Today we rode from the 4th of July Campground, 12km after Wise River, Montana, US to an Informal Campground 35km after Grant, Montana, US. Sunny weather with no clouds. Road conditions included a paved road section and gravel sections. Highlights of the day include the scenery change from mountains/forests to hills/sagebrush.
Riding statistics: on Monday August 15, 2022, the 15th day on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route route, it took 09:59h (07:26h moving time), between 07:21 and 17:21, to cover 127 km (79 miles), including 1262 m (4141 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 17 km/h (11 mph). During today's ride the average temperature was 27 °C (84 °F) with a minimum of 2 °C (34 °F) and a maximum of 43 °C (116 °F).
Totals: So far, it took 4 days, 4 hours, 58 minutes and 57 seconds of cycling time to cover 1413 km (878 miles), including 18241 m (59849 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 14.3 km/h (8.9 mph).
Leaving the 4th of July campground
Similar to earlier days we had our alarms set to 6am. All five of us get up at that time. Earlier in the morning the temperature is much more easier to bike in than in the middle of the day with current warm temperatures. This morning it was could. We packed our gear, got our food, had breakfast, filled up our water bottles at the manual pump (so no filtering this morning), and we left. It was so cold that our hands could not get warm. We also rode in the shade of the mountains for an hour. Today was going to be a long section on paved roads. Fortunately most of it was a Scenic Byway and there was hardly any traffic.
Today’s pass
The pass we had to climb today was on the paved road section. So on one hand it made life easier, on the other hand, on paved roads your always in the same position which gets annoying in time. But, no complaints. Although some steeper sections it was quite easy compared to earlier passes that we had climbed. The downhill was also on paved roads, and that was of course big fun. No traffic, and a wide road in very good condition.
Lunch break
After today’s pass, the scenery changed from forest mountains and streams, to hills covered with only sagebrush and many cows. This meant that from 11am onwards it already got warmer, but there were also less streams. The streams that were available were all going through cow lands. Some looked even brown and dirty. So no water from those. Around 12:30 we had covered about 95km and arrived at Grants. Just an intersection of roads. But we did see a sign with camping, lodging, drinks, food, etc. So we gladly followed the directions. Unfortunately the establishment only opened at 5pm. We were so graving for a cold drink and something to eat. We did have food ourselves, but some lunch break made by someone else would have tasted much better. Fortunately there was a table and seats in the shadow so we sat down and ate our own food. Better than nothing, and we were out of the sun for a while. After about 30 minutes, Roger arrived as well and joined us.
Informal campground
During that lunch we decided to ride on and see if we can cover some more distance so that we can make it easier to Lima tomorrow. We left, unfortunately without too much water. Also the sun was very hot at that moment. We kept moving so that we had some kind of breeze, but I found it difficult after the break in the warm sun. After about 10km we found a stream that looked much better and we used it to fill up all out bottles and blatters. We standard filter the water from streams with my Sawyer Squeeze. We have used it a lot. But since we’re still in cow country, we decided to also use our tablets to neutralize anything that might have gone through the filter. Of course the water now tastes like a swimming pool, but at least it is a bit safer hopefully. We took a bit longer to filter, so Roger already moved on. We would see him later today or maybe tomorrow. After that short break my legs had no interest in moving anymore. So we decided to use the first informal campground which was still 15km away. Around 5pm we arrived at the campground. There was nothing, only a field of grass, fortunately a stream, and a fire ring made out of rocks. We pitched our tents and went in to rest and cool off. My tent has openings at both sides, so the light breeze could go through it which was nice to have. When we lay down in our tents for about 45 minutes, we heard bicycles. It were Tom and Debby, which also joined us in yesterday’s campsite, and on some earlier days. I ate a Red Rice with beans package (just add warm water), which I bought yesterday just to be sure, and it was not too bad. I helped Tom with some tire / sealant issue on their bikes. After that, we hung our food in almost the only tree nearby and went to bed. We were all tired of the long day.
Gallery
Mooi landschap zeg!