I left bigfork with a hangover. The weather was cold, rainy and grey.
Somewhere between Bigfork and Helena i stopped to warm up a bit and have lunch. I had a terrible day, really. But that's ok. I approach life these days with a motto: Evering is a consequence of my own choices. This saves a lot of time whining and makes me realise i have to deal with whatever situation i put myself in. I decide to drink, so i have to deal with a hangover ;-)
When i got back to my bike a V-Strom was parked aside. Ofcourse we had a chat. That's what bikers do. As it turned out, we headed the same way, to Yellowstone, and we decide to ride togetherto Bozeman.
Unexpected weather changes ;-)Winter starts early this year. For a while i was affraid that my 'planning' caused me to end up in very cold weather. but it seems that my timing is ok, but the weather is off.
Makes nice pictures though.
We drove off in rain and cold. To get to Bozeman we needed to cross the Mac Donald pass between Avon and Helena. As such not very special, if it wasn't for the rain, cold and snow! It was damn cold up there! and this was only at 2000 mtr. altitude.Things are a bit different in Montana. It's flat...
They call this state Big sky Montana. Not without reason:
We entered Bozeman pretty late in the evening and it was raining and cold. We shared a hotelroom. Still pretty expensive, $35 each, buth worth it.
A few days in the states shows that compared to Canada fuel and food is cheap, but hotels and campsites quite expensive. You can have a proper meal for about $15 incl. tax and tip, but without beer ;-)
I really needed an oilchange and Thad, my riding buddy, needed a new rear tire. I checked for bikeshops around on the internet and i found one really appealing. It was called "The Bike Shack". Good guyes, although the mechanic looked for the oildrainplug at the wrong side of the bike...not very confidence inspiring. After i explained how to change the oil, everything went well. I had to pay for the labor though.
It was sunny, reasonably warm and at 11:00am we were ready to go. Destination Yellowstone park and Beartooth pass, elevation 3300 meter.
Entrance of Yellowstone.Beartooth Pass, elevation 3300m. Cold!!
Next destination was a nice, cheap hotel in Cody. Way to cold to camp out here...
The next day we drove around Yellostone and Great Teton national parks. Very pretty, look at my pictures, and ended in Jockson Hole. The morning That left i was having coffee in a Bageljoint. I met a guy there, Matt. and i ended up at his couch for a few nights. I had a few good days hanging out in Jackson and enjoying the local beers, bars and art galleries. It's always fun to see the local scene next to the touristy stuff. No pictures unfortunately. Thanks for letting me use your bicycle Zack!!
That Wolff, my riding buddy, was trying to make it to Salt Lake for bikeraces, and i wasn't in a hurry, so we split there. He was a professional racer and faith brought us together a couple of days later. He proudly showed his awards. Not bad ey?He invited me to his house in Woodbury park, near LA.
A couple we met a few times in the park. Traveled through central america for a while on bikes. Mind the dog, it stayed in the tankbag and loved it!
