Another Pleasant Valley Sunday

Today was a day that started off strong and ended with a whimper. 

We left Missoula today after breakfasting on a fine meal from that Scottish restaurant with the Golden Arches, munched on in our room at the Campus Inn. Calories are calories. As we were leaving the hotel and it was raining so we donned our best rain apparel, including the new items purchased yesterday such as the new seat cover, the new waterproof gloves, and the new shoe covers. Of course within 10 minutes we were removing half the items as it grew warmer and drier eventually immediately. 

We went back through Lolo and ride south, headed eventually toward Yellowstone Park within the week. We felt very happy that the state of Montana has seen fit to provide bike only lanes from Missoula all the way to Hamilton, a nice 45 mile off-the-highway path. Thanks Montana, you put the state of Ohio to shame. E we’re taking along in a very nice valley between two separate sides of the Bitterroot range. Because of these stress free roads, and the increasingly better weather, we were making great time on our way to our goal of Sula MT. We did 49 miles before lunch at BJ’s family restaurant. Once we got there everything changed again in about 5 minutes. As we were finishing up our lunch we looked outside to see the skies grow dark and the rain begin again. The temperature when we went in was 64 degrees and sunny, and we came out to 41 and hard rain. On came the rain gear again and this time for good as it looked like it was here to stay. 
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1XCu6XdAw22S_gVeG-qpa-w6w_pMQCZD3
Miles of separated bike paths made the morning fly by


The other big difference is that for the first time this trip, the high winds were blowing against us, making it harder to push for more mileage. We ended up opting for our “bail out” town as we were tired just getting that far. We ended up in the clean and friendly Mountain Spirit Inn and RV Park. They weee very nice and I personally was ready to get off my soaked (with sweat) togs as it had grown a bit drier and steeper on the way in and The rain gear just traps moisture in as well as out. Equal opportunity water repellent. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1uBsCLvOpMIDSWBwYyeQ_t6jauuNtgz9s
Rain coming in from the mountains 

This bailout today puts us in a more precarious position in that we are negotiating between towns that have limited or no facilities, even camping, so we struggle to ride enough, but we have to make the next place with services. This is not at all easy to do when So few places exist between Missoula and Yellowstone. We may need to either ride a few miles  (about 60) or ride about 100, in order to continue to find places to sleep that are the indoors. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1sBKO-urYQDEMlc6cDjY7k0byVUNLJ1p9
Our dry room at the Mountain Spirit Inn

Tomorrow we are off for either Jackson MT (bail point) or Dillon (stretch point) depending on weather conditions. 

We will likely not have WiFi for the next few days so I will report when I can connect again. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Seeing old friends

Image
  Today was Saturday, apparently.  In only a few days I have already started to lose track of “real” time.  In my world it is simply “Leaving Elkford.” Leaving Elkford today, we realized another good move made, as last night we heard terrible thunder and rain crashing down on little Elkford.  We were dry and mostly comfortable in our little haven by the liquor store.  We did get going fairly early, and immediately scrambled for breakfast and something to pack for lunch.  We went to the convenient store at the local gas station to get sandwiches, and asked where we could get breakfast.  Mel’s Diner was located about a mile away, so we rode off, only to find Mel on holiday.  Back we went, another mile, to find micro-wavable breakfasts at the same convenience store, plus coffee.  I wish Mel would have posted his holiday on Google, or whatever. The top of a very early and long uphill first thing today Finally got going, a bit later than expected.  The first thing was a 2.5 mile climb strai
Read more

Getting the band back together!

Image
For anyone who has followed the (mis)adventures of the Dinosaurs on Wheels, you know that the Dinosaurs on Wheels, or the Ryan brothers, bicycled across the US during the pandemic summer of 2020.  This trip started in Oregon at the Pacific ocean and ended in Virginia at the Atlantic.   Since that time, we have done some other, shorter trips with different levels of success.  In '21 we traveled the Ohio to Erie trail across Ohio, and I did a trip from Richmond to Caswell Beach in North Carolina along the Outer Banks.  In the spring of '22 we set out to do the GAP, or Great Allegheny Pass, which along with the B&O canal, leads from Washington DC to Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, a broken bike prevented our finishing.  Now in 2023, we are preparing to do another cross-country route.  This one, however, is almost 100% off-road, traveling from Canada to the Mexican border, along the continental divide.  As a matter of fact, the route is called the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, o
Read more

Saying Goodbye to the Suffer Fest

Image
  Saying goodbye to the suffer-fest I am heading out of Butte, going to the Bozeman airport, and heading home this morning. I’m ending my time on the Great Divide Trail, perhaps for a while, perhaps more likely, forever.  Bozeman Airport as I leave Montana What lead me to decide to end this trip for me?     Lots of reasons, most of which venture around one main thing: my heart was not in this ride, and this is a ride you must dedicate your heart, your lungs, your comfort, and humility to complete it. I wasn’t really doing so, so in turn this ride wasn’t really any fun for me.   I think I agreed to this trip a few years ago, when my world was completed different. We were delayed by Jerry’s health, and then Patty’s. I’ve spent almost the last two years taking care of her, only to lose her about 90 days ago. In that time I’ve pushed off work, home and family obligations. Right now was not a good time to push them off again in order for me to do something like this. During every ride these
Read more