2025 Tour Divide: Racing (Day 5) - Big Fork, Montana 🇺🇸 to Seeley Lake, Montana 🇺🇸

Day 5 was a tale of two extremes. After the best night of sleep I'd had in days, I felt like a brand new rider... and then the day did its best to break me. 😅 This was a climb-all-day grind through endless trees, a roadside meltdown I never saw coming, and finally some of the best singletrack on the entire route. Let's get into it!

Check out the Day 5 YouTube Video 📼 📺

Leaving Big Fork, MT 🏨 🌅

I rolled out of the Timbers Motel at 6:41 AM after a GREAT night of sleep. 😴 It is amazing what a hot shower, clean clothes, and a real bed will do for you... that first shower in four days had me feeling like a brand new person, and I was ready to attack the day. And attack I would need to, because today was climbing. All. Day. 🆙

I retraced my path along the Swan River Nature Trail to get back on route. Once I was back on the main route, I grabbed a breakfast burrito and two apple muffins from County Line Coffee Co.

First climb of the day... the warmup 🆙 🚵

The first climb of the day wasn't bad at all. It was actually a great way to warm up the legs and soak in the sunrise. 🌅 I munched on one of my apple muffins as I spun my way up, and even stopped for a little roadside yoga and stretching to loosen everything out.

I made a point not to throw on my warm clothes or jacket, even though it was chilly. I knew I'd be climbing all day, and the last thing I wanted was to overheat. Staying a touch cold early felt like the smarter play.

First descent of the day... the cooldown ⬇️ 🥶

What went up came right back down, and the first descent was chilly! 🥶 Normally, a cold descent is miserable, but on a climb-all-day kind of day, keeping my core temperature low actually felt great. It led straight into the next small climb, and that up-down-up-down pattern would repeat for most of the day.

I was able to ride everything on these first two climbs, which felt encouraging.

First signs of a "low heart rate" issue? ❤️ 🪫

Something strange was going on during these early climbs... my heart rate was maxing out at just 120 bpm. For the effort I was putting in, I'd normally expect to see 150 to 175 bpm. I genuinely wasn't sure what to make of it. Was my body adapting and becoming more efficient? Or was this the first sign of a problem? 🤔

Traversing toward Mission Mountains Wilderness 🔥 🌲

As I headed toward the Mission Mountains Wilderness, I started doing the math to see if I could realistically make it all the way to Seeley Lake tonight. 🧮

This area showed a lot of evidence of prior prescribed burns, and at one point, I even passed a fire hose laid out along the roadway. The roads through here were tightly tree-lined, with no views for hours and hours and hours. 🌲 That kind of tunnel-vision riding really starts to mess with my head after a while.

Mission Mountains Wilderness singletrack 🚵 😎

Finally, some singletrack to break up the monotony! 😎 It was still totally tree-lined with no real view, but at least the tight, twisty trail gave me something to focus on besides the endless wall of trees.

I never saw a bear through here, but at one point, I clearly heard something big moving through the trees. 🐻 You'd better believe I was ringing my bear bell nonstop after that! The heat was also creeping back up. When I came across a river, I dunked my arm sleeves and jersey right in it... the shock of cold felt AMAZING. 🥶 I drank some cold water, topped off all my bottles, and pushed on feeling refreshed.

Finally... some mountain views!!! ⛰️ 🤩

From about 6:30 AM until 3:30 PM, I'd had nothing but tree-lined views. So when the trees finally opened up to real mountains, it felt incredible! 🤩

If you've never ridden hours and hours through dense trees, it's hard to explain how much it can mess with your head. There's nothing to point your attention toward, and worse, it feels like you're not making any progress... because you can't watch anything in the distance slowly getting closer.

Having a roadside mental breakdown! 🤬 😥

Then came the lowest point of my entire race so far. 😥 The route dumped me onto a real highway with 70 mph (113 kph) traffic. Big trucks were blowing past without giving me an inch of space, and a few of them actually seemed to drift closer just to be jerks about it.

I lost it. I started yelling, and yes, cussing, at the trucks and at my own camera. 🤬 It was only a short stretch of highway, but a stiff headwind made it slow, grinding going. I turned off toward Holland Lake, where I'd planned to sit down and eat a real meal... only to find the restaurant closed.

That was the final straw. It was blazing hot, I was furious at the drivers, and now I was crushed about the food. So I just lost it. I stopped, tossed my bike into the ditch, sat down on the side of the road, and stared at the trees for a solid 20 minutes. The photo of the trees above shows my vantage point as I was trying to calm down on the side of the road.

Struggling in the heat of the day 🥵 🐫

The section near Holland Lake was brutally hot 🥵, and I was really struggling. I couldn't put out much power, and I felt like I was being slowly cooked from the inside out. On top of that, I was still carrying the weight of that roadside meltdown.

Eventually, I found a tiny roadside stream where I could splash on some cool water and just sit for a minute. It wasn't much, but it was enough to take the edge off and get me moving again.

Richmond Peak gravel climb ⛰️ 😨

Next up was the Richmond Peak gravel climb, and the views were stunning... it actually reminded me a lot of Mount Timpanogos (Timp) back home. 😍 Better yet, the temperatures finally started to cool as I gained elevation, which was a huge relief after the oven I'd just ridden through.

The climb itself was no joke: about 1,800 feet (549 meters) over 6 miles (9.7 kilometers), averaging a 6% grade, plus a short section of steep singletrack hike-a-bike. The road had been recently graded, so the surface was soft and slow. At points, my pedaling was so slow that it was actually faster to just walk! 😅 I was still struggling, but I was finally starting to feel a little better as the air cooled.

Best singletrack of the entire route? 😍 🚵

The Swan Divide Trail might just be the best singletrack on the whole route. It started with some steep climbing, including a few hike-a-bike sections that honestly would have been rideable if I weren't so completely spent. The trail was very narrow in spots, with several sections of massive exposure, so I had to stay extra cautious. ⚠️

By the top, it was almost chilly, which did wonders to refresh my spirits and bring my power back up. Then came the payoff: a narrow, tree-lined descent with incredible valley views, fast and flowy the whole way. SO much fun! 🤩 I did have to stop for a break when my back got sore, but the trail eventually spit me out onto a super fast gravel road descent. You really have to see this one in the video.

Almost missed the second section of singletrack! 🚀 😅

I was bombing that gravel descent so fast that I nearly blew right past the second singletrack section! 😅 And honestly, this trail was a mess. It was full of pedal grabbers, with debris sitting right on the edge of the trail and multiple ditches cut straight across it. There were sections of bushwhacking and plenty of downed trees to lift my bike over.

Frustrating as the trail conditions were, the area itself was stunning. ☀️ The clock was ticking, though... I was running low on time to reach Seeley Lake before the restaurants closed. At least I got treated to a beautiful sunset along the way.

Made it to Seeley Lake, MT! 🥳 🍔

I descended off the route and down into the town of Seeley Lake, knowing I'd have to climb back up to the route in the morning. I rolled up to The Ice Cream Place with just a few minutes to spare before they stopped taking orders. 🥳

I was so happy to finally get real food that I went all in: two double cheeseburgers, a large fry, and a large shake. 🍔 After a day like that, it tasted like the best meal of my life. I sat and ate with several other racers, swapping stories from the trail.

Camping behind The Ice Cream Place 🍨 🏕️

The owner of The Ice Cream Place was kind enough to let me and another racer camp behind the shop. 🏕️ It was a safe spot, which is what mattered most, but I won't pretend it was peaceful. The area was cluttered with junk, it stayed loud all night, an overhead light blazed the entire time, and there was an electric fence ticking away right next to my tent.

Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well. But after a day with that many highs and lows, I was just grateful to be horizontal. 😴

Day 5 ride stats 🧾 📈

My stats for the day:

• Distance: 106.05 miles (170.7 kilometers)
• Elevation Gain: 8,878 feet (2,706 meters)
• Moving Time: 11 hours, 6 minutes, and 10 seconds
• Calories Burned: 4,556 calories

Coming up next 🚵 ➡️

In the next post, I climb back up to the route and take on the massive Stemple Pass hike-a-bike before finally reaching the incredible Llama Ranch. 🚵 ➡️ Be sure to subscribe to our blog so you don't miss out.

What do you do to push through the mental low points on a tough day? Have you ever hit a wall as I did near Holland Lake? Let us know in the comments below. 👇 💬