It’s been 23 years since the Bill Murray movie “Groundhog Day” came out and I had heard from other P2P veterans that after about 2 weeks, you realize that P2P is just like “Groundhog Day” – and they were right. I think this morning it kind of hit me – because I had already laid everything out like I’ve done for the past 2 weeks – the only difference is the destination of the day.
So we said goodbye to the charming town of Helena and cycled 88 miles with about 3,700 of elevation gain to the small town of Three Forks where we are staying at The Sacagawea Hotel. I continue to be amazed how our route across this part of the country was influenced by the Lewis and Clark expedition and how Sacagawea helped them navigate the West Coast in the early 1800’s.
The morning again was a cool one with a light cloud cover and we were disappointed to feel the headwinds again starting early. Today’s ride, unlike yesterday, was more frontloaded with climbing which helped warm us up early. The jackets and arm warmers were gone by mile 18 as we prepared for the longest sustained climb of the day – this time, a 4 mile 1,200 foot climb on Interstate 90. This one was more tame than the late climb yesterday and we were soon at the mile 40 SAG stop where we got off the Interstate and stayed on back roads for the rest of the day.
Lunch was at a gas station/camp ground area at the Mile 65ish mark and we had made good use of our paceline to get there by about 12:30 PM. We did have one incident where our fellow rider Doug somehow manage to get hit by a car. It was a weird set of circumstances that happened in a pretty deserted stretch of highway but the long and short of it is that he was veering the left side of the highway to get a photo and didn’t realize that a car was approaching and he ended up hitting the side of the car. The good news is that he has been checked out and is fine, but the bad news is that his bike is done. He was one of the few people who brought their own bikes. In any case, he’ll be back on the road with us tomorrow – but on a Trek Domane SL-7.
The remaining 25 miles of our ride today into Three Forks was absolutely stunning. We traveled through a number of canyons following the Gallatin River and after a few somewhat challenging climbs, we had a grand vista of the valley in which Three Forks lay. Three Forks gets its name because it is here that the three major rivers of the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin Rivers merge to form the Missouri River – the longest single river in North America. The Missouri feeds into the Mississippi River near St. Louis and ultimately into the Gulf of America.
It was a great ride today and we were happy to have a little break after the 116 miles yesterday with all the climbing.
One more P2P profile for you is Tatyana, a data analytics professional for a major financial institution, and who is from Wisconsin. She is the youngest, or at least looks the youngest, rider on our trip but is a tough as nails cyclist who just keeps going.
Tomorrow we have an easy 43 mile ride down to Bozeman and it will be good to get some rest before Day 17 – which has been marked on my calendar for a long time. That is the day for the climb up Big Horn Pass. But we have some challenging ride building up to that date first.
In closing tonight, I appreciate all of you that are following this Blog and I treasure the encouraging messages and texts that you are sending. But again, part of the reason for this trip, for me, is to generate donations for the Coastal Carolina YMCA, on which board I serve, and for Teach My People, a faith-based after school program in Pawleys Island, SC. The YMCA provides over $500,000 dollars a year in financial assistance to individuals in our service area that might not otherwise have access to these programs. I hope that you will join my wife Val and me in donating to this great organization. For the last 4 years, Val has worked at Teach My People and I can’t count the blessings she has had by being involved with the staff and children at TMP. She has been involved in teaching her whole career and this program could greatly benefit from your generosity. Without the financial support of its donors, TMP can’t deliver the greatly needed services to the children in our area that benefit from these programs. Lastly, how much easier can it be to donate? – the button links are right on the home page of this website – just click on them and you’re right on their respective donation landing pages. Thank you so much for your consideration of a donation – and a big “Thank You” to those of you who have donated!