Pacific to Atlantic at 10mph

 58 miles to Basin. I got out the door late today but there weren't any big hills to conquer and the wind was not too bad.  It is strange to see how empty the land is between towns and cities out here.  Once I was 2-3 miles outside of Cody I didn't see any other buildings until I got to the little town of Burlington (about 35 miles).  In Burlington I stopped at a little old country store for a drink.  Inside the store there was a guy with his leg up on a chair while a woman was cleaning a wound in his leg.  I introduced myself and took a look at his wound.  It was nasty!!  I gave them some tips on treating the wound and told him to go back to the clinic if the red border was expanding.  It really made me wonder about what level of healthcare services are available to people living out in these remote places. The roads just stretch on forever. This is the little store and "medical clinic" in Burlington. Big day coming tomorrow.  The most ...

 I got up at 5:20 to the sound of rain coming down on my tent.  It's never fun putting up or taking down a tent in the rain.  As soon as you remove the rain fly everything gets wet.  So you pack up as much as you can while the rain fly is in place.  But stuff is still going to get wet. I was on the road at 6:15 with all my cold weather gear on.  On my maps I know I had to climb the Sylvan Mountain Pass until mile 23, then it should be a gradual downhill the remaining 60 miles to Cody. I reached the first plateau at 8:30 and thought "that was easy - downhill from here"!!  Unfortunately, that was only the first plateau of several and it took another 1.5 hours to reach the top. From the first plateau.  Just to the left of the snow capped range you can just make out the Grand Teton Mountains. At the summit I was even higher up than some snow. On the way down the mountain the rocky formations had changed from the west side of the mountain. At mile 40 I...

 60 miles to Bridge Bay Campground.  This was a very interesting day.  When I was here a few years ago with Brian the line to get into Yellowstone stretched from the entrance gate way back into the town of West Yellowstone.  Easily over a mile long and well over an hour wait to enter the park.  So this time the plan was to get to McDonald's at 6am when they open, buy 2 egg McMuffins and get in line early. I got up at 5:20, out the door at 6.  The temperature was 39 degrees, I could see my breath in the morning air.  I got to McDonald's, got my 2 sandwiches, and rode to the entrance gate.  There was only one car ahead of me!  Wasn't expecting that.  So I paid my fee and rode into the park.  I stopped at mile 12 and ate the first sandwich. The smell of sulfur is everywhere. The morning was overcast and very chilly.  I stopped at mile 39 at Canyon Village in the park to eat my 2nd breakfast sandwich.  I was so cold I could no...

 71 Miles to West Yellowstone.  Not much to report.  A pleasant day for riding, a couple of little hills to negotiate, sunny.  Just a long day on the saddle. Earthquake Lake A storm was coming into West Yellowstone as I was eating dinner.  Wow, strong wind, lightning, heavy rain.  As the storm went past the temperature dropped about 20 degrees.

 Another nice day to ride.  I left around 8am since I only had 50 miles to cover.  Temperature was in the low 50's and no wind.  The day was pretty uneventful except for 2 climbs that were harder than I expected.  The hills never look too difficult when I look at them on a map.  But going up with this tank of a bicycle is really work.  The first hill took about an hour to summit. Just some scenery along the way. This is the view near the top of the first hill. The second hill took about 1.5 hours to summit.  My legs were sore after that.  Luckily the downhill was thrilling and lasted for 3-4 miles.  At that point I had 7 miles to go to Ennis, Montana and the wind picked up at my back and made for an easy ride into Ennis. Taken just before getting into Ennis.  Beautiful mountains. I'm going to carb up and go to bed early.  I have 71 miles tomorrow with a few climbs to get to West Yellowstone.  My last stop in Montana.

 What a fabulous, great, fantastic day!!! I got up early today, anxious about the bike shop and hoping they had the stuff I needed.  I got to the bike shop at 9:45 and was the first one in the door when they opened at 10.  I explained my situation and the guys at Big Sky Cycling got to work.  By 10:30 I was out of the store with a new tube in my rear wheel, 2 new extra tubes in my bags, a new patch kit, and a Schrader/Presta adapter.  What a tremendous relief.  I got on the bike and rode to McDonald's for a little breakfast.  At 11am I was on the road.  I had only planned 35 miles today considering the late start. After I got outside the city limits of Helena the traffic really slowed down and I was riding well.  In fact I was riding too well.  That's when I noticed the grass on the side of the road bending in my direction.  There was a very slight breeze pushing me along my way.  How nice!!! Just beautiful Montana scenery all ...

 I got up at 6am and packed up my stuff.  Then I took it all outside to the bike to find the rear tire was flat.  Wow, what a sinking feeling.  I took the rear wheel off and put in a new tube but that tube would not hold any air.  So I pushed the bike into town (only about 1/8 mile) and went into a cafe to eat breakfast while waiting for the little sporting goods store to open right next door.  After breakfast the shop was open but the lady said she had no tubes and couldn't help me.  (In the cafe they told me she "loves cyclists and can certainly help you"!!).  At that point I took out my second new tube and inserted that with the same result - it would not hold any air.   Then one of the guys I stayed with the prior night in the church basement rode up and saw I was having difficulty.  He said he used to be a bike mechanic and offered to help.  He found the leak in both tubes and said It looked like they were made with that d...

 Today was 55 miles to Ovando.  Started early to avoid wind in the forecast in the late afternoon.  Again, a beautiful ride following crystal clear streams and then Lake Seely.  Ovando is a sleepy little town of 40 people but it is right on the Great Divide Mountain Bike route so there are bikers coming and going all day.  The town really caters to bikers since they bring in a good bit a revenue.  They have places to sleep, like an old jail, a Teepee, a sheep wagon, and even the local church lets bikers stay in the basement.  There are warning signs everywhere in town about grizzly bears.  Apparently a female bike rider was killed about 5 years ago here in town. I encountered all these white flowers along the roadside. This is the old jail with room for 2 people to sleep (on those rope cots covered with cardboard). There's the Teepee and the Sheep wagon.  I had initially set up to sleep in the sheep wagon but it was so hot in there I packed u...

 A beautiful day to ride.  Blue skies and sunshine.  Today was 68 miles to Condon.  Brian and I camped at this roadside place a few years ago.  At about mile 32 I stopped at a country store in the middle of nowhere to get a snack and a Gatorade.  I finished the Gatorade and then looked at the bottle for the "Best Used By" date - it said January, 3, 2024.  Only two and a half years out of date!! Not much turnover at that store. Those are the Mission Mountains straight ahead.  I had to get to those mountains and hang a right hand turn.  Took 2.5 hours to get there. Just some shots along the way. These are the Mission Mountains directly across from my campsite.  I'm riding in the Swan Valley so there is another mountain range on the other side of the road that you cannot see.  It's beautiful. My spot for the night.