• Day 0: We arrived, set-up, started riding, and within 1 Hour Dennis had Diarrhea 4 times. We abandoned the ride and checked into a hotel. 12 hours later, Dennis was OK and 24 hours later we returned to the Cedar Creek Start Point.
  
  
• Day 1: Upon arrival we saw the back half of a Mountain Lion disappearing into the roadside bush (no picture). COOL, no worries on a tandem, it is our experience that all wild animals are afraid of two-up people on a Tandem. We never saw that Cougar again.
• We saw Deer about once an hour when pedaling and we have photographs of some.
• We were surprised at the amount of Butterflies on the trail. Many of the Butterflies landed on us and rested, some Butterflies rode with us for 5 to 10 minutes, one Butterfly rode on my helmet for 15 minutes. They seemed to like Terry and sometimes it felt unworldly.
• We were breaking in a Gate's Belt driven Rohloff Hub transmission system; it was all new to us. It operated flawlessly.
• We came upon a Closed Road (to motor vehicles) and a New (replacement) Cement bridge in Mid-Construction. We had to completely unload the bike, transport the gear piece by piece, hand carry the tandem bicycle, and then re-assemble everything on the other side if the creek.
• We discovered and spent the night in an unlisted Pineridge NF Campground (no-fee) next to the Swan River. The campground had a toilet and a bear-proof food-vault, we needed nothing else and considered that to be the 'Cat's Meow'. We carry everything else (water filter and chemical sanitizer, dehydrated food, clothing, camp gear, and bike tools.

Seen in Montana, Driving into Position

Above: Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep.

Day 1 - Fatty Creek (Accessed at/through Cedar Creek NF CG)
To Pineridge NF CG (on Swan River)

Above: We have a brand new Rohloff 14 Speed rear hub system with a Gate's Belt Drive.

The rear-end of the tandem was totally re-built by da Vinci Designs in Denver - The bike is totally new from the S&S couplers back. The tandem bike (named the Bee) now has a BMX like rear belt tensioner (slider, with no dropouts). It uses a single metric hex key (same key for all bolts) to adjust the belt tension. The bike now has a new (rebuilt replacement) Belt Stay (in lieu of a Chain Stay) on a Split Tension Mount so that the Bike Stays may separate on the right side so as to add or remove the drive belt as one whole unit (no main/final-drive chain).

Above: We now have a new Sun Dynamo front hub electrical generator system with a Halogen Headlight.
The Dynamo generates AC Electricity for the lights (rear light yet to be installed) and we now have a AC to DC converter for battery storage (just like a Power Monkey) and a live USB port (5 volt DC max, USB Standard).

Terry and I had a pre-scheduled time slot for our tour and the bike was not quite ready. The tail light and some other fine adjustment and final wiring was to be completed upon our return home to Colorado (which did happen, da Vinci delivered; they worked with us!).

The Bike is Loaded (da Vinci Tandem, the BEE)

Above: Dennis, the Bee, and Fatty Creek - Fully Loaded and Self Contained.

Above Left: We're in Bear Country and this is what Bears eat. We had already seen Bear Poop in the road and it was full of Red Berry Seeds.

Above Right: This is an all too common sight in Montana. Locals take down the signs, the locals don't need signs and it is assumed that they don't want outsiders to easily visit. This is no problem to GPS riders; it is a huge problem for Map only Riders.

Above: Piper Creek Road, we went left on the GDMBR.

Above Left: On occasion, we get to see beyond the nearest trees. We have good visibility, that is the Swan Mountain Range.

Above Right: Fireweed, beyond prime.

Above Left: It is our first warning that the Road is Closed Ahead in 1.5 miles.

Above Right: GDMBR, southbound approaching Cold Creek, MT.

Above Left: Road Closed Ahead (a lumber post & lentil bridge is being replaced by a large cement spanning bridge).

Above Right: Narrow bridge Sign.

Above Left: The bridge construction is just around the corner.

Above Right: The bridge is protected by 2 Large Cats with big teeth.

Above Left: This is the actual issue; the earth-fill section of just this side of bridge has an 8 foot (2.5 m) empty gap.

Above Right: The construction crew was nice enough to make a walkway for bikers to push there bike through the water. Luckily the water depth is only about 10 inches, well below most hub heights.

• Had I (Dennis) brought my river walkers (sandals), I would have walked our bike through the water.
• FACT: The bridge was completed, it was just setting up, and the ramp-fill section on the other side was filled in (with dirt).
• We could use the bridge. There was stuff on the bridge at the other end.
• We only had one problem with using the actual bridge, the 8 foot gaping hole.
• So we decided to unload the bike, walk all of the components through the gap, pass the items onto the bridge to include the bike, and then re-assemble everything.

Above Left: Basically, Dennis unloaded the bike and Terry walked the individual components through the fill gap and onto the bridge.

Above Right: At first, we attempted to pass the bike head first (passing up from Dennis to Terry). It was very awkward, especially with the flopping steering assembly. Then we realized that the rear of the bike could be lifted by its rack straps (the straps used to hold gear on the rear rack, already attached to the bike) and Terry could pull on the straps while Dennis lifted the bike up. That idea turned out to be shear genius. Dennis stabilized the front and Terry pulled and maneuvered the bike over the parapet.

Above Left - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: There is Mighty Woman, all of the bike gear, and the bike. Notice the straps on the rear of the bike that Terry used to lift the bike over the parapet.

Above Right: We walked all of the gear and the bike to the other side before assembly.

Above Left: The Bee is Fully Loaded and ready to go again.

Above Right: We're turning right, following Cold Creek Road.

Above Left: We stopped for a routine snack break and this southbound gentleman pulled-up. He was the first rider that we saw on the Divide (on this leg). He had been on the GDMBR for several days, having started in Banff, Canada; he informed us that there is another bridge out according to reports of those going the opposite direction. The bridge out is just before reaching Lincoln, Montana (MT).

Above Right: Terry is putting trash away in a side pocket - We're still on our snack break.

Above Left: GDMBR: Southbound on Cold Creek Road, Montana.

Above Right: It is a Garter Snake enjoying the warm morning sun. We rode around it.

Above Left: GDMBR: Southbound on NF-903, Cold Creek Road.

Above Right: Side view on Cold Creek Road.

Above: We have been traveling through Butterflies. At this stop, a butterfly landed on Terry and stayed there awhile. Terry had mentioned that she had been fluttered by the wings (this is called a Butterfly Kiss). This will happen many times for the next couple of weeks.

Above: Fern lined roads.

Above Left: Purple Daisy variant.

Above Right - GDMBR: This is where the auto vehicle road ends and Single Track Trail begins. This is the beginning of Unsigned NF-9591. We have reached the end of Cold Creek Road (NF-888 & NF-903). The ground is soft and we had to lay the tandem down so that Dennis could go back for a picture.

Above: The photo is an expanded view of Unsigned NF-9591 (it is Single Track, that continues behind the vehicle blocking rocks). NF-903 (Cold Creek Rd, abeam Condon, MT) continues uphill to the right. All signage is missing (so typical in Montana).

We will later meet the 3 hikers that belonged to this pictured vehicle, we met them exactly at an intersection where they corrected us from making a wrong turn. Do you believe in divine intervention? this sort of thing happened to us almost daily for the next two cycling weeks.

Above: This single track trail was relatively easy; it was uphill, which did not show in the pictures. The next day, we will find challenging cliff side single track that will require our full attention.

Above Left: Yellow Lupine.

Above Right - Aspen Forest: After about 4 miles of single lane cycling the road becomes double track on NF-9991 (abeam Condon, MT).

Above Left: Cycling is easy, joy is high.

Above Right: We're stopping for a snack.

Above Left: Double track on NF-9991 (abeam Condon, MT).

Above Right: The Trail had slowly changed from Single Track to Double Track to Logging Road.

Above Sequence: Grouse (I think). He came from a hidden nest in the grass on the left side of this road (we are not supposed to know). He is imitating an injured bird and we are supposed to be distracted enough to follow him as he attempts to focus our mind on him and not on the nest. Terry and I recorded the Role Play in photographs and as soon as the Grouse crossed the road, he took off flying.

As soon as Terry and I started cycling, the panicked female flew directly from her nest to our left. Leaving the nest unprotected and leaving most predators confused.

Above - GDMBR: Our view from Southwest to Northwest (our back trail on NF-9991). We were abeam and five miles west of the town of Condon, Montana. The mountains are part of the Mission Mountain Range.

Above Left: The road had slowly become wider and wider and it had seen more and more traffic use. We were slowly noticing signs of civilization (fences here and then telephone lines).

Above Right: We finally arrived at a T-Intersection; we turned left for Swan Road, also known as Highway 83.

Above Left: Telephone and Electrical Poles.

Above Right: Archetype Montana Ranch Entryway.

Above Left: Heading due east toward the Swan Mountains.

Above Right: Crossing the Swan River, Montana.

Above Left: Swan River ecological-area and flood plain.

Above Right: We arrived at Montana State Highway-83. We turned right and we got to ride on paved highway for about 3 miles.

Above Left: We pedaled due south on MT Hwy 83 for about 3 miles. The shadows are getting long.

Above Right: Someone had taken a shipping pallet, painted the top as an American Flag (symbolically), and displayed it on their fence. To us, it demonstrated some clever and original thinking.

Above Left: Looking east as we pedal south on Hwy 83.

Above Right: We found an un-published NF No-Fee Campground on the intersection of Swan River and Pineridge Road called Pineridge Campground. It has a toilet and a bear vault. We don't need anything else except water and we will collect water from the river.

Above Left: The Swan River borders the Campground. We will remain the only people here for the night. It is nice to have a campsite to one's self.

Above Right: Terry is systematically dropping 5 drops of Chlorine Dioxide into each 1 liter bottle.

Above Left: Dennis pumps the MSR Sweetwater Filter for a while. The Black Water Bladder (behind Dennis in this picture) holds 2.5 gallons (10 liters) of water.

Above Right: Terry pumps the water filter for a while. She is filling the 2.5 galon Water Bladder with 1 squirt per stroke direction.

Above Left: These 2 split logs serve as our kitchen area and dining area on this fine evening.

Above Right: We ate dinner, cleaned up the gear and ourselves, packed all 'smellables' (including medicine and toothpaste), and then we placed everything into the provided bear vault.

Above: This was our camp for the night (Pineridge NF CG, MT). Before turning in we will hang wash cloths on the bike to dry overnight.