Day 23: Bozeman, MT to ranch on hwy 287
Saturday June 16, 2012, 81 miles (130 km) - Total so far: 1,387 miles (2,232 km)
Up at the normal time, had breakfast and an appreciative goodbye to my host and was on my way. I stopped by the Co-op on the way out of town and picked up some food. The ride started out nice and continued to be good. In fact the stretch between Bozeman, MT and Norris, MT was the best stretch I have had the whole trip so far. It was warm, but not too warm. The first descent was AMAZING. It then went down into a beautiful canyon. It get tight in sections but I felt safe. A Note though, I was heading west, going east seemed to be tighter than on my side of the road. So I do not know if I would have enjoyed it the same.
Stopped in Norris, MT for lunch, then the climbing began, but the advantage of todays climbs are the payoffs at the ends. As I got into Ennis, MT two other cyclists touring the Trans-Am (Charlie and Patrick) also came rolling in. I joined them for the rest of the day. We bumped into a camera crew claiming to be shooting a documentary for sci-fy about something or other. As we were stopped at a bar a ranch manager came up (Steve) and offered us to stop by and visit his ranch. This bar was the only time I was ever denied a refill of my water bottle but instead offered to sell a bottle of water.
We decided to take him up for the offer, and arrived in good time. The place is really amazing, sitting along the Madison River. After a delicious dinner cooked by Charlie, we sat around the table until after midnight sharing stories. These past couple days have been great.
Stopped in Norris, MT for lunch, then the climbing began, but the advantage of todays climbs are the payoffs at the ends. As I got into Ennis, MT two other cyclists touring the Trans-Am (Charlie and Patrick) also came rolling in. I joined them for the rest of the day. We bumped into a camera crew claiming to be shooting a documentary for sci-fy about something or other. As we were stopped at a bar a ranch manager came up (Steve) and offered us to stop by and visit his ranch. This bar was the only time I was ever denied a refill of my water bottle but instead offered to sell a bottle of water.
We decided to take him up for the offer, and arrived in good time. The place is really amazing, sitting along the Madison River. After a delicious dinner cooked by Charlie, we sat around the table until after midnight sharing stories. These past couple days have been great.
