Day 1:

• We arrived at Grant, MT, with no issues. We last ended a GDMBR bike tour here four (4) years ago in June of 2012.
• We had no problems getting the bike ready to tour.
• We saw plenty of Antelope (almost every 30 minutes). We did not see any Deer or Elk this day but we saw deer daily on the subsequent days.
• Water was plentiful and so were Mosquitos, streams and ditches were full of water.
• The daylight hours were longer at the northern latitudes of Montana.
• We waited 4 Hours for nightfall after camp was set up and all of the camp duties were performed [Learning Lesson].
• After Day 1, we generally slept in a longer time AND we biked for a longer period time.
• The road conditions were ideal (for dirt roads), not a single flat tire for the entire journey.
• The bike operated admirably.

Day 1
Bannack Bench Road, MT Hwy 324, Medicine Lodge Road to Beaverhead-Deer Lodge National Forest (Camp)

Above Left: The Centennial 7L Livestock Ranch next to the Town of Grant, Montana (pop 12, a guess) was where we last came off the Divide, four years ago.

Above Right: Our Rear Rack (new Tubus) with its Travel Strap Configuration - Our straps now have Metal Cam-Lock fasteners [Learning Lesson]. Every previous plastic buckle type on a nylon strap that we have had, has broken from stress. We bought these [displayed] straps at Ovando, MT, on the GDMBR many moons ago, we weren't too concerned about the color (no choice) but we chose functionality over style, and they have endured well!

[Learning Lesson] We had to leave space for the Pannier Mounts. Our pannier mounts were positioned exactly where I would have liked to attach the strap to the rack in order to gain the best stability. The resulting system left a very narrow platform for controlling lateral sway (roll), but the system still operated just fine.

Above: Bicycle Tour Camp Gear Loading in different stages. Can you tell that it is chilly outside, it was probably in the 40s F/ 5-7 C; the hard worker was Terry (wife of 40+ years).

We used our own Bike Packing Checklist. We were traveling for a little more comfort than speed on this trip, the checklist allows for all travel styles.

Above Left: We were experimenting with the top-rear load. The Tent was loaded axially and the sleeping bags and tandem mat were loaded laterally. We would change the setup in a few days and tie down both bags laterally. The original idea was to allow access to the pannier tops.

Above Right: The Cargo-Net was the last thing to be attached, it was for gloves and rain gear and served to hold both rain gear and/or cold weather gear for quick access, short term usage, and quick storage.

Above: Tandem Bicycle's Gate's Carbon Belt Drive Configuration - It continued to operate flawlessly (no more derailer issues!) + Rohloff 14 Speed Rear Hub.

The tandem bicycle is called The Bee.

Above: The Bee is Tour Ready!

Above Left: We're going straight ahead, due east.

Above Right: We found Montana Hwy 324, paved.

Above Left: We're now riding Montana Hwy 324, paved, for about 4 miles.

Above Right: A typical Montana wood fence gate.

Above Left: We found Medicine Lodge Road; we'll be living off of it for a day and a half.

Above Right: We're looking due West. Cattle, as viewed through a fence. That ridgeline is the actual Continental Divide and it is the Border between Montana and Idaho - This will be true for today's complete ride, we're riding parallel to the Divide all day.

Above: We unwittingly stirred some horses.

Above Left: Geese in flight (heading north).

Above Right: The road ahead.

Above Left: A Montana Ranch.

Above Right: Cattle rubbed clumps of hair in the barbs of a fence.

Above: Antelope; we will see antelope about every 20 minutes for the next week!

Above Left: We scared the Antelope and it scared a Crow. We have accidently upset Cosmic Karma.

Above Right: Little hills and big hills.

Above Left: Looking southeast.

Above Right: Antelope.

Above Left: It is warm enough to remove the balakava and jacket but cool enough to wear sleeves.

Above Right: Maybe White Phlox.

Above: Flowers.

Above Left: Overlooking a Ranch.

Above Right: Moving forward.

Above Left: Some Calves.

Above Right: Water and Butt Break.

Above: Cycling southward.

Above Left: Old Cabin or Line Shack.

Above Right: Blue Lupine.

Above Left: Wild Iris.

Above Right: Vertical Strata Colour.

Above Left: The Bee is taking a lunch break.

Above Right: Terry and I were about to eat lunch, notice that she was warm enough to have removed her sleeves.

Above Left: We're looking at the Stickers. We never noticed Stickers in Montana before. We now have to be careful about rolling our bike around the edge of the roads.

Above Right: Mountain Bluebell.

Above Left: USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon (I think) - A pair of F-16s flew by us at 500' AGL. Terry waved at the wingman and she got a wing waggle out of him. I was not ready for the first pair and by the time I got the camera turned on and ready, the planes were in Idaho. I told Terry that they sometimes they fly as a squadron of four and that we should wait a moment. Sure enough a solo F-16 flew by us in the same direction as the previous pair and we captured this picture; it was flying at about 800-1000' AGL. We also knew to keep an eye out for the wingman. See next image ...

Above Right: The wingman did arrive and fly by but he was flying at about 1500' AGL.
Footnote: The F-16 is now only flown by the Air Force Reserves and the Air Guard.

Above Left: We're admiring the quilt of different colored grasses in the mountain meadow.

Above Right: That's the main pass (climb) of the day, called Medicine Lodge-Sheep Creek Divide or sometimes Bannack Pass.

Above Left: The back/north view from the Medicine Lodge-Sheep Creek Divide (~7,900'/~2400m).

Above Right: The front/south view from the Medicine Lodge-Sheep Creek Divide.

Above Left: This sign was at the pass, where the road use dates back to 1862 and I believe this was one of the Mormon Migration routes.

Above Right: A blue flowering plant.

Above Left: Northern Fairy Candelabra (perhaps) and Yellow Primrose or Cinquefoil (perhaps).

Above Right: Northern Fairy Candelabra (perhaps).

Above Left: We're heading for the base of those trees but we have another hour long descent and climb ahead of us.

Above Right: We're passing by a creek and cool rock formation on the Hanson Livestock Ranch.

Above Left: Terry said, 'As soon as we clear the private property fence I want to setup camp'. We collected water at the very next creek using a water filter and then cycled about 500 yards/meters, cleared the private property fence, and then setup camp.

Here we are on NF Property or BLM Property.

Above Right: A picture of a Road Block being used as a bike rest in our camp.