Day 40? Montana

I'm now in Twin Bridges Montana. I've spent the last several days riding with a great group of guys from Tennessee and Virginia as we traveled through Yellowstone Park. Though I've been to Yellowstone twice before, the crazy geothermal anomalies there still intrigue me. The traffic wasn't as crazy as I imagined even though it was the 4th of July weekend. The worst by far are stupid people who have rented RVs and have no experience driving them, then try to pass you on blind corners...stupid. (Picture: Back to front: Dan, Chris, Dave, Mike)

Over the past week it seems a lot of bikers have been in my relative proximity. In the city of Landers, Wy there were about 15 cyclists all together storming the the town. While its nice to be around folks of the same persuasion, it can be a bit obnoxious trying to coordinate anything.

I'm now back on my own which is faster but kind of a shock. The scenery continues to be amazing but also hillier in general. Furthermore the weather has become predictable with thunder storms every afternoon. I've been trying to make progress but have defiantly jumped off the road into drainage ditches dropping my bike and squatting while the lightning passes. I feel pretty stupid doing so but riding a chunk of steel on the open road in "big sky country" with electricity shooting down at you is not too smart. Aside from lightning, people in Montana seem to love or hate bikes either buzzing me as close as possible when the road is clear and strait or swinging onto the rumble strip of the opposite lane...stupid.

I hope to be in Missoula in two or three days at which point I break from the regular Tansam route and continue North to White Fish and Eureka before turning West for home. I expect to see fewer bikers on that route since the Transam generally gets more patronage than any of the others.

I've included a picture of myself crossing into Montana just inside the Western boundary of Yellowstone. The west has shown a sharp decline in the number of showers. I can't remember how longs its been now but I think I'm smelling bad because the guy on the computer next to me is giving me funny looks.