Saturday, 14 July 2012
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Well its proving harder to get to Yellowstone than I thought. The intense heat is stopping me riding except in early hours or in the evenings...which conflicts with getting a camp site and eating etc..so I'm. Eating main meal at lunchtime and trying to sleep.....but the biggest danger here tonight is not bears or rattlesnakes or truck drivers..or the heat..but country and western music blasted across campsites all bloody night long! Seems the local pastime here is getting drunk in a cowboy hat and listening to really bad country music all night before trying to remember how to drive a big truck through an alcoholic haze. Erg cowboys lol!
Well here I am in west Yellowstone after a mere 60 miles ..but they were tough miles. I was very tired because of the country music dorks last night. The head wind I have been riding against for several days continued and it was hot, although not as hot as yesterday. I got a huge hungar attack during the ride and eventually found a burger wagon at the side of the road and devoured a huge cheeseburger. I fell asleep on a bench outside quake lake info centre much to the amusement of the lady ranger. Just as I got to west Yellowstone the heavens opened just while I was trying to find a place to sleep. The town is a tourist trap and I advise cyclists to avoid it. I finally got a motel room for $80 which is a rip off but the previous five I asked all wanted well over a hundred! I was to tired to ride the twenty miles to the next campsite and wild camping here is a big no no. The entire place is geared for the r v driveres. Whilst looking for a room in the rain I hit a stupid high kerb and Shinto made a horrid noise...the front mudguard conections snapped right off and the computer sensor broke off. Crap. Finally I found a room and have managed to patch Shinto up myself. Tonight I have the tv on...although the old bat on reception said the room had WiFi its to far from the router and the signal is useless. I'm not fussed and to tired to go out again now. I'll sort it in the morning. Tonight is about sleep...in a bug free zone!! :).
I'm hoping the headwind will stop..its really been a feature of Montana so far. I have the most amazing cyclists suntan ever ha ha!
I plan to check out the town in the morning and take a short 20mile ride to the next camp site...that way I get to rest..wash..shop..eat..as my body is telling me it needs a pitstop.
I met to cyclists today riding east west..both were looking really exhausted and were asking about what they had ahead...I told them all the women in idaho and Oregon were big on cyclists and the beer was free to transammers...lol!
Quake lake
Here i am hiding from the mi day sub at quale Lake montana just a few Miles from west Yellowstone. The Lake was a river until an earthquake changed it to a Lake in the 50's. The ride from camp last night was against headwinds again and after Two hours sleep last night my legs felt like jelly for the first time this trip. The visitor centre here is full of loud fat people from r v 's complai.ing how tired they are because of the heat. I'm looki.g forward to Yellowstone park over the next few days. Looks beautiful and hilly lol!
Monday, 9 July 2012
After a seriously hot climb out of Virginia city..a real frontier town if ever I saw one...this is my reward at the top. The downhill run into Ennis was amazing. I videos the less steep decent and will get it on facebook asap. Had to stop filming on steep bits as I needed both hands on the brakes lol!
http://youtu.be/rusUk0oQxII
Well its bloody hot outside and I rode 25 miles to the bottom of the pass I have to climb on a minute..erm so I've taken an early lunch stop on Virginia and nevada cities for ice cream! These are old cowboy gold mining cities of about ten houses each! Yes haw..hot diggady dash..there's gold in dem dare hills!
Shinto at the bike camp here in twin bridges this morning next to the river bank. The camp is free to touring cyclists and there is a donation box. There is a communal dining room bar b que hot shower wash room and camp ground. The UK should have facilities like this. Looks like the organized supported tour is going my way...hmmm..think ill take my time and let them get ahead..don't fancy another night of listening to teenage giggling all night !
Ok it looks like its going to be another hot day on the road and I have an 8000ft pass to climb..aiming to be on west Yellowstone tomorrow night here.
In twin bridges tonight in Montana. There is a bike tourer faculty here with all a bike camper needs including hot shower! I thought I had it all to myself as well until an entire gang of kids riding with a full support crew turned up . Was goi.g to sleep inside the hut but looks like the tent will be needed if I'm to get any peace.
I'm just fully realizing the extent to which the bugs got me. I sprayed bug spray all over me but forgot my rear end...so the buggy bastards attacked in strength there while I was riding...ouch.
Montana has been less Inspiring than Oregon or idaho. It's a beautiful state if you like big skies and huge landscapes though. The car drivers here are less carefull and pass very close and to fast mostly. They don't seem to understand the word...slow the hell down and pass wide! Seriously they seem to think that a bike has no place on the road and god forbid they should have to exercise their hand and pull out left even just a little...the same people however are your best friend in the supermarket queue.
I rode 76miles today over two passes and on top of yesterdays exertions I am tired. Tomorrow there is another pass to deal with and then I should be I'm Yellowstone on a few days. I've been reading about camping there and it all seems very regimented and expensive. There are lots of rules and advice to avoid any bear encounters so best I listen eh!
This mornings waterless ride taught me one thing...never leave town without a fully charged set of 4 bottles...oops!
I'm still finding that there is usually no phone signal between towns out here. Same with WiFi. So what I do is type up the blog e mails when I can and upload th when I have WiFi.
So many things happen each day that it'd hard to relate it all. Like yesterday I met a cyclist from Denver who went to Sussex university and at the big hole battlefield o met a guy who had worked in Worthing for 4 years...small world eh!
So the bike tour of 25 arrived ...one of them told me " well I didn't ride today but some of us are so awesome and rode nearly 50 miles today"...yep awesome...and the support truck even managed to keep up...ooops..lol!
I just don't like braggers...anyway no problem at least they are cycling and having fun.
I have just realized I am missing the Olympics...such a shame lol!
Sunday, 8 July 2012
The ride from jackson to Dillon was tough. No water hot and a strong headwind. I made it to McDonalds in Dillon and didn't die of thirst afterall.
This part of Montana is tough cycling..today I rode over two high passes to get out of the big hole and much of the ride was about thirst and wind insstead of the scenery. It had its moments. Though. I dontike dillon so I'm going to push on to twin bridges this afternoon.
As I took this shot an elderly lady asked me if I wanted to be locked up in jail...apparently they do it for kids and wannabe outlaw accountants etc. But what I really wanted to do was lock up the low life who threw a beer bottle out of the car window at me as they passed to close and to fast . It happens a lot in the UK so it didn't bother me..in every barrel of apples there can be one rotten one. The road out of Missoula is a fast busy road and it seems Montana drivers are less considerate than Oregon or idaho. I had a good ride though...80 miles in hot sunshine with one hot summer downpour to cool me down. My legs took hours to loosen up this morning but by the afternoon I was rolling! I stopped to help a young guy who has his bike upsidedown . His rear wheel was buckled and needed a bike shop wheel true. He was 50 miles out of missoulla hungry and had no clue what to do. I couldn't fix it but loosening his rear brake at least got him moving a bit. I gave him some biscuits and fruit and he said he would hitch a ride to a bike shop. I couldnr do anymore to help. I'm in my tent next to the bitterroot river just outside sula.
Leaving missoulla is a tough one as I've enjoyed my two days here a lot. I've met wonderfull people and had a great time. The city is very bike friendly and getting to meet the guys at the aca has been amazing. I could do with about a weeks solid sleep but I'd miss all the fun!
So for me its time to head out to the pass quite literally as chief Joseph pass awaits me soon..then the big hole and onto Yellowstone in a week approx.
A huge thanks go to the Sullivan family for being so hospitable and for a wonderful evening last night. David and anders I wish you happy trails and tailwinds...it was cool to meet you all. The adventure cycling association is such a cool thing. I encourage anybody thinking of riding in america to make contact with them on the website!
So...time for this wandering rider to saddle up and ride out of town onto the adventures that await me on the road...now where is my cowboy hat? Lol!
This morning I popped back over to the aca office to pick up a high vis triangle for the busy highway to come as I ride out of Missoula. There was a local radio station there doing an on site broadcast and they saw I was from England and on a loaded touring bike and a few minutes later they had me on air being interviews about my trip etc. The station was trail 103.3 and they said the show was streaming online as well. So..after that I rode to Hamilton and in a gas station on the way I met chuck...chuck is in the band northern lights with rick who I met in the bar two nights ago. Rick was the drummer in spinal tap ! The funniest film ever made :)
Todays ride was all about big climbs , bugs, Indian battlefields, more bugs, then the headwind from hell in the big hole, Thunderstorms, intense heat, rain, dust and then I met up with anthony again in jackson suffering with exhaustion . He was the guy with the broken wheel yesterday. He'd been through the same hellish ride I had from wisdom to Jackson on a crappy mtb no food or water or money. I was really worried he could die out here and there is another big climb to get out of the big hole tomorrow. I bought him a drink gave him Ice creAM BREAd peanut butter jelly and chips at least he'd have half a chance. Earlier I had stopped at the battlefield at big hole where I think the local indian tribe the nez perce got wiped out by the us army. The chief Joseph pass was easier than I thought so I must be getting fitter..as this was over 7000ft and its the first of two continental divides I must cross. As soon as I got over the pass and into the area called big hole I was eaten by bugs. Big hole is a huge crater like areA surrounded by mountIns 360 degrees. In the hole its just one huge swamp and the bugs are everywhere. They should call it bug hole not big hole. As I type there is a big thunderstorm going on. I just got my tent up in time. I am pitched on the school basketball pitch in Jackson montana. The lady at the local store said it was ok and nobody would mind.
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