Odometer: 866 – 926 (60 miles, 97 kilometers) 
‎
I got going early in hopes of making 80 miles. It is still dark here at 6 am. It shortens the days compared to my trip across Canada starting in May when it was light well before 6 am.

I had breakfast at Connie’s and was on my way by about 7:30 am.

The day was cold and wet.   I am guessing that it was about 6 C.   The road out of Ashton was paved for about 12 miles. The asphalt ended abruptly at a place with no visible junction. The good gravel road continuing up the hill was blocked by a big sign “Road closed due to fire hazard” with a fire date of August 23rd.

I stopped to figure out what to do. Retreating 12 miles to find an alternative was not a nice thought. Besides as far as I could remember there were no alternative routes. Any alternatives would require long unmarked trips well out of the way.

Since it was cold and wet I guessed that the hazard had passed, ignored the sign and took the gravel road.   The gravel road continued for another 30 miles or so. Along the way I met up with some bear hunters who could not help me with any further information about road closure.‎   Instead they introduced another concern; bears that they had recently seen on the road.

With the latest bit of news I continued on along the deserted wooded road. Now with more vigilance every black stump, tree or bush caught my attention.

Eventually at about 1:30pm, after passing additional road barriers along the way‎, the gravel road ended at Flagg Ranch. I had intended to have lunch there but the restaurant and lodge were closed due to the fire that had passed through two weeks before. The lady minding the store was still full of stories while it was all fresh in her mind. I think adrenaline was still lingering (if that’s possible.). Apparently at its peak the fire was traveling at 5 miles an hour, it jumped the lake (which I had just passed) and all the people from the ranch resort had to be evacuated. I only wonder what I would have done if I had come by two weeks earlier.

The rest of the story is about flat tires.

I was getting so many flats!   I had to stop twice to fix flats and several times to pump up the tire. It was getting bad enough that it was putting the trip in jeopardy. When I took a picture of some mountains at a tourist roadside turnoff I had another flat – dead flat.

This time it was beside the road where cars were continuously stopping to take pictures of the sights.   Many people stopped to ask if they could help. A Chinese girl who was also touring stopped and offered her inner tubes but they were the wrong size. Although others offered none had what I needed.

As I struggled switching inner tubes  I decided enough is enough – got out my  ‎cooking pot and set to working soaking the inner tubes inch by inch in an attempt to find the holes. After some time I was satisfied to find a significant hole in each of my inner tubes and made repairs.

Just as I was filling my tire a young guy named Patrick came up without being asked with a bicycle pump to help me out.   Patrick and his girlfriend were from Denver, Colorado. They were in Wyoming visiting friends in Jackson and were returning after spending the day in YeIlowstone.

I was surprised but the help was welcome after my frustration.   Just as Patrick and I had the tire pressure just about right the inner tube burst with a bang; I had forgotten to check the beads. Just like that I was down to one inner tube.

I began to take stock again of my situation. How was I going to continue with no spares given I am getting flats at regular intervals. Just then Patrick offered to drive me to Jackson in his pickup truck.   Although I would have loved to continue without assistance I knew I was in a serious pickle.   I accepted his offer. It may the most generous offer that I have ever had in all my travels.

So if you were watching my Spot and noticed that I began making much better time than is humanly possible it is because I traveled about 60 miles to Jackson in a pick-up truck with Patrick and his girl friend.

My Good Samaritans drove me up to a bike shop.   There are many bike shops in Jackson but Patrick recommended one in particular that he was familiar with.   I thanked him as best I could.

I ended up getting two brand new foldable tires and four new inner tubes. I would have changed to tubeless tires but my rims weren’t quite compatible.

I am staying at another motel tonight. I decided to have some pasta at a nice ‎Italian restaurant.   Tomorrow I have to travel north 30 miles to join up with the GDMBR. I hope the detour to Jackson was worth it. If nothing else I got to meet some nice people.

 

Odometer: 806 – 866 (60 miles, 97 kilometers)

It started to rain softly on the sides of the tent at around 6 am. The timing wasn’t good. I waited another 45 minutes or so but it only rained harder.   About 7 I decided to get going in spite of the rain and I was on my bike by 9:30am.

It was cold and wet.  A combination that is particularly disagreeable in the morning.

As I was packing up the fellow from Helena generously offered a cup of coffee. I declined hoping instead to get warm cycling.

It turned out to be cold and rainy the whole day. The one good thing was that for most of the day I had a decent tail wind.

By noon I arrived at Coonie’s Cafe for a good lunch. From there I took highway 20 directly to Ashton instead of following the meandering GDMBR; the day was not nice enough to enjoy the scenery or the bumpy roads.

I arrived in Ashton about 4pm in the pouring rain.   The descent into Ashton was particularly tricky because the rain was hurting my eyes at 30 miles per hour.

I had supper at Chriswells Trails Inn,  which wasn’t an inn at all, and slept at Eagle’s Hotel/motel which was too big and nice for such a small town.

 

Odometer: 750 – 806 ( 56 miles,  90 kilometers )

When I finished my breakfast of french toast and fruit I returned to the cabin and packed up.   I was encouraged that the rear wheel retained good pressure over night. Success!

No sooner had I re-attached the wheel when I discovered that my front tire had deflated overnight.   I patched the front inner tube as quickly and as carefully as I could. I then took the time to drop in at the gas station / convenience store to replenish my supply of tire patches.

It is interesting how quickly our attention focuses on little things like patching a bicycle inner tube when so much depends on it.

At 10:30am I was on my way down the GDMBR and away from the highway. Given that I was later than normal I had to stick to McCoy’s plan for day 27. Besides, Red Rock Lake as he describes it seems like an enchanting place; a bit of an oasis in the middle of an arid valley.

The trip from Lima followed a flat valley perhaps 10 miles wide with mountains rising up on each side.   Generally the land has been used by cattle ranchers but the cattle were sparse. Perhaps they had already been herded.

I’ve heard that some people are vegetarians because of reported animal cruelty.   Putting the killing part aside the cattle in Montana are living the good life.

I continue to be aware of the winds. They invariably play the biggest role in the daily progress. Today they were from the south by south west.   Generally the route for today followed the large valley from west to east meandering across the valley periodically. Progress was quite slow and difficult when following the roads crossing from North to South.

Today was a good day. It was cool – good for riding the whole day. For the most part the roads were deserted and in good repair; one or two vehicles passed every hour most of which were recreational 4X4s.

I arrived at Upper Lake Campground about 4:30pm and set up my tent.   It was as McCoy had described: a different place. A large swampy lake stretched far out into the valley and the surroundings were filled with deciduous forests and birds which contrasted with the dry grasslands further west – from where I had come.

The campers were all very friendly and ready to help. One fellow camping with his wife had traveled the GDMBR years ago. Apparently he was a member of Warm Showers also and knew Barbara and her husband who had hosted me in the Lost Llama Lodge.  He told me to watch out for the cold nights in Wyoming and offered a glass of wine which I couldn’t refuse.

Another fellow from Quebec  was camping with his wife. He had lived in Utah were he had fallen in love and recently sold virtually all his belongings to travel about the country. I asked where he was going to next and he said he will go where it occurs to him. He had come up from Yellowstone where he had complained about smoke – I’ll be there soon enough.

I made my supper of rice, lentils, and dried vegetables. It was good but I didn’t cook the rice quite long enough. The strong wind made it difficult to work with the stove. Two chocolate granola bars for desert was a nice finishing touch.  ‎

Odometer: 632 – 750 (118 miles, 190 kilometers)

I set off to make Lima.   The wind and the weather looked favorable.  I grabbed what I could from the “complimentary” breakfast room and set off.

‎Here are a few email accounts to Ann along the way.

1pm:  “Am in Dillon now. I arrived before 1 -about on time. I had good winds – northwest.

It is 50 miles from Dillon to Lima. I think it will be a lot tougher. The winds are changing to over 30km/hr from the west. If I manage 10 miles an hour – which is reasonable but not guaranteed I will be there by 6 or 7 depending on how long lunch is.”

7pm “Well I made Lima by about 7pm (mountain time)‎. It was kind of a strange day. When I left Dillon about 1:45 the highway points southwest. It couldn’t have been more directly into the wind. The highway continues along the same direction for about 25 miles until the Clark Canyon Reservoir. Unfortunately I discovered I had a slow flat about 3 miles short of the reservoir. Long story – I put on the inner tube that I thought I fixed at the Lost Llama Lodge and it leaked worse that the one that had gone flat.   I decided to nurse the slow flat – filling it about once per hour. The whole thing took about an hour.   

The funny thing is that when I got it all back together and on my bike ~ 4:30pm the wind was coming from the North.   So I made pretty good time after that all the way into Lima. Yay! 113 miles.”

I had a good supper at a cafe in Lima and rented a cabin behind the cafe for the night. I could have pitched my tent across the road for a whole lot less but I was determined to find all the leaks in my inner tubes with good light and a sink. In retrospect it is a very expensive way to find leaks.

So I set to work. By 11pm I hit the sack satisfied I had done my best to find and fix 5 leaks in two inner tubes.   This is not promising! (I only had two flats in my Marathon Mondials when I went across Canada.  I’d check the pressure in the morning to see the result.

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Odometer:564 – 632 ( 68 miles, 109 kilometers)

Today was civilized. It was comfortable and really noteworthy. I moved from one hotel in one city along the highway to another hotel in another city.

I left at 10am (late) from Helena knowing that Butte was within striking distance. I was well fed and well rested.

At about 1:30pm when it was getting uncomfortably hot and windy I stopped for a long lunch at a restaurant run by Christians in Boulder, MT. I could tell it was Christian by the large official looking plaque outside with scripture on it. It had a name like ‘Mountain Good’ or something. I ordered more than I could eat which is rare. I was sorry to leave most of a pie.

It started to rain as I was about to leave. I made a note how lucky I was to not to be on the road. Just then a couple from British Columbia, who were not as fortunate, arrived on their bikes all dudded up in their rain gear. We chatted a bit before I road off to Butte which was 36 miles further down the highway.

I arrived in Butte at about 7:45, checked in at the Best Western, and had a supper at Perkins. Tomorrow I will be aiming for Lima which, although it’s all highway, given the pace so far is rather ambitious.

 

Odometer: 522 – 564 (42 miles, 68 kilometers)

I woke up at 6:39 at the sound of cows mooing. The Llamas may have been making noises too but I am unfamiliar with the sound they make. It was nice of the animals to be quiet until just when I was ready to get up.

I made my way down from the loft of the small log cabin and put on some porridge.

After cleaning up and packing I was on my bike again by 8:45am. Later than I would have intended but I have no regrets given the setting.

There was a fork not far from the lodge with a sign indicating “Helena 28″ (miles). I began down the road indicated before checking my GPS which indicated the other way. Thinking that the people who had created the GDMBR knew best I followed the main GDMBR.

The day was tough. As tough as I can remember any time. I had thought foolishly that I could make Helena yesterday (August 30th). After leaving the Lost Llama Lodge I was making about 4 miles an hour.

The ascent was relentless. I walked several times and began wondering what was wrong with me. After the batteries on my mp3 ran out I began to wonder about a lot of things.”Do I need more calories?”, “Am I getting too old?”, “Do I need more water?”, “Were the only guys who rode the GDMBR superhuman?” Maybe all were true.

I have a growing respect for the people who first settled the area without electricity or fossil fuel (or mp3 players.)

I passed a deserted mine from 1880 and bumped into a fellow from Nevada on his trail bike. He might have it all figured out correctly, riding up and down the mountains, enjoying the scenery, without self propulsion.

It wasn’t all up-hill; there were some descents too. But like others the roads are very rocky and rough. I braked almost all the time.

Eventually after a decent descent (from 1900 to 1400 meters) I arrived in Helena by mid-afternoon. I have decided to stay in the Holiday Inn Express where I can have a good shower and do my laundry. The contrast between last night’s quaint lodge and the Holiday Inn couldn’t be more pronounced.

I had supper at Applebee’s within walking distance and had some calories – pasta dinner, sweet potato fries, french onion soup and triple chocolate cake with ice cream. At least a calorie  deficit wouldn’t be my excuse tomorrow.

 

Odometer: 463 – 522 ( 59 miles, 95 kilometers )

The site at the bridge by the stream was one of the best. Unfortunately Laura and Michelle weren’t here to make comparisons. I would rate it close to the top. I liked it especially because the water was easily accessible and the ground was soft and flat – great for pitching the tent.

I woke a bit before 7. Instead of aiming to have breakfast at the next town (Ovanda) I decided to make Laura’s favorite breakfast – oat meal porridge and trail mix. When I make breakfast it takes a bit longer to get on the road.   But you have to eat sometime. And besides, I have too much food. I plan to get my food down to a minimum so I can carry more water in my Platypus Water Bladder.   I’ve been told that in New Mexico you can’t have enough water. One fellow said he carries 8 litres. The last time he was travelling through New Mexico he had to give some to other cyclists who were short. My experience almost running out yesterday emphasized the need for water. Never mind New Mexico – I could be short in Montana!

When I eventually got on my bike there was a nice descent into Ovanda. I am sorry I didn’t make it the night before. The town was off the main highway but right on the GDMBR. I am guessing that the townspeople lobbied to have the town on the route to attract more business. There were numerous signs saying “Ovanda – OPEN”. Anything to direct travelers for something to eat or a night’s stay.

In spite of welcome signs, because it was morning and I’d had my breakfast and a good night’s sleep I decided to bypass the town and ride along the main highway to save time.

The GDMBR did a number of loops away from the highway. The loops were relatively short leading up into the hills and forested areas. I didn’t see the point really. I liked the speed I could get traveling along the shoulder of the highway. I had my fill of steep ascents, and for now anyway, I had my fill of the wilderness scenery.

I arrived in Lincoln about 12:30pm, had lunch and wrote a bit of my blog.   The sun was hot and I was hot. From noon ’til a little after 3pm is my least favorite time to ride.

It was about 2:30pm before I started going again. There was a bit of cloud cover, which helped, but it was still pretty hot for my liking.

The GDMBR takes a route by way of a gravel road pass through the mountains.   From Lincoln the road was easy but it became steeper and steeper. There were long stretches – perhaps about a mile or more that I gave up riding in first gear and walked. The ascent was unrelenting.

The ascent crested about 4:30pm and I began a long descent.   Unfortunately the road was very poor and I had to brake much of the way.   Some motorcycles passed me during my descent which made things even more intense.

Just as the road was beginning to improve to where I could take advantage of the energy built up in my earlier climb I got a flat tire. After giving up trying to find the leak I reluctantly put on my spare inner tube.  It took the better part of an hour to get going again.

Not long after, while still on a descent, the forested area gave way to a unique area of hills with pastures.  Because it was late and I was tired and frustrated I  stopped at The Lost Llama ‎Lodge in a gorgeous valley. Barbara, who owned the property with her husband John, belonged to the Warm Showers organization and provided everything free of charge – water, snacks, beer (yes even beer). And I didn’t have to worry about bears.

I was able to relax. I fixed my punctured inner tube and caught up on my blog while sitting on the porch of the old log cabin.

 

 

Odometer: 383 – 463 ( 80 miles, 129 kilometers)

I woke up around 7am. I did the normal site cleanup. It always seems to take longer than I figure; stuff my night shorts and t-shirt with my sleeping pad, deflate and roll up my sleeping pad and pillow, take down and roll up the tent, take down the bear bag from a near-by tree, and load everything on the bike panniers and rollers. It all takes about an hour and I was on the bike a little past 8.

I didn’t make my porridge. Instead I hoped to find somewhere to have some breakfast down the highway. Any place will do for breakfast. There is not much you can do to wreck breakfast unless you order lots of meat.

I was lucky to find a small roadside cafe that did the trick. I was the only patron since by this time it was mid-morning.‎ I ordered a vegetarian omelet, toast, fried potatoes and three french toasts. Yum.

The GDMBR turned off the main road and I rode mostly off-road in Flathead National Forest for most of the day. There were lots of ascents and descents. A few times I walked for a break from the long hard climbs in first gear. The scenery was great. There hasn’t been much rain and the fire hazard is on high. I could tell because the streams were dried up.   I was becoming anxious as creek after creak was nothing but rocks and I needed water.

At 2:30pm after a long ascent I found a small stream running through thick moss. I finally filled my water bottles with the cold stream water and was on my way.

I arrived in the town of Seeley after a long descent, fast without a lot of rough ground. It was there I discovered I had left my water bottles by the stream.

The thought briefly crossed my mind to return to the stream to retrieve them but the ascent dissuaded me.   I resorted to finding poor replacements at the hardware store.

I had supper at a road side food joint (potato salad and pulled pork sandwich). I managed to fill my new water bottles. I debated about staying in town for the night since it was 6pm. However I am reminded daily that the evening is the most enjoyable time to ride after the afternoon heat.

So I decided to press on the next town (Ovanda or something). I turned on my lights in anticipation of night riding through what was now called Lolo National Forest and set off. About 10 miles short of Monture Campground clouds rolled in behind me accompanied with thunder and lightening.   I decided to set up my tent in the darkness just as it was starting to rain about 8:30pm.

At bedtime I also discovered I had misplaced my toque. The toque keeps my head warm when the night gets cold (needed when you don’t have a lot of hair).

 

 

 

Odometer: 308 – 383  ( 75 miles,  121 kilometers)

I packed up and said goodbye to Laura and Michelle. I left the retreat at 10:20am and cycled along the familiar highway back to Whitefish.

After you pass through Whitefish there are paved bike trails for a short distance before the main trail follows scenic paved country roads.

South of Whitefish toward Columbia there were plains with expansive open fields and slight rolling hills interspersed with clusters of spruce and pine reminiscent of the BC interior, surrounded by distant mountains. If the mountains were removed it might look like the area around Peterborough Ontario.

The roads south of Whitefish along the GDMBR were a mix of gravel and asphalt, almost deserted and either planned in a grid or winding to make way for streams and hills.

I reached Ferndale by about 3 and chose to take the main highway because it afforded more services and stops.   I had supper, hamburger and beers, at a restaurant/bar about 4:30pm.

The restaurant was empty which worried me. It was looked after by a waitress, who was also the cook. I didn’t see whether she washed the dishes too but she seemed to be the only one there. I asked whether a lots of people stopped by. She assured me that the restaurant was full at lunch.  She told me that everything on the menu was good and I told her she was paid to say that. Then I asked about whether there were any reports of bears in the area. She said that the bears were still in the mountains eating huckleberries and I wondered if she was paid to say that too.

I was told by someone else in town that there was a nice camp spot called Point Pleasant 7.1 miles further. “Be careful,” they said. “The signs aren’t very clear.”

I got on my bike and rode 7.1 miles further. There happened to be a road with some signs but nothing saying “Point Pleasant”. After three more miles I figured I had missed it and so I stopped for the night at a deserted logging road just off the highway.

 

distance: approx. 38 miles

With sadness we left the best campsite site since starting the trip and set off along the trail.   The trail ascended for 3 miles before we reached Red Meadow Campground. The campground was situated beside a small lake in a clearing. Although it was picturesque we all felt confidently that The Best Bridge Over a Stream was better.‎

The gravel road continued through wilderness until just after lunch we hit asphalt justt as we approached Whitefish Lake.  The pavement was a welcome break from two days of bumping and jarring along the rough gravel. As we settled into a good pace we missed Cricket’s instructions to turn on the bicycle trails running west of the lake.

We had arrived in Whitefish before I discovered my error; too late to turn back.  Instead we were forced to follow highway 93 north west on the west side of the lake to the retreat.

We arrived at the Whitefish Bike Retreat a little after 3.   After we set up our tents we picked up our van and drove to town for a good big supper.

We spent August 27 and 28 at the retreat taking it easy, visiting Whitefish and riding the single track trails.   I found out that technical single tracks aren’t fun on a fully loaded bicycle.