Starting the day with a climb was really an exception for me during the whole Tour Divide, but no exception today, unfortunately. This day would turn out to one of my darkest days during the whole race.
I got breakfast at a small café around the corner of the motel where I stayed last night. After a very tough week I had already decided the day before that Butte, just a 65 mile ride, would be my final destination for today. At the first uphill out of Helena I recognized climbing wouldn’t be my strongest skill that day. But the breakfast took me over the first hump. There was an ongoing road construction on the second uphill with loose gravel. That sucked the rest of my life out of my tired legs. The upper part of the road was bumpy and incredibly steep. Furthermore it started to rain. I put all my rain gear on. But it wasn’t so bad with temperatures near the freezing point.
The Lava Mountain Trail was a moderate disaster. Riding was absolutely impossible. Steep, bumpy and the trail was covered with slippery big roots and sometimes extremely washed out. I didn’t grasp why a trail like this was part of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route? Even in dry conditions and with an unloaded bike it would be very difficult to ride. I pushed my bike in drizzling cold rain up and down and over roots and bigger rocks. I was totally pissed off. The downhill sections were simply not ridable for me. Not with a more than 40lbs bike and a slippery ground. After what felt like an eternity I finally hit a forest road. The rain passed off. The downhill through a narrow valley with a roaring stream was steep and bumpy, but I saw the sun again and it gave me an excuse to stop and getting off my rain gear. Lava Mountain Trail got a top position in my personal ranking of the top 5 most craped sections of the Tour Divide.
30 miles until Butte, but my legs were completely done. 25 miles of imperceptible ascending terrain plus some strong headwinds paralleling the Interstate 15. I crept with 7 mi/h and less toward the city. My legs were done, I was done and my mind as well. There had not been many situations in my life where I felt so down. This was the first time I seriously thought about quitting the race.
Maybe every rider will remember the gravel ramp directly located near the Interstate on the right side. For me it was for sure: You can’t get off your bike while climbing the ramp, because everybody on the interstate is watching you. I mobilized my last energy and climbed the ramp in one push. I paid for this section with a total smash up of my carbohydrate depots. After that, I fought tooth and nail getting closer to Butte. Other riders caught me up at the long dark tunnel and showed me how slow I was. No chance to keep their pace at all.
A special moment for someone from Germany is to ride directly on an Interstate. In Germany strictly prohibited. Getting to Butte meant riding on the Interstate. I took the ramp and a few seconds later I rode on the shoulder together with all the other traffic beside me.
For me Butte was the first milestone on the Divide I really wished to get to. I didn’t know why. As I started the downhill to the city on the Interstate I had tears in my eyes. I was really happy about my sunglasses. What is this race doing with me? I didn’t know, but I guess it was a mix of joy, relief of the torture and looking forward to some hours of rest before getting on the bike again tomorrow morning.
Visiting the bike shop "The Outdoorsman" in Butte is a must. My bike was just fine, but obviously my bike needed a new rider. The second MUST for me – Starbucks, checking in at a decent motel, having dinner with my German buddies Thomas and Mirko, who were also in town and who had suffered a similar misery like me, was a great relief and gave me the power to go on.
I got breakfast at a small café around the corner of the motel where I stayed last night. After a very tough week I had already decided the day before that Butte, just a 65 mile ride, would be my final destination for today. At the first uphill out of Helena I recognized climbing wouldn’t be my strongest skill that day. But the breakfast took me over the first hump. There was an ongoing road construction on the second uphill with loose gravel. That sucked the rest of my life out of my tired legs. The upper part of the road was bumpy and incredibly steep. Furthermore it started to rain. I put all my rain gear on. But it wasn’t so bad with temperatures near the freezing point.
The Lava Mountain Trail was a moderate disaster. Riding was absolutely impossible. Steep, bumpy and the trail was covered with slippery big roots and sometimes extremely washed out. I didn’t grasp why a trail like this was part of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route? Even in dry conditions and with an unloaded bike it would be very difficult to ride. I pushed my bike in drizzling cold rain up and down and over roots and bigger rocks. I was totally pissed off. The downhill sections were simply not ridable for me. Not with a more than 40lbs bike and a slippery ground. After what felt like an eternity I finally hit a forest road. The rain passed off. The downhill through a narrow valley with a roaring stream was steep and bumpy, but I saw the sun again and it gave me an excuse to stop and getting off my rain gear. Lava Mountain Trail got a top position in my personal ranking of the top 5 most craped sections of the Tour Divide.
30 miles until Butte, but my legs were completely done. 25 miles of imperceptible ascending terrain plus some strong headwinds paralleling the Interstate 15. I crept with 7 mi/h and less toward the city. My legs were done, I was done and my mind as well. There had not been many situations in my life where I felt so down. This was the first time I seriously thought about quitting the race.
Maybe every rider will remember the gravel ramp directly located near the Interstate on the right side. For me it was for sure: You can’t get off your bike while climbing the ramp, because everybody on the interstate is watching you. I mobilized my last energy and climbed the ramp in one push. I paid for this section with a total smash up of my carbohydrate depots. After that, I fought tooth and nail getting closer to Butte. Other riders caught me up at the long dark tunnel and showed me how slow I was. No chance to keep their pace at all.
A special moment for someone from Germany is to ride directly on an Interstate. In Germany strictly prohibited. Getting to Butte meant riding on the Interstate. I took the ramp and a few seconds later I rode on the shoulder together with all the other traffic beside me.
For me Butte was the first milestone on the Divide I really wished to get to. I didn’t know why. As I started the downhill to the city on the Interstate I had tears in my eyes. I was really happy about my sunglasses. What is this race doing with me? I didn’t know, but I guess it was a mix of joy, relief of the torture and looking forward to some hours of rest before getting on the bike again tomorrow morning.
Visiting the bike shop "The Outdoorsman" in Butte is a must. My bike was just fine, but obviously my bike needed a new rider. The second MUST for me – Starbucks, checking in at a decent motel, having dinner with my German buddies Thomas and Mirko, who were also in town and who had suffered a similar misery like me, was a great relief and gave me the power to go on.
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| Lava Mountain Trail |
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| Butte |
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