Bike the USA

  90 miles and 2600 ft of climbing - apparently that is what we call an active rest day on this trip.  Based on what we have been doing so far this week, that is what it was shaping up to be. The ride out of Columbus was nice and easy.  Just a little bit of climbing, but nothing to tire out the legs too much.  We rolled into the 43 mile rest stop for an early lunch - 10am! After lunch, we knew we had a long, slow climb.  We didn't know that there would be a strong headwind to make our slow climb feel like a much steeper hill.  We worked our way through it and made it to our rest stop.  A few more miles to Wyoming!  And it was all slightly downhill. For those wishing to see what we have done so far, and what is left, here is a summary by day.  We just finished day 15. After crossing into Wyoming, we had a few miles to go until we got to Lovell.  Our stop for tonight. Tomorrow we are going over those mountains in the background.... When we...

  Our last full day in Montana.  Still lots to see and enjoy.  Lots of beauty and some wildlife as well.  I am not sure when it happened, but everyone was totally relieved to have and easy day today - 109 miles and 2700 ft of climbing.  Not too long ago, riding a century seemed like a big task.  After 3 centuries in a row, 109 and relatively flat was a nice change! Once we got outside of Bozeman, most of the ride was spent on frontage roads and the interstate.  We started the day with a hearty breakfast at the Feed.  After navigating a road closure, we started climbing.  This was my kind of day.  95% of the elevation was tackled by mile 30.  Unfortunately, the day went on a bit longer than expected due to several flat tires and a brake issue within our riding group.  All of the highway riding makes you realize how dirty the sides of the roads are. Here are a few pictures from the day.  I find it interesting that most of th...

  The longest day.  127 miles to our next destination. I guess we can be happy that it was 50 degrees when we rolled out of the parking lot.  There is a heat wave coming to the region, just in time for the crossing of the continental divide.  We all knew today was going to be a challenge, but is also includes a 10 mile stretch of riding that is the most beautiful of the entire trip.  First the ride details. Get over the first climb, and the rest of the day would not be too bad.  We had a good paceline to the first rest stop and tot the beginning of the climb.  A nice descent and a real bathroom at a gas station were a plus. Lunch was at mile 66, followed by a great, mostly downhill, 61 miles to Bozeman.  Our pace line broke apart and we were down to just two of us sharing the work. By the time we finally got to mile 100, everyone was ready to be done.  We put together a few more riders to get a paceline going and got rolling to the end. There...

  Wake, Eat, Ride, Repeat.  When we woke up today, we all knew that our next destination was 116 miles away.  The capital of Montana and Big Sky Country.  Today was day 1 in a big week.  By the end of the week, the Rockies will be behind us and we will be more than 33%  through our journey east.  The ride today was a long one, where we slowly gained elevation, topped off with a 5 mile climb starting at mile 95. Shortly after leaving Missoula, you easily understand why they call this Big Sky country.  The scenery is amazing and our pace line opts to make a few pit stops for pictures. We spent a bit of time on I-90 today and a few other highways, but most had wide, clean shoulders to make the ride a bit easier.  Lunch was at mile 66, just over halfway for the day.  After lunch, our group benefitted from one of the Trek Guides doing most of the "pulling".  We knew there was a big climb coming and we all wanted to save our legs. Mile 95...

  Today was a day to recharge, relax, reconnect with home and family and get ready for the week ahead.  Missoula is a cool little town.  Great places to eat and really nice weather this time of year.  Many of us started the day with a yoga inspired stretch session led by one of the XC riders.  The rest of the day was spent strolling around town, restocking supplies and reconnecting with family.  A few pictures from the day, including a few reminders of home. Today's beer - Cold Smoke from KettleHouse Brewing in Missoula.  Very nice Scottish Ale. 3 century rides await.  Early start tomorrow as we head to Helena, MT.

 When you wake up in the morning, turn on the faucet, and nothing comes out, it is probably not going to be a good day.  Rather ironic that the lodge at Lolo Hot Springs, with hot water flowing from the granite and a cool clear river running down the other side, would not have running water,  but that is how we started the day.  The weather is starting to cooperate, and today was the first day we needed sleeves or jackets to ward off the morning chill.  Everyone is looking forward to the rest day, but first we had to get to Missoula.  37 miles and 600 ft of climbing - piece of cake! i will apologize in advance for the lack of pictures from today's ride.  We exited the parking lot and started rolling down to Missoula.  After leading the group for 9 miles, our pace line split up a bit and 3 of us began chewing up the miles and flying by those that left before us.  We were the first ones down the hill, and no one was stopping to take a picture o...

  Destination - Montana.  The fourth state out of the 15 we will visit on the trip.  In order to get there, we had to ride 115 miles. We got an early start today.  A lot of miles and we were crossing over into the mountain time zone, causing us to lose an hour.  The majority of our day would be along the Clearwater River in the Clearwater National Park. The morning got of to a great start and then the ride went off the reservation - literally - we left the Nez Perce Reservation.  This entire ride was beautiful.  Huge Pine forests, Clear running water.  Stunning scenery.  No wonder the Nez Perce settled here. I was able to use a different saddle today and it made for significantly better day.  For the first time, I wasn't one of the riders complaining about there backsides!  We cruised through the first 102 miles.  The easiest century I have ever done.  Great pace line from mile 1 and we just chewed up the miles, despite sl...