Tag: GDMBR

Southwest Montana

More highlights from the GDMBR in southwest Montana…

These next 4 shots show a 10 mile downhill towards I-15 from Butte…
…as I raced down this section…
…to beat out the incoming…
…thunderstorm. I still got wet.
South of Wise River.
A storm came through as I neared the top of this steep climb near Bannock Road…
…and quickly passed through.
~7200 ft elevation at the top.
Morning after descending from Bannock…a cattle drive came by as I was breaking down camp. One of the cowboys said they’ll need an hour to get the cattle to their pen, so take your time packing up.
Big Sheep Creek southern entrance outside Lima…also popular for birders and fly fishing.
Centennial Valley east of Lima
Centennial Valley — that’s a Golden Eagle on the telephone pole.
Centennial Valley cattle gate – I ate lunch here.
Montana was long and hard, I was glad to be done.

Idaho part II was a quick 1 day scoot, then I was into Wyoming.

Wyoming

Northwest Wyoming
Morning shadows along the Rockefeller Memorial Parkway
East view of the Tetons
The bike insisted on this photo op…
…even tho the rear drying rack was full.
Pedaled up most of this…
…and the downhill reward was underwhelming…neither long or steep enough. Phhfft.
And immediately start another climb…this leads up to Union Pass
This section was brutally tough — 100 yards of huff and puff and pushing the bike up two feet at a time…
…and this was the payoff. Lovely high ranch land plateau at 9000ft..
…with more incline.
And finally descending into Pinedale a day later. “All the civilization you need.”
Artist mural at the Pinedale Post Office, where I picked up a resupply box.
Then cycled down to…
…Atlantic City. Population: “about 57”. Certainly not the Altantic City I grew up with.
Then it was time to cross the Great Divide Basin, along a 96 mile route with little water. So I camped at the…
…Diagnus Well for the first night to load up…
…and added to the roadside cairns for easier spotting from the road.
The trail used old wagon tracks through the basin…
…that sometimes turn into roads…
…that drift into hillside ridgelines…
…sometimes accompanied by wild horses…
…and dusty construction traffic. So not fun around Wamsutter.
Wyoming finally ended with steep inclines…
…and a brief sign off.

Colorado

Quickly landed at Brush Mountain Lodge, hosted by the wonderful Kristin, where I took a much needed rest day…
…visited my namesake town and the local Walmart…
…to help Kristin stock up on supplies.
If you’re riding the GDMBR…stay on the ACA route, don’t take the alternate, stop at the Lodge and be human again.
Sun gear attire #1: OR bucket hat, Patagonia Capilene Cool Trail shirt, Buff UV arm sleeves, Pearl Izumi gloves, Zoic Ether shorts.
On the way to Steamboat through the Routt National Forest
Is it the forest or the trees?
Little Piece of Heaven Ranch
Boreas Pass outside Breckenridge – it’s the second highest pass on the route at 11,482 feet
Rode the Como to Hartsel section through heavy rain, and the road was covered in freshly applied Magnesium Chloride…needed to power wash the yuck off in Salida…
…as well as the bike.
Shout out to Subculture Cyclery in Salida for a fantastic shop: bike wash, chain swap, and the bathroom converts into a shower!
Two thumbs up for the Simple Lodge & Hostel in Salida
Wild goats on the way up Marshall Pass. They were obsessed with a 4 inch hole in the ground, and ignored me as I rode past on the left.
Shout out to Susie, a CDT trail angel who greeted me at the top of Marshall Pass in her decked out jeep with fried chicken and a drink. Thank you Susie!
Riding south from Doyleville, just east of Gunnison. There’s a rider on the far slope for scale comparison, hard to see at this resolution.
Northern section of the La Garita Wilderness, heading south to Del Norte
I ate lunch here. La Garita Wilderness, just south of SR 114.
The view from Indiana Pass, elevation 11,910ft and the highest location along the entire trip. Bummed that the location doesn’t have sign for a merit badge photo after a 25 mile uphill climb. Yeah…TWENTY FIVE MILES OF CLIMBING. The downhill was…just okay.
2019 Tour Divide racers who stopped in the café at Platoro.
Prime fly fishing south of Platoro
Reminds me of the Edward Abbey quote:
“May your trails be crooked, winding, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.”
Final climb in Colorado

New Mexico

New Mexico greeted me with a thunderstorm 2 minutes after I snapped this.
Mamacita’s in Abiquiu…
…best pizza in the state…so true. Thank you Marta!
Busted Knuckle Garage at Mamacita’s
New Mexico roads can sometimes be unfriendly to cyclists – no shoulder, lots of sand and weeds, RVs and trucks whizzing past at 70 mph. And every state, including NM, has it’s share of pickup drivers who liked to roll coal at cyclists.
Morning rollers into Chaco…
…lead to afternoon rains…
…before bunking down for the night at the Trading Post (two thumbs up to Dennis and his staff…thank you!).
Pavement route to Grants…long, warm, and …
…good visibility…
…before touchdown on Route 66.
Rattlesnake sunning on the road in the El Malpais National Monument
First signage of Pie Town…
…but first…
…there is some work…
…to do…

…before running into Brad and his wife who treated me to a Coconut Crème slice on their day off as they headed to town for supplies. Fantastic!
Can’t miss their sign. As well as the enormous cell phone tower to finally get a signal.
Gathering Place was open during my stay…
…this is the Black-and Blue pie with vanilla on top. Yum.
Stayed at the infamous Toaster House…
…hosting a wall full of CDT treads…
…robust kitchen…
…and now a fantastic bike stand in memory of a biker who passed away with cancer. One of the best bike stands I’ve used…thank you all who contributed!

Finale

Now out of the mountains, the terrain shifts to desert and the road follows the continental divide for a few miles south of Silver City.
Big skies, long roads approaching the border
65 miles to go…
…past the rest stop…
…45 miles…
…dung beetle working the street…
…final mile…
…closer…
…closer…
…touchdown.

Antelope Wells is a ‘no drama’ border crossing: no wall, no lines, no nearby towns, only 1 resident (who invited me over for a celebratory beer). Border security presence is evident by patrols on road, scrub, and air, as illegal crossing attempts happen even in this remote area. Apparently smugglers have tried to pose as Divide riders, they plant bike caches in the scrub…just cheapo Walmart bikes spray painted black…to be picked up after a crossing and they ride as ‘thru-bikers’. Border patrol is totally on to them.

Achievement unlocked: Seattle – Missoula – Antelope Wells.