Doubilet & Benson bike-lecture 2010: Crossing the Continental Divide

   We set off Thursday morning, on a cold, rainy, windy day for our 1500 foot ascent up to the Continental Divide, crossing it at 11 am at Marias Pass (5216 feet above sea level). When we left our hotel, little did we know that we would be exposed to brief periods of snowfall at the high altitudes, and winds as high as 45 mph in the afternoon. Fortunately, the wind was with us almost all day, but when we were caught in cross-winds it was a challenge to keep our bikes going in a straight line.
   Thirteen miles after crossing the Divide, we passed the eastern boundary of Glacier National Park and entered Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The change in scenery was sudden and remarkable: for the past week, we've been cycling through monstrous, snow-covered peaks, but within 25 miles of crossing the Continental Divide the mountains had melted away and we were surrounded by fairly flat ranchland.
   The lodging we had reserved for Thursday night was a motel in Browning, MT, a town within the reservation, but on Thursday morning we received several warnings that Browning was a dangerous, high-crime town, where we should not stay. In part because of these warnings, and also because we were travelling at high speeds due to the strong tailwind, we continued on through Browning, cycling an extra 30 miles (for a total of 76 miles for the day, making tomorrow's ride very short). We ended at a Super 8 Motel in Cut Bank, MT, just outside the reservation.

Setting out with gear for rain and cold: rain jacket and pants, waterproof gloves, waterproof fleece-lined shoe covers, rain glasses (tinted to make the weather look artificially pleasant)