Day 21 July 19

Woke up to the sound of trumpeter swans this morning. It's an odd mix of a horn and a honk but it is a pleasant sound to wake up to. We rode on trail and gravel road until we arrived at an RV park. Of course being the divide riders that we are we went straight for the ice cream and each had some. The rest of our ride was on pavement. We found a track that connects straight to west yellowstone and after 20 miles we arrived at west yellowstone. It is the oddest feeling going from backcountry to urbanville. There are thousands of people outside of the park in the small town. So we quickly moved on to the park. At this point we had completed 60 miles. A good days ride. However, from the gate to the 1st camp site is 15 miles more. So we ride on the next leg to find out that there is no food or restaurant in that campsite. We have the choice of riding down to Old faithful 37 miles away with two mountain passes or to canyon which is 26 miles without mountain passes. Of course we choose the shorter route. The road to canyon is super hilly with construction for 4 miles. We get put at the end of the line riding through the construction and back up the other side for 45 minutes. Never have I ridden by so many unhappy peopleblaming cyclists for keeping up traffic. We finally arrive at canyon and like a gift from the heavens they have an all you can eat cafeteria. We eat like we had never seen food before. Spaghetti, chicken, pork, salad and all the other foods created by man we feasted upon. It has been a long day but we made it. Vacation time at yellowstone national park! 


Miles
Average
Time
Total

Day 20 July 18

Maybe it's the exhaustion from the ride or bad dreams and thoughts but last nights sleep was rough. We start our day late with breakfast at a cafe. We are dehydrated from yesterday and we drink more than our fill of milk and water at breakfast. We get our drinks and food resupplied at the exxon gas station at Lima. Our ride isn't long but it is nice and peaceful. We pass by a dam, with thousands of gallons of water flushing through it and take the time to admire the lake created by the dam. It's another kodak lake, glassy, reflecting the mountains absolutely perfect. We continue riding occasionally together sometimes apart and even with herds of cows. Later in the ride we meet a father and son duo riding to Mexico. They are doing the ride as a charity event to raise money for cancer research. They had just recently lost the mother to cancer. We continue traveling and end up at lakeview campground. It is a nice campground by a lake with fresh water for drinking and food. This is the main home of the rare and elegant trumpeter swan which at one point was near extinction. The only downfall to the camp is the Mosquitos. There are thousands of them. They attack ferociously yet they are not quick like Florida Mosquitos. They are dumb and slow but they are plentiful. Smoke from the fire seems to keep them at bay.

Miles
Average
Time
Total

Day 19 July 17

This is it, the big day. The test to see if we are as tough as the divide riders. We are doing 100 miles. This is not your 100 flat Florida road miles, or your 100 miles tour de France style with a message, food, and all luxuries at the end. This is mind numbing, cow killing 100 miles through the desert. Yet, it's not all bad. Through what has been recently discovered as Jeff's Law -all things that can go right will go right- we stumbled upon the festivities known as Bannack Days. Like a time machine or the car from back to the future, we are whipped back to the old western days. Cowboys; with their 10 gallon hats, boots, and spurs walk up and down the boardwalk. Little girls dressed in plain dresses holding sun umbrellas sitting in the shade and the faint sound of a piano playing old tunes. Finally, there is us. Two bikers in our spandex shorts and synthetic jerseys eating, laughing, and having a grand time. In the little time we were in Bannack Days, we drank freshly squeezed lemonade, visited every attraction and thrift store, and of course we eat food of all sorts. Sadly, we had to leave that western paradise and continue our 100 mile day. At this point we are 25 miles in and the wind has picked up. We ride for hours on dirt road with no shade and a blazing hot sun above is. We see no one and nothing except the trail in front of us. The scenery is fixed. Mountains around us and trail rolling in front of us as far as the eye can see. It is around mile 50 and a divide rider appears riding toward us. He is not northbound, he is whipped. The headwind on us all day and the steepness of Medicine Lodge Pass has forced him to turn tail and return to the highway. He asks us to tell the group he is with his plans. Of course we agree to his quest. We finally near the summit of Medicine Lodge. It's so steep, there is a cow at the top, dead from exhaustion. We continue on. The cows journey is over bit ours is not at it's end yet. We believed after hitting the top of the climb we would descend for awhile we were wrong. We continued climbing, very gradually but the wind in our face made it worse. We find the lone riders group. They are exhausted and barely understand what we tell them. They are done for the day. We keep moving. Our water supply is at zero. We are parched, dry throated and burned. There is a small river near the mountains edge. The land we have been traveling on is full of livestock. I don't see any cows nearby. Oh well we need water. It's the sweetest coldest water ever. We blaze the last 20 miles, passing huge rock walls and running rivers and finally end our day 105 miles later in the city of Lima.

Day 19 July 17

This is it, the big day. The test to see if we are as tough as the divide riders. We are doing 100 miles. This is not your 100 flat Florida road miles, or your 100 miles tour de France style with a message, food, and all luxuries at the end. This is mind numbing, cow killing 100 miles through the desert. Yet, it's not all bad. Through what has been recently discovered as Jeff's Law -all things that can go right will go right- we stumbled upon the festivities known as Bannack Days. Like a time machine or the car from back to the future, we are whipped back to the old western days. Cowboys; with their 10 gallon hats, boots, and spurs walk up and down the boardwalk. Little girls dressed in plain dresses holding sun umbrellas sitting in the shade and the faint sound of a piano playing old tunes. Finally, there is us. Two bikers in our spandex shorts and synthetic jerseys eating, laughing, and having a grand time. In the little time we were in Bannack Days, we drank freshly squeezed lemonade, visited every attraction and thrift store, and of course we eat food of all sorts. Sadly, we had to leave that western paradise and continue our 100 mile day. At this point we are 25 miles in and the wind has picked up. We ride for hours on dirt road with no shade and a blazing hot sun above is. We see no one and nothing except the trail in front of us. The scenery is fixed. Mountains around us and trail rolling in front of us as far as the eye can see. It is around mile 50 and a divide rider appears riding toward us. He is not northbound, he is whipped. The headwind on us all day and the steepness of Medicine Lodge Pass has forced him to turn tail and return to the highway. He asks us to tell the group he is with his plans. Of course we agree to his quest. We finally near the summit of Medicine Lodge. It's so steep, there is a cow at the top, dead from exhaustion. We continue on. The cows journey is over bit ours is not at it's end yet. We believed after hitting the top of the climb we would descend for awhile we were wrong. We continued climbing, very gradually but the wind in our face made it worse. We find the lone riders group. They are exhausted and barely understand what we tell them. They are done for the day. We keep moving. Our water supply is at zero. We are parched, dry throated and burned. There is a small river near the mountains edge. The land we have been traveling on is full of livestock. I don't see any cows nearby. Oh well we need water. It's the sweetest coldest water ever. We blaze the last 20 miles, passing huge rock walls and running rivers and finally end our day 105 miles later in the city of Lima.

Day 18 July 16

We leave Wiseriver and begin heading out to elkhorn. The road to elkhorn is newly paved and under construction so the worker Jacob has us get a ride on the pilot which we gladly take because we have to ride 100 miles tomorrow. 4 miles lAter we are dropped off and we continue riding. It is boring road the entire way and is getting hot around mid day. To make matters worse, the trail has a climb that ends up having 3 switchbacks and being very steep. We finally make to elkhorn and have lunch. Afterwards we relax in the old hot springs and hangout in the lodge until dinner. Tomorrow is a big day! I'm nervous it's my first 100 mile ride.

Miles
Average
Time
Total

Day 21 July 19

Woke up to the sound of trumpeter swans this morning. It's an odd mix of a horn and a honk but it is a pleasant sound to wake up to. We rode on trail and gravel road until we arrived at an RV park. Of course being the divide riders that we are we went straight for the ice cream and each had some. The rest of our ride was on pavement. We found a track that connects straight to west yellowstone and after 20 miles we arrived at west yellowstone. It is the oddest feeling going from backcountry to urbanville. There are thousands of people outside of the park in the small town. So we quickly moved on to the park. At this point we had completed 60 miles. A good days ride. However, from the gate to the 1st camp site is 15 miles more. So we ride on the next leg to find out that there is no food or restaurant in that campsite. We have the choice of riding down to Old faithful 37 miles away with two mountain passes or to canyon which is 26 miles without mountain passes. Of course we choose the shorter route. The road to canyon is super hilly with construction for 4 miles. We get put at the end of the line riding through the construction and back up the other side for 45 minutes. Never have I ridden by so many unhappy peopleblaming cyclists for keeping up traffic. We finally arrive at canyon and like a gift from the heavens they have an all you can eat cafeteria. We eat like we had never seen food before. Spaghetti, chicken, pork, salad and all the other foods created by man we feasted upon. It has been a long day but we made it. Vacation time at yellowstone national park!

Miles
Average
Time
Total

Day 20 July 18

Maybe it's the exhaustion from the ride or bad dreams and thoughts but last nights sleep was rough. We start our day late with breakfast at a cafe. We are dehydrated from yesterday and we drink more than our fill of milk and water at breakfast. We get our drinks and food resupplied at the exxon gas station at Lima. Our ride isn't long but it is nice and peaceful. We pass by a dam, with thousands of gallons of water flushing through it and take the time to admire the lake created by the dam. It's another kodak lake, glassy, reflecting the mountains absolutely perfect. We continue riding occasionally together sometimes apart and even with herds of cows. Later in the ride we meet a father and son duo riding to Mexico. They are doing the ride as a charity event to raise money for cancer research. They had just recently lost the mother to cancer. We continue traveling and end up at lakeview campground. It is a nice campground by a lake with fresh water for drinking and food. This is the main home of the rare and elegant trumpeter swan which at one point was near extinction. The only downfall to the camp is the Mosquitos. There are thousands of them. They attack ferociously yet they are not quick like Florida Mosquitos. They are dumb and slow but they are plentiful. Smoke from the fire seems to keep them at bay.

Miles
Average
Time
Total

Day 19 July 17

This is it, the big day. The test to see if we are as tough as the divide riders. We are doing 100 miles. This is not your 100 flat Florida road miles, or your 100 miles tour de France style with a message, food, and all luxuries at the end. This is mind numbing, cow killing 100 miles through the desert. Yet, it's not all bad. Through what has been recently discovered as Jeff's Law -all things that can go right will go right- we stumbled upon the festivities known as Bannack Days. Like a time machine or the car from back to the future, we are whipped back to the old western days. Cowboys; with their 10 gallon hats, boots, and spurs walk up and down the boardwalk. Little girls dressed in plain dresses holding sun umbrellas sitting in the shade and the faint sound of a piano playing old tunes. Finally, there is us. Two bikers in our spandex shorts and synthetic jerseys eating, laughing, and having a grand time. In the little time we were in Bannack Days, we drank freshly squeezed lemonade, visited every attraction and thrift store, and of course we eat food of all sorts. Sadly, we had to leave that western paradise and continue our 100 mile day. At this point we are 25 miles in and the wind has picked up. We ride for hours on dirt road with no shade and a blazing hot sun above is. We see no one and nothing except the trail in front of us. The scenery is fixed. Mountains around us and trail rolling in front of us as far as the eye can see. It is around mile 50 and a divide rider appears riding toward us. He is not northbound, he is whipped. The headwind on us all day and the steepness of Medicine Lodge Pass has forced him to turn tail and return to the highway. He asks us to tell the group he is with his plans. Of course we agree to his quest. We finally near the summit of Medicine Lodge. It's so steep, there is a cow at the top, dead from exhaustion. We continue on. The cows journey is over bit ours is not at it's end yet. We believed after hitting the top of the climb we would descend for awhile we were wrong. We continued climbing, very gradually but the wind in our face made it worse. We find the lone riders group. They are exhausted and barely understand what we tell them. They are done for the day. We keep moving. Our water supply is at zero. We are parched, dry throated and burned. There is a small river near the mountains edge. The land we have been traveling on is full of livestock. I don't see any cows nearby. Oh well we need water. It's the sweetest coldest water ever. We blaze the last 20 miles, passing huge rock walls and running rivers and finally end our day 105 miles later in the city of Lima.

Day 18 July 16

We leave Wiseriver and begin heading out to elkhorn. The road to elkhorn is newly paved and under construction so the worker Jacob has us get a ride on the pilot which we gladly take because we have to ride 100 miles tomorrow. 4 miles lAter we are dropped off and we continue riding. It is boring road the entire way and is getting hot around mid day. To make matters worse, the trail has a climb that ends up having 3 switchbacks and being very steep. We finally make to elkhorn and have lunch. Afterwards we relax in the old hot springs and hangout in the lodge until dinner. Tomorrow is a big day! I'm nervous it's my first 100 mile ride.

Miles
Average
Time
Total

Day 18 July 16

We leave Wiseriver and begin heading out to elkhorn. The road to elkhorn is newly paved and under construction so the worker Jacob has us get a ride on the pilot which we gladly take because we have to ride 100 miles tomorrow. 4 miles lAter we are dropped off and we continue riding. It is boring road the entire way and is getting hot around mid day. To make matters worse, the trail has a climb that ends up having 3 switchbacks and being very steep. We finally make to elkhorn and have lunch. Afterwards we relax in the old hot springs and hangout in the lodge until dinner. Tomorrow is a big day! I'm nervous it's my first 100 mile ride.

Miles
Average
Time
Total

Day 17 July 15

Today we are traveling light weight. We have just enough food and Gatorade to get to Wise River for the night. The first 10 miles are road and a small climb. I am at the top waiting for uncle Jeff when a car drives up and says, "hey your friends got a flat down the road." Dang I've gotta go back. I find uncle Jeff sitting on the ground working onhis rear tire. Apparently we had a valve stem failure and spent 2 hours trying to fix the problem. We finally realized to convert the tire to tubed. A truck stopped and out popped a spirited hiker by the name of mini mart so called because of vast amount of ramen noodles he carries when he hikes. He gives us drinks and offers us help (trail magic!) we continue on our way and attack the legendary Fleecer Ridge with climbs so rough one has to walk the bikeup and descents so steep that downhill riders would gear up in full armor. We survive the mountain and arrive at Wise River. Kevin Bacon is working as the bartender and acting high and mighty cause it is his bar. We find his ways comical and enjoy his quick retorts to people.

Miles 54.21
Average: 9.3
Time 5:49:37
Total 757.35

Day 18 July 16

We leave Wiseriver and begin heading out to elkhorn. The road to elkhorn is newly paved and under construction so the worker Jacob has us get a ride on the pilot which we gladly take because we have to ride 100 miles tomorrow. 4 miles lAter we are dropped off and we continue riding. It is boring road the entire way and is getting hot around mid day. To make matters worse, the trail has a climb that ends up having 3 switchbacks and being very steep. We finally make to elkhorn and have lunch. Afterwards we relax in the old hot springs and hangout in the lodge until dinner. Tomorrow is a big day! I'm nervous it's my first 100 mile ride.

Miles
Average
Time
Total

Day 17 July 15

Today we are traveling light weight. We have just enough food and Gatorade to get to Wise River for the night. The first 10 miles are road and a small climb. I am at the top waiting for uncle Jeff when a car drives up and says, "hey your friends got a flat down the road." Dang I've gotta go back. I find uncle Jeff sitting on the ground working onhis rear tire. Apparently we had a valve stem failure and spent 2 hours trying to fix the problem. We finally realized to convert the tire to tubed. A truck stopped and out popped a spirited hiker by the name of mini mart so called because of vast amount of ramen noodles he carries when he hikes. He gives us drinks and offers us help (trail magic!) we continue on our way and attack the legendary Fleecer Ridge with climbs so rough one has to walk the bikeup and descents so steep that downhill riders would gear up in full armor. We survive the mountain and arrive at Wise River. Kevin Bacon is working as the bartender and acting high and mighty cause it is his bar. We find his ways comical and enjoy his quick retorts to people.

Miles 54.21
Average: 9.3
Time 5:49:37
Total 757.35

Day 17 July 15

Today we are traveling light weight. We have just enough food and Gatorade to get to Wise River for the night. The first 10 miles are road and a small climb. I am at the top waiting for uncle Jeff when a car drives up and says, "hey your friends got a flat down the road." Dang I've gotta go back. I find uncle Jeff sitting on the ground working onhis rear tire. Apparently we had a valve stem failure and spent 2 hours trying to fix the problem. We finally realized to convert the tire to tubed. A truck stopped and out popped a spirited hiker by the name of mini mart so called because of vast amount of ramen noodles he carries when he hikes. He gives us drinks and offers us help (trail magic!) we continue on our way and attack the legendary Fleecer Ridge with climbs so rough one has to walk the bikeup and descents so steep that downhill riders would gear up in full armor. We survive the mountain and arrive at Wise River. Kevin Bacon is working as the bartender and acting high and mighty cause it is his bar. We find his ways comical and enjoy his quick retorts to people.

Miles 54.21
Average: 9.3
Time 5:49:37
Total 757.35

Day 16 July 14

Last night was incredible! The wind was so strong it tore my tent pegs from the ground, Twice! As I crawled out of my tent to fix the pegs I was stunned by the amount of stars in the sky! It was like every planet and every universe was lit up that night. That morning the wind finally subsided and we packed quickly and left. We had one pass to climb before Basin and it is super steep! We arrive at the base of volcano trail (our climb) and there is a lonely 16 four wheel drive jeeps waiting to get their shot of the trail. We follow closely behind them. The terrain is difficult for the vehicles which need a huge line to get through an area but it is easy for us. (in my opinion the jeeps were slowing us down. We reach an open meadow and the petroleum athletes (people who use ATV's, Boats, Campers, or any other gasoline powered vehicle to get exercise) decide to take a break. The jeeps are doing multiple day ride called ride the divide. What a coincidence! We leave the jeeps and descend to Basin. Basin is a small town basically just a name on the map. However, it does have a cafe to eat in! There is another rider at the cafe. We have lunch with him and find out he has been the rider we have heard about since we started the trip. His name is Bill Wagner and he is riding the divide for MIMA a fundraising organization (bikeformima.org). We swap stories and eat lunch. Oddly every conversation begins and ends with the mysterious Matthew Lee and how he rides so well. We leave Bill and ride for 30 miles on boring pavement and over one pass into Butte. We go to the outdoorsman to get our bikes checked by Mr. Leipheimer himself! (Levi Leipheimer is a famous American cyclists currently 6th inthe tour and his brother owns the shop we stopped at). We end the day At the hotel that adjoins the bike shop.

Miles 49.2
Average 10.6
Time 4:36:07
Total 703.14

Day 21 July 19

Woke up to the sound of trumpeter swans this morning. It's an odd mix of a horn and a honk but it is a pleasant sound to wake up to. We rode on trail and gravel road until we arrived at an RV park. Of course being the divide riders that we are we went straight for the ice cream and each had some. The rest of our ride was on pavement. We found a track that connects straight to west yellowstone and after 20 miles we arrived at west yellowstone. It is the oddest feeling going from backcountry to urbanville. There are thousands of people outside of the park in the small town. So we quickly moved on to the park. At this point we had completed 60 miles. A good days ride. However, from the gate to the 1st camp site is 15 miles more. So we ride on the next leg to find out that there is no food or restaurant in that campsite. We have the choice of riding down to Old faithful 37 miles away with two mountain passes or to canyon which is 26 miles without mountain passes. Of course we choose the shorter route. The road to canyon is super hilly with construction for 4 miles. We get put at the end of the line riding through the construction and back up the other side for 45 minutes. Never have I ridden by so many unhappy peopleblaming cyclists for keeping up traffic. We finally arrive at canyon and like a gift from the heavens they have an all you can eat cafeteria. We eat like we had never seen food before. Spaghetti, chicken, pork, salad and all the other foods created by man we feasted upon. It has been a long day but we made it. Vacation time at yellowstone national park!

Miles
Average
Time
Total

Day 20 July 18

Maybe it's the exhaustion from the ride or bad dreams and thoughts but last nights sleep was rough. We start our day late with breakfast at a cafe. We are dehydrated from yesterday and we drink more than our fill of milk and water at breakfast. We get our drinks and food resupplied at the exxon gas station at Lima. Our ride isn't long but it is nice and peaceful. We pass by a dam, with thousands of gallons of water flushing through it and take the time to admire the lake created by the dam. It's another kodak lake, glassy, reflecting the mountains absolutely perfect. We continue riding occasionally together sometimes apart and even with herds of cows. Later in the ride we meet a father and son duo riding to Mexico. They are doing the ride as a charity event to raise money for cancer research. They had just recently lost the mother to cancer. We continue traveling and end up at lakeview campground. It is a nice campground by a lake with fresh water for drinking and food. This is the main home of the rare and elegant trumpeter swan which at one point was near extinction. The only downfall to the camp is the Mosquitos. There are thousands of them. They attack ferociously yet they are not quick like Florida Mosquitos. They are dumb and slow but they are plentiful. Smoke from the fire seems to keep them at bay.

Miles
Average
Time
Total

Day 19 July 17

This is it, the big day. The test to see if we are as tough as the divide riders. We are doing 100 miles. This is not your 100 flat Florida road miles, or your 100 miles tour de France style with a message, food, and all luxuries at the end. This is mind numbing, cow killing 100 miles through the desert. Yet, it's not all bad. Through what has been recently discovered as Jeff's Law -all things that can go right will go right- we stumbled upon the festivities known as Bannack Days. Like a time machine or the car from back to the future, we are whipped back to the old western days. Cowboys; with their 10 gallon hats, boots, and spurs walk up and down the boardwalk. Little girls dressed in plain dresses holding sun umbrellas sitting in the shade and the faint sound of a piano playing old tunes. Finally, there is us. Two bikers in our spandex shorts and synthetic jerseys eating, laughing, and having a grand time. In the little time we were in Bannack Days, we drank freshly squeezed lemonade, visited every attraction and thrift store, and of course we eat food of all sorts. Sadly, we had to leave that western paradise and continue our 100 mile day. At this point we are 25 miles in and the wind has picked up. We ride for hours on dirt road with no shade and a blazing hot sun above is. We see no one and nothing except the trail in front of us. The scenery is fixed. Mountains around us and trail rolling in front of us as far as the eye can see. It is around mile 50 and a divide rider appears riding toward us. He is not northbound, he is whipped. The headwind on us all day and the steepness of Medicine Lodge Pass has forced him to turn tail and return to the highway. He asks us to tell the group he is with his plans. Of course we agree to his quest. We finally near the summit of Medicine Lodge. It's so steep, there is a cow at the top, dead from exhaustion. We continue on. The cows journey is over bit ours is not at it's end yet. We believed after hitting the top of the climb we would descend for awhile we were wrong. We continued climbing, very gradually but the wind in our face made it worse. We find the lone riders group. They are exhausted and barely understand what we tell them. They are done for the day. We keep moving. Our water supply is at zero. We are parched, dry throated and burned. There is a small river near the mountains edge. The land we have been traveling on is full of livestock. I don't see any cows nearby. Oh well we need water. It's the sweetest coldest water ever. We blaze the last 20 miles, passing huge rock walls and running rivers and finally end our day 105 miles later in the city of Lima.

Day 18 July 16

We leave Wiseriver and begin heading out to elkhorn. The road to elkhorn is newly paved and under construction so the worker Jacob has us get a ride on the pilot which we gladly take because we have to ride 100 miles tomorrow. 4 miles lAter we are dropped off and we continue riding. It is boring road the entire way and is getting hot around mid day. To make matters worse, the trail has a climb that ends up having 3 switchbacks and being very steep. We finally make to elkhorn and have lunch. Afterwards we relax in the old hot springs and hangout in the lodge until dinner. Tomorrow is a big day! I'm nervous it's my first 100 mile ride.

Miles
Average
Time
Total

Day 17 July 15

Today we are traveling light weight. We have just enough food and Gatorade to get to Wise River for the night. The first 10 miles are road and a small climb. I am at the top waiting for uncle Jeff when a car drives up and says, "hey your friends got a flat down the road." Dang I've gotta go back. I find uncle Jeff sitting on the ground working onhis rear tire. Apparently we had a valve stem failure and spent 2 hours trying to fix the problem. We finally realized to convert the tire to tubed. A truck stopped and out popped a spirited hiker by the name of mini mart so called because of vast amount of ramen noodles he carries when he hikes. He gives us drinks and offers us help (trail magic!) we continue on our way and attack the legendary Fleecer Ridge with climbs so rough one has to walk the bikeup and descents so steep that downhill riders would gear up in full armor. We survive the mountain and arrive at Wise River. Kevin Bacon is working as the bartender and acting high and mighty cause it is his bar. We find his ways comical and enjoy his quick retorts to people.

Miles 54.21
Average: 9.3
Time 5:49:37
Total 757.35

Day 16 July 14

Last night was incredible! The wind was so strong it tore my tent pegs from the ground, Twice! As I crawled out of my tent to fix the pegs I was stunned by the amount of stars in the sky! It was like every planet and every universe was lit up that night. That morning the wind finally subsided and we packed quickly and left. We had one pass to climb before Basin and it is super steep! We arrive at the base of volcano trail (our climb) and there is a lonely 16 four wheel drive jeeps waiting to get their shot of the trail. We follow closely behind them. The terrain is difficult for the vehicles which need a huge line to get through an area but it is easy for us. (in my opinion the jeeps were slowing us down. We reach an open meadow and the petroleum athletes (people who use ATV's, Boats, Campers, or any other gasoline powered vehicle to get exercise) decide to take a break. The jeeps are doing multiple day ride called ride the divide. What a coincidence! We leave the jeeps and descend to Basin. Basin is a small town basically just a name on the map. However, it does have a cafe to eat in! There is another rider at the cafe. We have lunch with him and find out he has been the rider we have heard about since we started the trip. His name is Bill Wagner and he is riding the divide for MIMA a fundraising organization (bikeformima.org). We swap stories and eat lunch. Oddly every conversation begins and ends with the mysterious Matthew Lee and how he rides so well. We leave Bill and ride for 30 miles on boring pavement and over one pass into Butte. We go to the outdoorsman to get our bikes checked by Mr. Leipheimer himself! (Levi Leipheimer is a famous American cyclists currently 6th inthe tour and his brother owns the shop we stopped at). We end the day At the hotel that adjoins the bike shop.

Miles 49.2
Average 10.6
Time 4:36:07
Total 703.14

Day 16 July 14

Last night was incredible! The wind was so strong it tore my tent pegs from the ground, Twice! As I crawled out of my tent to fix the pegs I was stunned by the amount of stars in the sky! It was like every planet and every universe was lit up that night. That morning the wind finally subsided and we packed quickly and left. We had one pass to climb before Basin and it is super steep! We arrive at the base of volcano trail (our climb) and there is a lonely 16 four wheel drive jeeps waiting to get their shot of the trail. We follow closely behind them. The terrain is difficult for the vehicles which need a huge line to get through an area but it is easy for us. (in my opinion the jeeps were slowing us down. We reach an open meadow and the petroleum athletes (people who use ATV's, Boats, Campers, or any other gasoline powered vehicle to get exercise) decide to take a break. The jeeps are doing multiple day ride called ride the divide. What a coincidence! We leave the jeeps and descend to Basin. Basin is a small town basically just a name on the map. However, it does have a cafe to eat in! There is another rider at the cafe. We have lunch with him and find out he has been the rider we have heard about since we started the trip. His name is Bill Wagner and he is riding the divide for MIMA a fundraising organization (bikeformima.org). We swap stories and eat lunch. Oddly every conversation begins and ends with the mysterious Matthew Lee and how he rides so well. We leave Bill and ride for 30 miles on boring pavement and over one pass into Butte. We go to the outdoorsman to get our bikes checked by Mr. Leipheimer himself! (Levi Leipheimer is a famous American cyclists currently 6th inthe tour and his brother owns the shop we stopped at). We end the day At the hotel that adjoins the bike shop.

Miles 49.2
Average 10.6
Time 4:36:07
Total 703.14

Day 16 July 14

Last night was incredible! The wind was so strong it tore my tent pegs from the ground, Twice! As I crawled out of my tent to fix the pegs I was stunned by the amount of stars in the sky! It was like every planet and every universe was lit up that night. That morning the wind finally subsided and we packed quickly and left. We had one pass to climb before Basin and it is super steep! We arrive at the base of volcano trail (our climb) and there is a lonely 16 four wheel drive jeeps waiting to get their shot of the trail. We follow closely behind them. The terrain is difficult for the vehicles which need a huge line to get through an area but it is easy for us. (in my opinion the jeeps were slowing us down. We reach an open meadow and the petroleum athletes (people who use ATV's, Boats, Campers, or any other gasoline powered vehicle to get exercise) decide to take a break. The jeeps are doing multiple day ride called ride the divide. What a coincidence! We leave the jeeps and descend to Basin. Basin is a small town basically just a name on the map. However, it does have a cafe to eat in! There is another rider at the cafe. We have lunch with him and find out he has been the rider we have heard about since we started the trip. His name is Bill Wagner and he is riding the divide for MIMA a fundraising organization (bikeformima.org). We swap stories and eat lunch. Oddly every conversation begins and ends with the mysterious Matthew Lee and how he rides so well. We leave Bill and ride for 30 miles on boring pavement and over one pass into Butte. We go to the outdoorsman to get our bikes checked by Mr. Leipheimer himself! (Levi Leipheimer is a famous American cyclists currently 6th inthe tour and his brother owns the shop we stopped at). We end the day At the hotel that adjoins the bike shop.

Miles 49.2
Average 10.6
Time 4:36:07
Total 703.14

Day 16 July 14

Last night was incredible! The wind was so strong it tore my tent pegs from the ground, Twice! As I crawled out of my tent to fix the pegs I was stunned by the amount of stars in the sky! It was like every planet and every universe was lit up that night. That morning the wind finally subsided and we packed quickly and left. We had one pass to climb before Basin and it is super steep! We arrive at the base of volcano trail (our climb) and there is a lonely 16 four wheel drive jeeps waiting to get their shot of the trail. We follow closely behind them. The terrain is difficult for the vehicles which need a huge line to get through an area but it is easy for us. (in my opinion the jeeps were slowing us down. We reach an open meadow and the petroleum athletes (people who use ATV's, Boats, Campers, or any other gasoline powered vehicle to get exercise) decide to take a break. The jeeps are doing multiple day ride called ride the divide. What a coincidence! We leave the jeeps and descend to Basin. Basin is a small town basically just a name on the map. However, it does have a cafe to eat in! There is another rider at the cafe. We have lunch with him and find out he has been the rider we have heard about since we started the trip. His name is Bill Wagner and he is riding the divide for MIMA a fundraising organization (bikeformima.org). We swap stories and eat lunch. Oddly every conversation begins and ends with the mysterious Matthew Lee and how he rides so well. We leave Bill and ride for 30 miles on boring pavement and over one pass into Butte. We go to the outdoorsman to get our bikes checked by Mr. Leipheimer himself! (Levi Leipheimer is a famous American cyclists currently 6th inthe tour and his brother owns the shop we stopped at). We end the day At the hotel that adjoins the bike shop.

Miles 49.2
Average 10.6
Time 4:36:07
Total 703.14

Day 15 July 13

Breakfast at Lincoln is interesting. We meet another divide rider by the name of Chip. He is traveling solo and recently lost his map of the divide somewhere in Whitefish. We are astonished that he made it so far and later he tells is that he has been following the smiley face stickers tagged on every turn and sign throughout the route by team smile. We leave Chip with directions to Helena and good luck on his travels. The ride is tough. We make it through the first divide crossing (6800ft). It is windy at the top as I wait for Uncle Jeff. We descend and quickly we begin the next divide crossing (6500ft) and the third crossing (5994ft) after that. We decide to skip Helena and ride south on the Remini Alternate (16 miles shorter, no resupply). The alternate is a long hill for 7 miles and then shoots up steeply the rest of the way to the reservoir. We had planned to camp at the reservoir but it is protected by a fence and we cannot get to the water. We push on climbing another five miles and arrive at the gate of Park Lake. It's closed with a sign that reads "no admittance due to high winds and potential for falling trees" we disregard the sign and go in. There isn't another campground for 15 miles and it is getting cold and dark. Park Lake campground is a mess. Trees have been cut all overthe place due to pine beetles. There is a super strong wind so no fire and no Mac and cheese for dinner. We snack on all the bars we have. We set the tents hunkered in next to boulders forming a bunker from the wind. The camp site looks like an area civil war soldiers would hide in the winter. The wind howls and gusts as we head to bed.

Miles 68.33
Average 8.6
Time 7:56:19
Total 653.94

Day 14 July 12

Today is a super easy day. We need it before we attack the multiple divide crossings and no resupply on the following days. We leave Cooper Lake ,which this early in the morning looks like a mirror reflecting the scenery around it. We are starting halfway up Huckleberry Mountain so we have an easy 5 mile climb to the top. We descend to Lincoln and stay in a log cabin. We decide to wash our riding clothes at the laundromat and meet a gold bug (a person that searches for gold). He tells us of his method for locating gold with a gold detector and explains how he lives off his gold finds. Later we resupply at a grocery store and bump into 4 backpackers. They are loading up on food for the continental divide trail (CDT). The section they are on is an 8 day stretch through the Bob wilderness without resupply. Their packs weigh 100lbs. These guys are veteran soldiers. I end the day watching Ratatouille on tv.

Miles: 24.21
Average: 10.8
Time: 3:55:34
Total: 561.4

Day 13 July 11

We have decided to relax and take the next two days as easy short rides. We are doing this because the haul from Lincoln to Basin consists off three divide crossings, usually 6000+ feet in height each. We stop at a general store in Seeley and resupply with food drinks and a $1.25 innertube. The ride is relatively easy and at high noon we pull into what appears to be a town out of a wild west movie. Just like the old western cowboys, we tie up our rides and mozzie on into the "stray bullet cafe" for lunch. Ovando is a small town with all the buildings made out of wood. The residents at the town claim that they see our kind (bikepackers) all the time. We resupply and continue on our way. The wind begins to pick up as we ride to Cooper Lake and Big Nelson Campground. We finally arrive at the campground and for the second time we have our own personal campground with bundles of firewood waiting for us.We inflate the inner-tubes and float in the lake for a few hours. For dinner we eat all the food we have in our bags (this includes craisins, Lamar bars, keilbasa sausage, campbells soup and various gummies). We have one climb and descent tomorrow so we don't need to carry the extra weight. Later that night marauders came and ransacked our camp. Two black labs ate all the food scraps on the ground and even found the hidden Campbell can. Luckily we have the rest of our food on the bear rope 10 feet above the ground. I figure it's best that the dogs found all the scraps instead of the bears.

Miles: 45
Average: 11.4
Time: 3:55:34
Total: 561.4

Day 12 July 10

Boring ride to Seeley Lake. Mainly highway until we jumped onto some trail and our way to Seeley. It was a quick ride. We hade lunch at Lindsays Burger stand and watched the overcrowded lake with boats go by. Uncle Jeff had his first hamburger in years. We couldn't get any rooms or campgrounds at Seely because it was full so we camped behind a hotel with a biker gang in tents next to us.

Miles:48.62
Average:9.5
Time:5:06:05
Total: 516.4

Day 11 July 9

Rough start this morning. I didn't sleep well and found out my tent pegs had pulled out from the rocky soil. We eat breakfast at a cafe and moved on. Montana is so much different from Canada. It's hot and dry out here. On the trail today it is super hot and there is little shade on the trail. We have been climbing for seven miles and I am burning out. When you get tired and it's hot you start thinking why you are out here or how you could be sitting on the beach with ice cream. This is where I have to remind myself that I do this for fun! Luckily we stopped by a bridge. Uncle Jeff takes a shower in the water and I sleep on the rocks below the bridge escaping the heat for awhile. We continue finally going down the mountain. We bump into other divide riders heading north bound. There is Matheiu (crazy guy on a bike) and Dave from Chicago. Also there was a German couple vacationing by riding their bikes on the divide. Seeing other riders makes the ride better because other people are suffering just as well in the heat. We end the day in the last cabin at Condon. Another lucky strike because it was right next to where we ate dinner.

Miles: 64.31
Average: 10
Time: 6:22:23
Total: 467.78

Day 10 July 8

Today we leave Glacier for Bigfork. We have decided to go whitewater rafting in the rivers just outside Glacier. We are provided with wetsuits and booties because the water is 42 degrees! There are some people who are just wearing a bathing suit! Burr that must be cold. Reed one of the guides talks to us about his work which sounds like a fun summer job. We get in the water with our guide Tyler. He is a 4 year veteran of the river and guides us through flawlessly through the rapids with a little help from us, the rowing crew. At one point this guy and I backflips onto the water. It's freeIng cold! After the rafting trip we ride all the way to bigfork. We begin setting up camp high on the campground when the host brings us go a perfect site a the bottom. A perfect water front campground.

Miles: 46.42
Average: 13.2
Time: 3:25:00
Total: 402.97

Day 9 July 7

Woowho!! A day off to visit Glacier National Park. I slept in this morning at Apgar campground and then we walked on the shore of lake McDonal to breakfast. Had a quick bite to eat and then waited for 20 minutes for the new shuttles. Bernard Henry the 3rd was our bus driver and he told is of cyclists who tale the shuttles all the way to the top of going to the aim road and fly down at incredible speeds for 15 miles. We got off at Lake McDonald lodge and got onto the classic boat tour ride. The lake water is lightly green tinted die to the rubbing of glacier on rock creating a fine dust that changes the water color. Next, uncle Jeff and I jumped onto another bus and road to Logans Pass. Logans pass is 6200ft. It has a trail to a hidden lake that was only 1.5 miles away so we decided that it was a short enough hike for us. We arrive at Logans pass. It is completely covered with snow! So we hike the long trail. Slowly we pass people who are either to young to continue or just to out of shape to hike all the way. We get to the end of the hike and is it worth it. Completely frozen lake with wildlife all over. We take a break and hand feed the squirrels. Uncle Jeff holds onto the nut for the squirrel and messes with them. We run down back on the snow and ride the bus back to camp and find that we have violated park rules of trash and wood gathering. Just two notes telling us never to do it again.

Miles: 3 in the snow

Pictures! From Jazz's Camera from July 3rd to present day

Don't forget to Smile!

Crossing Rivers on self built rock bridges

Our home away from bears

Inside of Butt's Cabin

Hi Marlae from DJ and Dorothy

Rams Creek Outfitters (the Ponderosa)

"To be or not to Be that is the question whether tis nobler to ride your bike in the rain and cold or to seek safety in your sleeping bag from the nightmares of long rides"

"Turn right into the singletrack" brought to you by Team Smile

Roosville

Pictures continue below on next blog post...

Pictures! From Jazz's Camera

The home of the Huckleberry Bear Claw

The climb to Glacier

Terrain: Water

The Glacier

Jeff on the Glacier

Mountain Goat (Mr. Goat)

Reflecting on the snow

Relaxing on the shores of Lake McDonald

A small canoe in front of the Glacier Peaks

Our criminal violation at Glacier National Park

We are outlaws!

It is illegal to gather wood in the forested areas around the campground

improper food storage violation (yes they left the food their for the bears)

Our lakeside campground at Bigfork

Sunset at Bigfork

Mathieu (Crazy guy on a bike) Northbound to Banff

Dave from Chicago (Northbound to Banff)

Torbin and Tina from Germany (this is thier vacation)

Yes this is a steep climb.

Quick Storm on the pass

Clearwater Lake

Even Buzz and Woody get lost in the woods sometimes.

Uncle Jeff's first Hamburger in years!

Day 8

Sleep is the easiest thing in the world for me. Today we are planning on riding the short journey to Polesbridge. We make our make and cheese in the coffee pot and head off. We begin climbing instantly up a 16 mile pass. It is full of construction trucks zooming by us with little hesitation. It's odd. In Canada the cars respected the cyclists with more than 3 feet of distance but in the states it's like the cars are trying to scare us off the road. 5 miles from the top of the climb we find out that the road is being newly paved and we have to walk on the cliffs edge a bit because the asphalt is fresh and can melt our tires in seconds. We descend quickly onto a big dirt road to polebridge. The road is super bunny and in direct sunlight the entire time. So we fry out the next 15 miles and get our butts rubbed sore from the rumble strip like ground. Upon arrival at Polebridge we have lunch sit down in the chairs inside the Polebridge Mercantile and sleep. It's a good nap enough to recharge the batteries and we decide to pull the long haul to Apgar in Glacier National park but first we need food! We get sandwiches and stock up on Gatorade. Finally we grab Polebridge's famous huckleberry bear claws (a delicacy enjoyed by the locals). We leave polebridge and move on to Apgar. The traveling is rough. It's another 25 miles and we are racing a storm. We can see the rain behind and around us. The sky is starting to blacken above us and Uncle Jeff calls out, " we have to get off this ridge!" a clear indication to be ready with he tarp. We reach the top of Anaconda creek climb which is super steep and barrel down at full speed around steep cliffs all the way to Apgar. Not a single drop of rain on us as we arrive but he entire park looks like it had been soaked. We have some dumb luck! We camp at Glacier, have dinner and hit the hay. Tomorrow is tourist day! We get to take a break too!

Miles:80.86
Average: 11
Ride time: 7:19:06
Total: 355.06

Day 7

I awoke to yet another warm cabin. It's much better than the cold and dreary rain from the day before. It is cloudy outside and I am hoping that it won't rain so we can make it to Roosville, USA. We ate breakfast with the leunberger's and said our good byes to them and began riding off to the Mt. Galton Pass. The road to Galton was a lot of valley with long and rolling hills. The trail continued this way until we hit some rocks piled on top of each other marking the off trail single track. The single track was true wilderness terrain. High grass, fallen trees, and a little worn route made by the racers and travelers of the divide race. We continued on the trail till we hit the part on our cue sheets that stated "steep hill" well steep is an understatement! This is like rock climbing with 50 lb bicycles on mud with water streaming down. Well it took some time but we climbed the trail only to find an obstacle of fallen trees. The only way we can make it through the trees is by crawling under and hurdling over them with our bikes. We finally make it to the clearing filled with tons of cut trees and we have to walk the bikes to the trail on the other side. I get this feeling that maybe this might just be the toughest bike race around. We follow the gravel road all the way to the top of the Galton where snow begins to fall on top of us. It is interesting the way snow feels right as it's falling. It's watery with a tinge of ice formation to it. The description of the descent is called extreme. Extreme is right. We bomb done the steepest and fastest descent ever! Over 3 miles of balls to the wall fast descending with speeds of 40mph. All to get to the very end, 2 miles away from Roosville. We passed through the border easily and tried to make phone calls. Yay no international rates right? Well to bad I have zero service in Montana. Sorry Alex. Sorry family. I will text whenever I have signal. We went on to the first and last chance bar to have lunch and pushed on to Eureka (I found it!). Montana land is very hilly and the roads just roll onforever on the plains. We make it to a grocery store in Eureka just before a rain storm hits and take time to buy food. Then we ride on the extra 10 miles to graves creek cabin to sleep and call it a day.

Miles:
Average:
Ride time:
Total

Day 6

It's nice waking up in a warm cabin with a heater powered by wood. The sun is shining and today we expect to ride to Roosville and celebrate 4th of July in the States. We begin riding in the nice sunny weather the first in many days. We climb lazily and get to a bridge and stop for a rest in the sun on a bridge. We continue climbing and run into a car which stops. The driver is Brett and he is a spelunker. He just came from a meeting of the Alberta Spelunking Society (A.S.S). As e chatted we questioned Brett about the roads ahead to which he replied it's a bit muddy. Well we continued climbing and just as we hit the top we were stopped. Not by bike malfunction, or lack of energy but because of the Goose Mud. Goose mud is a super thick clay filled mud that grabs onto your tire and doesn't let go. This mud then piled and jammed the gears stopping all movement forward by the bike. The mud was so bad that we picked up the bikes and carried them. We walked for a mile slowly and clearing the bike gears as we went. We found a small pond and dunked the bikes in it cleaning the bikes but turning the little pond murky with mud. To make matters worse, it began to rain as we were walking the bikes and not just rain but cold and windy rain. We finally cleared the goose mud and continued screaming down the descent. The storm had gotten worse and my fingers and body began to shiver from the cold. We blazed down the descent throwing safety to the window. Survival meant getting to the valley throwing up the tarp and escaping the rain. I was descending at 35 mph, I'm not sure of Uncle Jeff I was to afraid to take my eyes off the road in such muddy and wet conditions. We pass a car it's empty. We could make Roosville it's only 40 miles more. I'm praying for trail magic or something to get us out of the rain. I can see a ranch. We turn into he ranch and knock on the door asking for some where to hide from the rain. Steve, the owner, let's us sit down under a wooden roof. Steve explains that the ranch (which has a main wooden cabin, a small single cabin, and a wooden bunkee all powered by generator or solar energy) is a hunting lodge that he owns called Rams Creek Outfitters. Steve notices me shivering and let's me use his hot shower to warm up. The shower is the best I have ever had! While I was warming up Steve offered the bunkee for us to stay in for the night. We eat dinner with Steve's family and he explains that hunting isn't just about the prize but the journey and adventure through the wilderness to get to the prize. I am super grateful to Steve and his family for letting us stay the night. I learned a great deal to boot too.

Day miles: 25.47
Average: unknown due to speedometer messing up in mud
Ride time: unknown
Total miles: 217.23

Thanks Steve!

Day 5

Woke up and it was cloudy again outside. We are in sparwood and are going to try for Butts Cabin today. We leave around 8:30 and ride on pavement into a headwind to Corbin. Uncle Jeff attempts to draft behind one of the massive mining trucks that fly by us. My legs are still too iced to start accelerating fast. Corbin is a desolate mining town that has destroyed and left one of the mountains leveled and blackened with coal. It is a sad sight to see and makes the area have a depressed dreary feel. We leave Corbin and begin climbing up to Flathead Pass. It is a stimulating and fun climb because of all the mud holes around and I make it a game of "lava" and try to avoid hitting the holes. We are nearing the summit when an ATV comes barreling down towards us and stops. It's an older man with his wife. Their names are Greg and Candy and they are out camping. I need to take a moment here and explain the supernatural nature of trail magic. Trail magic is the serendipitous occurrence of a fortunate event, item, or service from someone on the trail. Well, Today Greg decided to be our first encounter of trail magic. He walks over to his cooler pulls out a beer and gives it to Uncle Jeff. Then he walks to the cooler again and pulls out a length of sausage. Yum! Dinner tonight. A third time Greg walks back to the ATV and hands over his fire starter. We say good bye to Greg and depart with our goodies happy to have been given such a fortunate break. We continue climbing to the top of the pass and this stream of water begins flowing down to us. As we descend the stream gets wider and deeper and some parts force us to dismount and create a rock bridge to cross. At one crossing the water is flowing so much and it is so deep we didn't know how to cross. Well, until an ATV drives along and carts us across one at a time through the river (trail magic). We continue on and finally arrive at Butts Cabin a first come first serve cabin. It is completely empty and we lay claim to it and mark out our encampment by flying the yellow smile flag of team smile. We collect wood and set up camp for sometime until a truck with a camper on it pulls up. The couple are Dj and Dorothy and they are vacationing and looking for wildlife. We chat with them for awhile and warn them about the impassable river on trails ahead Dj takes out some venison and cheese and let's us have it. We take their picture and they leave. During the time we are chatting with Dj and Dorothy a motorcyclists pulls up and sets up camp. His name is Bruce and we spend a lot of the night by the fire talking. Bruce had come from cabin pass and dumped his motorcycle twice in the mud. We go to bed in our own nice warm cabin. Trail magic is amazing!

Miles: 62.63
Average: 11.7mph
Ride time: 5:20:43
Total: 136.15 miles

Pictures!

"Are we going up those mountains?

The long and winding road

Hikers on the trail!
(Keffer look at the size of the packs we gotta have smaller)

As we said, Picnic tables are a luxury

Tobermory Cabin

The Beginning of The Divide

The old wooden bridge

Bear Country

More pictures of the trip to come...

Day 4

Woke up from the tents to a chilly and dreary morning. As soon as we packed our gear it began to rain. Luckily it was twenty miles of killer downhills to Elkford. I struggled climbing due to a pain in my hip (later discovered it was die to my backpack). Upon arrivival we ate in a restaurant and ordered breakfast and lunch (gotta make up for missed meals) finished ride in Sparwood.

Day miles: 62.63 miles
Average: 11.7 mph
Max: 40.8 mph
Time riding: 5:20:43
Total trip: 136.15 miles

Quote of the day "pedal dammit" -sticker on the bike

Day 3

First day of riding. Temperatures were mildly chilly wore long riding pants, long sleeve jersey, and ear warmers. Spent most of the morning riding and messing around taking pictures and tagging things with our smiley face. Some day future divide racers will see the smiles and remember to be happy. Rode by Mt. Shark. Rode 75 miles to get to Tobermory cabin. Someone beat us to the cabin however, he turned out to be quite a character. Around the bond fire he exposed us to his views on development, Mormons and how life In The wilderness is just such a pleasure. We will never forget Hank the cabin man and his stories.

Day miles: 75 miles
Average: 9.9 mph
Top speed: 35.7

Quote of the day "it feels like we are The hobbits from lord of the rings returning the ring to mount doom" -uncle Jeff