July 8, 2023
Day 22: Ca Conk
Bozeman to Gray Cliff
Ca Conk, Ca Conk, Ca Conk… The sound your bike makes when it rolls over a frost heaves or expansion crack; you know that sound. We had a few today, and it always seems worse at the end of a long day. However, most of the day was on beautiful pavement both on a bike trail and on the roads. This has not been the case for most of Montana; don’t get me wrong, I am impressed with the amount of bike trails in this state, but most are laden with snow and frost damage. So, at times, when we have an option of a bumpy ride on the trail or the road with no shoulder that parallels the path, we’ll take the road.
We have seen some interesting sights while on these paths and roads, and one happens to be the public service campaign trying to steer people away from using meth. I commented to Mike that there must be a big problem in this state, and he said that it is a big problem everywhere, but Montana is trying to do something about it, and I concurred. I got a photo of one of the PSAs that I thought was brilliant. It must have been created by a middle school student; it seem like their kind of humor.
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That was from a few days ago. Today’s sights were all nature and some small towns. I really like these western towns; there is a mix of old buildings and modern amenities, and they almost always have a town park. This morning we left at 7:20 because we had many miles to make, and it was sad to leave Bozeman and the very Zen-like hotel. We enjoyed our stay and will visit again in the future. After leaving town, we got on the bike trail that is called the Trail to the “M.” It was not a “B” for Bozeman; maybe that was somewhere else; this represented Montana State University. I guess it is a thing to hike up to the “M.” The trail was perfectly smooth, and paralleled Bridger Canyon Road which we eventually got onto. It was scenic and there were a few cars but mainly horse trailers. After this we followed Jackson Creek road; this was really carless and scenic. Eventually we made our way over Bozeman pass and then followed frontage roads with some miles on Interstate 90. Most of our climbing was from Bozeman to the pass, then it was rolling and flat with some wind.
Nothing too exciting today. Oh, we did meet a roadie who wanted to chat, and we found that we had many things in common. We have had this experience a few times on this trip, and I find it amazing that there are so many people in the world yet we are often separated by just a few degrees, which is all connected to Kevin Bacon… If you don’t get it, look it up: Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.
Lastly, we are at Big Timber KOA doing laundry, and that is about it.
We keep on moving east,
Team Bean
Today’s Views
Tour Stats
- Cribbage Game Wins: Mike 5, Dawn 6
- Tortillas Eaten: Mike 48, Dawn 22
- Jars of Peanut Butter: 3
- Flats: Dawn 2
- Bike Haters: 3
- Bags of Salad Consumed: 10
- Dog Encounters: 2
Today's ride: 81 miles (130 km)
Total: 1,229 miles (1,978 km)
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