Day 11

Today's ride took us across the continental divide.  There are certain landmarks on the route that mean something.  The divide ranks among the top.  State lines are are arbitrary--certainly important-- but nothing like crossing the geographic markers like the continental divide or the Mississippi.

Although McDonald Pass is one of the lowest crossings over the divide, 6356 feet, it is by no means an easy ride on a bicycle.  We went for 7 miles out of our campsite at a 1-2 percent grade, then we hit the 4 mile, 5-7 percent,  slope that takes you to the top.  The gradient is fairly consistent and there are no breaks.  The grind up the slope is compounded by the altitude.  It took me about 1.5 hours from camp to the top.

The temperature when we started from camp was 48 degrees.  That means that I overdressed for the grind ahead.  Although it was only 56 degrees when I got to the top I was soaked with sweat, tired, and smiling.  It was worth the effort and the view was spectacular.

We took a little side road at the top that takes you to a view overlook at slightly over 6400 feet.  Everyone was posing for pictures and high-fiving each other.  This is the kind of landmark that gives you the confidence to do the whole dang ride.

The reward for the climb to the top, other that the view, is the thrilling decent down to Helena.  My speed reached 43 mph.  One rider said his speedometer went over 50.  YEEEEHAAAWW!

We stopped in Helena for a bite.  I couldn't stomach another day of PBJ sandwiches for lunch.  Some of the riders went to the capital building, and out of luck, met the governor.

Today's ride was a short one.  My GPS showed 65 miles at the end.  Since we had knocked off half the ride before noon many of the riders saw the sites in Helena.

What I saw were tremendous thunderheads forming over the east slope of the mountains. Mike and I left Helena before most and headed for our campsite in Townsend, 28 miles away.

For most of the ride to Townsend we headed into a headwind that kept our speed around 12 mph.  Along this ride the mountains turned to high plains and the view less interesting.  We managed to spot a few antelope in the distance by Canyon Ferry Lake near the end of the ride.  I advised Mike that there will be plenty of opportunities for antelope pictures in the coming week.

It was also cool to see the headwaters of the Missouri River.

We arrived in Townsend just ahead of a massive thunderstorm.  The riders that stayed in Helena weren't so lucky.  About 10 miles out of Townsend they we pelted by hail.  Fortunately, their were no injuries, but they looked pretty beat up coming into camp.

Tomorrow we do our third century in 5 days.  Our cumulative miles will be near 850, meaning approximatley one-quarter of the ride is complete.

One of the riders is regularly uploading video from the Big Ride.  The videos can be found at www. youtube.com/andrewfersch.