Now back to sharing more of the journey! There's much to show and tell!
GDMBR Day 33 - 8/10/25
This morning started with the magic of a shared meal of egg tacos thanks to Ryan and Nora. The magic continued for the whole day as we teamed up to tackle Togwotee Pass! I got to hear all about their bikepacking trips around the world which was such a treat! We had to say see ya later to Heather who took a rest day amoung the gorgeous peaks. Riding away from Coulter Bay, it was quite difficult to keep my eyes on the road with the Tetons continuing to prove their grandeur. We grabbed a lovely lunch stop full of fried food and ice cream before continuing into some super rad double track. The change to off road riding was super welcome after mainly churning through wide shouldered road sections. Bobbing and weaving around wide meadows, the valley opened to show the pinnacles that surround Togwotee pass. We stopped for an early dinner at a lovely restaurant near the top of the pass before we were treated to a astounding dusk summit! We soared down the other side so fast I think I finally topped 40mph haha Rolled into camp and got to treat Ryan and Nora to some popcorn popped in my little pot, a fun camp treat that in my opinion is well worth the weight:) To continue my study of the little guys and gals that try to cross the road, I saw this curious and mysterious beetle!
Togwotee was a warrior, chief, and shaman of the Tukudika band of Shoshone people who was well known for his spear throwing and widely feared for his curses enacted during the Sun Dance. He lead a USACE scouting party through the mountain pass that now shares his name.
#bikepacking #gdmbr #biketour
Yesterday 9/26, after 81 days of riding, smiling and communing with friends and animals alike, I finally made it to Antelope Wells the final stop and what. a. ride! Tbh it amazed me cause often I felt like a tarantula slowly crawling and meandering my way south lol I was so fortunate that my family (Alyssa and Connor were there in spirit) made the journey out to celebrate especially since it was such a triumphant yet bittersweet moment for me. My intent for this journey had been the journey itself, the continuous act of bikepacking, exploring, and living presently outside under the stars. As the end neared I realized this felt much more like a way of life rather than a goal to achieve and while I ultimately knew it wasn't innately sustainable, the thought of such freedom ending was incredibly saddening. However, the end is just the beginning of finding a sustainable way to continue the learning, growth, and presence I've found while on the route. These past few months have been some of the rawest experiences I've ever had and the highs and lows will continue to inspire me for a long time.
I am so so incredibly thankful for this experience and feel just how fortunate and lucky I am that I not only started but also had the good fortune, mental fortitude, and support to see it to the end. While it may seem like a personal accomplishment, to me it feels like I am the eyes, ears, and biking legs of the incredible community around me. Thank you to my family immediate and extended for their love and support. Thank you to all of my friends, old and new, that inspired me, road tripped with me, lent a supportive ear or message, joined me on excursions, came along for the ride, or shared knowledge of the route it truly meant the world. Thank you to all the kind souls that waved back, shouted words of encouragement, gave me water/beers/semi-precious stones, cooked me food, or just hung out, the ride would not have felt the same without your magic!
Obviously, I am quite behind on updates, but I still plan to share more photos and rambles from the trip:)
#bikepacking #gdmbr #biketour
GDMBR Day 32 - 8/9/25
A slow morning turned into a grand reunion as Heather rolled into camp as I was leaving! We got a quick hot springs soak in before heading up the hill towards the promise of pizza. Met the @helmet_heads and co. who were rad to ride with to the all important entrance!
I've loved cataloging all of the roadside flowers and what's been interesting is that in most places wildflowers have been incredibly prevalent along the road, sometimes even more than interspersed in the fields. Only hypothesis I've come up with is that there's more sunlight, wind, and tires/shoes/hooves to spread seeds/pollen. These purple and white ones were full of pzazz!
After finally seeing the mountain peaks I've seen on many a road trip come through the trees, the weight that I had ridden here by my own power got me quite emotional. Feeling just how far I'd come and getting to revel in the shadow of these giants made the coming miles a celebration:)
A party starts with pizza and Leeks Marina pizzaria did not disappoint! Nothing says relaxing after a bike ride quite like a canned margarita and some pizza while watching the sunset!
Stayed the night in Coulter Bay and was treated to some amazing s'mores and stories from the @helmet_heads of their new found fear of farm animals due to some creative route finding haha
GDMBR Day 32 - 8/8/25
This day was mentally very very hard. It wasn't hard for any one or even multiple dramatic reasons but it was just one of those down days I had to come to terms with even as I rode through the beauty of the US.
I entered Wyoming and climbed some very annoying, slow, swimy feeling gravel roads whose climbs never seemed to end. I saw windows XP in person and Indian lake which was more lily pad than lake haha I navigated extremely narrow and curvy one lane roads full of blind spots. By the end of it I had too many close calls I was pretty shaken up and was just thankful to still be here.
All the trials of the day earned me a beautiful respite at one of the best campsites to date right by the snake river. I pushed pretty hard that day as I had heard from a friend up the trail there was a natural hot spring primed for a post biking soak.
When combined with a call with my fam, the spring was just what I needed to calm my nerves and bring me back to the present. It was only then that I was able to truly appreciate the moon rise as it crested the opposing ridgeline!
GDMBR Day 31 - 8/7/25
One of the reasons I ended the previous day a bit early is that someone on the route had told me about Big Springs Idaho and how it was one of their favorite places on earth, a paradise even. So I wanted to have time to really experience the area and it did not disappoint! I watched a haron hunt for the jumping trout, a beaver swim around and nibble on some goodies, and got to soak in the amazing handiwork of Johnny Sach's Cabin! The eye for detail in this cabin was astounding, from the wall mounted burl place! Each day 120 million gallons of water pours out of this spring and starts the Henry's Fork River.
Stopped for lunch and discovered all my gummy bears had coalesced into a single mega gummy bear haha
The rest of the day was spent riding some fun double track that turned into slipper volcanic sand that had once been a railway bed. I saw hints of what was to come via the western points of the Tetons and rode past a massive now collapsed railway tunnel. Coming around the bend from that tunnel I was greeted with a view that defied words, absolutely incredibly fun riding! The party quickly caught in my throat as I sped around a bend and saw 3 large black hunched figures. I was incredibly confused until I realized it was a Black bear and two cubs😵💫 Thankfully they quickly rambled away but the fear didn't dissipate quite as quickly. Not long after that I saw two moose crossing the river below!
Such a wonderful day couldn't have ended with anything else but a lovely soak in the creek and a beautiful sunset!
GDMBR Day 30 - 8/6/25
Had to say goodbye to Red Rock Lakes and head towards the similarly named pass! Hopped into Idaho for a quick ride around Henry's Lake and through some stellar but slightly sandy double track. Finally got some vegetables in Island Park but had to cut the day short cause of my indecision on which vegetables to get lol Realized that most all of my media from this day is on my GoPro so y'all will have to wait for that footage:p
GDMBR Day 28 & 29 - 8/4/25 - 8/5/25
The barren and vast ranch land continued as we skirted around Lima reservoir. Turns out we were riding through a multi-century old 350,000 acre ranch. Fun fact the ranch has a such a history that one of its cattle brands is the square and compass of the Free Masons. It's been wild to come across such Americana. To make the riding spicy, it was a day full of headwinds and sandy conditions never quite giving us a break. We aimed for Red Rock Lake Wildlife refuge and ended up camping under the watchful gaze of Sheep Mountain of the Centennial Range.
I ended up spending a rest day here and climbed around the hills behind the campground to get some views of the lakes. It was a lovely day of soaking up the bird song, drinking pristine spring water mojitos supplied by lake side mint + one of Limas few limes, and resting the legs.
The lakes gave quite a show at sunset both nights with all manner of other water fowl, ducks, geese, loons, trumpet swans, toads, and more sharing in the spectacle! It was a cyclists party with many different parties, old and new friends all converging in this oasis.
Day 26 - 8/3/25
Rode out of a vast nothingness, a shrubland with barely there strubs, rimmed with distance peaks almost laughing at our plight. However, we soon entered this beautiful canyon that rimmed Big Sheep Creek. It seemed to rise out of the hills with a pride and a giggle that said "hehe didn't think I'd be there did ya?" Yearning for something to latch onto after a stressful few days, we aimed for Lima, MT with determination. But that didn't stop us from taking a lovely dip in the creek to bask in the sun. Riding out of the canyon the weather would soon flip and what was a beautifully sunny day turned into an absolute chaotic deluge right as we rode into Lima. It was the kind of rain you could see the rain-waves coming towards you mercilessly, the kind where all you can do is laugh and laugh and relish the fact that you simply get to live this feeling. Knowing we would soon have a warm bed definitely made the going easier. We ate at the one and only Peats steakhouse, where they cook the steaks in the middle of the dining room.
Unfortunately, a very drunk rancher needed to be reminded that no indeed means no. But the impact of a smile, handshake, and an anecdote about my grandpa given their shared full name ended up confusing and defusing at a moment where aggression is more often the currency. It was a reminder of the power of calm and the line after which we all need to stand up with our sisters.
Day 25 8/2/25
Rode with a new friend named Heather from the UK who James and I had met at Bannack State Park! It was a pretty rough day, super super remote, arid, no water, and the sun was debilitating. We rode through one of the highest elevation ranches in the US and the ranch itself was an entire high elevation bowl, ridgeline to ridgeline it was insane. The road was super historic but we didn't quite realize or appreciate it until the very top when we saw the dilapidated sign haha The day turned scary quick after one of our teammates took a nasty fall on the ensuing downhill. However, the camaraderie was strong and we all rose to help out and support each other! We ended up stopping at this incredible rock formation as the sky threatened us with rain. Thankfully that threat turned into a sky spectacular and the sunset, far off rain, and rainbow all coalesced to help us rejoice in our shared humanity!
PSA: After some thought, I unfortunately can't keep up with the post format I've been using, it's far too time consuming. So instead I'll post a day summary like above that tells the story through each photo! I'm going to try to post more regularly to catch up with the present, it's been an incredible ride in August and I am excited to share more:)
GDMBR Days 23 - 25 - 7/30/25 - 8/1/25
1 - day 23 - James and I climbed out of Butte and rode through Thompson Park, a previous gold mining area turned park of wonderful double and single track. We stopped for lunch around the Continental Divide before decending down into the valley with these views tickling our souls.
2 - day 23 - As we climbed, we looked out and saw the speckles of Butte in the distance. What makes this route so rewarding is views like this that show you just how far you've come by your own blood, sweat, and tears in a matter of hours!
3 - day 24 - After shoving our bikes up the rocky and steep Fleecer Ridge, James and I topped out to gorgeous views knowing the treacherous 26% + grade decent was yet to come. Fleecer Ridge is another notorious section known for its extremely steep, loose, and ride-ending terrain with baby head sized rocks.
4 - day 24 - I can both proudly say I rode the entirety of the Fleecer Ridge decent! It's impossible to document just how gnarly the trail is but to me it was easier to ride down than attempt to walk. I had a blast surfing and fish tailing the loose dirt to help slow my decent and dodge the bike-tipping rocks. Certainly a no fall zone that had my brakes hot and smelly.
5 - day 24 - Riding out of Wise River after some 'food' 🥴, we rode onto the Pioneer Mountain Scenic Byway, a paved section that made up for its road cycling with stunning views!
6 - day 24 - Grand Vista overlook showing us the Pioneer Mountains. We would eventually ride up over the ridge on the right side!
7 - day 25 - After successfully out running a storm the night before and besting the Pioneer mountain ridgeline, we were greeted with a huge, much dryer valley. But on the way down we stopped at Elkhorn Hot springs to soak weary legs and at the friendly Ma Barnes Country Market to restock!
8 - day 25 - To wrap up an incredible couple days, we camped at Banack State Park and explored the historic ghost town. It was full of Vigilante spirits fighting the Road Agent ghosts over wagons of gold.
9 - day 25 - love me some rusty old tech:) Also if you zoom, squint, and trust me you can barely see the rectangular gallows in the background.
Quick aside: Turns out I've had my own gold mine this whole time!? Bummed I'm just now finding out after it's already been decommissioned:'(
Jokes aside, riding around old mines in Montana was a truly fascinating look at what drove the droves in that day.
