Post #9. A working paceline is a thing of beauty

 Since I haven’t posted in a couple of days I’m including a few notes and photos from both yesterday and today.

Monday’s ride was the highest mileage day of the entire trip at a whopping 127 miles.  The elevation gain of 4,700’ was not overwhelming but made harder by the hot weather.  My group, being made up of the faster riders is asked to leave the hotel 45 minutes later than the slower riders so we don’t miss any refueling stops provided by the Trek team.  Our overall travel time was nearly 8 hours with 7-1/2 hours of actual pedaling time.  That’s a pretty good pace but we did it with 3 riders working together to “pull” one another along by drafting.  That’s a paceline…albeit a small one, it’s still a great way to conserve energy and work together.  More on that later.  

The reason for the lengthy summary is actually to highlight the achievements of Ron, another rider on the trip.  Ron is 72 years old and the oldest member of the trip.  His pace is much slower than ours not just because of the age difference but because he spends much of his time riding alone as riders tend to form groups with others of similar power, yet Ron has ridden every mile that all of the others have covered.  Heather met Ron the night before the trip started.  Every night she asks "how's Ron" and every night I say "he hasn't gotten into the van yet!!"

Keep it up, Ron!



Monday's dog of the day, Jaco was named for the best jazz bass guitarist in history (according to his owner), Jaco Pastorius of the band Weather Report.  Their stuff is pretty good, check it out.



A sign in the men’s room in the gas station next to our lunch spot in the adjacent park.  If the guy behind the counter made this sign, take it seriously, I think there are bodies.  Either way, I put my Sharpie back in my pocket.



Today’s ride from Bozeman to tiny Columbus, MT, on what was promised to be a blistering hot finish, is where the beauty of a paceline comes into my story.  From about mile 20 through mile 110, we had a well-organized, 5-person paceline cruising along at an average speed of about 20 MPH.  Each rider takes the front for 1 mile, this allows the others a short recovery in preparation of their next turn in front.  With a lot of flat and gently rolling farm roads and frontage roads, we did this for hours.  A proper paceline is a dream for any type-A personality like me.  The key is staying as close as you safely can to the rear wheel of the bike in front of you.  The picture above is the other 4 riders while I take my first of 4 breaks after moving left and sliding to the back of the group for the next 4 miles.


  


We did stop in tiny Reed Point, MT for a few pictures on the way through.  That old Ford just needs a little Bondo and paint and she’s tip top.  I stopped in one of the two saloons (one neighboring the other, by the way) for a shot and a beer…. but they were closed so I just hammered some Gatorade with a water back.  Saloon #2 appeared to be under renovation, so I poked my head in and out came our dog of the day.  Not sure what his name was but he was pretty cool.

Since there aren’t many choices for dinner in Columbus, MT (population under 2,000) the Trek team chose the place that could accommodate a large group.  However, I opted for a walk to a nearby saloon, yep, another saloon, that I heard from a former local would be interesting.  She was on the mark.  I sat and had a couple pints and talked with the bartender, Jodi, about the history of the place.  Built in 1915 and adorned with an ornate back bar that was built in St Louis, MO, then delivered via riverboat into Three Forks, MT where it made the rest of the trip via a wagon train.  Check out the photos below from the New Atlas Bar.


  


The only major change to the exterior is the “modern” sign (and of course the neon).  The place is covered with stuffed animal heads and full-size animals, a hunter’s dream.  The bar still has the original spittoon.  Jodi assured me the liquid I could see in it was a bleach/water mixture.  I didn’t get a picture of the back bar because I didn’t think the locals would want to vacate their bar stools for me but trust me, it was a very nice back bar.


I cut through the truck stop adjacent to our hotel on my way back tonight.  There's a long story on the picture above but let’s just say I was glad I was wearing my “Leave me alone, I’m not a lot lizard” T-shirt.


Out


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