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Monday August 26         Cycling Day 44

 

       Helena (Mont) to Three Forks (Mont)

Distance:  (Km).  103

Time:   4:27

Average Speed: (Km/ hr).  23.2

Ascent:  (m).  427

Heart Rate: (beats / min).  113

Cumulative Distance:   (km).  4810

Cumulative Ascent :  (m). 40,033

Punctures so far : 2

Back in harness again on this ‘The Great Divide’ section of the tour and my final section.....12 riding days. Navigation was direct...out onto Highway 287 for 103 km, camp on RHS.

I found today a bit of a drag in that it was a virtually flat straight road and surroundings changing very little. Others were wowing the day......everyone for his own! The more I cycle here, the more I appreciate the variety of  cycling at home and in Europe.

Dark as we dropped the bags at the vans and into Jorgensons for a meagre breakfast. A few of us had gone in extra early (6:30) and missed Riders Meeting which I believe was short and uncomplicated. Accordingly we were early out on the road, (now bright)  swung left (east) and onto Highway 287 almost immediately. The low morning sun was blinding but we had the advantage of a wide shoulder for a long time.

Today’s sky.

But I must be thankful for today’s weather. Till lunch at 70 km the light wind was helpful and after that it was more from the right hand side and curtailed progress a little. Warm all day and a deep blue sky with a scattering of soft white clouds .

It took us about 8km to shake off Helena as we passed car dealerships and traffic lights and warehousing and storage.American towns don’t do compact. That railroad accompanied us for 70 km on our right and just one extremely long freight train.

For the first 40 km it was grassland on both sides so little variety to distract apart from those low hills in the distance. No sign of the mighty Rockies. That will come, I expect. I was making good progress along here and passed a few along the road. 

Canyon Ferry Lake appeared on the left with the morning sun dancing on its surface.

First Crossing

Second Crossing(further upstream)

Crossed the Missouri River today......actually crossed it twice as it meanders about here in its infancy. Locals debate which of the early forks is the real source ....the Jefferson, The Madison or the Gallatin.. Either way, the Missouri is the longest river in the US (2300 miles). The Cheyenne’s called it Steamboat River; early explorers referred to it as Yellow River but the name Missouri seem to have been given by two French explorers in 1673.

The town of Townsend marked the midway point of today’s ride. The town seems to be servicing the grain industry with lines of silos alongside the railroad and large seed merchants. From here grain started to dominate the surroundings with large semi-circular fields being irrigated by long moving booms. Irrigation was being provided for grain, for maize and for alfalfa. 

I dropped down to one of these fields of alfalfa (Lucerne) to see the irrigation operation at close hand. Also large square bales of the alfalfa stacked up alongside the rail line and elsewhere ready for transportation.  

Just near the end of today’s ride it was all wheat and large farms totally for wheat. The crop just stretched out forever over the gently undulating terrain.

Just short of camp I crossed over the busy Interstate 90 heading off west to Butte and east to Billings.

Our camp is just off Highway 287 and I arrived in shortly after 12. Being in one of the first I had my pick of the sites and I’m here by the fence and a picnic table for myself. Bliss! Should get a good sleep tonight. The last two nights have been patchy and I’m inclined to blame the air-conditioning. I prefer the air-conditioning of the trees and the open countryside. We’ll see.

And I got all the cycling gear of today washed and dried. That’s a bonus.

Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.