Lincoln to Helena Montana
As we were getting ready to leave this morning, I noticed my back tire was flat. Sigh. So much for puncture proof armour inserts. Once again, I could not find a reason for the flat. I replaced the tube and hoped for the best.
It was 56 degrees when we left at 730am. We stopped for about an hour at the Blackfoot Pathways Sculptures park.
We also stopped to see the grizzly bear that was accidentally killed on the highway in 2007.
We headed out on Montana 200 then turned onto county road 279 to head over the Continental Divide over Flesher Pass.
Near the top, the clouds started rolling in.
We only took time for a few pictures at the top, put on rain coats, and headed down. We successfully avoided the rain! There were 3 miles of switchbacks to maneuver. It was fun. We grabbed a snack at Canyon Creek, then headed on to Helena.
We went directly to the bike shop (The Garage) for a couple of minor adjustments for Kay and Lynn. Then, Kay and I got our bags to head to Kevin and Monique's house (our warmshowers host for the evening). Before we could get loaded up, we heard thunder and it looked bad. Kay called Monique. She said she'd come get us. She was only 2 miles away, but a block from her house it started pouring and hailing. We showered, then went to the grocery store. We had a wonderful salad and elk burger that they killed and processed themselves. It was delicious. They have a bear skin and a big mountain lion that Kevin shot. Both are very cool. We had a great evening talking together about past trips and making possible plans for future trips.
57.08 miles
2,270 elevation gain
Check out my activity on Strava: https://strava.app.link/cO2MZnoleBb
Relive video: https://www.relive.cc/view/v1vj9Yy7xJq
Tomorrow should be an easy day to Townsend Montana.
Tomorrow should be an easy day to Townsend Montana.
