Chelsea, my former colleague at NatureBridge, introduced me to Jane, a mountain bike coach in Helena, last year. Before I headed out to Helena, I reached out to Jane and arranged to spend a night with her and her husband, Micah. Jane welcomed me to her sweet home with a yummy dinner, and I enjoyed our conversation that was almost all about biking! Micah has done the GDMTB route, and he shared helpful tips and what to expect on the route with me. “Tomorrow will be one of the biggest days,” said Micah. He and Jane both described the technical and difficult climb of Lava Mountain, which comes right after leaving Helena, the beginning of Section 3 of the Tour Divide. As I listened to them, I mentally prepared myself for walking some sections with my bike and a long day.

As Jane directed me, I hit Grizzly Gulch Drive right outside of Helena the next morning and started to climb up the unpaved road. After I passed the Park Lake, I started climbing Lava Mountain. First, the road became a sandy trail, and I managed to maintain a momentum to ride it through without eating the sand. Soon, the trail became very steep with big rocks and crevices in the middle of the trail. I walked, pushing my bike up and over some rocks, staying away from the crevices. Once I made it to a spot where I could ride, I hopped back on the bike and rode until I fell. I repeated walking and riding a few times. It was a lot of work! At the same time, I got better and better as I moved on, and I was able to ride through terrain that I had fallen and had to walk earlier. Luckily, the trail wasn’t consistently steep, so I enjoyed the balance of very challenging terrain and being able to relax and cruise easier sections. The downside of riding Lava Mountain was that I got stuck in the middle of a large mud-filled pothole and let my feet get completely wet with stinky cow poop muddy water! That was disgusting. Later, when I found a creek, I rinsed my shoes and socks thoroughly, but still they smelled bad. If I paid attention closely, there were logs on both sides of the pothole. I could have walked on one of those logs to avoid being stuck in the mud. For the rest of the day, my feet were wet, and my toes were cold and numb. Mountain bike shoes don’t dry out as fast as my hiking shoes. It was a good learning experience for me. 

Once I made it to the summit, I had to walk downhill twice for the very steep rocky parts of the trail. The rest was fun, following a creek with beautiful fall colors of cottonwood and willow trees all the way to Basin, a small town next to I-15. The trail went alongside the I-15 and the Boulder River for a few miles. I noticed that aspen leaves started to change color in the area. The evening sun was bright, reflecting on golden leaves, and it was beautiful. I crossed the interstate and rode the road following the Lowland Creek all the way up to the Lowland Campground.

The next morning, I made it to Butte. When I woke up, there was frost inside my tent! For the rest of this section, I had freezing temperatures every morning and felt the chilly and crisp mountain air, especially in the mornings and in the evenings. The daylight gets shorter every day. As I pedaled into the cold air, my hands and feet got so cold and numb. I learned a trick to put plastic bags over my hands and feet to cut the cold air, and that helped a lot to make my morning riding more enjoyable. 

When I was hiking the CDT, I was up on the ridge and never came down to Butte. This time, the bike route took me to the Big Butte’s Big “M” sign on the side of the mountain, then to Montana Tech University and down to the historic mine tower that says Butte. In the east, I could see the ridge line of where the CDT is. 

Once I descended to the main road, I continued on the road called Continental Drive. I thought that was suited for the ride! After a few miles, the road followed Blacktail Creek and started climbing up to a pass. When I made it, I saw the Highland trailhead where CDT crossed, and I was so excited to see the trail. From there, I descended all the way to I-15, climbing a couple more hills along the way. Once I went under I-15, the road looked familiar. I realized that this small section is where the Tour Divide and CDT overlap. I rode to the Rocky Ridge trailhead, where Brett picked me up when I was hiking the CDT. It’s a full circle. I wondered how Brett was doing. From there, I followed the road to Beaverdam Campground, which was 4 miles from Fleecer Ridge, a landmark of the Tour Divide, which comes with 33% steep downhills on the rocky terrain. I didn’t want to do that section at the very end of the day when I’m tired, so I decided to call for a day, even if it was a little earlier than usual, but I thought it was a good place to stop. 

The next morning, I made it to the summit of Fleecer Ridge and went down the notorious steep hill.  It’s like San Francisco downhill, but with rocks and loose gravel. I rode partway until it became too steep for me to ride. I decided to switch back and bushwhack in the sagebrush to ease the downhill grade while walking my bike. My bike sometimes fell on top of me, and I had to hold my bike in a specific position and angle to avoid it as I went downhill. Luckily, it was a short section, so soon it became rideable and I descended to Jerry Creek. 

The dirt road took me to the state highway and to the town of Wise River. For the rest of the day, it was a paved road called Pioneer Mountain Scenic Way, following the Big Hole River and other creeks. It was a 30-mile-long, steady, beautiful climb to the summit, passing many national forest campgrounds and trails. Once I reached the summit, it was fun downhill. I planned to stay at Elkhorn Hot Springs, but the campground was not great, and clothing was required to bathe, so I skipped and continued my way to Bannack State Park. I rode this section in the beautiful evening light, looking at the Continental Divide in the west. By the time I made it to Bannack State Park, the evening sunlight was perfect, making the aspen and cottonwood leaves a bright golden color. I kept riding in the park, chasing the beautiful light and golden leaves. I had a wonderful evening and was happy that I decided to continue my way to the park.

The next day, I rode to Lima, 80 miles south of the park. At sunrise, I knew the weather was changing. As I predicted, I first saw a rainbow to the west, where it looked like it had just rained. As the rainbow faded, I hit the state highway for a few miles, enjoying a smooth, flat road ride. Then I turned onto an unpaved road, which was designated as a national backcountry byway by the BLM. I never knew such a byway existed before.

As I began climbing toward the pass, the cloud developed more, and I thought it could potentially rain or thunderstorm in the late afternoon. The headwinds picked up by 10:30 am. For the rest of the day, I was pushing through the wind.

Something nice about the Tour Divide is that there are drivers on the road who stop for me, asking if I need anything. Today, three people helped me. The first one was Jose from New York. He had a tandem bike on the roof of his pickup truck. Not only did he give me water, but he also gave me donations! I was grateful for his support. The second one was John, a mountain biker, whose son is currently hiking the CDT southbound. He offered me fresh tangerines and said, “If you have trash, I’ll take it.” Any seasoned trail angels would usually take trash. I appreciated his thoughtfulness. The last person was BJ, a hunter with a big trailer. He said, “It’s a long day for Lima. Do you want water? Snack?” I took water and thanked him for stopping and asking me if I needed anything.

I usually see one to three vehicles an hour. Having backcountry road angels randomly supporting me was a huge comforting factor on the Tour Divide. I enjoyed talking to all these angels as well.

I finally made it to the pass, and on the way, I made one mistake and learned an important lesson: never make a sharp turn when going slow! I fell when I didn’t have the momentum to make a quick turn. The arm of my jersey was torn, and I scraped my arm. If I didn’t wear a long-sleeve bike jersey, it would’ve been much worse. I assessed, cleaned my wound, and figured out I’ll be fine.

After reaching the pass, I enjoyed going downhill. As I descended into the valley, I got very close to the CDT, which was on the ridge just west of me. I remember this section of the trail literally followed the Continental Divide ridge lines, going up and down many times over and over again in the wind.

The road led me away from the CDT after a while, and I went towards the east, then into a canyon north, following Big Sheep Creek. It was nice to go northbound for a while, having the sun on my back and a tailwind. On my bike trip, I’m going southbound, and taking pictures is much more difficult since I’m facing the sun most of the time. Northbound is better for photo opportunities.

The canyon was beautiful, and there were many swimming holes along the way. If it’s a summer day, it’ll be nice to take a dip in a pool and camp out there for a night.

I made it to Lima by 4:30 pm and checked in at the Beaverhead Inn, where I stayed during my CDT trip. They hold a resupply package for free, and I left a box with them with extra food that I didn’t need last time. Tori, the caretaker of the Inn, was again friendly and helpful. “You came in right in time before the rain,” said Tori. Sure enough, it started to rain in the evening and continued through the night. I have been camping, and it just so happened that it rained heavily when I had a roof over my head. I took a bath and enjoyed my warm, dry, and cozy evening at the Inn.

Spending a night in an indoor space is a luxury when it’s cold outside. The next day, I started my morning with warm hands and feet. Plus, I had a tailwind, riding out to the southeast towards Island Park, Idaho, and it made a huge difference in my energy consumption. When the road turned to the north a few times, I immediately felt headwinds, slowing me down. I caught up with Jeff, a cyclist I met a few days ago, at the Inn, and we rode together for the day. It was nice to have an easy-going companion who asks great questions! I appreciated his company again.

The terrain was not as steep as what I had been through, and it was a wide-open valley. I imagined this route would be windy most of the time, and it could be a brutal ride with headwinds all day long. The clouds added depth to Montana’s big sky, and the golden leaves of Aspen were breathtaking. We made it to Red Rock Pass in the late afternoon. Descending the hill through golden late afternoon light and aspen trees was magical. 

We settled in at an RV park just 8.5 miles west of Island Park. The hiker-biker camp was right next to the road, so I was going to go for a few more miles and settle somewhere that’s away from the road and quiet. That’s when two people who work at the RV park came, and Tracy, one of them, said, “I was a cyclist. You don’t want to go any further tonight. It’ll be down to 27 degrees. You can sleep in the laundry room and stay warm.” Jeff already planned to stay there, so I was caved and joined him to stay in the laundry room. I made the right choice! Tracy gave me a free towel so I could take a hot shower. We ate in the laundry room, which was warm and cozy.

The night in the laundry room was more comfortable than I thought. I’ve slept in so many places, and I have earplugs and a bandanna over my eyes to create my own comfort zone for sleep, and it worked well even in the laundry room, which had so many tiny lights and a loud ice machine working all night long. I said goodbye to Jeff and I left the camp before 7:30 am in the morning, hoping to put 90 miles to reach Colter Bay, the finish point of Section 2. 

The trail to Island Park was beautiful, and it turned out it’s a community trail. It went through trees and crossed a few creeks. Jeff told me that from Island Park, the bike path would be very sandy, and there’s an alternative route to avoid that section. I decided to stick to the original route and see how a sandy trail would feel in my body and on the bike. As predicted, soon after leaving Island Park, the trail became sandy, and I could feel my bike sink into the sand a few times. Still, I was able to keep my bike straight most of the time, and I never ate the sand. I figured the key to riding on the sandy trail was to keep the wheels as straight as possible to avoid getting stuck in the sand. That required undivided focus. I kept going without stopping. I knew it would be difficult to resume the ride if I stopped. It was helpful that the trail was relatively flat, and I didn’t have to climb a lot on the sand trail. 

The trail followed the Warm River, surrounded by the fall colors. I made it to the Warm River campground and had lunch along the river. That was when I realized that I had made a couple of mistakes! One was that I did math wrong, that instead of 90 miles to Colter Bay, it was 110 miles. I won’t make it during the daylight, I thought. Second, I had no extra food since I planned to make it to Colter Bay and hitch a ride into Jackson for dinner with friends. If I had enough food, it would not be a big deal, and I would just camp and continue the next day. Since I had no extra food, I had to get to Jackson. It would be a long day, I thought.

After lunch, I started climbing up the hill on the pavement, and when I hit mile 396, I had my first glance of the Tetons! I was so happy to see the mountains relatively clear compared to when I saw them on my way north on the CDT. It was smoky and I couldn’t see the mountains well. This time, a crystal clear and crisp fall air allowed a clean view of the Tetons. I didn’t expect to see the view of the Tetons from the Idaho side. I felt at home even though I’m not used to seeing the Tetons from the Idaho side since I lived on the Wyoming side. 

As I rode, the Tetons got closer, and it was particularly beautiful with the fall colors. I kept riding on the sandy road, and I didn’t really gain a lot of speed. At 5 o’clock, I still had 35 miles to Colter Bay. I rode until 7:30 pm, right before losing the daylight.

I decided to skip some miles and hitched a ride with Jessica, then with Neal’s family, to Jackson. By the time I made it to Jackson, it was past 9 pm! My friend Shawn picked me up at a grocery store and took me to his home. I was grateful for his help, a warm place to sleep, and food.

I couldn’t just let go of the last 20 miles of the ride. I could easily skip the section and resume the trip from Moran Junction. I thought if I did that, then I would be skipping the best part of Wyoming through Grand Teton National Park. I wanted to experience the landscape through the eyes of a cyclist, so my stubbornness brought me back on the saddle instead of a comfy couch at Shawn‘s house the next day. 

The next morning, I hitched a ride back to where I had left. On the way up, the valley fog was cuddling at the base of the Tetons in a morning light. The fall colors were so beautiful. I want to come back here again and again and do this section of the ride over and over. I was so glad I went back. I passed one of my favorite spots in the Tetons called Oxbow Bend. It’s better to be there early in the morning when the water is glassy, but still, it was beautiful. From there, the Tour Divide route goes to Moran Junction, then to the east to a steep climb of Togwotee Pass. I took a detour to Jackson, which was my original plan, so I could see my friends. I was excited about taking this beautiful detour, riding through Grand Teton National Park on my bicycle.

As I spent quality time with Tetons on my bike, I realized how deeply I love this place. This was a place of inspiration. I learned how to be an effective hands-on environmental science educator 25 years ago in the Tetons. I’m circling back to this place, feeling a deep connection to not only the place but also what I’ve done for the past 25 years. This is where I gained the opportunity to reach my dreams. It’s a detour from Tour Divide, and yet, it’s another full circle that I’m making on my journey. 

Tonight, I am going to reunite with Shawn and Mark, some of my wonderful friends from Teton Science School in Jackson. I saw them on my way up north on the CDT journey. I’m back here to be in their presence and appreciate the great people I have in my life. 

Again, a full circle.