2025 Tour Divide: Racing (Day 4) - Birch Creek Recreation Area, Montana 🇺🇸 to Big Fork, Montana 🇺🇸

Day 4 was a day of firsts. 🎉 After three nights of camping, I would finally sleep in a real bed, take my first shower in four full days, and scrub four days of trail grime out of my kit. 🛁 But first... I had to climb the beautiful Red Meadow Pass, survive a swarm of hungry mosquitoes 🦟, and convince my Wahoo to start mapping me again. Let's get into it!

Check out the Day 4 YouTube Video 📼 📺

Slow start to the morning 🐌 🌅

I woke up at 4:00 AM... and then proceeded to move at a snail's pace. 🐌 I didn't actually start pedaling until 5:43 AM! In my defense, the time wasn't wasted. I used it to eat a solid breakfast, take care of some morning bike maintenance, and handle a little personal self-care before another long day in the saddle.

Math is hard... again! 🧠 😕

If you read my Day 3 post, you know that I can't seem to do simple trail math. Well... it happened again! 🤦‍♂️ This time, I'd convinced myself that the town of Columbia Falls was about 130 miles (209 kilometers) away. Spoiler: it was not.

Early morning, chunky climb 🪨 🆙

The day kicked off with a somewhat steep, chunky climb. 🆙 Normally, loose, chunky terrain is just a grind... but on this morning, it actually kept things interesting and gave me something to focus on. And the views? They just kept getting better the higher I climbed.

I felt really good on this one. I kept eating and hydrating the whole way up, and that steady fueling paid off. I crested the top feeling strong instead of cooked. 💪

Fast and cold descent 🚀 🥶

The descent on the other side was fast and COLD! 🥶 The views were incredible, and the chunky surface kept me on my toes the entire way down. My leg warmers were a lifesaver here... they made a huge difference against the biting morning air.

The one odd moment? Another racer stopped right in front of me at an inopportune time, killing all of my momentum. 😒 I moved to pass him... and right as I did, he started rolling again, blocking me from getting by. We did that little dance for a bit — a strange encounter! There was also a steep edge along the side of the descent, so I had to stay focused. But between the chunky line and the nonstop views, what a way to wake up! It's even better on video, so be sure to check that out.

Hard-pack road through the forest 🌲😄

After the descent, the route mellowed out onto a smooth, hard-pack road winding through the forest. 🌲 What a welcome change of pace! I tucked into my aero bars and just cruised. 🚴‍♂️

I knew another climb was coming, so I used this easy stretch to eat lots of food and bank some calories. Fuel up now so I won't bonk later! 😅

Never-ending chunky roadway 🪨 🚴‍♂️

Next up was a huge, wide, dead-straight graded roadway that seemed to go on forever. The catch? It was super chunky, covered in large, loose rocks the whole way. 🪨

This was a moment where I was so glad to be on my full-suspension bike. It just soaked up the chunder and made the whole section a breeze... I can only imagine how brutal this stretch would have been on a fully rigid setup. 😬 Partway through, I pulled over for a roadside break and topped off my water at a creek. The temperature was finally starting to warm up, which felt amazing after such a cold morning.

Climbing Red Meadow Pass to Red Meadow Lake ⛰️🛶

Red Meadow Pass was the big climb of the day... a 5+ mile (8+ kilometer) effort up to Red Meadow Lake. The funny thing about this climb is how the elevation is stacked. The first few miles are actually super chill and pleasant. Then that final mile (1.6 kilometers) ramps up steep and hot, cramming in most of the climbing all at once. 🥵

At the top, I was rewarded with the gorgeous Red Meadow Lake. 🛶 The catch? The mosquitoes were relentless up there. 🦟 As stunning as that lake was, I didn't hang around long before swatting my way back onto the bike.

Fun descent into Whitefish, MT 🚀 🛥️

The descent into Whitefish was fast, flowy, and a blast! 🚀 As I dropped down, Whitefish Lake came into view and... wow. That lake is HUGE! 🛥️ It actually reminded me a lot of Lake Norris, where Lindsey and I have vacationed with her family in Tennessee.

Whitefish meant a major resupply, and... yep, I did it again. I bought and ate way too much food, then had to give some away and toss some before rolling out. 🤦 Oops! I was also still going back and forth on whether to finally ditch my cold-soaking kit, a debate that had been brewing for days.

Passing through Columbia Falls, MT 🚴‍♂️ ⏩

By this point in the race, I had to admit an uncomfortable truth... I am not good at resupplying. 😅 Other racers dart in and out of stores in minutes, while I shop like I'm stocking up for the entire week! This is definitely something I need to work on.

Luckily, I was still stuffed from my Whitefish feast, so I rolled straight through Columbia Falls without stopping. ⏩ It had a nice little small-town vibe that I appreciated even just passing through. From here to Big Fork, the route was all pavement, which made for smooth, easy riding.

My Wahoo stopped mapping! 🚫 🗺️

Then came a little scare... my Wahoo Elemnt Roam suddenly lost the route and stopped mapping me entirely. 🚫 To this day, I have no idea why it happened! To fix it, I had to stop, reload the current route section, and start riding in the correct direction again before it would finally pick the route back up.

Thankfully, I caught the problem quickly. How do I know? Because right after I got it working again, it pinged me about a turn I'd just missed. 🗺️ A good reminder that, even with fancy tech, you can't fully switch your brain off out there!

Getting my first hotel room in Big Fork, MT 🏨 🛁

Big Fork sits about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) off the official route, reached via the Swan River Nature Trail... a beautiful bike path that follows the river past a series of waterfalls. 😍 Totally worth the detour, and not just for the bed. Pushing all the way to Big Fork knocked out a long, flat section before the next major climb... which set me up to tackle that climb in the cool of the early morning. 🌅

The Timbers Motel turned out to be perfect for bikepacking. 🛏️ The rooms are huge, with tons of storage and plenty of room to hang up wet clothes to dry, and there's food close by if you need it. I'd highly recommend it to any racer coming through!

And best of all... my first shower in four full days of racing! 🚿 I felt like a brand new person. I then spent a couple of hours washing my clothes in the sink before completely crashing out, and I slept like a ROCK. 🪨 The only downside? That climb up to the hotel was absolutely brutal at the end of a long day. 😮‍💨

Day 4 ride stats 🧾 📈

My stats for the day:

• Distance: 118.79 miles (191.2 kilometers)
• Elevation Gain: 6,043 feet (1,842 meters)
• Moving Time: 10 hours, 13 minutes, and 47 seconds
• Calories Burned: 4,546 calories

Coming up next 🚵 ➡️

In the next post, I leave the comforts of Big Fork behind and make my way through the Swan Valley toward Seeley Lake, Montana. 🚵 ➡️ Be sure to subscribe to our blog so you don't miss out.

What was your favorite part of Day 4? Have you ever stayed at a hotel that was just perfect for bikepacking? Let us know in the comments below. 👇 💬