cycling the bear tooth highway: 10,947'

(courtesy david's fightingmean blog)

Cycling the Beartooth Highway: 10,947'

I don't know when or how it happened but cycling up the Beartooth highway from Red Lodge to Cooke City Montana has been a dream of mine for a couple of years.  This stretch of road has been lauded as "the most beautiful drive in America" and as the #1 best motorcycling road in America. The series of switchbacks rise straight up a glacial valley to a dizzying altitude of 10,947' at the summit. It was impossible for me to pass on riding my bicycle along the highway while on vacation in Cooke City.

Looking at the route data the numbers didn't seem that bad. The road gains about 4,000' in 17 miles for an average gradient of 5%. From a cycling perspective that is definitely an HC climb simply because of the length and the altitude, but a 5% average climb is doable. My Mom volunteered to both drive the sag wagon and be the photographer for the trip. I began riding at about 10am and immediately headed uphill. In fact, this first section of the ride felt like the steepest of the entire highway. Normally, when climbing on a bike you don't fully realize how much elevation you're gaining. But the Beartooth Highway is so exposed on the mountain that after only a few minutes I had gained substantial elevation and was well above the valley floor.

After only a few more minutes I arrived at the famous overlook. This small walk out from a parking lot provides nearly uninterrupted views of the entire valley. I've walked out to the overlook multiple times but this was the first time I rode there! There is always a group of motorcycle riders and other tourists enjoying the vista. Joining this group of people I wondered what their reaction would be. I feel a kingship with motorcycle riders since we are both on two wheels and refer to cars as 'cages'. But a cyclist sporting spandex and chamois creme is solidly lower on the cool totem pole than a bruiser with a handlebar mustache and a harley. To my surprise this assorted group of people universally embraced my attempt. The Harley Bruiser asked if my bike was one of those really light bikes and was impressed that even my wheels are handmade carbon fiber. Once he approved, so did everyone else. Maybe it was the way I fearlessly rode over to the wall put my bike on it and climbed up on the edge of a sheer drop to grab a photo. Or perhaps it was my bulging cyclist muscles. Whatever the cause, I was in the club. For the rest of the ride I was leapfrogging this group of people and they would honk, wave, cheer, and had become my personal fan club. It was pretty dang cool and was the most cheering I've ever been the recipient of.

In no time at all I was above the switchbacks and working toward the summit. The small shrubbery at this elevation are 100 year old pines that grow about an inch during a good year. But even the hobbit pines gave out eventually and I was well above the tree line. The views from this elevation are spectacular. There are no obstructions and the expanse opens in every direction. The valley below has a distinctive bowl shape created by being carved out by massive glaciers driven by gravity from the last ice age. 

The view on the Beartooth Highway is incredible from a car. But from the seat of the bike it invites the cyclist to translate into heaven. Riding next to the guard rail I not only had open views but could look directly off to the drops below. 

Also, near the summit the Bear's Tooth is visible. This sharp prominent peak has a sign by the road but is quite far away and difficult to spot. Luckily, a bright red arrow was installed on the feature a few years ago much to the chagrin of conservationists. 

Leaving the switchbacks was deceptive because I still had a lot of elevation to gain before reaching the summit. The temperature had dropped into the 30's and the wind was blowing. The final push to the summit was pure joy for me, however. A well earned 10,947 feet. 

Another set of switchbacks drops off from the summit into an area of high alpine lakes. This mountain playground of lakes is where my heart is. Growing up many of my family's free weekends were spent bouncing in a 4x4 to a remote lake with a canoe and a tent. Many of my happiest childhood memories are from the Beartooth mountains. 

The ride across the mountains and past the lakes was beautiful and a joy to ride across. There had been a couple of snow storms a few days earlier and the normally voracious mosquitos were all dead. I passed the top of the world store and made my way over to Beartooth lake. After leaving the Beartooth plateau I dropped into the final valley and push to my destination. This valley is where the North East entrance into Yellowstone is located and is famous for the Pilot Index peaks. This twin peak is famous for having guided early explorers to find the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and marked the boundary what was then referred to as "Colter's Hell". I think Yellowstone National Park is a better name for marketing reasons but is much less. 

Dropping further I came into the final valley where my destination, Cooke City, resides. But the ride had gone much too easily. Just before Cooke City at around mile 52 there is a 3 mile climb. Normally this ascent would have been child's play. But I had been riding for several hours all of which was at high altitude and it took some grit to get up the final climb. Finally, the serene former mining town of Cooke City came into view and I gratefully rolled up to a cabin in the woods that I called home for a week. 

Cycling the Beartooth Highway is now a dream that I can check off. As a child I enjoyed the steady switchbacks driving in our international scout. Now as an adult I have experience of cycling the road under human power. The ride was both challenging and unforgettable.