The Helena One Hundred 2008 in Cascade, Montana was our fourth bike tour of the year and a true test for my knee to see if I could complete a full century ride.
The city, more like town of Cascade, Montana is very small. It sits between Great Falls to the north and Helena to the south in eastern Montana (it is east of the Rockies). Which makes for an ideal location for a 100 mile bike tour. The tour was a tale of two rides actually. The first was the 60 mile stretch that headed south towards Helena and back. The second was a 40 miler north from Cascade towards Great Falls and back. A nice lunch break in Cascade separated the ride into two.
We started off fairly early in the day not too long after the tour opened. We got our numbers, goodie bag and tour jersey which was yellow, and returned to the vehicle for pre-ride stretching. Once on our bikes, it didn't take long to get out of town. Unfortunately within the first mile my wife could not get one of her shoes clipped into the pedal. To say this was unsettling for her would be a tremendous understatement. Being sidelined so close to the start point was not a good thing either. Numerous cyclists rode by and stopped to ask if we needed any assistance. I forced a smile on my face and graciously declined as my wife worked on the cleat of her shoe with the multi-tool I carry. After about ten minutes which seemed more like an hour she was able to clip in and we were on our merry way.
I kept a healthy distance for most of the first 60 miles as my wife was "cooling down" from her shoe problem. The path we took south of Cascade was on county roads that hugged the Missouri River almost curve for curve. The weather and route was absolutely gorgeous with the river, trees, and the Rocky Mountains that were close enough to touch. The roads were in good condition with light vehicular traffic and predominately flat. There were a pair of tall rolling hills near the start and after that they were primarily gentle rolling hills. The 60 mile course was not a circuit though everything we rode on we would see again coming back.
There were two break stations on this stretch about 15 miles apart. Both were right on the river and were well stocked with the standard bike tour fare. Breakfast bars, oranges, bananas, bagels, cookies, and of course water with optional sport drink mix if you wanted. The second break station's water tasted funny to me and not in a sports drink mix kind of way. The water just didn't taste good which made me wonder where they got it. There was a water spicket near some permanent out-houses as the break station was located next to a boat launch and small camping area. A thought occurred to me that may have been where they filled up the water chest although I'll never know for sure. When we returned to the first break station I emptied out my water bottle as the water here tasted considerably better.
Back in Cascade around high noon we were done with the 60 mile portion and enjoyed a good lunch in the city park which was nicely shaded with tall trees. My wife and I reflected on how beautiful the ride had been. While eating, we overheard another cyclist who had ridden the tour before describe the 40 mile stretch to a rider interested in doing the full century. She described it as nothing to write home about. Predominately flat and not as pretty as the 60 mile course. In my opinion after riding it, she was right.
About five miles out on the 40 miler, my wife got a puncture in her rear tire. I could both see and hear it since I was riding behind her at the time. The slime tube was spraying a green stream across the bottom of her saddle and the back of her seat post. I told her to sprint ahead to increase the rotation of the tire/tube in hopes of it self sealing. She did and I found out she can sprint pretty darn fast. Unfortunately though the tube didn't seal with enough air pressure and went flat. We dismounted and I examined the tire. It was a small puncture that the slime should have handled so I decided to re-inflate it with a CO2 cartridge. I inflated the rear tire but could still hear hissing, so I lifted the rear end of the bike by the seat post and hand cranked the pedals to spin the rear wheel fast. I then quickly squeezed the rear brake lever causing the remaining slime in the tube to move to the puncture. I did this a few times and fixed the puncture without changing tubes or patch kit. I topped off the rear tire with another CO2 cartridge and we were back in business.
The good news was that the wife's bike was fixed but the wife was exhausted from the sprint she did. With about 35 miles to go, the tour was no longer fun for her physically. The 40 mile course was an out and back again with one break station at the 17 mile mark, three miles shy of the turnaround point. My wife and I thought it strange that it wasn't the turnaround point like the second break station on the 60. A few things made this break station stand out compared to the others. The ladies that manned it were extremely friendly. There was ample supply of food since the vast majority of riders went home after the 60, and the best part was the cold watermelon! I love watermelon and it is the ideal food for cycling because it is like eating and drinking all at once. Did you know that watermelon is a great source for amino acids, vitamins A & C, and is a good source for carbohydrates! Like I said, the perfect cycling food.
The return to Cascade was a windy and lonely affair. We had a head wind for the last 20 miles and there were no cyclists or cars for that matter. Between the head wind and miles of open grass lands getting to Cascade seemed like travelling to the other end of the world. The 40 definitely wasn't as scenic as the 60 but we enjoyed the tour as a whole and plan on riding it again in 2009.
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