Feeling hot, hot, hot!

Wicked Hard

Rooseville to Helena…check. Two weeks, 370miles, 33,000ft up and 32,000ft down. If you read my last post, you can delete it now. I was clueless. This is freaking hard. Bike packers are dialed in to this whole divide route. It turns out that less really is more, cold beans rule, energy bars are king and instant coffee always sucks. I have now gotten rid of everything I am willing to part with. Water and food weigh a lot, so I’m still learning to buy just what you need until the next store. No stock pilling. When road touring, I typically average 50- 70 miles a day. Not here. We are averaging about 30-40 a day.

Lodging

Riding is just one aspect of the ride. The other part is the sweet rewards. The prize or prizes at the end of the day. Jumping in a mountain lake to swim and cool off, rinsing off in a river, meeting other bikers and comparing notes, or just sleeping under a million stars sweetens the deal. One night, after a long, hard, hot day the campground was filled and the way out was back up a long hill. I was determined to make it work. I wasn’t going back up that hill. Then, out of nowhere, a kind camper came along and asked if we had a place to stay. I’m sure my bottom lip was quivering when I said no. They not only invited us into their site, but also feed us dinner AND breakfast. Unbelievable! We must have looked really pathetic.

Fundraiser

As crazy as it sounds, when I got involved with the organization Los Buenos Vecinos, I didn’t know that Dave Renfrow, the co-founder was from Columbia Falls. And when he told me he was from Columbia Falls, I didn’t know it was along my route. And, when I met Sam, the woman who volunteered to put together their website and, in turn, link my blog with theirs, I didn’t know she was from Whitefish. Luckily, I’ve gotten to meet both in person. Sam and her partner, Pete graciously hosted us for two nights and Dave and Jane for two nights. And, we got to celebrate Dave’s 70th birthday with his lovely family.

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It’s hard to keep on top of a blog and a fundraiser while riding in remote terrain, but I’ll try. The more I ride, the more I learn about the scarcity of water. It is more precious that gold or diamonds because it is our life source. Tippy taps and bio sand filters allow for the basics. They save lives. If you have time, just take a look at what LBV is doing in their community. It’s pretty impressive.

Grizzlies

Grizzlies are for real! Unfortunately, a woman was mauled in her tent at one of our stops. It happened two nights before we arrived. If we hadn’t taken two rest days, we would have been there. This is tragic. The bear was found and killed the day we stayed in this small hamlet. It was apparently sick, undernourished and desperate for food. Bears typically don’t want to be around people as much as we don’t want to be around them. This was a unusual case. Everyone says bear spray works if you do happen to come face to face. This makes me feel better.

Sorry for the lack of photos. I have spent hours trying to upload them. I am ready to pull my hair out. I give up. As I always say, riding a bike is wat easier than writing a blog post. Just as I write this, random photos attached themselves below. Go figure!

If you want more photos or a video here and there please follow me on Instagram or Facebook under Denise LaFountaine. Thank you!

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