Monday morning, after a warm goodbye from our friends from Minnesota, we headed out of town in pleasant sunshine. We had to make our first pass this morning. It ended up that we had a wonderful light tailwind, the grades were not too bad, the scenery was great, no traffic on the Frontage Road, and only the last 1/2 mile was steep. So we made it proudly up to Bozeman Pass.

 

Yellowstone River near Bozeman

The downhill was nice but there were 6 miles on I-90. Both we and the other traffic was going fast. At the end we ran into a construction area where the right shoulder was closed. We tried to pass through the signs but at the end we had to make it some 700 ft. on a one-lane-Interstate with no shoulder to a crossing in a ditch, where we could leave the Interstate and run down to the Frontage Road. In Bozeman we stayed only for lunch in town.

 

Lunch break in Bozeman

 

This was a hot day and we wanted to make it to our destination Manhattan in time. But the next 11 miles to Belgrade were dangerous again, due to much, fast traffic and many trucks (because there was a gravel pit near the road). 

 

In Belgrade we ran into 3 other touring cyclists; two ladies and a man of our age. The couple was from Florida, the single lady from the Carolinas (but originally from Hohenlockstedt, a small town north of Hamburg in Germany). They were riding L&C in the opposite direction, starting in Missoula and aiming to Williston, ND.  

 

Only 9 more miles in the heat delivered us to Manhattan. During the refreshment in the nice Garden Cafe (we stayed inside) we ran into the owner, who was from Switzerland. He (and we) were happy to talk in German again. He had been working in Hamburg for several years so we could talk about our hometown in detail. Right on the spot Niklas, invited us to stay in his house for the night. We accepted this offer. His wife Ann is a jazz pianist. After closing the cafe at 4 PM we had a short shower and then he took us for a sightseeing tour in his truck around the area. We visited the Headwaters State Park. This is at the confluence of the Jefferson R., the Madison R. and the Gallatin R. to form the Missouri River, a good spot for our travels. That evening on the porch, we had a good meal, red wine, and a great German-American conversation. Although living in this area not too long, they were very well informed about living here. We learned among others things, that in an old school building nearby, they built Mandolins because of the advantage of the very dry climate here.

On Tuesday after a hearty breakfast and many good wishes in the Garden Cafe, we made it to Three Forks, where we not only had a Milkshake but also joined the main route of L&C again, which comes down from Great Forks and Helena. At that spot we met another cyclist going our direction. But Bill wanted to go into town first before he made it our way. Again it was very hot. But the landscape made up for the heat. We cycled through an impressive gorge to Lahood (for a lunch break) and later to Whitehall. We just made it into town when a thunderstorm (only wind gusts, nearly no rain) broke out. But after 1 hour it was dry and calm and warm again. That evening it was too mosquito-infested to sit on the porch.

 

Narrow gorge near Lewis and Clark Cavern State Park (between Three Forks and Whitehall)

Wednesday was the day to make it to Dillon, where we planned a longer stop. But we had to make it against a strong headwind. It was very warm and the road was partly without shoulder. 

Lunch break in Twin Bridges, a town we had stayed in during our TransAm in 2002. 

 

The 28 more miles down to Dillon had to be cycled again. We stopped for a while at the Beaverhead Rock, a formation we had seen already during our first visit. But now we understand more the circumstances and the importance of this landmark for Lewis&Clark with Sacagawea, the Shoshone woman, who accompanied them. Due to the strong wind,
the traffic and the heat and the hills, at the end we were really done when we arrived in Dillon after 56 miles.

 

New visitor center in Dillon