Livingston, I Presume

Bozeman to Livingston – 26 miles
Average Speed – 12 mph

Getting Started

This morning, the sun showed its face and nothing liquid came from the sky. It looked as if it might be warm, but the temperature was only in the 30’s, hence our plan to delay our start until late in the morning. Surely, the day would warm up. We had many starts in cold weather, but considering we would be crossing Bozeman Pass today, we felt that waiting for a bit of warmth was worth it. We knew that it would remain relatively cool, so only planned on riding to Livingston, a short 26 miles away.

Back on the Highway

The Climb
I questioned my ability to climb the pass since I hadn’t been in the saddle for a few days. But, a rest from the bike can be a good thing. We counted down the miles waiting for a severe climb at some point.

My altimeter was reading a few hundred feet less than the actual altitude, but I didn’t know that until we reached the top, which was not at mile post 319 as expected. What would a climb over the pass be like without a little bit of snow thrown in for good measure?

We really thought that we had seen the last snow. There was plenty of it on the ground and covering the mountains, but we hadn’t expected to be caught in the flurries.

The shoulder on this section of the highway left a lot to be desired. It required some technical riding, especially when it disappeared.

The temperature dropped and I became rather cold. We got off I-90 at milepost 319 and followed a frontage road, which had a steep climb up to mile 321, the true top of the pass.

We were a bit disappointed that there wasn’t a sign indicating the elevation or congratulating us for making the climb. Somehow I managed it to the top without ever resorting to using my smallest chainring. Guess that I re-energized during that two day absence from the saddle.

The Descent
I was nearly frozen and the wind in my face going down from the pass made me even colder. I pumped the brakes and tried to keep from getting too much of a cooling breeze on me.

From the top of the pass almost all the way down to where we had to get back on I-90, I did very little pedaling at all. From here on out, we seem to be on a downward trend. We plan on riding 60+ miles tomorrow to Reedpoint.

Livingston

We are staying at a Best Western, right near the interstate, but about 1.5 miles from the main business district. After I took a hot bath to warm up, we headed to the area near the depot and sought out the Northern Pacific Beanery. Unfortunately, when we entered this spot connected to the depot, we were told that lunch ended at 2.

The Depot
We headed across the street to Fiesta de Jalisco, which has several branches in this part of the country. The food was good and we never turn down a chance to eat Mexican, so that worked out well.

View from town

Once we headed back to the room, we tried to get online. The motel has wireless after all. As seems to happen more often than not, the signal strength is not good in the rooms. I am not sure why the places that advertise wireless can’t make sure that the wireless is accessible in every room. The two places that get it here are the lobby or the pool, which has an Ethernet connection, which I will use. Life is really tough when you have to haul your computer to some other place. The toughest part is that I have to put on my shoes.

I have added some more podcasts for your listening pleasure.
The Velveteria Museum in Portland.
Tour of McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale.
A Chat with Jon from the Pataha Flour Mill.
A Tour of the Grant-Kohrs Ranch House.