"And did the Countenance Divine shine forth upon our clouded hills?" William Blake Butte, Montana to Bozeman, Montana 103 miles. 3960 feet climbing. When we pulled into Butte yesterday afternoon it was about 80 degrees Farenheit and some dark clouds were rolling in. But again the gods were smiling, and when I got outside this morning for breakfast, although the sun hadn't risen yet, the sky was clear and the hills were cloudless. And it was 38 degrees! I went back inside for my lined rain jacket. After shivering through breakfast we headed off for Pipestone Pass and the continental divide. I had four layers on top, and cross-country ski gloves. However, after minutes of riding only my feet were still cold. After about eight miles we started the 1200 foot climb to the pass, topping out at 6420 feet. I was completely warmed up by the top. Interestingly, this part of the PAC Ridge route also makes up part of the PAC Northern Transcontinental, and I had a tough time on this climb on the latter tour in '96. Somehow it's a lot easier this time. Perhaps it's the cooler weather; perhaps it's knowing what to expect. Perhaps it's eating more breakfast. Perhaps it's not having to chase Norm Hover, John Ellis and Richard Paul this time. Then we descended into a(nother) wide dry valley. Ann had a flat soon after we pulled away from the first sag stop. Her tire had several small through cuts (she seems to like riding in the glass) but she couldn't be convinced to change it. It was blue, after all, and matched her bike (it must be a girl thing). And Lon didn't have any blue replacement tires in the van. It was the first time I've seen PAC come up short. I told Ann he'll probably have blue tires next year. So several miles down the road the tire went again and she had to put on a lovely orange foldable tire someone fortunately had. She changed it as soon as we completed the ride, before anyone noticed, but I got a picture for posterity. More moderate climbing and descending along valley floors, with wide open spaces, "forever" vistas, huge ranches and lots of dry scrub. Traffic volume was low to moderate. But what there was moved fast. Some of the riders found it unnerving at times. The best section was a ten mile twisting descent through a canyon, along the Madison River, to the lunch stop at 75 miles. We ate grilled chicken and watched the fly fishermen on the Madison River. Then we were grateful for the short day and only 28 miles to Bozeman. And my turn for the massage! Don Friedlander ------ To unsubscribe, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Club Office: [EMAIL PROTECTED], (613) 230-1064 Web/mailing list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cyberus.ca/~obcweb Newsletter: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cyberus.ca/~obcweb/Newsletter ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aVxiDo.a2i8p1 Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
