The Dividers

The grey cloak that was thrown over me was eventually lifted. It was time to pedal on and tackle the climb to Red Meadow lake for a second time. The promise of a gentle down-hill ride to Whitefish once over the top suggested that I should have a relaxed enough ride. Naturally, climbing with a fifty kilo ball and chain up a gravel road took longer than expected but the weather had cleared and so there was nothing particularly pressing to worry about. I simply had to get to the bike store in Whitefish for some maintenance and then it would be a case of figuring out where to spend the night.

As scenic as back-country roads are it is always nice for the legs to have an easier ride on asphalt, which I hit for the beautiful section around the lake before dropping into town. It was slightly odd to find the mechanic in the bike store wearing a green t-shirt with Ireland emblazoned across the chest but Montana has strong Irish roots. It was also quite a shock to be in such a nice store, considering the racing scene is thin on the ground and the fact that a cold winter will inevitably slow business down. The guys in Glacier Cyclery were great and happy to chat, which is unusual for a bike-shop as the pressure for sales tends to reduce idle-chat with people who are not going to spend much money. Typically bike shops' policy is unless you are talking sales then you don't talk at all - really annoying. It turned out the guy I was talking to is a UCI commisarre and is very knowledgeable about the US bike scene. We must have talked for an hour. One never factors in such conversations into the plan for the day but it's amazing how much time you can drop just talking to the locals or walking around in circles in unfamiliar supermarkets.

I decided to sneak another 35k in for the day by riding to Tom's house past the next town of Columbia Falls. People along the route are familiar with the cyclists that are riding it and as Tom is a cyclist himself he makes his lawn available for Dividers coming through to camp on. Tom Arnone (79) simply has cycling and bikes coursing through his veins. He was a B-52 pilot and retired from the force in the seventies. The free-time outside of some farming allowed him to spend many an hour in his work-shop designing and crafting frames. I regret not making the time to take photos of the art I saw. Indeed, Tom has designed an array of exquisite steel frames for track, road, and mountain. While he rides them himself they were mostly for his son when he was racing and a few local riders who sought him out. One rider managed to time-trial his way to an incredible sub 50 minute twenty-five miler on one of Tom's bikes (30+mph). Tom's frames were fascinating to look at. The craftsmanship of the welding was second to none and the designs were ahead of their time. His time-trial frames had one-piece cock-pits and a head-tube that pivoted off the frame. This design has only recently incorporated by some of the top bike manufacturers in production. Tom also built his own suspension system for his mountain bikes. Looking at his mountain-bike the suspension he built was similar to Specialized's much coveted 'brain' system.

The next morning I was invited in to watch the Vuelta (Tour of Spain) with Tom. His wife had cooked me some real oatmeal and so I had breakfast in front of the lap-top with Tom to watch that day's stage. We sat there glued to the screen like two bike-racing junkies getting their fix despite knowing that the stage would predictably end in a sprint. As I sucked on some juicy peaches I couldn't help but notice that his enthusiasm for the bicycle and the race has never waned. Indeed, he continues to ride his mountain-bike near his home.

Tom's hospitality and enthusiasm was such a treat. Indeed, between Oliver in Polebridge where I started the day, the guys in Glacier Cyclery and Tom's house where I finished, it has become clear that the Great Divide route is as much about the Divide fans along the way as about the people riding it. If only every day on the Great Divide could be like this.

Marco

the saloon type feel to Whitefishcamping on the Arnone's lawn