Adventures

Day 6: Returning to the Way West

Taken in 2001, the view of the mountains to the east somewhere near the Continental Divide

Lincoln, MT (20 June 2019)In 2001 I traveled west by bicycle from my home in Wisconsin to Anacortes, Washington. It was a 3,000 mile trip that snaked west from Wisconsin, to Yellowstone, to Glacier and continued westward in Canada until the outer edges of the Vancouver area before finally dropping down to Anacortes on the west coast of the U.S. One of the more memorable days was the ride from Townsend, Montana to Lincoln. This day was often recalled when planning the attempt to race the Tour Divide. The journal created during that journey in 2001 included the following entry which was styled in a way that was suggestive of an explorer attempting to find a way west over the continental divide. It's included here because it could also describe many of the days on the Tour Divide.

After leaving the broad and open landscape of the Missouri River to follow a stream valley heading north and west, the view of mountains to the south, west and north foretold a day of climbing. The width of the valley was found to be encouraging and although the stream flowed vigorously, it was far from its banks.

The traveling for a full 25 miles up this valley was relatively easy. The reason for this was a light wind out of the southeast and the open, gently rising valley. It was somewhat disturbing here because the valley narrowed considerably. The land was dry and the few trees that grow here were hugging the stream banks. The stream itself was running faster here and the going was getting slower.

After about 10 miles the valley began to narrow and it appeared at times that the next bend would reveal a box canyon with no hope of further progress. Each time of at least five such instances, a steep grade was crossed which revealed an open meadow in bloom with black-eyed susans, thistle, goldeneyes, and other less familiar flowers. With each such crossing more trees appeared in the openings and on the hill sides. Finally on the last, the trees dominate which made it difficult to see the surrounding landscape.

Suddenly all appeared to be lost. The stream still flowed but it's course cannot be followed. It was now 65 miles from the Townsend camp. The choice was made to continue along a path following the best route possible to the west and north. Here the trees were abundant and where there were only pine and the occasional cottonwood near the stream, there were now aspin as well. Walls of sheer rock were also in evidence causing the path to twist and turn -- sometimes back on itself just slightly further up the mountain.

Joyously, after 71 miles from travel from Townsend, everything had changed. Downhill travel to the west was possible and the wind was coming from ahead instead of from behind. Invigorated, travel was easy and fast -- only the wind slowed progress and not the mountain. As the decline flattened the wind made the going difficult again. In addition to the wind, there were apparent changes to the landscape. The land here was less arid and there was standing water in ponds. Ducks were spotted and shortly thereafter there was the course of a stream to follow. Almost immediately a joyous realization came to me -- the stream is flowing briskly west and the Continental divide has finally been crossed (August 2001).

Taken in 2019, the view of the mountains to the east somewhere near the Continental Divide

When I awoke in Lincoln during the Tour Divide in 2019 it was raining but with anticipation I was still looking forward to crossing over the divide, west to east this time. Perhaps it was the steady rain that despite feeling good about the day ahead the lingering began almost immediately. Instead of camping rough somewhere past Helena it was already decided I would hotel again and take care of my bottom. Based on my pre-ride homework, stopping in Helena would make this a relatively short and easy day.

After a leisurely breakfast the gear and bike were finally ready to go just after 8:00 AM. Several others, Mikki and Larry included had been biking in the rain for two and half hours by then. Fortunately for me, an hour and twenty minutes after leaving Lincoln it was time to peal and pack the rain gear for the day. The day remained mostly cloudy but the gravel dried quickly making for good traction without the dust.

The route through the Helena National Forest is punctuated with cattle farms and is a mix of open and wooded hills. A hawk eyed me from above as the 15 mile climb began gradually, taking me from approximately 4,000 feet to 7,000. Just as I recalled, the mountain passes in Montana are not as tall as the more familiar passes in Colorado.

Mostly pine dominate the climb but there was some exposed rock as well. This route seems drier than the 2001 route and I don't recall seeing aspins as I did back then -- perhaps I was too focused on the road ahead of me. While cycling the Tour Divide, most of the time was spent finding the smoothest path over the gravel road.

Joy came to me in the form of an angle. The angle of incline was very sharp in places. At times this required all the concentration I could muster just to keep the pedals going round. It was continually gratifying to clean one steep section and then another without a pause or placing a foot on gravel. Riding with nothing to prove is a good thing but riding with a goal you can accomplish is fun. My spirits began to soar. Perhaps not as gracefully as the hawk gliding above but soar nonetheless.

Ross was headed to Banff from Antelope Wells

After crossing the divide, the ranch land starts to dominate. The approach of one of the last large ranches of the day was announced by a bull bellowing loudly. It was unclear why he was blasting repeated low mournful moans but these were heard miles away. Not long after, Ross a cyclist heading north on the Tour Divide route, appeared. We both stopped and greeted each other. Ross left Antelope Wells on May 4th and I expect he made it to Banff. I think he was the first north-bounder I came upon on the route.

When you head down the mountain toward Helena, there's a friendly bike stop. Rolling along at a good clip the sign for the place flashed into view and was followed shortly thereafter by the sound of someone calling my name. Is that even possible? Turning my head did not reveal the origin of the sound and because the brakes were spared, the moment passed in an instant.

The dreaded highway arrival in Helena was soon upon me. In 2001 Montana motorists were the least kind of all. During that 3,000 mile trip I was run off the road three times -- all in Montana. It was with delight to find a large fast and friendly shoulder on which to pedal. Best of all it soon spit me out in the west side of town where fast food was easy to find and quickly engulfed. While eating, lodging arrangements were made in addition to an appointment to have the bike looked over at Great Divide Cyclery.

The folks at the bike shop took care of my bike in quick order. The chain was replaced and to my surprise the brake pads still looked good. The bottom bracket was checked and doing fine. It was only 5 P.M. when I checked into to hotel.

Bill was there at the hotel office when I arrived and I caught sight of Larry. When doing laundry I'd run into Adam. Adam told me he was planning to take a day off tomorrow to rest his knee which was complaining. He's experienced enough to know where things are heading before they get too bad and seemed very happy with this decision more than a week later when we next rode together. It turned out that Adam's was the voice that called out to me from the bike stop on the way down the mountain toward Helena.

It seemed surprising to find Larry, Mikki, Bill and the others in Helena. Given their 5:30 AM departure from Lincoln, it was reasonable to expect they had plans to press on past Helena. Even having arrived at the hotel after eating and hanging out at the bike shop for a few of hours many hours of daylight remained. This is good though -- I'm looking forward to their continued company.

I had been thinking about Helena even before the Tour Divide started but had also been thinking about it while riding since Columbia Falls. Mostly, my thoughts turned to pizza! It seemed like a glorious luxury to have pizza delivered to my room and snarf it down with milk and potato chips. That is fine dining on the Tour Divide or so it seemed to me. Back in 2001 when riding through Helena from Townsend to Lincoln I seldom had pizza. In Lincoln I camped and ate roman noodles. In 2001 I pedaled a road touring bike with four large bags weighing 20 pounds more than the bike and gear I'm carrying now. In 2001 this crossing of the Continental Divide was an event. Eighteen years later during the tour divide crossing the continental divide is so common one hardly notices. The divide on the route between Lincoln and Helena is not even marked. As it turned out, however, and just like in 2001, this was one of my favorite days of the tour.

Elevation Profile for Day 7

On to Day 8