A View From Two Wheels

Tag: kitsbow

Day 14: Grasshopper to Lima

January 21st, 2015

After a good nights rest, we powered up in the morning with a hot breakfast of oats, nutella, and pb. We probably threw pop-tarts in the mix for good measure since we knew today was going to be a long one. We set off, continuing down the second half of the descent we had started the night before. It was fast and fun. After bottoming out, and sending off a package at the post office in Polaris, MT, we continued on paved roads. About 40 miles in, we turned onto a gravel road, The Big Sheep Creek Back Country Byway, where we almost immediately encountered a headwind. The road was decent, but it was a slog, slowly leading us through remote wilderness where we gained elevation for the next 25 miles. It didn’t help that this was the first hot day of the trip and there was no shade to be found. We pushed on, cursing the headwind and finally, after a short steep climb, we crested the Medicine Lodge – Big Sheep Creek Divide. We stopped for lunch and after talking to a hunter, began the descent. Having said some pretty awful things about the wind all day, we were forced to eat crow (in the best way possible) as the wind shifted and became a tailwind. We were now cruising, averaging well over 20mph for the next hour or so. The road followed down a narrow canyon with epic rock outcroppings. As the sun began to set, we could see the lights of Lima in the distance. We took a right turn onto a dirt frontage road and right into a slight headwind. The next hour was a slow grind and we eventually entered into town, found a cafe just before close, and chowed on delicious Bacon Cheeseburgers. We then rolled across the street and set up camp behind a motel. Sleep came pretty easy that night.
Day 11: Helena to Mormon Gulch Campsite

November 15th, 2014

Today was tough. Much tougher than we expected. As soon as we began, it was all uphill. Our elevation began at 4200 feet and we didn’t stop climbing until 28 miles and 3100 feet later. By far, this was one of the hardest climbs we encountered up to this point on the route. The riding was bearable, the grade wasn’t too bad and there was even the first ever GDMBR Pinecone Homerun Derby. It wasn’t until the last 2 miles where things got tough. We turned off the main road and onto an atv section that was super rocky, rough and steep. We had to walk/push our bikes through most of it. It was very slow going and we lost a lot of time. Finally, we made it over the top and were met with an equally steep and rocky descent. Once we navigated our way down and made it to better roads, we chased the fading sun, just barely making it to a campsite before nightfall. We ate our food, drank whiskey, and crashed.
Day 4: Pollock Creek to Eureka, MT

October 13th, 2014

Today was intense. We left camp at 9:30am and arrived in Eureka after 10pm. We did about 90 miles and 7k elevation. We started with a big pass called Cabin Pass that was 12 miles long. After the climb we gradually dropped down into the wigwam valley, the clouds cleared and we stopped to eat lunch and shed our layers. We continued on, slowly gaining elevation, until we reached the turn off to the infamous hike-a-bike. After some rugged singletrack, we saw the wall ahead of us. A nearly vertical wall of mud, rocks, and roots .25 miles long. We slowly made our way up, pushing our bikes inch by inch. We finally made it to the top, expending way too much time and energy. We took a breather and then continued the climb up Galton Pass a 7 mile climb that gained close to 2000 feet. After cresting the summit, it was a gnarly descent that dropped 3500ft in less than 9 miles. We made our way to the border and camped the night in Eureka, MT.