Plains-Whitefish Permanent

After riding a brevet in Idaho, and my three permanents I was only 60 kilometers short of 1000km worth of RUSA sanctioned rides. RUSA offers distance awards starting with a 1000km medal. So despite the fact that it's November, and this is Montana, I was determined to get over the 1000km hump. However, the rules state that I can only count a given route once per year toward any RUSA distance award-so I could not simply ride one of my own routes a second time to get the necessary kilometers logged.

Susan France-Regional Brevet Administrator (RBA) for the Oregon Randonneurs had established a 157 km (98 miles) permanent going from Plains to Whitefish. The route is the last leg of the larger Glacier 1000Km brevet that the Oregon Randonneurs put on in 2007 and fortunately, Susan maintains the route on the RUSA website as a permanent.

Logistically, this route has some advantages because my wife Brenda's sister Dori and family live by Kalispell, so I have a place to stay after I'm done. So with one eye on the weather channel-I signed up to do the ride on November 8, 2008.

Relatively mild, but rainy weather has gripped the state for the last few days-so on our way to Plains we made a stop at REI in Missoula to pickup a better rain jacket and some quick release SKS Race Blades fenders (all my internet research indicated that Race Blades were the way to go for some fender coverage in the rain, but that are easy to detach for dry weather). Brenda, son Jackson, dog Ernie, and I stayed at the quaint Dew Duck Inn in Plains on Friday night. It was raining but temperatures were staying in the mid-40's.

When I rolled out of Plains at 8 a.m. it was still about 40 degrees. It wasn't raining at the time, however everything was wet and the fog was pretty thick. At least I wouldn't be dealing with frozen water bottles like on my Martinsdale ride two weeks ago.

The first five miles out of Plains are a steady climb to some forest and high plains. The terrain rolls considerabley to the town of Hot Springs. Things flatten out for a little while after Hot Springs, but there's more climbing a few miles before dropping down to the small town of Elmo next to Flathead Lake (the largest natural fresh water lake in the United States west of the Mississippi). By now it was raining lightly, and the surrounding mountains were completely obscured by clouds. Because of the clouds, the opposite shore could not be seen in many places-making the lake seem even more immense than it already is.

Highway 93 from Elmo to Somers is busy with high speed traffic and trucks. There is a wide-rideable shoulder, but also a lot of tire eating debris. I wasn't surprised when I heard the tell-tale hiss coming from my front tire. A piece of glass caused a puncture. Even though it was raining, and I didn't really feel like stopping, the change of tubes went smoothly and I was underway again in short order.

After an extended break in Lakeside to eat a corn dog and have some coffee-I was back at it as the light drizzle continued. The rain didn't bother me too much, the fenders were working perfectly, and I had just the right amount of layers on with temps staying in the low 40's.

At the small town of Somers I got some relief from the traffic thanks to a wonderful bike path that parallels Highway 93 on an old railroad grade. I my felt blood pressure subside immediately as I didn't have to worry about what was coming in my review mirror.

After a pleasant cruise through Kalispell on quiet residential streets, I tackled the last leg of the trip to Whitefish on Whitefish Stage Road. This road can be busy at times and it's very narrow so you have to take the lane-however on this Saturday afternoon traffic was very light.

I finished the ride at the Dairy Queen in Whitefish a little after 4 p.m. where Brenda and Jackson were waiting for me. I was a lot slower than expected, but well within the randonneuring time limit. This route was very hilly-which made it quite a challenge. The rain was also a nuisance, but nothing I couldn't handle. On my 200K brevet in Idaho in late May it was also wet, but on that ride I didn't have any fenders and ended a muddy mess. Today was even wetter, but thanks to the race blade fenders I stayed relatively clean. I was glad I picked them up.

So with that-pending RUSA verification, I now have over 1000km's worth of randonneuring events in 2008 and I will qualify for a RUSA 1000K medal. Not bad considering I didn't think my schedule this summer would allow for much more than the 200K brevet in May. I think I'll just go ahead and pat myself on the back...now onto a full brevet series in 2009!

Special thanks go out to my wife Brenda and son Jackson for hauling my butt up to Plains, and picking me up in Whitefish. I also owe a special debt of gratitude to my in-laws Dan and Dori who once again graciously put us up in their home on Saturday night after the ride (and fed me magnificantly!). Finally, thanks to Susan France from the Oregon Randonneurs for establishing and maintaining the route.

I also mapped this route for Bicycling Magazine's Rides Website. The map, ride info, and more photos can be seen at the link below:

Plains-Whitefish Permanent

Two Permanents Tagged and Bagged!

I'm happy and proud to report that I successfully rode my Search for Plummer's Gold 237km Permanent on October 19, 2008 and my Martinsdale Mail Run 300km Permanent one week later on October 26, 2008. In the process I learned a lot about my own abilities, equipment, and especially riding at night. My main inspiration for doing these rides despite the lateness of the season was the use of a Garmin GPS unit loaned to me to map rides for Bicycling Magazine's Rides Website. The results of the mapping with route info and photos are at the links below:

Search for Plummer's Gold

Martinsdale Mail Run

Search for Plummer's Gold
I started this ride at 10:00 a.m.-a bit of a late start, but I wanted to make sure I was in good weather and any ice and snow which had accumulated in the last few days at higher elevations had a chance to clear. The temps were cool, but the sun was bright and the clouds from the previous days were moving out. The mountains were blanketed with a fresh layer of white snow and the bright sunlight lit them up magnificantly.
The first 60 miles of the ride are dominated by three climbs: Harrison Hill, Norris Hill, and Virginia City Hill. I've had previous experience with the first two, but I had only ever driven over Virginia City Hill in a car. It's substancially longer than Norris Hill and just as steep. I got into my first checkpoint in Ennis in good time and fueled up for the big climb. With the sun bouncing off the bare hillside I actually started to overheat at the foot of the climb and had to shed a layer. Half-way up I stopped at a scenic turnout and shed some more. I also snapped a picture of the Madison Valley highlighting what a spectacular day it was.
The rest of the ride flattens out, but I had to deal with steady headwinds all the way to Whitehall so I was slow. Though I was well within the randonneuring time window, I was going to be out later than I ever had been before. The ride through the canyon along the Jefferson between Cardwell and Sappington Junction was very quiet, with only one or two cars passing me. It was also moonless and very, very dark. The payoff was an incredible display of stars overhead. Once I got used to the darkness and trusted my lights, I was fine and rather enjoyed the solitude. The last 11 miles to Three Forks was a little more busy as US 287 is being used as a detour for trucks while US 191 through Gallatin Canyon is under construction. I had no trouble though as my lights and reflectors did their jobs-and the trucks gave me lots of room when they passed. I got into the start/finish at the Three Forks Town Pump at about 10:30 p.m.-tired, but happy.

Martinsdale Mail Run
I approached this ride with some trepidation. The weather forcast was dry, but high temps were expected to only get into the high 40's. It was also the first day of hunting season so I knew there would be a lot of guys running around in big four wheel drive pickups who may not be super tolerant of cyclists (yeah I admit I'm stereotyping a bit here).
I set off from Bozeman a little after 6:00 a.m. and headed up Bridger Canyon. It was dark and as expected I was passed by a steady stream of pickups loaded with hunters. But the traffic was all going in the same direction, and without exception everyone gave me a wide berth as they passed. I have found that motorists generally give me way more room when passing me at night. Dawn came quickly as I made my way through the canyon. The sun was bright, but the air was not warming up very fast. I had a freezing descent into the Shields River Valley. Temps in Wilsall were under 20 degrees and the bottles in my frame cages were frozen solid! Fortunately, a reserve bottle in my Carradice bag was still liquid.
As expected, I had headwinds from Wilsall to Ringling. Most of this stretch is uphill so it was slow. The ride to Martinsdale on Highway 294 was fun. After an uphill five miles it was a steady downhill with light tailwinds all the way to the town. Mom, Brenda, Jackson, and our dog Ernie met me in Martinsdale for lunch at the Crazy Mountain Inn. I was in no hurry and ended up staying for an hour-and-a-half. The ride back towards Ringling was slow with uphill and headwinds, and faster to Wilsall with more favorable grades and light tailwinds (the wind died to nothing at sunset). I got into Wilsall with plenty of time to stop for soup and coffee at the Wilsall Bar and Cafe. The folks there were very friendly and their soup really recharged my batteries. After Wilsall the temps dropped into the mid-20's while the stars came out. I was well within the time limit and not in a hurry. The bottle in my bottle cage froze again going over Battle Ridge Pass, but I had another in my bag that didn't freeze so I was fine. I made it back to Bozeman at 11:45-a little chilled but feeling fine and elated.

PERMANENT ROUTES APPROVED!

I just received word that my two lastest RUSA Permanent routes have been approved. For more info on my permanent routes or just exactly what randonneuring and permanents is just look to the right side of this blog for a bunch of links and other info. Just get in touch with me if you want to ride one of my routes and have it verified through RUSA. If the timing works out I'd love to ride it with you.

Bicycling Magazine Mapping Project

A representative of Bicycling Magazine got in touch with the Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club to find out if there was an individual who would map some rides in the Bozeman area with a Garmin GPS unit. Apparantly, they are planning on featuring Bozeman in the "Perfect Day" section of their July '09 issue.

Since I had done some maps on mapmyride.com and bikely.com, I was asked if I would be up to the task. I really had no idea what I was supposed to do-but thought what the heck-I'd give it a try. A few days later the Garmin showed up at my door. I followed the step-by-step instructions and had no trouble getting the unit up and running. I started out by mapping an easy ride from Belgrade to Churchill and back and downloading it to the Bicycling Rides website. Along with the map, it was easy to add pictures, highlight waypoints, create a turn-by-turn cue sheet, and add some written text about the ride.

I think the results have been pretty good if I do say-so myself. Here's links to most of the rides I've mapped:

Churchill

Gallatin Valley Golden Triangle

GAS/Intrinsik Thursday Night Ride

Bikin' With the Eagles

Tour de Spud

City and University Tour

Dry Creek Road

Hyalite Canyon-Bozeman Trail Road

Battle Ridge Pass via Bridger Canyon

Three Rivers Century

Search for Plummer's Gold

Martinsdale Mail Run

Plains-Whitefish Permanent

Foy's Lake Road Loop

Springhill Road

Willow Creek Wanderer

Three Rivers Metric Century

Hollowtop 200

Tour de Jefferson

Search For Plummer's Gold 237Km Permanent (147 miles)

Entry and Waiver Form

Route Map

Cue Sheet

I've often thought that a ride around the Tobacco Root Mountains would make a nice route for randonneurs. Thus I present "Search for Plummer's Gold". The name of the route derives from it's passage through Montana's rough and tumble past along the gold fields of Alder Gulch near Virginia City-one time Montana's territorial capitol. Legend has it that Virginia City's Sheriff Henry Plummer, who was accused of being the leader of an outlaw gang called the Innocents, offered to bring back his weight in gold to the Vigilantes if they spared his life. The plea fell on deaf ears, and Plummer met his end dangling from a noose in the winter of 1864. Ever since rumors have persisted, and treasure hunters have hunted, for Plummer's gold-thought to be buried somewhere in the hills around Virginia City.

The ride starts out near Three Forks at I-90 Exit 274 and goes to Ennis. In between Ennis and Three Forks is a long, but not so steep climb called Harrison Hill. This hill will get you warmed up for things to come-but with this hill there's no downhill payoff. It just gets you to the high plains around the small town of Harrison. After Norris, you hit a much steeper hill. Norris Hill kicks up to 7% grades and it does have a heart stopping downhill into the Madison Valley. But that's not all! After Ennis you start climbing-first gradually-and then in earnest as you go over a 7000 foot high-10mile long monster. The hill has a false summit-you'll actually go downhill for a little ways-but you're not done. There another mile or so of climbing before a fast descent into Virginia City.

The rest of the route flattens out on the way to Whitehall Montana in the Jefferson River valley before going over some rollers back to Three Forks. The ride has approximately 7600 feet of climbing concentrated in the three hills previously mentioned-all within the first sixty miles.

The route overlaps Adventure Cycling's Trans-America route from Ennis to Twin Bridges. In the summer months it's very likely that you will encounter cross-country touring cyclists on this stretch.

Search for Plummer's Gold Permanent (Route No. 487) is open to any RUSA member. Get in touch with me if you want to ride this route and we'll work out the details.

I rode this route for the first time on October 19, 2008 with a Garmin GPS unit. I created a map and info page with photos about this ride for Bicycling Magazine's Rides Website. Click on "trip details" on the map below to get to the info page and photos.

Martinsdale Mail Run 300Km Permanent (186 miles)

Entry and Waiver Form

Route Map

Cue Sheet

One of my favorite groups to ride with is the Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club touring group. We try to do a ride once a month or so in the summer. In July the touring group rode from Ringling to Martinsdale and back. It was a nice 62 mile route. When I got to looking at the route earlier this summer I realized that using the core of the touring group's ride and expanding it to Bozeman I would end up with a challenging 300 kilometer event. Thus the idea of the Martinsdale Mail Run was born.

The ride leaves from the Holiday C-Store on Durston Road in Bozeman, goes up Bridger Canyon and over Battle Ridge Pass to Wilsall. After a control in Wilsall the ride goes to the very small and unique little town of Martinsdale on US Highway 89 and the very lightly traveled and tranquil Montana Highway 294.

The ride tasks the ride with "carrying the mail" over the Bridger Mountains to Martinsdale and returning to Bozeman within the 20 hour time limit.

Standing in the way of the out and back route is Battle Ridge Pass in the Bridgers. It's a relatively short (about 2 miles on either side) but it shoots up to 6372 feet. There's also some significant hills in the vicinity of Bridger Bowl ski area to deal with. The total ride has 10,000 feet of climbing-and wind-especially around Ringling and Wilsall is usually a factor.

Any RUSA member can ride this route for RUSA distance credit. Just contact me and let me know when you want to ride-and we'll get the details sorted out from there.

I successfully rode this route for the first time on October 26, 2008 with a Garmin GPS unit. I mapped the ride and created a brief info page with photos for Bicycling Magazine's Rides Website. Click on "trip details" on the map below for the info page and photos:

Riding my first Permanent-Success!

I chose July 5, 2008 to ride my Hollowtop 200 Permanent. Though I am intimately familiar with this route, this is only the second time I've ridden the entire thing in one shot.

Last night I drifted off to sleep to the sounds of fireworks going off all over town-some of my neighbors kept it going until about 1 a.m.! I awoke just before 4 a.m. to a similar, but more foreboding sound-thunder. So like any cyclist would-the first thing I did was turn on the weather channel. According to the radar map-a thunderstorm had indeed just passed through the area-but it didn't look like anymore storms were coming.

As I rode through the deserted streets to my starting point at the Main Street Town Pump I was dodging puddles-it must have rained pretty hard. The temps were in the high 50's and the air was quite humid-something we are not really used to in Montana. The air smelled a little like the morning air at my brother's home in Savannah, Georgia-except it's usually warmer and more humid there.

My biggest worry for this ride quickly turned out to be a non-issue. I was worried that the store clerks would resist stamping and signing my brevet card. Nobody out here knows what randonneuring is, and people aren't always willing to do something out-of-the-ordinary in their workplace. I could have just used a store receipt with the date and time, but I really wanted the card to be stamped-I think it just looks more official with a stamp. Anyway, the kid at the Town Pump here in Belgrade didn't think they had a stamp, but I spotted one on the back counter. He quickly retrieved it, stamped my card, and noted the time (5:00 a.m.). No problem. It would be the same at my other store controls-including my return to the Town Pump in the afternoon.

It was already starting to get pretty light as I left Belgrade City Limits, but I was equipped with lights front and back, and my new RUSA reflective sash and ankle bands...somehow I think I'm the only person who would think I looked cool. I could have rode in all dark right down the middle of the road-there were no cars out at all. Everyone must have been sleeping off their 4th of July. Starting early was a good idea.

My next control was 39 miles down the road at the Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park-since I would be answering my own question at the info control-I took a few pictures just to prove I had been there and didn't take a 3 or 4 mile shortcut on I-90 .

My next stop was the town of Whitehall. Folks were starting to move around as I made my way through town a little after 8 a.m. There was some sort of farmers market happening, but there were far more merchants than customers. I got some water and a turkey sandwich as well as getting my card stamped at a C-Store and then sat down in front of the fire hall and took a little break. The bank sign said it was 70 degrees-time to take the arm warmers off.


After Whitehall, I headed back the way I came for 8 miles, before heading over the scenic and very lightly traveled Highway 359 towards Harrison and my next control in Norris. I took a picture of my route's namesake-Hollowtop Mountain, but some wildfires in Canada have put a little bit of haze in the air so the Mountain did not look as spectacular as it usually does-as you can see from the picture at the top of this page.

The folks at the little C-Store in Norris, McLeod Mercantile, were duly impressed with my ride. One nice old gentleman said he couldn't ride that far in one day on a motorcycle! I bought a bag of chips, some ice tea, and water and sat outside and had a little picnic. The sun was out now and it was warming up and getting breezy.

The ride after Norris goes along the Madison River and through the edge of the famous Bear Trap Recreation Area. The portion of the Madison along my route is an extremely popular river float. Traffic got very busy along this stretch as I met and was passed by people dropping off their rafts and inner tubes at the "put-in" and then heading back to the end of the float a few miles down stream. Thankfully, and according to plan, I was through this area early enough-that all the drivers were still sober. It won't necessarily be that way after they get done floating later in the afternoon.

I wasn't feeling great, but I wasn't suffering either, as I got over the very hilly portion of the ride between the Bear Trap and the Gallatin Valley, but I rallied considerably as I got to the un-chipped sealed River Road. It's amazing what a nice smooth paved surface will do for your outlook. I had headwinds through the Bear Trap-which is unusual. Every other time I have ridden through there the wind has come pretty strong out of the southwest. The wind slowed me down, but didn't hammer me too bad.

I cruised back to Belgrade and finished in a fairly respectable 8 hours and 40 minutes. My "on the bike" time was about 7 hours and 24 minutes. I could have saved some time by not taking breaks in Whitehall and Norris-but what the heck? It's not a race and I was riding alone anyway-no one else to keep up with. It is surprising though how fast time slips away when you're not moving-a lesson I'm sure, for longer rides.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with my first Permanent Route. I think it's challening and scenic. I hope some other randonneurs try it out someday.