Rolling along in and out of signal and in and out of motivation to write.
Thursday after a long I90 distance I arrived at MacDonald Pass above Helena. Spent the night outside the XG which has been logged since visit 2 years ago. Eye sore.
Friday I drove down to town. I rode out around Mt Ascension right above town. Pedaled away from the van without noticing I forgot my pack. Short loop back to pick it up. Trail started up and stayed that way until going back down. Trails are pedalable if you have the engine. There is gentle grade mixed in. 11.1 miles climbing 1925′. I installed my phone into the handlebar carrier and followed MTB project to keep me found. Nice trails. Summit is way above town but too far away to look down chimneys.
Back into town, Blackfoot brew pub tasters. Hopping Fri night. Picked a solo guy sitting at a table for 4 and asked to share. Turned out he is a rider and also that earlier this summer he hiked a piece of the PCT. Learned that the Trail Rider leaves at 9:45 on Sat. Josh greeted me after my ride saying he has met me along the way. He gave me to camp spots outside of town. I tried 2 of my own which were a bust then one of his which was filled. Drove towards the 2nd one when I bailed and stayed in a US XG. Not preferred but I could count on it.
Sat drove back to town and got on the shuttle bus which took us up Grizzly Gulch saving about 8 miles of uphill pedaling. Plan was to ride Show me the Horse aka show me the love. Wonderful downhill dropping off MT Helena ridge.
2 years ago on my visit diseased P pines were being cut down to be burned later. This year on Ascension there were just several scattered clusters of healthy P pine. On MT Helena side they were all gone. Fuels reduction and maybe contain the beetle.
Made to show me the love trail which drops down off the ridge. A hoot. Ends at Grizzly gulch. A sign was posted at the road notifying those who would or could read that the road into town was blocked from construction. Now I learn. I found a longer way back to town. Ride was 12 miles climbing 1561′ I exited out onto bumpy gravel road pitching downhill. The phone was on the carrier with the latch thrown and the safety strap snugged up. Shortly after gaining speed I felt and saw my phone fly free. Sturdy case protector saved the phone.
After my ride I drove down to Bozeman. I made road fall at Montana Ale house for brew beer and dinner and watch some college football. ran into Mason, co owner of Alter Cycles, I asked to sleep in his parking lot. Score for the in town night, however the night was rather warm. Sunday, my 69th birthday I drove out to the N end of Bangtail Divide trail. At the parking lot I worked my motivation: do I ride the 8 miles of road to the S start of the trail or climb up then zoom back down from the N end. Or, perhaps I could score a shuttle to save the road ride. I geared up working on convincing my body that it wanted to do the climb. Trail is beat up with patches of loose sharp edged rocks. I walked several patches. Climbed 3.29 miles in 48 mins gaining 1515′. Monster climb. But the zoom back down! Bike handles the junk, 20 mins down nonstop.
I hung at the TH for awhile. Lots of gun shots nearby, not because of hunting. I pedaled up to a TH to check the condition of the rode as a place to stay the night as I slept in the spot on a previous visit. Road was good. Back at the van I waited until the shots ceased. I met 2 couples who had finished their ride. Just hang out. Told of virtues of Red Lodge rides.
Drove up to TH. Surprised that I received signal. My sister, Lynn, called we are planning a 4 day time together at Marquette on the 29th. I now have a time goal to work with.
Today I drove down to Bozeman to visit Mason at his shop and provision up. Needed was a refill of the shots. WTF? no Walgreens in town.. Change of plans requiring driving to Billings which is the closest Walgreens. Gone is the Yellowstone drive thru.
During a Sunday conversation a ride idea was mentioned: Wheeler Gulch. I drove out to TH. Did I say that it’s either up or down? Another big hump to climb up to the end of the route. Garmin Edge does not record speed below an almost walking speed compared to backcountry navigator which recorded miles climbing 2009′. Took 1 hr 26 mins but only 42 jarring minutes down. Ride topped out at 7700′.
Understory plants are showing fall colors. Very pretty and pleasant. Being in the bigger mountains.
Spending a city camping night in Bozeman. Tomorrow off to Billings then will drive down to Red Lodge. Maybe a rest day. Bozeman elevation is roughly 5,000′
My drive train is a 1X11 with a 11-46T cassette and a 32T oval chain ring. I am using the granny more which lessens the climb hurt. These climbs are still a hump. Friend Steve just moved to a 50T cassette. Maybe. Again, the Edge seems to not gather ride data under min speed. Afraid that a 50T would record even lesser ride data. But maybe my body would appreciate the next closest comfort short of an Ebike?