Section 1 Rooseville Montana to Polaris MT - D4

06/13 Day 4, Montana  Dickey Lake – Whitefish  (43 Miles, ~14 hours)

We left at first light, 5:30 am, still following the Fortine/Stryker detour.  STB was having on-going then progressively worse tire problems requiring very long stops to triage.  The boys eventually caught up about 9:30. 

Meanwhile, we traveled a maze of forest roads in on again, off again rain.  Eventually snow patches began to show up on the sides of the road.  Then snow on the road.  Then just snow.  A lot of it, and it was not rideable.  As our friend Marcy Beard had predicted, since we were in the back of the pack, previous racers had packed a foot print path in the snow and alongside the foot path, a track for the bike to roll in.  It made it a bit easier for us but was still hard, slow going for many hours.  As the day wore on, temperatures rose and it began to rain.  This softened the snow and we began to worry about possibly having to bivy out in it if we did not come to the end by dark.  We did not eat much as we kept thinking we would certainly pop out soon and could stop and eat on solid ground.  Eventually, STB opted for a Larabar with Starbucks Via on top.  Her hands were too cold and tired to open the package and get the stuff on the bar.  Result = coffee on the snowy ground and us in exhausted laughter/tears.  Maybe you had to be there but for us a defining TD moment. 

After 10 miles, the last 2 in slow rain, snow gave way to dirt road then eventually pavement.  Note:  There was an Avalanche Area warning at the END of this section.  Might have been nice to know at the beginning. 

Somewhere along the way, we re-joined the main GDMBR route in the Whitefish Mountains and the Flathead National Forest.  This route section skirted the western edge of Glacier National Park.  Someplace I’ve always wanted to go – not today.

The now paved FR 115 gave us a long downhill that might have been nice had we not been so wet and cold.  The road followed along the long Whitefish Lake with climbs and descents; all in pouring rain.  It just seemed like too much.  I began to see the pattern of each day seeming like too much only for the next to be even more.  This is the Tour Divide.

Pushing. Post holing. Miles. 

Resting

So now they tell us

We finally descended into Whitefish.  First stop was a grocery where we thought we could get a fast answer for hotel, dinner and possibly the bike shop.  The person we asked turned out to be one of those nice enough people that asked too many questions and provided no information.  As we gleaned more than once, it is more efficient to pull out the cue sheet services listing and make the calls ourselves. 

Our calls landed us at Glacier Cyclery where we were very well taken care of by owner Ron Brunk.  The service we received – not repeated at every shop, but several – was over the top.  His amazing staff stayed late to get our bikes back to working order - the mud and rain having started to take a toll. 

Willits was super happy to see a bike shop

Ron directed us to a fabulous restaurant, the Buffalo Café for much needed food.  During dinner, he stopped in to tell us our bikes were ready and that they guys would be in early so we could get on the road.  Wow.  Just amazing the support!

We stopped at a natural grocery where I found the coveted peanut butter pretzels and Justin’s organic peanut butter packets.  Ah the things that bring joy. 

The hotel was unremarkable but adequate and had a computer – though when the office closed, access to the computer was over.  A common challenge. 

After only traveling 43 miles in over 14 hours, sleep came fast and hard.