After a night of intermittent rain in the KOA tent site, the morning showed partly cloudy skies. After a quick check with the Montana road condition hotline (which indicated "light rain alternating with light rain"), I loaded up and headed east for Bozeman along Interstate 90. Fortunately, the forecasted light rain never materialized; however, the cross-winds during the first half-hour or so were simply brutal, gusting to 45 mph or so. The bike handles gusts surprisingly well, moving downwind 4-8" while making a slight lean to windward; loosely resting your hands on the bars thus lets the bike self-correct to the wind. Pretty cool, even if it means traveling down the road listing 5-10 degrees to windward. The winds calmed before the grade up to Homestake Pass (at 6,368'), which was a good thing. This being Montana, the speed limits are pretty much ignored, even by the semis -- which fly down the descent in excess of 65 mph, despite a posted limit of 25 mph for trucks. The pass was thus made at a rather brisk (but comfortable) pace.
I'm now holed up in a motel, airing out my rain-soaked tent and about to go down to the gym. Later, I'll return to the task of working my way through the Ph.D. thesis in preparation for Wednesday morning's defense. Although the weather in Bozeman is fine today, rain is slated to make a several-day return. I came here to stage myself for the Beartooth Highway, the segment of Highway 212 that runs between Red Lodge and Cooke City, Montana, meandering along the Montana/Wyoming border. It's been named both the best motorcycling road in North America and "the most beautiful drive in America" by CBS's Charles Kuralt (woohoo!), and so it might well be worth waiting for better weather later in the week -- assuming that the high passes aren't snowbound.
I didn't stop en route to take any photos today, but here's a consolation prize: a brief clip of the Triumph idling in the motel parking lot. (Go ahead, use headphones...)
Update: A winter storm watch was posted at 8:24 PM MDT:
Winter Storm Watch remains in effect from Wednesday morning through Thursday afternoon for elevations above 6000 feet...
A Winter Storm Watch for elevations above 6000 feet remains in effect from Wednesday morning through Thursday afternoon.
* Timing and main impact: light snow Wednesday morning will intensify by mid day and continue through Thursday. Heavier snow is likely at elevations above 5000 feet.
* Snow accumulations: total accumulations of 16 to 24 inches possible near pass level to 7000 feet... 16 to 24 inches possible above 7000 feet.
* Winds and visibility: locally heavy snow and blowing snow could reduce visibilities below one-half mile at times.
* Locations affected include: Battle Ridge Pass... Targhee Pass... West Yellowstone... Boulder Hill... Elk Park Pass... Homestake pass... Big Hole Pass... Chief Joseph Pass... Monida Pass... Kings Hill Pass... Raynolds Pass
Dangit.
That's a grim forecast :(
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing the Beartooth Highway travels over some of the passes listed above? Crossing my fingers for you!
Hey Beck!
DeleteActually, the Beartooth's passes aren't on the list -- though I'm not sure whether this is simply because they'd be part of a parallel weather warning issued by Wyoming, rather than Montana. (I've not looked, as I've been reading a Ph.D. thesis all day.)
I spoke with an local outdoor enthusiast last night during dinner, and he mentioned that storms that come from the Pacific Northwest often avoid the Beartooth region. It apparently tends to get hammered by storms originating closer to Southern California. So my fingers are also crossed!