June 29, 1998 - Bozeman - Canyon Campground

DISTANCE TRAVELED: 68.68 Miles

TIME: 5 Hours 40 Minutes

AVERAGE SPEED: 15.2 Miles/Hour

TRAVEL CONDITIONS: Hot and sunny with no clouds in the sky.

ROAD CONDITIONS: Started out as a well maintained highway which then ended up having some dirt along the side of the road. We then continued onto a back road that was great for about ¾ of the trip until we came to an area that had been patched. The patches were horrible and there were tons of potholes. The road was the worst we have been on yet. We then got back onto a major road and then the road was good again.

TERRAIN/DIFFICULTY LEVEL: A very small pass in the beginning leading to a long gradual downhill. The day ended with a long very gradual uphill that felt flat.

DAILY JOURNAL COMMENTS:
Today we got up around 8:30 and packed up the tent before having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a banana for breakfast. I waited until some people were ready to leave and ended up traveling with Brad. We made a quick trip to Strong Racing Frames where they make the actual frames. We were able to see a frame that was being made and also a completed full suspension mountain bike that had 6 inches of rear travel. Unfortunately Carl wasn't there to tell us more. We did find out that they sell on average 10 frames a year but so far this year they have sold 50! They are mainly sold to professional racers. After leaving the shop, we went on a back road for a while until being forced to go onto a highway. We climbed a short pass that was followed by a gradual 10-mile-long downhill slope. I didn't pedal but instead lowered into my aerobars and quickly accelerated to a speed of 43 miles an hour! I then was able to coast for 7 miles without even one pedal stroke! Brad and I went into a local Pizza Hut for lunch were we had a special deal that they were offering. For $9 we could get any pizza with any toppings. We got a large pizza with a split of what I wanted and what Brad wanted. It tasted much better than the peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches that we typically assembled in the evening and stored until the luch of the following day. We continued riding and were now on our way to Yellowstone National Park. We entered a two lane road that was beautiful. There was a lot of traffic but we soon took a side road that was much quieter. Although it was longer, it was worth the extra miles. We biked along for many miles before meeting up with some other riders and stopping at a local gas station where we bought some food. We found out that the owner was going to retire in 5 days and the store would be closed down. She also had the post office in the store so they were building a new post office. After taking a break for a while we continued on and Matt finally caught up after picking up his bike from the shop where he had gotten new rims. He ended up not getting the Mavic aerorims since they didn't fit, but instead found a Schwinn dealer that had just what he needed. A little farther along the road we met up with a Bike-Aid alum who had biked on the San Francisco route in 1988. He rode with us for a while into where we were to camp for the night. We got into camp and unloaded the SAG. I set up my tent and then went down to the Yellowstone River to dip my feet in. Unfortunately besides the fact that it was very cold, there were lots of insects around that made the area very unpleasant. The insects looked perfect for fly fishing. We came back up and made a fire to bake potatoes in for dinner.(Picture24) No one ended up eating any potatoes but we all had salad along with a tomato soup. After this dinner we used the fire for a much better use: making smores.(Picture25) We each took a Hershey bar some gram crackers and a marsh mellow and stuck them together after the marsh mellow was hot. They tasted great even though they were very messy. I finally felt like we were really camping for once. We put all of the food into the SAG since we were now in bear country and then proceeded to sit around the fire for a little while longer. Everyone got to bed a little earlier and I finally got to sleep around 11:15.

TRIP ROUTE:
Follow Frontage to Livengston. At Livengston turn rt onto 89. Turn lt onto rt 540 which rejoins 89 in 32 miles. 5 miles after reconnection you will come to campground on left.