Sunday, June 12, 2022, Day 12: Big Ring All Day
It was cold and overcast all day, but it was dry. I got on my road bike for the first time since day three and stayed in the big ring all day, even over the rolling hills. Started off on city streets, then a great bike path, which turned to gravel (of course). Then I rode a quiet street to another nice bike path and at ten miles out, I got on Montana highway 200 and stayed on it the rest of the way.
Before I got to the highway proper, I rode up on two mountain bikers. I chatted with the back rider for a bit and when I told him what I was doing, he said, “You must be a third of the way there, huh?” “Nope,” I said, “Just a fifth.” Only later did I realize that I was quoting the percentage of the circuitous route that I had planned, not a straight-line distance to the east coast. Still, I wasn’t a third of the way there, but more than a quarter, so he was more right than I was.
Most of the time I had a great big shoulder to ride on and cars were giving me a wide berth. There were sections towards the end with little shoulder, though. Cars gave me a wide berth when they could, but if ongoing traffic synced with their passing of me, it was tight. This only happened a few times, though.
Saw Sheri twice on the ride. The second time was way past where we planned to meet. I screwed up and went by the turn we were to meet in. It was off the highway a bit and I was too lazy and thought there might be another entrance to town. When there wasn't I went on. This caused Sheri a lot of stress as neither of us had a connection. She assumed I had gone by and went on, but not far enough to catch me before she assumed I'd had a mechanical and went back for me. Ugh. Bad me. And just when we couldn't communicate. In those situations I *must* stick to the plan. Lesson learned.
Signing announcing fishing access to the river abound on this section of highway 200 and it’s obvious why. Rivers are everywhere, so far, in Montana. I understand now why they made the River Runs Through It (a movie with Brad Pitt) here in this state.
I arrived in Lincoln after 83 miles of riding a little after 1 p.m. We killed an hour eating lunch n a folksy restaurant and then checked into the Three Bears Motel. Very quaint and friendly. Glad to finally get a sizable day done. It had been four days since I'd gone over 60 miles.
Monday, June 13, 2022, Day 13: Crossing the Divide!
"Blessed be thy holy tailwind, saith thou Lord."
Ever since I crossed over Snoqualmie Pass, I’ve been in rural areas. These are god-fearing people and they are also conservative, judging from the litany of unabashed Trump signage. So, while I’m not a Trump fan, I am praying to the wind gods.
I left the hotel at 8:11 a.m. It was 47 degrees out and there was a 50% chance of rain. Why not let the day warm up a bit before starting? Two reasons. First, the forecast was for it to be 43 degrees in Lincoln (where we were) at 10 a.m., so it was just going to get colder. Second, I really wanted to go to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls and it closes at 5 p.m.
So, in the 40s and threatening rain here. And 95 degrees at home in Boulder. I wish I’d get some of that heat up here and I’m sure they’d like some of my cool temperatures. I know I’ll eventually get heat and maybe even too much, but not yet.
I rode on the puddled highway with little traffic. I hadn’t checked the route really at all, except that I would stay on highway 200 for 75 more miles. So, I was a bit surprised to be climbing up a bona fide hill around the 15-mile mark. When I topped out, I found out that I’d just climbed Rogers Pass and was crossing the Continental Divide. Ten miles down the other side, I’d the mountains behind until…the Appalachians! Wow. That will be quite a change for me. I’ve now passed through the Olympics, Cascades, and the Rockies. Flatlands, here I come!
My Coros watch is set up to beep every five miles. Normally, I don’t pay much attention, but today I was interested. Sheri was planning to meet me at the 30-mile mark, which I thought would be two hours of riding. At the 5-mile beep, my split was 17:30 or so. Cool. To do 30 miles in two hours, I needed to average 15 mph or 20 minutes per beep. I had 2.5 miles in the bank.
At the 10-mile beep, my split was 16 minutes and change. Nice. Then another 16-minute 5-mile split. 20 mph is a 15-minute split, so I was cruising. I didn’t catch my 20-mile beep, but that included the climb up to Rogers Pass, so I assume it was slow. I was flying down the eastern side at nearly 45 mph. The wet roads and swirling wind had me concerned, though, so I even put on the brakes a bit. Crashing at those speeds would likely end my trip or worse. Still, my next split was 9:37 and the descent was at most three of those five miles. A 10-minute split is an average of 30 mph. My next split was 11:40, so ten miles at nearly a 30 mph average.
The terrain now rolled with short climbs and fast descents. I was rolling and passed through 40 miles when Sheri caught me. I did over 41 miles in the first two hours. Sheri parked at 42 miles into my morning and I took a nice break to eat and drink. We met again in 25 miles, which I covered in just over an hour. The tailwind was incredible. On one section that looked flat to me, I looked down and saw I was going 30 mph. It was fun to cover so much ground so fast. That was a first for this trip.
My last leg was only a bit over 20 miles and the last 10 miles were off the highway and zigzagging around backroads outside of Great Falls. The difference between the tailwind and the crosswind was extreme, but it sure beat the heck out of a headwind.
I was riding by a lot of small farms and rural homes and dogs would frequently bark at me and run along inside their enclosures. Untethered dogs chased me twice before — in Washington and the tricycle lady’s dog Buddy. Both were just barking, though they got very close to my pedals. Anyway, I got around a turn and two dogs in a fenced yard start barking at me and running along their fence, which is long. The first dog gives up early, but the big, shaggy, black dog keeps tearing after me. He’s flying and I’m starting to get concerned that he’s going to hit the end of his fence so hard that he’ll hurt itself when the dog flys over the fence! He’s in hot pursuit, flying down the side of the road. I have the tailwind now and I step on the pedals hard, I’m doing 30 mph and the dog can’t last for more than ten seconds or so before he fades. The dog didn’t seem dangerous and I think it was just chasing me either for fun or to chase me away from his lair. Nevertheless, it did give me ten seconds of excitement.
Sheri found us a great hotel and we arrived at nearly the same time. Sheri had already made a couple of shopping stops. We relaxed in the hotel for a bit and I took a shower. Then we headed to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. It was great and I highly recommend it. We’ve all heard their story before, but it was truly remarkable. It was the first exploratory expedition of the United States. Lewis and Clark were, by all accounts, incredible leaders and their band of men were incredibly tough and resourceful. It’s just an amazing story of discovery. What a time to be alive…
Sheri then ran/walked seven miles back to the hotel, while I lingered too long on the exhibits and failed to pick her up at the Visitor Center. I’ve now screwed up two days in a row. This is a streak I badly need to break.
This is our fifth night in Montana and we still have more than 400 miles to go to reach North Dakota. The rest of the way is prairie and grasslands (long and short). May the wind be with me.
Stats so far:
Days on trip: 13
Miles ridden: 949
Average miles per day: 69.6
Percentage done with projected trip: 23.5%
Number of days above 70 degrees: 0
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