Day 9 - Butte MT to Bozeman MT, 101 miles, 3200' cumulative climbing

Today is Continental Divide day!  That's the point at which water drains down one side of a mountain toward the Pacific, and the other side toward the Atlantic.  It's odd to think of water from the state of Montana finding its way to the Atlantic, but if you track it to the Missouri River, down to the Mississippi River, on to the Gulf of Mexico, and voila! You're swimming in the Atlantic before you know it.
After breakfast we only had a few miles to go to reach the summit of Pipeline Pass, our Divide crossing point, since Butte sits at about 5500' and we were only going up to 6418' at the top.   

 

Standing on the Continental Divide at Pipeline Pass - no sign to
mark the spot but there I am

Once again today we were graced with good clear skies and warm weather.  Neither yesterday nor today did we need to worry about big temperature changes at the tops of our climbs, like we had last Tuesday in the rainstorm.  Not having to carry extra gear makes the task easier when going up grades that exceed 8% in many spots.  The downhill run after the early morning peak was exhilarating, running on for nearly 30 miles including through an old mining town named Anaconda.  Who came up with that for a town name?

Riding to Bozeman was incredibly pretty once again.  And unlike yesterday we finished up earlier and had more time to take care of the end-of-ride chores that are so important to keep everything in good working order.  My new bottom bracket seems to be working just fine, but cleaning the drive train, washing the bike, relubing the drive train, and so forth are daily requirements.  When you're hot and tired it's tempting to let some small tasks slide, but you'll pay for it eventually on the side of the road, right where you don't want to be stuck!

Lunch stop on the Madison River

A good moderate ride day that continues to help improve our pack riding skills and overall endurance.  Because we are not finished with the mountains just yet, and when we approach the plains states we'll need the endurance for longer mileage days.

Michelle at lunch

Gerry and Cliff