Day 20: Big Arm to Whitefish, MT – 55 miles
I had a hard time with my snooze button this morning -- with the sun going down later and later as I go North, it's hard to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. As soon as I smelled bacon, though, I was able to get up right away. Sharon's brother, Alan, cooked me French toast (he also cleaned and tuned my bike up a bit after I went to bed last night) for which I was DEEPLY grateful. I hit the road and lazily cruised the rest of the way around Flathead Lake. Just shy of Kalispell, I found a bike path paralleling the highway, and it eventually routed me the back way in to town ...
Day 19: Missoula to Big Arm, MT – 90 miles
Today got off to a rough start. I tried to be on the road at 7:15, as usual, but as I went to load up my bike I discovered that one of the tires I had patched yesterday was totally flat again. Changing flats is not the most fun (or confidence inspiring) way to start off a morning.
Since I was so late getting going, I rode through downtown Missoula after the Adventure Cycling office was open and decided to stop in. They have a great little lounge for cyclists with free ice cream, so I had a cone for breakfast before stopping at the post office.
So by 9am, I'd ridden ...
Day 18: Darby to Missoula – 69 miles
After saying goodbye to Patrick, Haley, and Aubrin this morning, I cruised down hwy 93, making exceptionally good time on the increasingly busy road. I was sad to be ridding with my back to the exceptionally pretty Bitterroot Mountains, and the cottonwoods along the river made my allergies unbearable. When I got to Stevensville I took a break at the Mission church historical site (but opted not to pay for the tour) and ate lunch, letting a bank of clouds that had been spitting at me all morning get ahead. Despite my quick pace in the morning, I felt like I was dragging all ...
Day 17: Wisdom to Darby, MT – 56 miles +7
It was cold, damp, and foggy when I woke up in the Wisdom picnic shelter. I layered up, but by the time I'd ridden 10 miles I was chilled to the bone. I pulled off at the Big Hole National Battlefield visitors center and ate my second breakfast while waiting for them to open. The ranger let me in a few minutes early and I was grateful to be able to warm up as I learned about the fighting between colonial armies and the Nez Pierce, as well as more info on Lewis & Clark. I lingered a long time, dreading my continued ride in the cold.
I finally got moving again, ...
Day 16: Dillon to Wisdom, MT – 68 miles
Jim had me staying in a room in the basement last night, and the lack of daylight made it exceptionally hard to drag myself out of bed. After a quick breakfast and a stop at the grocery store, I hit the road. My legs felt sluggish and I was not in the best place emotionally, so about 8 miles out of town I put on some music (not a usual thing for me while riding) and cranked until I reached the top of Badger Pass, where I had a second breakfast. At the bottom, I ran into Chuck the math teacher from Durango who I'd chatted with in Virginia City. He was in the middle of his ...
Aftershock: Here’s how Nepal is coping after two earthquakes left nearly 9,000 dead, 16,800 injured | National Post
Aftershock: Here’s how Nepal is coping after two earthquakes left nearly 9,000 dead, 16,800 injured
Source: Aftershock: Here’s how Nepal is coping after two earthquakes left nearly 9,000 dead, 16,800 injured | National Post
Day 15: Virginia City to Dillon, MT – 60 miles
Today's ride was the definition of leisurely. After a marvelous breakfast of oatmeal, Bobbie and her friend Sandy sent me on my way. I casually rolled down the valley and arrived in Twin Bridges (my half way point for the day) around 10am. I decided to take a break and stopped in at the small grocery store, where I met a kid just a few days in to a race across the Trans-Am. He wasn't carrying much and said he planned to be in Virginia in about 2.5-3weeks averaging 150-200 miles a day. He was jealous of my pace as I casually stretched and ate my second breakfast (tortilla ...
Day 14: Rest Day in Virginia City
Rest Day: Although I really wanted to sleep in a bit, I found myself waking up with the sun. I spent a leisurely morning drinking OJ, organizing my gear, reading, and doing Some yoga on the patio of Bobbie's idyllic cabin.
I hitched a ride into town with her when she went to open the museum at which she works, and spent the morning poking around the shops and historic displays.
It being the Irish weekend in Virginia City, there was a by-donation baked potato bar at the saloon, so I had me a hearty and very affordable lunch while watching the regional Irish dance ...
Day 13: West Yellowstone to Virginia City MT- 84 miles
Seeing the remnants of the destruction like the landslide scar and the ghost trees sticking up out of the newly formed lake makes earthquake damage that much more tangible and the plight of Nepal that much more immediate.
Day 12: Bridge Bay to West Yellowstone, MT – 79 mi + 6
This morning was hard. It rained off and on all night, so it took a while to break camp because everything was wet. It was cold and foggy and took me a while to get my riding layers right, and then just as I'd gotten into a rhythm I got my first flat ever on this bike. I fumbled around a bit trying to find the key to my locking skewers an then with the actual flat-changing. By the time I got back to west thumb and grant village I was hungry and grumpy, so I stopped at the grant service station for a highly caloric muffin, pop tarts, and air for my tires. Not 5 miles up the ...
