Difficult, challenging, rewarding. That describes today’s ride. 126 miles with a bit over 5k feet of climbing. From 3 days ago beginning with the weather forecast in the Lolo Lodge area and continuing with the forecast from Helena to Bozeman, the weather prognosticators were mentioning the river of moisture descending on Montana. I can assure you, that’s one forecast they all got right.
I’m going to step back a moment to give thanks. Thanks to Coach Martin, Coach Van Hoose, Coach Powell, GySgt. Saveedra, Col. Horn, Major Damm, all the competitors I had the honor of competing against in a variety of sports over the years, all my cycling friends that still have that competitive glint in their eye…all of these individuals instilled in me a desire to give it my all. You see, in today’s conditions of rain, sleet, headwind, and temps in the high 40’s, I needed the inspiration from all noted above to go the distance. It was a tough day.
There were moments when the beauty of Montana’s rock canyons and racing rivers gave me a nice diversion from the stinging rain. The snow capped peaks of the Gallatin range were beautiful to behold. It was still a tough day, but I’m very pleased I had the opportunity to see those sights from the seat of a bike.
Tonight we’re in Bozeman, home of Montana State University, and the 4th largest city in Montana. It is touted as the ‘It’ city in Montana. I expect Missoula and Helena (and perhaps others..) might beg to differ. It does have a vibrant downtown, and with Big Sky and Bridger Bowl so close, along with numerous mountain biking trails to run and rivers to fish and paddle, it’s a sportsman’s paradise.
Tomorrow is another long day at 115 miles. It’ll be an exceedingly pleasant cruise for me, as Ben will be joining me for the ride.
Until tomorrow…
Cheers.
JK
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