Moving into Montana
I woke up just before 4:30 on Friday and by the time I got the tent down and everything in order it was 5:45 when I was on the road. I wanted to leave early partly because once you cross the border you’re in mountain time and lose an hour. Also, the headquarters of Adventure Cycling is in Missoula and I wanted to visit them before they closed for the weekend.
The hard part of the day was the steep climb up to Lolo Pass. The sun was up but not yet hitting the pavement, so this made for a very cold ride. Along the way a deer was on the side of the road. We noticed each other at the same time from not far away, but then it immediately ran into the forest.
As slow as the riding seemed to be, I was happy to make it to the top fifty minutes earlier than I had planned. Lolo Pass is where Lewis and Clark crossed. Judging from the land I’ve seen, I have no idea how those guys made it to the west coast. They have a visitor’s center at the top with exhibits and information about the history of the area. Very nice place. It’s also the border which separates Idaho from Montana.
I thought I’d be enjoying an easy ride into Missoula as the final forty plus miles was going down several thousand feet into the city, but all the sudden the headwinds appeared and slowed me down. I wasn’t happy about this but then realized I’ve been extremely lucky with the weather up to this point.
Just outside of Missoula is the town of Lolo. There’s a McDonalds and I noticed a fully loaded bike out front. I went inside and saw it was Jeff, the guy from Wisconsin who I had ridden with on day two. It was good to run into him again. He was leaving Missoula just as I was arriving and we talked and compared notes on how things have been going. He told me that on one of the mountain passes he dealt not only with rain, but it also started snowing just a bit. This made me appreciate again how I’ve been very fortunate with the weather.
Missoula has a population of 70,000 and is one of the five cities on the route with more than 20,000 people. At one point entering the city I was on the side of the road looking at a confusing part of the map. A guy named Charlie pulled up on his motorcycle and asked if I needed help. When I told him where I was going he knew the quickest route and escorted me along a few roads to the final stretch. That kind of thing has been typical of people so far.
Adventure Cycling (then Bikecentennial) was established in 1976 when 4,000 people cycled either all or part of the route which I’m riding now (story here). Since then they have mapped out a network of bike routes all over the country. If you are passing through Missoula they give you a tour of their operation. They also have a cyclists’ lounge with a refrigerator of cold drinks and a freezer full of complementary ice cream bars– which is reason enough to stop by.
Adventure Cycling headquarters
A guy named John led me on the tour and after we passed through the cartographer’s room he pointed out Greg Siple, one of the co-founders of the organization, sitting at a desk. This guy is largely responsible for who knows how many thousands of people from all over the world taking amazing bike tours in the US.
A little later when I was in the lounge I was surprised when Greg stopped in and started talking to me. I told him about my experience on one of their group tours in ’85 and asked him questions about building the organization from the ground up. Greg had a bit of a dry sense of humor, which I always appreciate. He then asked to get a photo of me with my bike along with asking me to write a short piece about my trip in ’85. This may or may not be included in some form in one of their next magazine issues.
Even though it was now Friday after 5:00 and pretty much everyone had left the building, Greg, who must be 70 by now, also took the time to strap my bike to a harness and weigh it with all the gear. You can see why people like him are successful, as they still maintain enthusiasm for what they do. –My bike came in at 68 pounds, which I think is somewhat light for loaded touring.
So it was a good ending to a long day. 62 miles. I needed a rest and slept almost ten hours straight last night. Today is the second rest day of the trip and was spent taking it easy in Missoula.
Great blog. I have lots of questions by now, though. How’s the bike holding up? What spares do you carry? How often do you sleep in the tent? Are all the people as friendly as the ones you write about, or have you come across unsavoury characters as well? How much weight have you lost by now, two weeks into the trip? Do you stop for a beer every now and then?
When I cycled in Cyprus and Israel a few years ago, I slept in my tent on average two out of every three nights, and always carried a bottle of red wine in my bag. And I used to snack on a mixture of cucumber and peanuts for energy food. It works wonders.
Keep it up!
Hi Ryno. Thanks. –To answer your questions… The bike has been holding up great. I have one spare tube and patch kit, but no spare tire. I’m averaging one night in three in the tent. With places like cycling hostels being very inexpensive and also having free hotel nights built up through a credit card, camping has been less frequent for now. Tonight it will be camping in a town called Sula. –No unusual characters…yet. Everyone has been great. I rode a bit with a girl from Belgium yesterday who had very bad luck at the start of her trip, which I’ll post about later. –I’ve not had one drink since the start of the trip. Haven’t weighed myself but I don’t think I’ve lost much so far.