Tuesday was our last day in the flat land of Montana as we approached the Rockies 60 miles away (but visible). We left Cut Bank and were quickly met with the worst headwinds thus far. I struggled along with Kelsey behind Kevin and Nate. We took lots of breaks and finally came to lunch in a town on the Blackfeet reservation.
We were greeted at lunch by several dogs. One was a puppy, maybe a couple months old, and looked exactly like Marlow at home but with different coloring. She was so cute and sweet; I pet her for a long time.
After lunch we continued our struggle in the wind as we began to see a change in the terrain. The road began to curve and pine trees began to appear alongside of us. Soon enough we were climbing up and up, and the mountains were right there. It was pretty incredible. We ascended and descended for the next 20 miles before arriving at our destination. Along the way we saw a bunch of horses that weren't fenced in, so I assume they were mustangs.
I struggled a lot on the hills but it was worth it for our post-ride meal. Before heading to our campsite, Nate, Kevin, Debs, Erin, and I stopped for an early dinner. I had a bison burger with sweet potato fries and a slice of razzleberry pie for dessert. It was the best way to end the ride.
Upon our arrival at the campsite we watched an incredible change in the weather. Suddenly there were tremendous winds and dark storm clouds started pouring over the mountains. We threw up our tents and secured the rain flys as fast as we could. By the time the rain started we were safe inside.
We woke up yesterday to rain and wet tents and 40 degree weather. I bundled up in leg warmers, spandex, sweatpants, a long sleeve shirt, my jersey, a fleece, raincoat, and a wool hat. We eventually got the trailer packed and the tents put away and scarfed down a breakfast of bagels and yogurt. Despite the weather we ventured out to conquer the Going to the Sun road, 17 miles up and 33 miles down.
The rain had stopped finally when Kelsey, Nate, and I started out. The road was incredible and fairly flat for 10 miles as we biked along a lake. Within the first several miles we saw 3 elk cross 100 ft in front of us and run up the hill to join their herd. We even heard their call, a strange sound like a haunted house creaky door. Later we saw a bald eagle leave it's perch and soar down to the lake. It was awesome.
The mountains were superb, especially with the low lying clouds that filled the valleys. We stopped often to take pictures. Once the first climbing began we warmed up but we froze each time we stopped. At one point we stopped for a break at a bathroom and sat inside to refuel on some energy bars. The last 7 miles we took lots of breaks. Within the last 2 miles we became one with the clouds. It was mesmerizing; you couldn't see 100 ft ahead of you.
Finally we reached Logan's Pass at the Continental Divide, 6646 feet. We ran into the visitor's center for warmth, except as our sweat dried we stayed pretty cold. On the other side of the pass the clouds were parting and blue skies were showing through. It was 37 degrees up top so we were eager to descend. Descending is tough though because there is freezing air in your face and the roads are wet. We feathered our breaks and pedaled in a low gear to keep our legs warm. When we stopped I literally put my hands in my mouth to warm them.
The views were unreal and there was a rainbow. How perfect?! There was some road construction going on so traffic was held up for a while. One of the construction women gave us her car keys and let us warm up inside. It was so nice. We eventually were allowed to continue and we slowly made our way down the mountain. We had 12 miles of 7% grade. It felt pretty epic to ride the Going to the Sun road with the power of my own two legs. The final miles were along a river trough beautiful pine woods. It was incredible. I will definitely have to return someday to hike and camp and enjoy the mountains more.
(Today we had our final build day. It was right in view of beautiful mountains. We spent the day putting up second story floor trusses on a duplex. It was a typical build day with a great supervisor.)
Pics of Glacier to come!
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