces the Continental Divide across the U.S.  The route is roughly 75% unpaved, and the majority of it passes through back country.  Supposedly, it’s the longest offroad bicycle trail in the world.

In other words, you have to be one tough/crazy SOB to do the Great Divide Trail.  Getting back to Kenny, it turns out that he’s doing the Great Divide Race.  As the name implies, the Great Divide Race is simply a race from the beginning to the end of the Great Divide Trail.  The cut-off time for racers is 25 days.  Allow me to repeat that: 25 frickin’ days!  Kenny said that the top competitors average 120 miles per day, on the dirt trails over the Rocky Mountains!  Unreal.  Previously, I figured that the Race Across America (San Diego to New York non-stop) was the most insane bike race I’d ever heard of.  Now I think the Great Divide Race takes the cake.  Well, Kenny was a friendly fellow who happily informed me that he was placed dead-last.  Regardless, he’s still averaging more miles on dirt trails than I do on paved roads.    

At around noon, I crossed the Continental Divide myself, heading east.  Whenever I anticipate something being really difficult, like crossing Roger’s Pass over the Continental Divide, it ends up being somewhat anticlimatic.  On the other hand, whenever I anticipate something being really easy, like coasting down from Roger’s Pass, I end up being equally mistaken.  Somehow descending from 5600 ft ended up being more difficult than climbing up to 5600 ft.  The maps just show a gradual descent, but in reality, it was almost as hilly as Northern California.  I didn’t go as far today as yesterday, but I’m almost as tired.  The temperature got into the mid-90’s today, so I think I’m just having trouble keeping properly hydrated in this heat.  Water and Gatorade aren’t doing the trick.

My maps showed a place to camp out in Simms, but unfortunately, the tenter campsites have been replaced by a mobile home.  As a result, I’m spending the night camped out in the grass next to the only gas station in town.  As the gas station doesn’t have a shower, tomorrow I’ll be going on four days without a shower. 

 

Musings and Observations:
1) The drink of choice in this corner of the country appears to be “red beer”.  Actually, even back in Oregon, I noticed a lot of people ordering this peculiar libation.  The preferred method of concocting a “red beer” is to pour a pint of Bud Light about 3/4 full, and then top it off with Clamato, which looks something like V8. If Clamato isn’t handy, sometimes tomato juice is used.  It sounds pretty nasty to me, but I’ll have to give one a try, purely for the cultural experience, of course.
2) As I head farther east, the local accent is slowly changing.  In the last two days, I have detected a Midwestern or Canadian tint to the Western drawl.  Perhaps I just ran into a few transplants, but I’m pretty certain that I heard “don’t ya know” in a fashion that only someone from Fargo or Minnesota should attempt.    
3) Following up on #1, red beer tastes pretty much how I expected.  No big surprise there.  Bleh. 
4) My alcohol tolerance is zilch.  I can aready feel the said red beer.
5) Two red beers taste better than one.

Above: “Hello World!”  World, meet Karin.  This is Karin’s first picture on the Internet.  Karin was camped out at the same KOA in Missoula where I stayed, so we hung out a bunch of times while I was there.  She’s definitely one of the coolest people I’ve met.  She’s pictured here at the Missoula KOA (the day I departed) accompanied by her beloved dogs

Wednesday, 6/28 9pm
Location: Lincoln, MT

Coordinates:
46.9535 N
112.6710 W

Today’s mileage: about 80 
Tomorrow’s destination: Augusta

The bicycle gods punished me today for hanging out in Missoula for so long.  It was rough!  The heat just kicked my butt.  It’s amazing how much energy a hot day can suck out of you.  At one point, I took a swig of gatorade, and it was so warm that it felt like sipping on a steaming bowl of soup.  Bleh.  By th time I pulled into the campsite, my entire body was encrusted in a layer of salt from sweating all day.  My cycling shorts looked like I rolled around in flour.  Even worse, the campsite doesn’t have a shower.  At dinner, I ordered a burger with onion rings, and then I buried it all in salt.  I also drank about 8 glasses of water, but I’m still thirsty.  
  In addition to the heat, one of my rear spokes broke, so the second half of my day was spent wobbling down the road.  All told, today was a struggle.

Of course, there were some good things as well.  I saw a heard of elk.  The lady at a gas station didn’t make me pay for my mega fountain drink, which I refilled a few times.  A friendly motorist offered me a cold bottle of water, during the peak of the midday heat.  You can bet that it was gleefully accepted.

My plan is to wake up early tomorrow and get as many miles in as possible before noon.  I haven’t been good about waking up early so far, but hopefully today’s experience will serve as a strong motivator.

The night before I left Missoula, I went to a Minor League Baseball game.  The contest pitted the Missoula Ospreys against the Billings Mustangs.  Billings won.  It was "Ride Your Bike to the Game" day, which was quite convenient under ... [Continue reading this entry]

Here are some additional photos of Missoula, for your viewing pleasure...

Above: The sky above Missoula, MT at 10pm last night.

Above: The University of Montana

Above: This ... [Continue reading this entry]

Above: Lolo Peak, outside Missoula, MT. The mountain is over 9,000 ft tall. This is the first snow-capped moutain I've seen on this trip. Above: Downtown Missoula, MT Above: ... [Continue reading this entry]

 

Above: The sign should also read, "Oh yeah, and no food or water (except for the river)." 

Above: A creek flowing into the Lochsa River.

 

Above: Rapids on the Lochsa River.

[Continue reading this entry]

Above: The Clearwater River.    Above: This is where the Lochsa and Selway Rivers combine into the Clearwater River. Tuesday, 6/20 9pm Location: Lowell, ID Coordinates: 46.1438 N 115.5961 W Today's mileage: about 65  Tomorrow's destination: Powell Junction Ranger Station The scenery ... [Continue reading this entry]

Above: I can't remember where I took this photo, but I thought it was good. Above: My ascent into the Blue Mountains.  Winchester, Idaho, is situated at about 4,000 ft elevation.  [Continue reading this entry]

Above: This was about the most exciting view of the day. I thought the colors were pretty cool.

Sunday, 6/18 10pm
Location: Lewiston, ID
Coordinates:
Didn't get a reading

Today's mileage: about 68
Tomorrow's destination: Winchester, ID

To ... [Continue reading this entry]

Here are a few pics from the car show.  Click on the images to see a larger version.  (the one on the right is my favorite) [Continue reading this entry]