Zin

I had planned to ride to Eden, MT today. The route is in the foothills of the Little Belt Mountains. Well, I wasn't counting on the 23MPH head/cross winds. (gusting over 33MPH ) Temperature was ~68F. This ride has some of the biggest climbs I have since I began cycling a little over a year ago. The hills come one after another. Miles of climbing followed by short shallow dips. Followed by bigger longer climbs. I went out around 8 miles. Between the hills and the wind I was spent. I was not even able to fully enjoy the decents coming back since the cross winds were nearly blowing me off the road! I did a total of 16 miles. I snapped a few photos to share with my friends here at bikeforums. It is amazing how difficult it is to capture hills and elevation change in digital photos. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into my world.

(EDIT:I just looked up the route on TopoZone.com. Looks like around 1300ft elevation gain from my front door to the top of Red Butte, my turning point.)

AdrianB

I don't mind hills, but I don't like wind... You can see that you're getting somewhere with hills! Hope you enjoyed it anyway

hillyman

I always hate the way hills look in photos. The only way I have found to capture the real steepness is to
photograph bikes or cars going up them at different distances apart. Still nice pics N7CZinMT

Zin

Hi AdrianB. Around here you have to live with both. Hills and the ever persistent wind. I always enjoy being on my bike. Wind, hills, or whatever the ride may bring.

hillyman, Thanks for complement and the tip. I'll try it out next time I'm out with the camera. I was happy to have a tripple on my touring bike today. As it was, I felt more like I was in the big ring the whole time.

MMPC

I was out there suffering with you, brother, just about 1400 miles southeast! Your pictures actually look a lot like where I rode in West Texas yesterday - just throw in some mesquite trees and oil rigs. I also had the 20MPH gusting headwind and the roads that seem like you're going absolutely nowhere fast. On the plus side, I found the Texas folk to be courteous and safe as they passed. Good to know since I'll be out here for another several days on business. I'm guessing they don't see cyclists out on the roads very much either. Certainly is a change from where I usually ride at home (the bugs out here are HUGE), but it was a good one nonetheless. I'll try to snap some pictures on my next ride...

Murrays

Where are the trees?

-murray

Zin

Cool. I am originally from Central Texas. I don't miss those huge bugs either. The wind really was killer. I think the wind was harder on me than the grades. I'm used to riding in the wind too, but man, it really took it out of me this time. I look forward to seeing your shots. I'm going to do my 20 mile mix-up ride after work. Its mostly light rollers with good short (>5%) climbs on each end.

Well, the trees are up at higher elevation. Further west. Also closer to water sources like the Missouri River. Here on the "East Side" of the continental divide, we are a very dry climate. If I ride west from Great Falls, then I am in evergreen forest within 20 miles.