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Day 05 - Section 0B/1A - U.S.
Montana
7/30/06
Elko, BC 76m to EOS 111m to Grave Creek, MT
23m = 58 miles
Back in the USA
I woke up at 6am to a light rain. After
breakfast, I broke camp and was on the road by 7am. By
10am, the head winds picked up and they
were very difficult to ride into.
Most of today's ride was paved. That was a blessing
considering my knees problems. Over
the course of the day I took three 800mg of Ibuprofen to
fend off my knee pain. The trail portion was excessively
wash boarded and very dusty. Again, rear tire traction
was a big problem.
The day was very breezy, gusty at times, and that
made it hard to maintain a simple 5mph pace. Sometimes
riding downhill required pedaling and felt like I was
riding uphill. The noontime temperature was about 90
degrees.
My surroundings were open brown grassy areas with a
scattering of oak tree groves. I felt like I was riding in
Napa, California.
I made it to the US border at Roosville,
MT by noon. I felt very
thankful and relieved that I had made it this far. I
was/am wondering about my ability to finish. I have read
in many journals that the first two weeks are the
toughest both physically and mentally. The mental part I am
dealing with great, but the physical part is were I am
struggling.
I had lunch in Eureka, MT, a typical
small town with a few restaurants and a mini grocery
store. I made it to
the Grave Creek campsite by 9pm. I
stopped here because the next portion of the ride will
be my biggest hill climb since starting the ride and I
want to be fully rested for the climb. The campsite had
a very eerie feeling and the vegetation is old and
thick. Next to me were some campers from Missoula, MT
and they invited me over. I accepted and they fed me a
ton of BBQ chicken. Their generosity and openness was
very welcoming.
Day 06 - Section 1A - Montana
7/31/06
Grave Creek, MT 23m to Red Meadow
Lake, MT 72m = 49 miles
Mathew Lee’s Cinnamon Roll
 This morning's
ride begun with an easy, but long climb on a paved road
up to the Whitefish Divide. I reach the divide by noon. The downhill
portion was on dirt and it was very rough with big ruts. The trail
consisted of loose gravel and lots of softball sized boulders. Although
the scenery was amazing, I was miserable because my
knees were in a lot of pain.
At a small cabin on the Eastern side of
the Whitefish Divide, that some GDMBR's camp at, I met,
Josetxu, from Spain. He is my first GDMBR rider encounter
and he is soloing the Great Divide Route from South to
North and is almost done.
 Late in the afternoon, on a never ending stretch of severely
wash boarded road, I was hungry, physically
exhausted, and mentally depleted. Then a car pulls up a long
side and this guy yells out the window, “Are you doing
the Great Divide Route?” I said “Yes.” He said,
“Dude you are the man! I can’t believe you are doing
this on a full rigid bike!” That same thought had
already run through my mind a hundred times. They pulled
over and we talked for about an hour. The passenger
was Mathew Lee, a two time wining Great Divide racer,
and the driver was Aaron Teasdale, the editor for Adventure Cycling.
Mathew offered me a huge cinnamon roll and, without
hesitation, I accepted. That was the best cinnamon roll
I have ever had! It was exactly what I needed,
carbohydrates!
Mathew and Aaron were really intrigued
that someone would try this on a vintage classic. Mathew
told me the next two days were going to be really rough.
An hour after eating that cinnamon roll, my energy level
bounced back and I was off to Red Meadow Lake. Mathew told me
there have been a number of grizzly sightings in the
area so I should make a lot of noise when riding in
dense cover.
It was getting dark and the trail had dense forest
cover on both sides. As darkness closed in, I started to feel
very uncomfortable, especially with the thought of
recent bear sightings in the area. I never never seen real
bear.
It was dark when I made it to Red Meadow
Lake campground. I set up camp, had dinner, and went to bed.
Day 7 Section 1A - Montana
08/01/06
Red Meadow Lake, MT 72m to Tom & Patty
Arnone 121m = 49 miles
Kept Going and Going and Going
 Last
night I herd a really big animal come into camp and
sniff my tent. I think it was a grizzly but it could
have been a moose. For all I know it could have been a
dinosaur! It definitely was not a deer. When I herd it I
just froze, unable to do anything except listen. After a
few minutes it walked away. Despite my close encounter I
still managed to go back to sleep.
 That
is how tired I was!
This morning was freezing cold. My water
bottles were slushy with ice. After eating a double
serving of Cream of Wheat with banana for breakfast I
broke camp and hit the
trail.
Today's goal was to reach Whitefish, MT, only a 30 mile ride. Whitefish,
MT turned out to be an upscale fly fishing resort town
packed with people, so I
pushed on a few more miles and road into Columbia Falls.
While in Columbia Falls, I could not
find any vacancies. So I pushed on, not sure were I was
going to sleep. Being uncertain was a little nerve
racking, but I am growing more
comfortable with being uncertain. Its part of the
adventure.
Evening was approaching quickly and I had
not yet found a
place to stay. Out of nowhere, on the other side of the road,
coming towards me, is another mountain biker. It was
Mathew Lee, whom I met a few days ago! We stopped and he was starving for
anything edible. I was thrilled that I could return his
generosity, so I gave
him some fresh fruit.
Matt told me that ¼ mile up
the road was Tom and Patty Arnone’s home and they host
Great Divide bicyclist regularly. A few minutes before I ran in to
Matt, I prayed that God would take care of my camp
situation and this was an amazing answer to prayer. What
were the chances of running into Matt again, and a ¼
mile from a great place to stay?
I road to the Arnone’s place and they let me stay in their front yard. Their
hospitality gave me a real welcoming feeling that lifted
my spirits. I am constantly being surprised by how
friendly people are in this part of the country. It is
such a contrast from where I live in Southern California that I don't want to go back. The people here
are a lot more focused on values and relationships. I am
experiencing a big culture shock and I like it!
Tonight I was able to call my wife, and
I almost lost it on the phone. I really miss being with
her.
Day 08 - Section 1A - Montana
08/02/06
Tom and Patty’s 121m to Fatty Creek RD
Campsite on Swan River 164m = 43 miles
Creepy Campground
I had a wonderful night and felt great in the
morning. My spirits were lifted, I was feeling energetic
and ready to have a great day. I did laundry, had
breakfast, said goodbye, and hit the road. I was very
thankful to have met Tom and Patty. They are great
people.
 Part of today’s ride was paved and it involved some
climbing. Towards late afternoon I hit dirt again. The
pavement is great for my knee, but the scenery on the
off road sections was far more interesting to see. I
rode through some awesome single track in the Flathead
National Forest near Swan Lake. This single track was on
an abandoned dirt road and now
the only traffic it gets is from mountain bikers riding Great Dive Route.
It was getting dark when I started to
look for a campsite. I was in the middle of a very
spooky section of the forest were the under brush was
very thick, dark, and full of hanging moss. I stopped at
the Fatty Creek designated camp site and with a quick
look around I said, “No Way!” It looked like something
out of a horror movie. I rode a 1/4 mile further down Fatty Creek Rd
to the Swan River were I found a much more cheerful site
and it had other GDMBR riders.
Aside from my knee pain, I have
noticed a big improvement in my fitness. I can ride
faster, go further, and I take fewer breaks. I have also
noticed that my confidence level is improving. I have
yet to regret any decision so far on this trip. I was told by someone that the
average person gets lost fourteen times on this trail.
So far, missing my wife is toughest part
to endure. Sometimes, I have to go days or a week before
I can call her. Most small towns do not have public
phones.
Day 09
- Section 1A - Montana
08/03/06
Fatty Creek RD Campsite on Swan River 164m
to Clearwater Lake 220m = 56 miles
New Friends
In the morning I met my camp neighbors, Peter and
Yoke from Holland. They left camp before I was
ready. Over the course of the day we passed each other
several times. They take a lot more breaks than I and they
ride at a much faster pace.
Peter and Yoke retired early in the afternoon and stayed at the Big
Neilson campground. I pushed on another 15 miles to
Clearwater Lake.
Today's ride was very difficult. The first half of
the ride was over heavily wash boarded roads and that
made the ride slow and very painful on my knees. By late
afternoon I hit a very long and difficult climb that
consisted of some awesome single track. The vegetation
on the single track portion was dense, lush, and closed
in. It was not a great place to be this late in the
afternoon because of bears. This area is known as
Grizzly Basin. The vegetation was waist high and the
trail was almost none existent. I could barely see the
trail and sometimes it disappeared altogether. I love this type of cover but under no bear
conditions. There is a reason why they call this Grizzly
Basin.
 I arrived at Clearwater Lake right at sunset and I
had the whole lake to myself. I set up camp, had dinner,
and got into my sleeping bag as quickly as possible. It
was getting really cold outside, maybe 35F degrees? I
look forward to this time of the evening because I get
to relax, eat, and reflect on what I experienced. It is a time to feel content
and praise God for creating such beauty.
 The lake is in a shallow valley surrounded by a thick
forest. I can hear a bear across the lake walking
around. The lake canyon is like a giant echo chamber and
I can hear every crunch of a leaf. I also hear lots of
raccoons or something about the same size as them close
by.
Everything that smells like food is bear
bagged in a tree.
Day 10 - Section 1A/1B - Montana
08/04/06
Clearwater Lake, MT 220m to EOS 245m to
Ovando, MT 26m = 51 miles
Richmond Peak and Grizzly Basin
  This morning was very peaceful and surreal. I was the
only person around. I could hear the birds singing and
the wind blowing through the trees.
Today's ride started with a
difficult .5 mile hike out of camp. Once on the main trail
it was up hill to Richmond Peak. As the afternoon progressed so
did the difficulty of the trail. I covered some of the
most amazing, difficult, and technical single track I have ever
ridden. Towards the top of the climb, the abandoned dirt road
turned into tight single track
and was heavily overgrown by tree's and vegetation.
 There were hundreds of 5’ to 12’-foot Douglas
fir trees growing in the middle of the trail. This
section is also known as “Christmas Tree Aisle.” There
were a lot a lot of fallen trees I had climbed under or
over. I would love to comeback and ride this section
again, but without my BOB trailer, and on a full
suspension bike. It is probably some of the most
beautiful single track I have ever ridden!
I encountered a landslide that took out 50 yards of
trail but it looked ok to cross. That is until I was
half way across and my BOB trailer started slide down
the hill. The trailer, still attached to my bike,
was at at right angle to my bike and pitched downward at 45 degrees. The
trailer was in a parked position which means it doesn't
want to move. I am now struggling with all my might to
go forward. I couldn't readjust my hand position or try
a different method because if I let go, everything would
fall 50 feet to the bottom of the canyon. I was doing everything I could just
to keep from losing everything down the hill. After a
tiring half an hour I finally made it across.
 The downhill portion was impressively rough. This
section is known to be the most technical and the
roughest section on the whole ride. It required careful
navigation at a very slow speed. The trail consisted of
super sharp rocks that could easily cut open a tire. I had a hard time
steering because the BOB trailer makes the front of the
bike very light. The steepness of the trail along with
the rocks also made it somewhat precarious.
The rest of the trail wound through 30 miles of
beautiful hills. By late afternoon I
pulled into the tiny town of Ovando, MT and decided to
spend the night.
Ovando has a population of less than 100, a
simple service convenience store, a post office,
and a café.
Day 11 - Section 1B - Montana
08/05/06
Ovando, MT 26m to Lincoln MT 62m = 36 miles
Johnny Cash and Bob Seger Country
 I left Ovando after a hearty breakfast of blueberry
pancakes and coffee with the town's mayor. A few miles down highway 200, I met up with Peter and
Yoke. It is amazing how we keep meeting up with each other.
It is either them catching up with me or I catching up
with them.
The route turned off of Highway 200 on to a washboard dirt road. I tried to
 keep up with
them, but the washboard was proving too much for my knees and I had to ride much slower. They
to were struggling with the roughness of the road, but their front
suspension helped eliminate a lot of the shock and made
them more efficient riders. Being able to watch
them endure the same road as I and seeing how their bodies
reacted on a suspension bike proved to me that I really
 need a different bike.
If I have any chance of finishing
the tour I will need a different bike.
It was mid afternoon when we parted ways. They
retired early at the Holland Lake Campground and I continued on towards
Lincoln, MT. As I started to ascend into the hills the
washboard disappeared and the route became increasingly
rocky. I looked back from Huckleberry Pass and could see
the dirt road I came in on from Ovando. (pictured on the
right side of the second photograph) I had rode a
long ways but looking back it didn't seem that far. On the final stretch into Lincoln the washboard
returned.
Tonight I am staying at the Three Bears Hotel in Lincoln,
MT. It is an older motel, recently remodeled, very
clean, and for $39 it was a great value.
The regular diner had closed
early for the night so I went next door to the Wagon Wheel Bar & Grill and
had a cheese burger and beer. There were five authentic cowboys
shooting pool and listening to Johnny Cash and Bob Seger.
I love Jonny Cash and Bob Seger so this was a nice way to end a long day of riding.
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