Cycle Montana Day Four- Part 1

Today we are in Butte, MT for a day of rest. It was quite an interesting 55 mile ride yesterday- more to follow later on that.

I have enjoyed getting to know fellow Bikeforums 50+ member Brad, though we have not pedaled a single stroke together. He is always a very early starter and, I surmise, a faster rider than me. We had a good walk back from dinner yesterday to our hotel through the historic district of Butte.

 Start of Day 4 in Wise River- I will not see Brad again until dinner.... hmmm, does he really ride?

I wore my official Bikeforums 50+ jersey yesterday and received compliments from a young California couple passing me on the road at about mile 20.

Thinking back on four days and about 250 miles of riding (and there is lots of time for thinking at my climbing speed), two impressions come to mind:

1. It is dang satisfying to ride a bike you have built for yourself. My bike was an eBay frame I got about 8 weeks ago and every piece on it was selected with this ride in mind. It has performed flawlessly and been extremely comfortable all the way. (I did mount one of my Brooks saddles, which I do not really use for shorter local rides and that was a great decision.) Sure, an extra gear would have been nice a time or two. I am not much for naming my bikes, but "Ole Reliable" comes to mind.... or perhaps it should be "Funbringer"? No it must be the former since yesterday's "brisk" downhill ride had me thinking preeminently about bike reliability and its relationship to remaining alive. Ole Reliable has seen many scenes this week and would have some great stories to tell:

2. The big mountains out here are a very different kind of bicycling experience. Nowhere else can you spend so much time going incredibly slow (thinking 15 mph would be so cool but you will never go that fast again) and then suddenly (when you are very tired) an invisible force is relentlessly pushing you to heretofore unimaginable, and obviously life threatening, speeds limited by who knows what. This, for me at least, truly takes some getting used to. But, heaven help me, I do think I love it.