Day 4 - Bozeman to West Yellowstone 90.5 Miles

Ugh! What a day. A very hard day. After leaving Bozeman we made our way over to hwy 191, a very busy narrow shoulder road heading south to West Yellowstone. The highway follows the Gallatin river, one of three Lewis and Clark discovered made the headwaters of the Missouri river. It cuts a pathway through the mountains and also, much to my misery, funnels air northward through the mountains. The scenery was beautiful, but I was working much too hard to enjoy it. The wind blew hard enough to stop you if you stopped pedaling and the route was uphill all the way. Both water and air were flowing the opposite direction you were. I did not want to look at my speedometer, it was too depressing.

That's not Sasquatch emerging from the forest, it's me trying to relieve my tired legs in the ice cold waters of a stream flowing into the Gallatin river:



Here's another view of the Gallatin:


We had a tasty lunch consisting of grilled brachwurst, chips and soft drinks. Mark serenades us with some guitar tunes:



I was so glad to get to the hotel:



I talked to the locals later. They said it has been blowing like this all summer. Not uncommon to have 30 knot gusts straight out of the south after the sun comes up lasting all day. It's not just the summer either, but all year long. This has made my decision about the optional unsupported ride through Yellowstone to Jackson easy. Nope, I'm sticking with the support vehicles for tomorrow's 135 mile journey. This was a day that was mentally and physically very difficult for me. I will be going south down hwy 20, rt 32 south via Marysville, Drummond, Felt, Driggs then eastward on rt 22 to Jackson.

Statistics:
Total miles 90.5
Cumulative climbing: 3,350 feet
Overall time aproximately 7 hours
Rolling average a pathetic 15.1 mph
Ride time 6 hours
Max speed 30 mph
I think I finish about 12th overall but who cares. I was just glad I finished.