Working my way west to Spokane.
Sunday was a drive and rest day. Watford city in the oil fields and no beer sales before noon on Sunday. I caught the tailend of the MDH 100 breakfast. I congratulated Nick on his event. I noticed almost all rigs were dirty from driving dirt roads, lots of oil extraction rigs. If there were car washes they did not stand out. Maybe even the paved city streets turned muddy from the dirt washing off the rigs. My van fit in w/ my smashed grasshoppers.
Western ND and eastern MT lacked usfs land and I did not want to city camp so i sought out public xgs. I picked Hell Creek XG on FT Peck lake in eastern MT. Drove 26 miles on a gravel road for a shower and open door camping. Dry land looks like central WA.
Mon I continued west to Big Timber and Boulder river. I remembered that Jerry Tate from Spokane and work had a cabin up the river somewhere. Also FS land was available for camping. The town also had internet coverage that I needed to download an antivirus update that took most o0f my town time. I drove upriver some 20 miles out of town on pavement until FS boundary the road turned to stutter bump gravel. I drove 5 miles shaking @ 15 mph to first place to camp which was Falls Creek XG. Finally off the bumpy road. And back in the mountains. The Absaroka mtns swelled well above the river. Back in big mountains and clear running rivers. Ah, the west.
Tues my plan was to road ride upstream searching for Jerry’s place and to check out my body’s performance. I followed the massage therapist’s recommendation of icing and stretching my left leg. My right knee was only rested. I rode about 60 mins upriver 8 1/2 miles coping w/ 5000′ elevation. Left leg OK. Right knee doesn’t seem to hurt while pedaling. Took less than 30mins to coast back to van. I didn’t find Jerry’s place, maybe I was up the wrong creek?
Tues then I finished my drive to Bozeman which is where I am now. I just finished doing my wash and doing dishes. Today I will test my knee out some more on Bangtail divide trail up near Bridger Bowl ski area. I will update this more if I have internet @ TH where I plan to stay the night.
Update: No internet coverage @ Bracket TH.
So, I arrived in Bozeman. I googled bike shops and found Bangtail. I parked nearby and walked in. I asked about mtn biking to the young woman at the counter. She rattled off several rides as we looked @ a map. The map looked familiar. It is made by Beartooth Publishing, Will’s company. I met Will in Sedona this spring. I called his number. We made a dinner date for Wed @ The Ale Works where I had dinner Tues. Will told me of a nasty thunderstorm that might hit town per the weather station. I walked back uptown to my van and drove it back to Ale Works and covered my bikes. While hanging inside the wind picked up and a brief shower damped things which really need rain.
Tues night I drove out Hyalite canyon and slept @ a TH. During the night another squall dumped a few more minutes of rain. I decided to make Wed another rest day.
I checked out more bike shops on line and discovered the Chalet that carried POC gear. I wanted to size my helmet thinking that mine is too large. No helmets, classic end of season selection. i did try on other helmets and found the Giro feature to fit the way a helmet should fit.
I had parked on the street while in the store. My phone rang, it was Will. He said that i was parked right outside his office. he invited me in. I parked in his lot.
I do not comprehend the tax implications associated w/ the investment transactions. The IRS apparently does and they have been hounding me to pay up. Their records only capture the sales amount, not the purchase minus the sale price. Per their records I owe a bunch of money. I called the IRS line and waited on hold for maybe 20 mins. I have a form to fill out to account for the transactions.
Will and I went to Ale Works for dinner. We sat at the bar. This guy sits down beside me, it is Bob Allen, a core member of the Montana State mountain bike alliance and memeber of Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. He has been battling nationally to preserve trails that 3 wilderness groups have striven to close to bikes by making the land a new wilderness. Unfortunately bikers lost to the wilderness advocates who have no desire to partner w/ bikes to make the pie larger. there is much to learn about wheeling and dealing @ a national level. Mind boggling.
Next on the agenda was the Wed night mtn biker gathering @ a local brew pub. There I was introduced to more of Bozeman’s riders and some more advocacy discussions. 8:00 PM is last beer pour. We left to reajourn at a guys house for ping pong and beer.
I stayed for awhile then left for camping that I found @ the Big M TH just outside of town instead of driving further towards Bridger Bowl. The parking lot was deserted and quiet making it a good sleep spot. Chilly night. I was awakened by car sounds. The TH is extremely popular for hikers and dog walkers. And I was in the midst. I fixed b-fast then drove to the laundromat.
I still had what i thought was enough time to ride Bangtail Divide up across the road from Bridger Ski Bowl. I parked @ Bracket TH at the northern end. I pedaled 8.35 miles of road to the south end of the trail. Elevation is almost 6000′ that is beating me. Most of the road ride was down hill but against the wind. The trail stated out w/ vicious uphill negotiating a passel of switchbacks. I would sometimes rest after a switch back. Elevation working up to almost 8,000′. Since mid April I had been living under 2,000′. No acclamation. My knees performed w/ minimal protest. I was riding late in the day and I was concerned about finishing in the light. About 4 miles in I finished the brutal climb but my load was mostly shot. I managed my shrinking energy stores by walking some climbs. i actually stopped for a 10 minute break.
Per the ride description the last 4 miles was downhill. I netted out that amount to figure how much pedaling I had to do. The downhill started @ the published mile. What a downhill. Horses and dirt bikers are other trail users that put their imprint on the trail. Loose rocks mixed in w/ hardpack and switchbacks. just coasted down. What a reward for effort. earned my turns.
I decided to camp @ the TH. This AM @ 6:30 it was 36 degrees. I doubled the down blanket and pulled on a hat. I even ran the heater during b-fast. 3 sets of shuttle rigs pulled in b4 8:30. Where were they yesterday @ my start to avoid the road ride?
I decided to make today another rest day.
I made a knee appointment for Monday the first week in Spokane. I called N Division Bike to order the motion control damper that is leaking on my fork. Bicycle Butler will order and install a Chris King Headset to replace the creaking Cane Creek.
Winds are blowing fire smoke into town. Winds are becoming strong buffeting my van while parked.
Looks like I will stay here for the night. Tomorrow I plan on driving to Helena and ride for a couple days. I might drive to Hamilton on the Bitterroot to ride some of their hundreds of miles of trail. red barn shop.