Day 27 - May 17

6 Feet of Snow
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After breakfast at the Flagg Ranch cafeteria, I was on the road by 8:30am heading north into Yellowstone National Park.  Again, it was another beautiful day - cool but blue sky and sunny.  I was excited - if I had a good day of riding I would meet my Bozeman crew by sunset on the other side of Yellowstone Park - and I would be in Montana!  The day started out tough - up hill for 30 miles.  I knew this ahead of time so I was mentally prepared - but physically my legs were not in any condition for hill climbing.  After a week on the road since Fort Collins - having climbed Cameron Pass (10,250 feet) in Colorado, and Togwatee Pass (9500 feet) in Wyoming - and fighting headwinds in southern Wyoming - my legs felt like useless appendages attaged to my torso.  However, I knew if I could get to the top of the Continental Divide - roughly 8300 feet - it would be downhill to Bozeman at 5000 feet.  It was slow going - but I made the ascent by early afternoon.  The weather was nasty and cold on top - I knew at some point my luck with the weather would have to turn.  It was in the 30s and raining - with over 6 feet of snow still on the ground.  I wrapped up in all of the clothes I had been dragging around since Virginia.  Actually, after a few hot days in the 80s - the cool air felt pretty good.  Once I top I realized I was quite hungry and it was lunchtime.  I passed a restaurant that was closed - bummer.  But, a gas station was open and  I made do with chocolate milk and sandwich.  Once I got off the top of the mountain the nice weather returned.  It went from cold and rainy to blue sky and warm within a few miles.  The ride from here on through Yellowstone was beautiful - passing numerous geysers and bubbling hot springs.  Yellowstone really does have a weird, out of this world type of feel to it.  The ride from Old Faithful to Madison Junction along the Firehole River was all downhill.  The ride from Madison Junction to West Yellowstone, MT was through a beautiful, lush, green meadow along the banks of the Madison River.  Herds of buffalo and elk were grazing along the way.  The buffalo and elk had just had their babies within the past few days and these tiny little calves with wobbly legs drank milk while their patient moms ate grass or laid around.  I rolled into West Yellowstone around 5:30 PM - leaving the park and entering Montana!   Back in Montana.  It was a great feeling.  Riding on familiar roads - seeing familiar sights.  I called Danno at work in Bozeman from McDonalds (where I woofed down to burgers and a shake).  He said the guys were loading up around 6:00pm and would be on the road by 6:30.  He had found us a place to camp on the Madison River just beyond Hebgen Lake.  It was 23 miles further from West Yellowstone and I told him I could make it by dark.  I was approaching the campground - roughly 1/2 miles away - when the Team Bozeman vehicle pulled along beside me.  There was a lot of shouting and high-fives as I rolled into camp.  It was great to see my friends - Dan, Matt, Joe and Josh (the crew chief).  And, they had brought me my favorite Bozeman fast food - a Wrap of Khan from La Parilla.  This thing is huge - a big tortilla wrap of rice, beans, veggies, chicken and some mysterious, incredible sauce - kind of spicey Thai sauce.  And, of course they had a cool beer for me.  I have to admit I was in heaven - or close to it.  I had put in 96 miles to get here - but it was worth it.  As dark approached - we pitched our tents and it began to lightly rain.  By 10:00 we were all in our sleepin bags - I was exhausted - and the rest of the crew was anxious and excited about the next day's ride - 100 miles to Bozeman.  What a way to finish the Tour de Fletch!

The weather was nasty and cold on top - I knew at some point my luck with the weather would have to turn.