Ben and Trystan chillin
Mark and Trystan
Paddling on Holland Lake
Grizzly centre of photo
Trystan descending the same chute
Saturday, July 11, 2009
five from Simon
Ben and Trystan chillin Mark and Trystan Paddling on Holland Lake Grizzly centre of photoTrystan descending the same chute
Friday, July 10, 2009
Lima - some pics
We are staying in a motel at Lima tonight (second in three days!!) so I have a chance to upload a few photos. I would have to say my point and shoot, along with my photography skills, don't really do this trip justice. Here's hoping Trystan and Simon can put up some of theirs.
By tomorrow night we will be very close to leaving Montana for a very brief stint cutting across the corner of Idaho. Then its into Wyoming and straight into Yellowstone and the Tetons - we will be taking a couple of days off the bike in here to explore.
Big Sky Montana
The bro's bro-ing down and peacing out all at the same time
Not always this green
We had a good run of dollar power bars
Not all our campspots have been idyllic
This is a Bute Pasty. Hours upon hours of fuel in there.
Yep we are supposed to be way down there. Looking on the bright side, the view from up top would have been great if it had been a nice day!
Whoever cut this track was not familar with the concept of switchbacks
Bob and son Kevin, nearing the end of their epic ride from south to north
Meeting Thomas, Julie (and friend) from Ramlbers HB (my cycling club) on the other side of the world! They are two months into an 18 month world tour.
Enjoying beer and wine with Mark and Cheleena atop the Continental Divide on the evening of 4th of July
Hopefully someone gets the chance to fill you in on our "character building day" from a couple of days ago - it was a pretty crazy day.
By tomorrow night we will be very close to leaving Montana for a very brief stint cutting across the corner of Idaho. Then its into Wyoming and straight into Yellowstone and the Tetons - we will be taking a couple of days off the bike in here to explore.
Rooseville - green card here I come... Ben also got through
The cherries at the Bayne's Lake market were pretty good. Apparently the cream buns less so.
Big Sky Montana
The bro's bro-ing down and peacing out all at the same time
Not always this green We had a good run of dollar power bars
Not all our campspots have been idyllic
Grizzly country for sure
Even resupplying water can be a team exercise
This is a Bute Pasty. Hours upon hours of fuel in there.Yep we are supposed to be way down there. Looking on the bright side, the view from up top would have been great if it had been a nice day!
Whoever cut this track was not familar with the concept of switchbacks
Bob and son Kevin, nearing the end of their epic ride from south to north
Meeting Thomas, Julie (and friend) from Ramlbers HB (my cycling club) on the other side of the world! They are two months into an 18 month world tour.Enjoying beer and wine with Mark and Cheleena atop the Continental Divide on the evening of 4th of JulyTuesday, July 7, 2009
Butte–iful timing
We have just had our first night in a hotel in the town of Butte, which was in fact our first night outside of our tents, and the timing could not have been better. Having not had a hot shower for a full week, our bikes in dire need of TLC, and the salivating prospect of the long awaited Butte Pasty, we had good reasons to look forward to Butte, Montana (the biggest city we pass through on entire trip, an unmistakable mining town of pop. 33 thousand). But by then of yesterdays ride, we were absolutely overjoyed.
The day was supposed to be a fairly straight forward run of 47 miles. An easier day to give our legs a bit of a break. It was not to be. The two mile climb to start the day turned out to be the toughest of the trip to date. When we wern’t trying to pedal our granny gear we were pushing our bikes through and over boulders, ruts, and mud. It was awesome. We thought we had been through the hardest part of the day, but after a great lunch at a Mexican Café in small town Basin (I’m pretty sure the café owner was Forest Gump’s mother), the thunder clouds soon rolled in. For the previous couple of days we had got lucky – skirting around or behind these storms but today we went full frontal. Rain turned into heavier rain, which turned into hail, which turned into bigger, heavier hail. But we pressed on, for Butte was surely to be a haven worth the effort.
But possibly the worst was yet to come. The last three miles into Butte was a speedy downhill run on the interstate – with this section in the process of being resealed. The downpour, combined with the resealing residue, combined to make a spray which ensured we arrived at the bike shops door, bikes covered, trailers covered, clothes covered, and worst of all us covered in this sticky black residue. What hotel owner would let us into their rooms in this state?
Fortunately, with a prior tip and some help which I will cover later, we had arrived at the doorstep of a bike shop called The Outdoorsman, owned by Rob Leipheimer, brother of Levi (I expect that tid-bit to mean zilch for most of you – hint – Tour de France). Fortunately Rob is crazy about bikes and maybe even crazier about great divide riders, and he welcomed us right in, trashed bikes and all. But what about the accommodation? “Well my father owns the hotel right though the other side of the shop here and I can go see what sort of deal I can get for you”. So with our hotel in the same building as the bike shop, hot showers, hot pool, and hot tub, we were set! And after liberal use of the bike shops degreaser we actually resembled human beings of some respectability again, if only for a short while.
The day was supposed to be a fairly straight forward run of 47 miles. An easier day to give our legs a bit of a break. It was not to be. The two mile climb to start the day turned out to be the toughest of the trip to date. When we wern’t trying to pedal our granny gear we were pushing our bikes through and over boulders, ruts, and mud. It was awesome. We thought we had been through the hardest part of the day, but after a great lunch at a Mexican Café in small town Basin (I’m pretty sure the café owner was Forest Gump’s mother), the thunder clouds soon rolled in. For the previous couple of days we had got lucky – skirting around or behind these storms but today we went full frontal. Rain turned into heavier rain, which turned into hail, which turned into bigger, heavier hail. But we pressed on, for Butte was surely to be a haven worth the effort.
But possibly the worst was yet to come. The last three miles into Butte was a speedy downhill run on the interstate – with this section in the process of being resealed. The downpour, combined with the resealing residue, combined to make a spray which ensured we arrived at the bike shops door, bikes covered, trailers covered, clothes covered, and worst of all us covered in this sticky black residue. What hotel owner would let us into their rooms in this state?
Fortunately, with a prior tip and some help which I will cover later, we had arrived at the doorstep of a bike shop called The Outdoorsman, owned by Rob Leipheimer, brother of Levi (I expect that tid-bit to mean zilch for most of you – hint – Tour de France). Fortunately Rob is crazy about bikes and maybe even crazier about great divide riders, and he welcomed us right in, trashed bikes and all. But what about the accommodation? “Well my father owns the hotel right though the other side of the shop here and I can go see what sort of deal I can get for you”. So with our hotel in the same building as the bike shop, hot showers, hot pool, and hot tub, we were set! And after liberal use of the bike shops degreaser we actually resembled human beings of some respectability again, if only for a short while.
Butte – 1000km down
We knew our updates would be sporadic – and that is proving to be the case. It has been a wee while since the last update from Trystan, and even longer since the full update from Fernie. So time to update you on our progress.
We are now over 1000km into our trip and progress is going great – knocking out 60 plus mile days with regularity. Planning and efficiency has improved leaps and bounds - we set our target for the day and we usually meet it - if not exceed it. We have had a good run with gear but we are not getting complacent. And we have successfully managed some sore knees and joints.
From Fernie we managed to cross the border on the same day, finishing in Eureka, Montana - knocking out 71 miles including the border crossing. Aside from that highlight, a Saturday Market at a middle-of-nowhere spot called Bayne's Lake was a welcome early lunch of fresh fruit and popcorn.
From Eureka we did another big day - over 60 miles and 5000ft of climbing to finish at Red Meadow Lake - a beautiful spot even with a Grizzly for company. Aside from the killer climb to end that day, the highlight was definitely the navigation. Earlier in the day I had given Trystan my best "don't question me" look regarding a navigation decision which I was supremely confident about - only to be politely told why I was oh so clearly wrong. Later that same day Ben and Trystan blew past a quite obvious turn, riding an extra 5 miles and leaving Simon and I wondering what had happened.
Monday 29 saw us have a great easy downhill ride into Whitefish - a town which sits by another very attractive lake. A visit to the renowned Glacier Cyclery proved worthwhile with a wee bit of work being done. We also met a pair of Grandfathers riding the trail - we subsequently passed them four times due to the location of our campsites and timing of a rest day. Instead of staying the night beside Whitefish Lake as recommended we decided to press on - keen to get a bit closer to our rest day at Holland Lake two days down the track. The chosen spot at Columbia falls was a bit of a miss - an RV campground at the back of an industrial park. Still, we got our first hot shower since Fernie.
The following day was another 65 miler to another cracker lake - this one was Swan Lake. Paying for the campground gave us the right to access the lake for a swim (!!) but as we move south the water temperatures have been getting warmer and the dip was well worth it. "Two Feather" the park ranger, was one of the personalities which we will not forget in a hurry, even giving us the promised marshmallows (the biggest we have ever seen) for the campfire which we never lit.
And to yet another lake, this time Holland Lake for our eagerly anticipated rest day. With sore legs, Holland Lake was an idyllic spot to reach after what had seemed like a hard day at work in the saddle. After being given a campsite "just for bikers" right on the waters edge and away from the RV's, we headed for the lodge for a beer and a "just for bikers" grilled ham and cheese sandwich. An invite for a buffet breakfast was well received after 10 days on the trot of oatmeal. We were in heaven. What could go wrong? After whetting our appetites all evening for the feast which lay ahead, which included Simon almost doing the unthinkable by considering not finishing his KD dinner, we were mentally and physically prepared for gluttony. Trystan and I took a slightly different strategy to Ben and Simon - we shamelessly piled our plates while they went for the multiple rounds philosophy. This would have been fine except they were refused a second round, leaving them feeling rather short changed. Any attempts at sweet talk were met with a cold response and only after a later "peacing" did we thankfully leave on good terms.
Other highlights of the rest day was Trystan's unsuccessful hitch-hike back to Swan Lake in search of his misplaced wallet (unsuccessful but it has since been located and is on its way back thankfully). Actually that wasn't much of a hilight - missing out on a planned hike. Meanwhile Ben, Simon and I hired a canoe and created a new multisport adventure event. The legs were: 1) paddle to end of lake beside stream entrance. 2) Hike upstream towards the waterfall in your choice of bare feet or crocs. 3) When you can get no further, go bush-whacking through dense forest, head straight uphill looking for the trail, finishing with a 45 degree scree slope climb, still in bare feet or crocs. 4) find trail and finish hike to waterfall. 5) reflect on the view and a job only half complete. 6) head back down the trail until you get to an appropriately close spot to the lake edge. 7) Ditch any gear you are carrying an swim 300 meters back to the canoe. 8) Get in canoe, retrieve gear, and and head back to the start all within the two hours allotted time. Great fun!
The following day took us to Ovando - a small town, pop 71, a pub, cafe, B&B, general store, and fishing shop, all "downtown", not to mention school and baseball field. The trail riding on this day was quite spectacular, with an epic climb and decent through the "Grizzly Basin" (none seen today). Keen to make Seally Lake for a late lunch, we bumped into two great divide riders riding in the opposite direction - a father and son combo Bob and Kevin. We stopped and chatted non-stop for a half hour. If it wasn't for our hunger and thirst, and the hot, dry dusty trail we were on, I am sure we could have talked for hours. After an unspectacular and prolonged lunch stop at Seally Lake it was off to Ovando, pop 71, a pub, cafe, B&B, general store, and fishing shop, all "downtown". After a satisfying and ridiculously inexpensive pub dinner with the locals prepping for 4th of July celebrations, we took our campsite on the Ovando baseball field, as offered by the locals. This was a lovely spot - perfect for disc, and best of all you could peg your tent where it landed... Until 3 in the morning when the irrigation system comes on. With the bro's tenting fly-less they were in action rather quickly. Somehow Trystan managed to place his tent away from the waterworks. Meanwhile I was wearing ear plugged and slept through most of it - even with a blast of the irrigation jet every few moments. When I finally awoke to the noise - a couple of moments to figure out what was going on, I too made a well timed dash to relocate my tent. Which was fine, until about 15 minutes later when the those sprinklers turned off and the sprinklers on the new spot came on... And the locals swore they weren't in on it...
The 4th of July took us through a small town called Lincoln - bustling with activity in preparation for the celebrations. a strained group decision (I will admit I was not keen to stay) saw us carry on and finish the night atop the Continental Divide, at 7000ft. The spot was absolutely amazing, but we had the help of quite possibly the nicest couple on earth - Mark and Cheleena. After getting a bit location-confused, Mark and Cheleena came along the trail in there 4wd, their timing impeccable. To cut the story short - they pointed us in the right direction, then had a couple of drinks with us, and gave us a bottle of wine, and Mark even made the call to the bike shop in Butte to let them know we were coming. Amazing people. And to think they were getting the best side of the deal by meeting and chatting to us, a bunch of great divide riders!
A few other bits and pieces: On the whole the weather has been outstanding. After a couple of cool, wet days to start the trip we have been met with multiple bluebird days - hot, clear, and quite calm. Only in the last couple of days have we seen some thunderstorm activity.
Food: Oatmeal and hot chocolate is the breakfast staple. we go through a pound of hot chocolate in four rounds! Lunches of flat breads with PB/ nutella/ jam/ honey may require an overhaul soon. Dinners of pasta an tuna are the other staple. We do try and make the most of our location when we can - and have been having a few pub meals and the like. Arriving in Butte has been a culinary experience of sorts - Denny's for dinner, cheap beers, my first and last Twinky, and then fruitloops for breakfast this morning. Amazing.
We are now over 1000km into our trip and progress is going great – knocking out 60 plus mile days with regularity. Planning and efficiency has improved leaps and bounds - we set our target for the day and we usually meet it - if not exceed it. We have had a good run with gear but we are not getting complacent. And we have successfully managed some sore knees and joints.
From Fernie we managed to cross the border on the same day, finishing in Eureka, Montana - knocking out 71 miles including the border crossing. Aside from that highlight, a Saturday Market at a middle-of-nowhere spot called Bayne's Lake was a welcome early lunch of fresh fruit and popcorn.
From Eureka we did another big day - over 60 miles and 5000ft of climbing to finish at Red Meadow Lake - a beautiful spot even with a Grizzly for company. Aside from the killer climb to end that day, the highlight was definitely the navigation. Earlier in the day I had given Trystan my best "don't question me" look regarding a navigation decision which I was supremely confident about - only to be politely told why I was oh so clearly wrong. Later that same day Ben and Trystan blew past a quite obvious turn, riding an extra 5 miles and leaving Simon and I wondering what had happened.
Monday 29 saw us have a great easy downhill ride into Whitefish - a town which sits by another very attractive lake. A visit to the renowned Glacier Cyclery proved worthwhile with a wee bit of work being done. We also met a pair of Grandfathers riding the trail - we subsequently passed them four times due to the location of our campsites and timing of a rest day. Instead of staying the night beside Whitefish Lake as recommended we decided to press on - keen to get a bit closer to our rest day at Holland Lake two days down the track. The chosen spot at Columbia falls was a bit of a miss - an RV campground at the back of an industrial park. Still, we got our first hot shower since Fernie.
The following day was another 65 miler to another cracker lake - this one was Swan Lake. Paying for the campground gave us the right to access the lake for a swim (!!) but as we move south the water temperatures have been getting warmer and the dip was well worth it. "Two Feather" the park ranger, was one of the personalities which we will not forget in a hurry, even giving us the promised marshmallows (the biggest we have ever seen) for the campfire which we never lit.
And to yet another lake, this time Holland Lake for our eagerly anticipated rest day. With sore legs, Holland Lake was an idyllic spot to reach after what had seemed like a hard day at work in the saddle. After being given a campsite "just for bikers" right on the waters edge and away from the RV's, we headed for the lodge for a beer and a "just for bikers" grilled ham and cheese sandwich. An invite for a buffet breakfast was well received after 10 days on the trot of oatmeal. We were in heaven. What could go wrong? After whetting our appetites all evening for the feast which lay ahead, which included Simon almost doing the unthinkable by considering not finishing his KD dinner, we were mentally and physically prepared for gluttony. Trystan and I took a slightly different strategy to Ben and Simon - we shamelessly piled our plates while they went for the multiple rounds philosophy. This would have been fine except they were refused a second round, leaving them feeling rather short changed. Any attempts at sweet talk were met with a cold response and only after a later "peacing" did we thankfully leave on good terms.
Other highlights of the rest day was Trystan's unsuccessful hitch-hike back to Swan Lake in search of his misplaced wallet (unsuccessful but it has since been located and is on its way back thankfully). Actually that wasn't much of a hilight - missing out on a planned hike. Meanwhile Ben, Simon and I hired a canoe and created a new multisport adventure event. The legs were: 1) paddle to end of lake beside stream entrance. 2) Hike upstream towards the waterfall in your choice of bare feet or crocs. 3) When you can get no further, go bush-whacking through dense forest, head straight uphill looking for the trail, finishing with a 45 degree scree slope climb, still in bare feet or crocs. 4) find trail and finish hike to waterfall. 5) reflect on the view and a job only half complete. 6) head back down the trail until you get to an appropriately close spot to the lake edge. 7) Ditch any gear you are carrying an swim 300 meters back to the canoe. 8) Get in canoe, retrieve gear, and and head back to the start all within the two hours allotted time. Great fun!
The following day took us to Ovando - a small town, pop 71, a pub, cafe, B&B, general store, and fishing shop, all "downtown", not to mention school and baseball field. The trail riding on this day was quite spectacular, with an epic climb and decent through the "Grizzly Basin" (none seen today). Keen to make Seally Lake for a late lunch, we bumped into two great divide riders riding in the opposite direction - a father and son combo Bob and Kevin. We stopped and chatted non-stop for a half hour. If it wasn't for our hunger and thirst, and the hot, dry dusty trail we were on, I am sure we could have talked for hours. After an unspectacular and prolonged lunch stop at Seally Lake it was off to Ovando, pop 71, a pub, cafe, B&B, general store, and fishing shop, all "downtown". After a satisfying and ridiculously inexpensive pub dinner with the locals prepping for 4th of July celebrations, we took our campsite on the Ovando baseball field, as offered by the locals. This was a lovely spot - perfect for disc, and best of all you could peg your tent where it landed... Until 3 in the morning when the irrigation system comes on. With the bro's tenting fly-less they were in action rather quickly. Somehow Trystan managed to place his tent away from the waterworks. Meanwhile I was wearing ear plugged and slept through most of it - even with a blast of the irrigation jet every few moments. When I finally awoke to the noise - a couple of moments to figure out what was going on, I too made a well timed dash to relocate my tent. Which was fine, until about 15 minutes later when the those sprinklers turned off and the sprinklers on the new spot came on... And the locals swore they weren't in on it...
The 4th of July took us through a small town called Lincoln - bustling with activity in preparation for the celebrations. a strained group decision (I will admit I was not keen to stay) saw us carry on and finish the night atop the Continental Divide, at 7000ft. The spot was absolutely amazing, but we had the help of quite possibly the nicest couple on earth - Mark and Cheleena. After getting a bit location-confused, Mark and Cheleena came along the trail in there 4wd, their timing impeccable. To cut the story short - they pointed us in the right direction, then had a couple of drinks with us, and gave us a bottle of wine, and Mark even made the call to the bike shop in Butte to let them know we were coming. Amazing people. And to think they were getting the best side of the deal by meeting and chatting to us, a bunch of great divide riders!
A few other bits and pieces: On the whole the weather has been outstanding. After a couple of cool, wet days to start the trip we have been met with multiple bluebird days - hot, clear, and quite calm. Only in the last couple of days have we seen some thunderstorm activity.
Food: Oatmeal and hot chocolate is the breakfast staple. we go through a pound of hot chocolate in four rounds! Lunches of flat breads with PB/ nutella/ jam/ honey may require an overhaul soon. Dinners of pasta an tuna are the other staple. We do try and make the most of our location when we can - and have been having a few pub meals and the like. Arriving in Butte has been a culinary experience of sorts - Denny's for dinner, cheap beers, my first and last Twinky, and then fruitloops for breakfast this morning. Amazing.
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