Fighting the “W” word, and a tough “ride” up Stemple Pass.

We woke up early-ish in Ovando, MT, having spent the night at the Ovando Commercial Co. lodge.

Below is a stock photo of the joint, not mine.

The plan for today was to ride. No plan.

The day started with a questionable breakfast of carnation instant breakfast, coffee, and an energy bar Not much.

This dovetailed with the dinner from yesterday.

There weren’t a lot of food options in Ovando yesterday since one restaurant closed prior to us getting there, and the other is always closed on Tuesday.

As a result we were forced to choose from the fine offerings at the lodge’s convenience store. I opted for a bean burrito and a carne asada burrito. Additionally Luke went for the CA burrito as well. We also got microwave rice canned beans, green chile (hatch brand of course) and tortillas so we could also make burritos.

As it turns out, this is NOT the greatest fuel for a morning ride.

Luckily, the pressures were MOSTLY at our backs as we headed toward the first climb of the day. Huckleberry Pass. A “little” 2600’ climb.

Luckily for me and the way I was feeling from the food, Huckleberry Pass is a gentle 4% average grade, or so. The dirt road was actually surprisingly smooth. I was able to catch another rider fairly easily, as Luke had flown by him long before I got to him.

The climb was mostly sheltered and very cool in the early morning.

I don’t know if it was the climb or the awaiting food resupply and restaurant in Lincoln, MT that drove me, but I was happy to be at the top where Luke had waited for a bit.

Finally it was time to go downhill!

A Rapid downhill brought us to Lincoln about 15 miles later. It was about 1000 and we have ridden a substantial pass and about 40 miles. I was never so happy to eat a chicken fried steak breakfast!

Soon we were back in the road and headed toward a 17 mile journey taking us up Stemple Pass.

Now I’ve ridden this pass, but my mind must have intentionally omitted the memory, because I didn’t recall it for the longest time.

I didn’t feel great approaching the climb, but breakfast finally kicked in and we were off!

The run-in to the climb and the first half were great. The road surface and gradient were more to my liking. In the 3-5% range. With 5 miles to go in the climb, we turned a corner (actually I turned a corner as Luke had easily ridden away from me. I’m starting to see a trend!🤣) and the road went to shit. As did the gradient! The next hour or so was a mix of difficult riding and difficult hiking! I didn’t see Like for the rest of the ride up. I assumed he was up among the angels as he floated away.

I FINALLY topped out and found Luke once again waiting for me. We quickly mounted and started a rocky downhill for a couple of miles until the road got decidedly better. After that it was a ripping descent to the Alpaca Farm (Formerly Llama Ranch).

The Alpaca Farm is famous on the divide. John and Barbara hose upwards of 1000 cyclists each year at the farm. There is a “Magic Fridge” that automatically restocks itself with various beers (good ones) and sandwiches. This goes on for several months every summer.

John will NOT accept any payment, and only asks you to pay it forward. I recalled talking to him on my divide in 2021. Same fantastic human!!

There are 8-ish fully outfitted mini-cabins that you can check into. If the cabins are full, there is average for tenting. There is also a shower facility (solar and cold!!!) as well as restroom facilities. All for free!!!