Ridge of the Rockies - Seeley Lake to Kalispell MT

Our final day for this tour - 93 miles from Seeley Lake to Kalispell.  It was cold and clear this morning, and myself and about a dozen other riders had to ride a mile and a half from our motel to the "main" motel at 6:15.  Temperature was around 34 degrees F.  Fortunately the wind was not up.  After a parking lot breakfast and group photo, we rolled out a little after 7.  By then the temperature had dropped 3 degrees.  I had arm and leg warmers, a vest, and some lobster claw gloves, but it was not fun for the first 25 miles.  The tall pine trees ensured we were in the shade, and when the sun's rays finally hit the pavement it was a welcome sight.

I had ridden in this part of Montana 40 years ago as a participant in the Tour of the Swan River Valley (also known as TOSRV West).  It is a beautiful area, but we did have to be on the alert due to a fair amount of traffic on the two lane highways.  On a couple of occasions an oncoming vehicle came over into our lane to pass, but there was enough room on the shoulder for us.  If it had been a logging truck we would have had to bail out and get on the weeds.

Flathead Lake is a great place for summer recreation.  On another occasion (Sept 1972) I rode in a bike race that started at the southern end (Polson) and went all the way around this lake to finish in Polson.

Riders were disassembling their bikes and packing them in the motel parking lot when Jack and I arrived.  PAC Tour provides a banquet at the end of the tour, along with a slide show.  It's been another great tour.

Group photo before starting on our final day.  Most of us were shivering!

Ridge of the Rockies - MIssoula to Seeley Lake MT

A short 54 mile ride today meant a leisurely breakfast (in restaurant attached to the hotel), and departure at 9:15.  We had a pretty brisk pace out of Missoula along MT 200 (using the shoulder), and no major climbs, just some moderately rolling terrain.

After the second rest stop at mile 39, we turned on MT 83 for the final 15 miles, and things got more difficult.  The headwind/crosswind reduced my speed to about 9 mph, and it was difficult to keep going in a straight line.  Road construction slowed us down somewhat, and although we had a brief 15 minute respite from following traffic (only one lane of vehicles were allowed through the construction site at a time), once the new cluster of 50 or so vehicles caught up, things were not pleasant.  Thankfully we made it through unscathed.

Views along Salmon Lake were gorgeous.  Seeley Lake is a small community nestled in the Lolo National Forest in western Montana.  Tomorrow will conclude this journey.  We have been blessed and impressed with God's creation.

Enjoying PAC Tour lunch at the end of today's ride in Seeley Lake

Lunch crew cleaning up

My grandfather had a '52 Chevy like this one except it was dark green

PAC Tour info board, updated each afternoon

Ridge of the Rockies - Butte to Missoula MT

Today's 135 mile route with about 3,000 feet of climbing featured more wonderful scenery, including Georgetown Lake and the Deerlodge National Forest.  I rode this route three years ago from west to east, and it was easier going this time (east to west), with the steeper hills in our favor (fast downhills instead of slow slogs uphill).

This was our last really long day of the tour, although there is some more climbing tomorrow.

A cloud cover provided a nice relief, as temperatures got into the low 90s.

Riding ranged from several miles on the shoulder of I-90 to quiet frontage roads and paved bike trails.

Georgetown Lake

Clark Fork River

We were advised ahead of time to just proceed and walk around the rock slide

There was a narrow path on the outside of the rock slide, but it still required carrying your bike and carefully navigating around rocks

Ridge of the Rockies - Ennis MT to Butte MT

The route from Ennis MT to Butte MT covered 87 miles and about 4500 feet of climbing.  We had a long climb this morning that started within a couple miles of leaving Ennis in cool temperatures (low 50s F).  This climb went on for about 10 miles, and about halfway up I had to stop to shed my arm warmers and vest.

A very fast downhill brought us to the historical community of Virginia City, and then to the first rest stop.  After refueling, I left on my own and made pretty good time trying to stay ahead of the three Aussies in the tour.  After about 10 miles I saw a lone rider closing on me, and it turned out to be Lon.  He drafted behind me until we caught up with Doug.  I thought I was doing ok to be pulling at 17 - 18 mph, but after catching Doug, Lon went to the front and proceeded to pull us at 21 - 23 mph for the next 8 miles, into the second rest stop.

The little settlement of Silver Star featured some large antique wheels along the road.  The lunch trailer was 15 miles further, and after lunch we had another long climb up Pipestone Pass to cross the Continental Divide.  A fast twisty descent and a few miles of flat to slightly rolling terrain brought us to Butte.

Another beautiful day on the tour!

That's me climbing the long grade (MT 287) from Ennis MT

Morning cloud formations

The Big Sky Country

Virginia City MT

Virginia City

Virginia City

Old wheels in Silver Star MT

Climbing up Pipestone Pass after lunch

Ridge of the Rockies - W Yellowstone to Ennis MT

We are in Montana now - home of huckleberries and the big sky.  Continuing to be blessed with great weather, the tour took us from West Yellowstone to the little town of Ennis MT, where our accommodations are small cabins.

The route was relatively short - 71 miles, with about 3,000 feet of climbing.  This is about the same as the training ride I go on the most frequently, except the training ride has many more turns and a lot of short climbs instead of long gradual ascents.

A good part of the route goes along the shore of Quake Lake.  This lake was formed by a massive landslide caused by an earthquake in August 1959.  The Madison River was blocked by the slide and 28 people lost their lives.  The Army Corps of Engineers worked to create a spillway for the dam.

The course followed US 287, so navigation was pretty straightforward.  We did have some crosswinds and headwinds to deal with, but more annoying was trying to ride on a strip of pavement about 4 inches wide (what was left after the rumble strip was added to the shoulder).

Quake Lake

Quake Lake

US 287 going toward Ennis

Jack climbing a grade

This part of the shoulder of US 287 isn't bad, but imagine that pavement to the right of the rumble strip being about half as wide, and that is what we had for the last 15 miles

Ridge of the Rockies - West Yellowstone Rest Day

No riding today - the only rest day of the tour.  It was a beautiful day in West Yellowstone, so after getting caught up on laundry, Retta and I headed to Yellowstone National Park.  Traffic into the park was heavy as to be expected on a sunny July day.  Once we got into the correct lane (pre-paid passes), we moved along and were soon on the main road to Old Faithful Geyser.

Along the way to Old Faithful, traffic had stopped in order for visitors to look at a couple of bison among the trees.  Plenty of signs were posted to the effect that no stopping along the roadway is allowed, but people tend to ignore regulations when intent on seeing something new and strange.  Retta did get a picture of part of the bison as we passed.

We were fortunate to arrive at the Old Faithful site about 15 minutes before the next expected eruption.  Eruptions are generally 60 - 90 minutes apart.  The geyser only delayed an additional 10 minutes before blowing.

There is a lot more to Yellowstone Park than Old Faithful, but we didn't want to spend most of the day driving through the park, so returned the way we came to West Yellowstone MT.  Our little excursion still took about 4 hours overall.

For a fitting end to the day, we had a dinner of bison steak (Retta) and a bison burger (me).

Bison in the woods

Madison River in Yellowstone

Some of the crowd waiting for Old Faithful

Starting to release some water

More steam and water

Full steam.  The performance might have lasted a minute or two.

Blue diamond spring pool