Day 3 Butte to Bozeman, MT 101 miles 4200' climbing

Same spectacular weather today. Starting out from Butte it was around 40 degrees (I don't do cold!)...then up to the high 70's again as we reached Bozeman. I'll take 16 more of these please!

Only 101 miles to cover today so we got to sleep in until 6A. 10 miles in and we started a long climb out of Butte...that served as the perfect "warm up" for the day. A long stretch thru the stunningly beautiful high plains was followed by the perfect lunch along the Madison River. This is Lewis & Clark territory. It's amazing they managed to survive out here! The river is now a favorite "tubing" destination. We ate lunch (grilled chicken burritos) as folks floated by...looked pretty cold to me! Had a long 4-5 mile climb before hitting Bozeman.

My training for this ride was very different than the training for last year's LA to Boston. In place of the really long (120 mile+) rides...I stayed with shorter distances (nothing over 105), but at a faster pace. As a result, my legs feel much fresher this year. I've been able to maintain a good pace up all of the climbs and still have good power in the headwinds and on the flats.

Another good group today...though the climbing tends to separate us. Craig (who I found out today happens to be the California State Time-trial champion on tandem...great!) and Chip, are clearly the climbers of the group. Andrew and I are just having fun trying to keep them in sight! Our signature day is still ahead with 146 miles and almost 10K' of climbing...I'm saving myself!

It was another amazing day on the bike!

I've added a link to Chip's blog in my links box to the right. He's quite the cinematographer!
















The first of my favorite signs: "Truck on cheese"!! It means a long downhill is coming....weeeeeee!



















The drive-up window at the First Gravitational Bank of Montana...and I'm about to make a big withdrawal!!


















down we go...
















rollin' into the valley..

















Chip


















"It's high noon...and there ain't enough room around here for you boys. You best be rollin' on!"

















I told Craig to go ahead (ha!) so he could "add a sense of scale to this shot"!! You'll have to click on it to see him on the right.


















Craig...going up!


















Little Houses on the prairie...




































Andrew working to keep us in sight of Craig and Chip!

















Today's "Prairie Train"...















a lone horse...for my horse lover!

















rollin' along the Madison River...
















Hey Sheepman...this is for you! That cake was much smaller after I passed thru the line. Come to think of it...the pie was much smaller, too!

















Lunch SAG along the Madison















Uh...Andrew, can you save a little sunscreen for the rest of us mate?
















Andrew and I rollin' to Bozeman...
















It's harvest time...and I complain about having to mow my lawn!


















Hmmm...may have to check this place out! I'm sure BunnyHop would have been able to wrangle the Manager for some free grub...just because my name is David!




















UPDATE!!! Famous Dave's was fabulous! Just look at all of those awards! Especially loved the "Devil's spit" hot sauce...yummy!

Gearing 101

There have been a few posts asking for info on my gearing setup. Clearly, not a big concern for my normal Florida flatlands rides.
An entirely different concern for a 19 day, 1900 mile trip with just short of 100K' of climbing!!

My normal setup for Florida is SRAM 10 speed 11-23 rear cassette with a 50/34 compact crank on the front.
For this trip I just changed out the rear cassette...to a 12-25.

Today was our first big pitch and I think I'l be fine. If anything, I was under-geared for the screaming tailwind and 20 mile downhill into Butte. I was spinning out at 34mph. The problem with spinning out is that you can't pedal fast enough...so you have to stop pedaling. That eventually causes your legs to cramp...not good!

I'm not much of bike tech...the simpler the better!

Day 2 Missoula to Butte, MT 137 miles 4100' climbing

Another beautiful Montana day! Temps in the high 70's and crystal clear. We've gotten to be a pretty tight group now...Andrew, Craig, John, Joel and Chip (until he tires of us and flies up a hill...never to be seen again!). Early on we took a wrong turn. We were running parallel to I-90 with a RR track, a large field and a barbed wire fence between us and the interstate...our intended route! We could see some of the other riders had turned around and were already flying down I-90. We kept going! It was pretty funny when we hit the dead end...just as a mile-long freight train came by. Once it passed we had to climb up and over the tracks (with our bikes)...thru the field...and then squeeze thru a small gap in the barbed-wire fence. Hey...it's an adventure!

I flatted again today..about 200 yds from the Super8 in Butte....aaargh! Other than that...pretty uneventful! Just a ton of fun riding with these guys!















Flowers for my beautiful wife!























Over my shoulder looking back at the group. Notice the Rob Landes signature bandana


















Cassie and Andrew at the end of our "wrong turn" this morning!


















Andrew is always there to lend a hand...even if it's some sticky barbed-wire!


















I-90
































































Cat and Cassie. I figured I better get a shot of them this morning. When we hit the mountains I'll, likely, never see them again!























Craig and Chip
























Rolling into Phillipsburg,MT

















Some "puppy love"...sorry Jack!



















Today's sandwich creation: Chicken breast with edamame and quacamole, topped with tomatoes and spicy mustard!


























After the last major climb we headed downhill for about 20 miles into Butte...with a 20+mph tailwind!! I love doing 32+mph without pedaling!





















Big Sky country!



















Wisdom to the right....Opportunity to the left. Wouldn't you know it...I'm going straight!

Day 1 Kalispell to Missoula...149 miles, 2300' climbing

Day 1 was spectacular! Breakfast was at 6AM...and we rolled out at 7AM. It was pretty cold this morning so I had on knee and arm warmers until mile 40. It got close to 90 degrees out there today...but, thanks to all that training in the Florida humidity, I hardly broke a sweat! It was a long mileage day at 149, but not much climbing. Unfortunately, we had a brutal headwind as we traveled south...that switched out of the west as we turned west for Missoula. We were down to 13.5 mph for a long stretch today and still managed an 18.4 mph average. Spent most of the day riding with Craig (my roommate) and Andrew, from Australia. As we approached the lunch stop at miles 80, Craig and I passed a girl (in the middle of nowhere) on a touring bike with panniers. It was clear she'd been on the road a few days. I slowed to ask her where she was headed and she said: "my mother-in-law's house in Seeler Lake". Which happened to be about 20 miles down the road. She passed our lunch SAG and Sue (PACTour co-Leader) yelled out for her to join us for lunch...and she did. It was really fun to hear of her adventures. Natalie (barely 25), lives in Portland...took the train to Whitefish,MT (with her bike and gear) headed to Seeler Lake. When she got into Whitefish she met a guy with a Harley (lot's of them up this way) who offered to take her up to Glacier NP for the day...which she did. When she got back she camped out in Whitefish and met a couple of guys who had a boat and invited her to spend the day on the lake...which she did. Camped in Whitefish again...then headed south to Kalispell where she met a couple who offered to let her stay in their cabin...which she did! We caught up with her on day 3 of her solo bike ride to Seeler Lake.It was pretty amazing to meet someone so at ease in the world...and so confident! The thought of jumping on some guys Harley and heading off into the wilds of Glacier NP...is scary...but impressive!

One of the funniest moments of the day came as we got close to Missoula and got passed by a pretty large group of motorcyclists wearing Hell's Angels "colors". Craig noticed they actually had a "support vehicle"...a pickup loaded with their luggage. Maybe the HA's are getting older!

I also wanted to mention a bit about the makeup of this group. There are 5-6 women along on the trip. Some are riding with their husbands, two of them: Cassie Lowe (2001 & 2002) and Anna "Cat" Berge have WON "Race Across America" (RAAM). Google it! It's the ultimate feat in cycling! Literally, racing from the Pacific to the Atlantic...usually with little or no sleep. These girls both WON the women's division! There are also 6 riders from last years "Elite tour"...which started in San Diego, CA and ended in Tybee Island, SC...17 days later! That's just short of 200 miles per day...every day! Andrew, who I rode with today is one of them.

Two flats today, one front...one rear, have me wondering about my switch from the Conti Gatorskins I rode last year to the Specialized Armidillo's I'm riding this year. If I flat again tomorrow...I'm jumping back to the Conti's.


An amazing day on the bike!














Breakfast...PACTour style! I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I miss the Denny's stops!















Rollin' thru farmlands outside Kalispell

















the road along Swan lake


















Montana self-portrait #2. Notice I've switched over to clear zinc oxide. Without Rob around to complete the Rodeo Clown troupe...the white zinc oxide just won't work anymore!

















Craig climbing thru a toxic cloud of road construction. The tar was so fresh on the right side that we had to ride UK-style for over 4 miles.



















Lunch SAG



















Today's lunch "creation": whole wheat bread, pepper jack cheese, tomatoes, spicy mustard, pickles and some oriental cole slaw on top...yummy! Oh yeah, a big chunk of chocolate cake! Sheepman, dessert pics tomorrow...I promise!

















Natalie and her bike!

















Rollin' thru the valley
















Along the Salmon River

















"Bisti" the SAG dog



















Andrew and Craig. Good work today boys!



















Along the Blackfoot River near Missoula. Notice the girls tubing on the river. The water is barely 50 degrees!