July 3, Day 8 - Seeley Lake

First off, this will be the last blog post for about 3 days. We will once again be leaving civilization for a bit, so "Happy Fourth of July" to all! 

The day began with a nice big breakfast at a roadside café called the Chicken Coop in Seeley Lake, MT. From there Debbie and Judy drove us back up to Holland Lake Lodge to reclaim our bikes and equipment, and we started back on our route where we left off from yesterday. Upon arrival, the weather was slightly rainy and very cool. Nevertheless, we got on the road about 8:30am and began the climb to Richmond Peak.

The climb was as expected. We had to keep putting clothes on and take them off as the weather conditions constantly changed.

The road and trails were covered with very fresh bear poop. Although we did not see any bears we could see their tracks.

When we reached the summit we really felt we had accomplished something. It was, in my opinion, the best day of riding. We were in the middle of nowhere with the most amazing vista views. At the summit we sat in the saddle of the pass looking back for hundreds of miles of where we had come and forward to miles unknown.

We had several miles of single track cycling so narrow that trees brushes both sides of your body while speeding downhill.  Jiggleless just put up a video post called "Downhill Rush" she took from her iPhone.  Be sure to check it out.

Several downed trees stopped us in our tracks, sometimes we had to take all of the gear off the bikes and hike them over terrain and then go back to pick up the bikes. It was the most challenging yet fun time… Several drop-offs were on our left hand side that had a “point of no return” if by accident you veered off just a bit.

On our downhill decent, we came across Aaron Teasdale and his family. The two young boys, mom and dad were cycling to Holland Lake over the next few days in preperation for their trek from Glacier Park in Montana to Banff National Park in Alberta. What a great vacation for the Teasdale family!  Aaron is a writer and photographer specializing in outdoor adventure, natural history, and conservation...see Aaron's blog here: http://aaronteasdale.blogspot.com/

Down the remainder of the hill on very rough dirt road and back to Seeley Lake by 5pm. The bikes and equipment needed a major wash down from the local hose at the back of the motel.

We took epsom salt baths when we got back to the motel, and Judy gave me a massage.  I can't complain about this day at all!