10 Hard Learned Lessons Bike Touring in Western Montana
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- Опубликовано: 19 окт 2024
- Come join me as I learn the hard way how to bicycle tour in western Montana. Hopefully you enjoy these stories and can avoid making the same mistakes.
For background, my friend was getting married near Polson, MT on Flathead Lake. I was only able to get a few days off of work, and my girlfriend could only take the weekend.
In order to make the most of my trip to Montana (and to save some money on flights), I decided to fly to the cheapest city I could get a flight to and still have time to bicycle tour to the wedding. It worked out that Bozeman International Airport fit that description, and I started my 4 day bike tour from there.
I put my bike together outside the airport and left from there. My stops were in Townsend, Lincoln, and Missoula, and my final destination was Polson, where my girlfriend met me with my clothes for the wedding. She also brought me a bicycle box to repack all my stuff and then drove us to the airport so we could fly home.
I'm not sponsored by any the companies mentioned below (or any company at all), but if you were curious about any of the gear you saw in the video, here are some links:
My bicycle is a Sonder Camino gravel bike. I built it from the frame with parts from an old Specialized Diverge gravel bike, and I love it. It is adventure-ready and has room for much wider tires than I used in this video alpkit.com/col...
Almost all the bicycle bags I used in this video are Ortlieb (www.ortlieb.co...)
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Just a few comments from a guy who has lived south of Helena for 30 years. First, the goal of most bears is to avoid humans. The major rule when camping is to not have bear attractants in the tent, and when riding is to not surprise a bear, especially one with cubs, where you might be perceived as a threat. Montana FWP has “bear awareness” resources and classes, as does the Yellowstone NP site. Second, western Montana is home to the Adventure Cycling Assn which has numerous resources for bikepackers - maps, guides etc. There are some large (like, owning the landmass of some eastern states) landowners, mostly corporate magnates, who are notoriously (one might say infamously) touchy about trespassers ( I won’t mention names) but my experience is that most locals are friendly - but stay on public land. Finally, Komoot , gravelmap and trailforks are good online resources to check out potential backcountry routes. Sorry for the bad parts of your trip.
Thank you so much for the comment and for all the super valuable information! I especially appreciate the parts about bears and staying on public land and will definitely keep those in mind next time I'm touring in the area
Oh well, I can cross Montana off my bucket list. Thanks!
Listening to you I couldn’t imagine anybody ever wanting to go bike touring
Thanks for sharing, I hadn't thought about it that way, and it definitely wasn't my intention.
Very helpful. Thx.
Great video!
Thank you!
wow! Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure, I'm so glad you enjoyed the video!
Great video and narrative!
Thank you so much, I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
I am just starting out dirt road touring, in eastern Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. There is antipathy towards cycle tourists and hikers from some. I catch it on long day rides in my area occasionally. And I am a three decade oil field hand. It is culture war thing. I use Ride With GPS (RWGPS) for route planning and GAIA Premium for public lands for camping safety. Public roads and easements are a problem. Being here in Wyoming, I have the luxury of having time to consult county road maps. Tim Fitzwater fan here too. For Western Montana, or anywhere in the Western UStrip planning, I would consult Adventure Cycling in Missoula MT.
Thank you for all the context and advice, very interesting!
Do you have any favorite places you've been so far that I should add to my bucket list?
@@kyleonwheels I am just starting out from Sheridan WY to the Canadian line, following the rivers. I have something to talk about next winter.
Sounds awesome, enjoy!
Ha. Welcome to Montana.
Thanks! 😂😂
It's commendable that you had the audacity and grit to do the trip and push on to completion. Kuddos! Question: Would you do another bike touring trip -- afterall, it is the journey and not the destination?
Thank you! And most definitely. I have a couple of multi day trips I hope to do this year and still dream of a multi month trip someday soon
@@kyleonwheels Elated to hear that. I'd like to your future video of you and your girlfriend or friend bike touring together and ascertain whether you prefer cycling solo or with a mate(s).
Thank you for the great video idea! I'm working on a series to break down some of the basics of bike touring, and I think that would be a great topic to cover
Good story
Thank you!
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 you are a funny guy!!! 😅
Glad you enjoyed the video!
What an ordeal, but valuable to know.
Thanks for the comment! Glad you enjoyed the video
How was it
Overall, it was a great trip. The countryside was amazingly beautiful, and I met a lot of really great people
@@kyleonwheels much appreciated
TIP,. DON'T TELL PEOPLE YOU ARE FROM CALIFORNIA.
😂😂 note taken. Any recommendations on what I should say when asked where I am from?
@@kyleonwheels
YOU CAN SAY YOUR FROM THE STATE YOUR IN,
OR PICK MID STATE LIKE COLORADO, WYOMING,.
I AVERAGE ABOUT 50 MILES A DAY WHILE TOURING, WHICH GIVES YOU TIME TO ENJOY THE DAY. THINGS HAPPEN, FLATS, HILLS, MOUNTAIN PASSES AND THE DREADED HEADWIND.
TAKES ABOUT 2 WEEKS, TO GET YOUR BODY USE TO THE EVERYDAY ROUTINE OF TOURING.
PACK WHAT YOU NEED, NOT WHAT YOU WANT. DON'T OVER PACK.
Great advice! Do you have any favorite spots you have toured?
Good advice. I suggest to use it for every state except maybe a few on the east coast.
bad plan, bad girlfriend and bad luck. sheesh
Haha!
Im an Astrologer and to me it sounds like you have a strong Mars influence near/running through Montana, which is why people were hostile, you felt fearful of bear attack and wree literually attacked by dozens of vampire bugs, yep sounds like strong indication of negative Mars influence.
Thank you for the comment, super interesting stuff!