{"id":15868,"date":"2015-07-14T21:58:15","date_gmt":"2015-07-15T01:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=15868"},"modified":"2015-07-15T07:14:15","modified_gmt":"2015-07-15T11:14:15","slug":"day-4-tuesday-july-14-townsend-to-white-sulphur-springs-montana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=15868","title":{"rendered":"Day 4. Tuesday, July 14 – Townsend to White Sulphur Springs, Montana"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a delicious breakfast,\"DSCN3419\"<\/a> we pedaled out in the crisp, clear and cool (60\u00b0) morning. \"DSCN3426\"<\/a>A wicked wind (think Dorothy & Oz) and rain blew through in the evening, washing away the haze that hung in the sky the day before.\"DSCN3424\"<\/a> \u00a0Well kept cottages lined the street as we headed out of town\u00a0on our (only) flat\u00a0two mile warm up before we started our straight and steady climb on wonderfully quiet roads. \u00a0The increasing elevation gave us a beautiful view of the clouds that still\u00a0hung in the hills\"DSCN3432\"<\/a> and a straight shot back on the town we’d come from.\"DSCN3436\"<\/a> \u00a0We continued our climb,\"IMG_0052\"<\/a> throughly\u00a0enjoying the scenery.\"DSCN3448\"<\/a> \u00a0About 15 miles in, we came across the road construction we’d be warned about.\"DSCN3466\"<\/a> \u00a0For our safety, the crew would not let us pass on our bikes. \u00a0So we quickly threw our bags and bikes in the back of the lead truck and were carried\u00a0through a mile and a half of the roughest area.\"DSCN3467\"<\/a> \u00a0As quickly as we’d unloaded, we loaded back up and headed on. \"DSCN3491\"<\/a>\u00a0With most vehicles\u00a0avoiding the 12 mile stretch of on\/off construction,\"DSCN3484\"<\/a> we had\u00a0the road almost to ourselves.\"IMG_0061\"<\/a> \u00a0The quiet was filled with\u00a0singing birds and the soothing music of the creek we followed up the mountain.\"DSCN3475\"<\/a>Words and photos\"DSCN3497\"<\/a> do not do the area justice. \u00a0Nor do they describe the climb that would not end.\"DSCN3486\"<\/a> \u00a0As we came close to\u00a0the top and hills faded away,\"DSCN3494\"<\/a> we could feel the breeze that previously\u00a0had rustled only the very tops of the trees. \u00a0It was nearly a 24 mile continuous climb and though there was no elevation sign, the GPS said we’d reached 5873 feet. \u00a0\"DSCN3505\"<\/a>We were excited to see our town from this vantage point, it just took forever to get there.\u00a0 The straight road down was fun, but short lived;\"DSCN3512\"<\/a> we soon were pedaling again. \u00a0We took a short break along the road\"DSCN3519\"<\/a> to eat the lunch we didn’t<\/strong><\/em> pack;\"IMG_0073\"<\/a>a few cherries, small bag of potato chips and one chocolate muffin. \u00a0Looking back we caught a glimpse\u00a0of snow\"IMG_0076\"<\/a> on the 9500 foot Mt. Edith. \u00a0Everywhere we turned was stunning.\"DSCN3520\"<\/a> \u00a0On our Long road into town,\"DSCN3526\"<\/a> we saw our first Antelope (ever) playing in the field. \"DSCN3536\"<\/a>\u00a0Tired and parched on arrival, we quickly dropped our bags and pedaled another half a mile for a refreshment, Jerry “bearly” made it.\"DSCN3540\"<\/a>We’ll skip the photo of the best\u00a0pulled pork sandwich either of us have ever had and defer instead to dinner Montana style!\"DSCN3545\"<\/a>It was a tough 43 miles, but a nice finish to the day.<\/p>\n\n\t\t