Bozeman to Gardiner Montana
We left around 730am knowing we had a long day ahead. We had discussed a couple of items on our route. Kay and I thought we had decided not to follow the route but to stay on I-90. I really don't like riding on the interstate and had been praying for safety. Kay went past the exit, so I followed. Lynn was behind and pulled off to see if that was OK or to figure out how to get hold of us. A trail angel appeared. Robin pulled over to ask Lynn if she needed help. Lynn explained. Robin drove ahead to flag me down and tell me to turn around. Then she drove ahead to tell Kay. Kay was half a mile ahead and had already entered the part of the intestate that went through a canyon. There was barely a shoulder. Robin put on her hazards and told Kay to turn around. Kay put her bike over the rail and was able to walk back. We discussed the route with Robin who is an avid cyclist. She gave us her advice then headed on as she had plans to go hiking with a friend. She gave us her name and number and said to come back to Montana sometime! I gave her a pocket token (not sure if it was St Christopher, St Michael or a Guardian Angel). She seemed to really like it and told me she felt that God put her in the right place at the right time. I totally agree!
We followed Trail Creek Road to Old Yellowstone Road. It was so beautiful! It was 18 miles of pretty rough gravel, too. But,I loved it.
Sometime around 11am, we were just pedaling along admiring the scenery, when a big black bear casually walked across the road about 100 yards in front of Kay and I. We were so startled that we just stopped and stared. Kay did manage to get a picture, but very hard to see. The bear is uphill of the fence in front of a rock below the group of four trees.
We waited for Lynn. Then motioned for Sandra (in the car) to come up beside us. After a few minutes we continued on (with the car on the bear side). I turned on my music in hopes of alerting any more bears of our presence. We saw a group of bike riders who had been on a 3 day bike camping trip.
Had lunch in a shady spot...
Encountered signs from Robin along the way
We hit mile 1,000 of our trip...
We got onto US89 at Emigrant Montana with 30 miles to go. It was easier to ride but less enjoyable due to the traffic. It was still very pretty and much needed as it was faster to ride. We got to Gardiner around 4pm.
Kay and I are camping at Yellowstone RV Park right by the Yellowstone River. While we were gone to dinner, an English cyclist (Adam) set up on our site. We were happy to share. The host of this property showed us where the flooding from 2022 had taken about 20 yards of the property away.
The Tale of Two Pickup Drivers
At one point on the gravel road, a driver in a pickup gently passed us so as not to kick up too much dust. We caught up with him later watching a herd of deer. He apologized for getting us dusty. We told him that we appreciated his slow driving. Later, on US89 a driver of a big diesel pickup revved his engine as he passed Lynn and I. When he got to Kay, he really revved it causing a huge cloud of black smoke (aka he coal rolled her). Back on the gravel, we were likely in the way of the driver causing him to slow down. On the highway, we were completely off the road on the shoulder. I feel sorry for the angry driver on the highway.
67.1 miles
2,533 elevation
Check out my activity on
Strava: https://strava.app.link/evYqiflJkBb
Relive video: https://www.relive.cc/view/vE6Jn5yeex6
