We broke camp later than usual, mostly because it was too chilly to crawl out of the sleeping bags. Once out, it was still slow going as the morning chill had us at a snail’s pace. We had to pack the tent and ground cloth wet, as we wanted to get going and not wait for them to dry. Because we didn’t have a good place to cook, we had a dry camp. For breakfast, we just made pb&j sandwiches so we could get on the road. The air was cold and crisp. For once, we were seeking sunny spots rather than shade! Even climbing as we were, we could not get warm. It wasn’t quite arm warmer chilly, but close. I did have to stop and change out of my SPD sandals to my shoes, as my toes were numb. From the very start, we climbed and the grade increased as we approached Lolo Pass. The pass wasn’t especially hard, but Matt and I were feeling a little worn out, so we just eased our way to the top. We met some folks on another cycle tour, this one supported. They had started in Missouri and were retracing the Lewis and Clark Trail. Lolo Pass had a couple places under construction, the worst place being right at the summit. There was a half-mile stretch where the pavement was gone and it was just loose gravel. I had no problems with my fat tires, but Matt had to pick his way along. Once past this section, it was pretty much downhill.
At the summit of Lolo Pass
We stopped at Lolo Hot Springs for some proper breakfast. There we met the father daughter team we had been hearing about. They were heading west and had heard about us. So funny how we hear about each other on the road and look forward to meeting. We’ve grown concerned about our friends Garth and Ryan as we’ve not seen or heard of them since Baker City. After breakfast, we continued on toward Missoula. The scenery continues to be breathtaking.
Montana truly is big sky country. I noticed something interesting as we descended along the river. Many of the local residents have recycled flatbed railroad cars to make bridges across the river to their properties. Pretty cool and it makes a lot of sense. We finally hit the town of Lolo, just on the outskirts of Missoula. We stopped to buy a city map, get a cool drink and rest before heading into the city. Missoula is only 40 some thousand, but it’s the biggest metropolis we’ve seen in a couple weeks. More traffic, too! As we were leaving Lolo, we met a husband/wife team that are touring. Spoke to them for awhile and even rode with them into Missoula before parting ways. To kill time, we decided to go find the Adventure Cycling headquarters before securing lodging. We fumbled around a bit, but eventually got there. It was closed on Sunday, of course, so we will go for our obligatory visit tomorrow and pay proper homage to the barons of cycle touring. We left there and headed for our destination for the night, the KOA campgrounds. It’s a little pricier than we’re accustomed to paying, but cheaper than a motel with all the amenities. We can do our laundry right here, also. We took advantage of the pool, hot tub and especially the shower. We’re thinking of quitting the motel thing. One night in a soft bed and it takes about two nights to get comfortable sleeping on the ground again. The only downside is not being able to keep up on the news and Lance’s progress.
Tomorrow is our day off. We intend to sleep in, do our laundry, visit Adventure Cycling and just generally fool around.
65.74 miles, 11.3 mph avg. Total miles pedaled: 868.33
Mark and Matt
As much as we like riding, it’s really nice to wake up and not worry about getting breakfast on quickly, breaking down and packing up camp. One can simply roll over, close your eyes and listen to the birds. One of the benefits of camping here is free coffee, so I dragged my 3 1/2 gallon coffee cup up to the store and filled it to capacity. Ahh, this is the life!
Last week on our day off, I praised the goodness of mankind as experienced by the cycling tourist. I still stand by that notion. This week, while pedaling across Idaho, I pondered the idea of what a blessing it is to see the country this way. A lot of people think we’re “warriors” or masochistic. I don’t see it that way. You see the world in such a different perspective at 12 mph in open air versus 65 mph in a glass and steel cage. I believe motorcycle tourists appreciate this to a certain extent. They seem to relate to us better than others. They are very outgoing and friendly to us on the road. When touring, it’s the entire package that is rewarding. Sure the sights are sights whether on a bike or in a car. On a bike, you can enjoy them longer because you are moving slower. But the sounds, the smells, those are the things you miss. A deer rustling through the woods, a squirrel or bird scolding you as you pass too close to home. The smell of pine and wildflowers that permeate the air; the occasional heavenly scent that hits you from nowhere. Even the sights and smells of death are awakening. You see up close and personal the deer, elk, snakes, raccoons and other critters that have ventured too close to mankind and paid the price. These are the things you miss in a car. It’s easy to get a little smug about it. The education you get is another thing. How often do you stop at those historical markers and monuments when traveling by car? We hit most of them. Following the Oregon Trail, the Nez Perce trail as well as the Lewis and Clark trail, we’ve seen a bunch and learned a lot. I think Matt has learned more than he had in school, considering he didn’t know who Lewis and Clark were! Don’t get me wrong, I respect the people traveling by car and motorhome. I understand not everybody has the time, let alone the inclination to tour by bicycle. My point is, as a cyclist and one who appreciates the beauty of things, this trip is a blessing and a lesson that couldn’t be bought otherwise at any price. The opportunity to spend time with one of my children in this environment is equally priceless. Sure, I miss my wife and daughters, but this trip is going quickly. We will see them soon and as much as we’re enjoying the trip, look forward to it.
After doing our morning chores, we cleaned up and headed downtown to visit Adventure Cycling’s headquarters. What a nice place and what a nice group of people. We looked at the Polaroid pictures of riders that had preceded us. It didn’t take long to pick out Bob and Virginia’s picture. It made us kind of homesick to see them in their Redlands jerseys! We signed in, got our picture taken and just hung out for awhile. Greg Stipes, the managing photographer for Adventure Cycling talked to us and asked us to come back in the afternoon to pose for another picture for the archives. We agreed and left our bikes at Adventure Cycling while we spent the rest of the morning just walking around downtown Missoula. We went to the post office to mail our exposed film to Nebraska and then enjoyed looking at all the interesting shops and sights. After our posing, we headed back to the KOA, stopping only for groceries and film. All that’s left now is laundry! Oh boy!
Day off, 7.92 miles
Mark and Matt
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Last night was the first time we had an excessive noise problem in a campground. It really wasn’t even that bad, but did require breaking out the earplugs. Needless to say, I didn’t take any special pains to be quiet while breaking camp this morning.
We got out of town a little later than we intended, but had little trouble with Missoula’s “rush hour”. Yesterday in camp, we met a group of five women from Boulder, Colorado that are doing their own supported tour. They take turns driving the sag vehicle every fifth day. They are riding from The Canadian Border down to their home. We saw them off and on today, mostly as they blew by us on the road. Our route backtracked eight miles to Lolo, where we picked up a bike path that ran alongside the road. We scared the daylights out of one lady as we rolled up on her and called out “on your left”. She actually let out a scream. Another lady said something about figuring out which side was left.
Nice bike path we rode on. This particular stretch was away from the highway
The path ended about twenty miles into the day’s ride and we changed highways. The theme for today was agricultural. The highways we rode were nestled in a valley of snow-capped mountains to the west and a smaller range to our east. According to the elevation profile on the maps, we climbed all day, but not much. Tomorrow we climb up to and over another pass. This one will be pretty easy, I think, compared to others we’ve done. We’re hoping to get done with Montana pretty quickly and into Wyoming. We’re meeting more cycle tourists again. There seemed to be a drought of them in Idaho, but seeing more in Montana. Saw two tandems and two single cyclists. Mostly, it seems east to west is the preferred direction to do the Trans-Am. We’re holed up in Darby, Montana, where it looks and sounds as though it might rain. We pitched our tent and covered the bikes before showering, just in case. We walked to the downtown area to browse the grocery store for dinner when we came across a cafe with a reasonably priced all you can eat buffet. Suckers! They must not have too many famished cyclists come in, or they’d raise their price. Matt had them nearly begging for mercy before we left. I think he was extra hungry because we didn’t have our daily Big Ed’s Super Saucer (BESS) fix. By the way, we’re now pretty sure we know how Ed came to be known as “Big” Ed. Too many super saucers, not enough exercise!
71.82 miles, 13.6 avg.
Mark and Matt
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We broke camp in Darby the latest we have yet. I placed a quick call home and then decided just to get a bite at the local restaurant to hasten our departure. I have to admit, I finally met a pancake I couldn’t eat all of!
We got underway and chugged on down the road. While stopped to check out a roadsite historic site, two of the Colorado girls caught up with us.
Our friends from Colorado caught up to us while we admired this attraction.
We rode together for several miles, chatting as we went. We hit major construction about 15 miles and were told we could not ride through. They loaded our bikes and took us nine miles up the road, right to the foot of the big climb. We parted ways with the girls, as we knew we couldn’t climb with them. At the top of the pass, we stopped at a rest area to replenish water and eat. At this time, we had crossed briefly back into Idaho.
We left the rest stop, changed roads and climbed another mile and a half to the top of Chief Joseph Pass and the continental divide. Big downhill run and then we leveled off. We raced a storm into Wisdom and were wise enough to find shelter and wait it out. The storm blew over and we decided to press on to our goal of Jackson. The Colorado girls had said they were staying in Wisdom, but looking at the camping accommodations, it was no surprise they had pushed on. Once the storm had cleared, we headed for Jackson. About two miles down the road, I broke a spoke and naturally, I had no spares. I trued the wheel back up as best I could and pressed on. According to the map, there is a bike shop in the next town, Dillon. Once we got to Jackson, I was talking to another biker that told me the shop in Dillon was closed. I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Luckily, he had the number of a guy in Dillon that works on bikes out of his house. After checking in, we went to the campsite and there were the Colorado girls. They loaned me a calling card, so I called the guy in Dillon. All set. I just have to ride it to Dillon, call him at his day job and he’ll meet us to repair it. I’ll also pick up spares for both Matt and I. I’ve learned my lesson.
Off and running… 70.54 miles, 13.4 avg.
Mark and Matt
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We woke up this morning to cold. I unzipped the sleeping bag and decided to wait. Eventually, I got up, wrote my e-mail from the previous day over coffee while Matt started breaking camp. The Colorado ladies offered to take some of the load. I declined at first, but gave in. I put the front panniers from my bike in the van. Lisa offered to pull the trailer, so I agreed to let her pull it. That lasted until about the second hill, I took it from there. We rode the 48 miles to Dillon with Lisa pulling most of the way. Once in Dillon, we found their van, got our panniers and were off to call the mechanic. We made the connection almost immediately and he came to the kwiki mart to meet us. We went to the guy’s house where he had his workshop. He ended up changing out three spokes, as two others looked suspect. It looked as though they may have had the chain thrown into them at one time. He trued the wheel, I rotated the tires and then we checked the derailleur adjustment. My bike wasn’t the culprit! I got some extra spokes from him and paid a very fair price. While we worked on the bike, it clouded up and looked as though rain was imminent. Matt and I found shelter in the park and waited while it poured down rain. It quit raining, but still looked nasty all around. We decided to head out for Twin Bridges, anyway. Matt said that’s why we brought rain gear. We no more than got out of town and the rain began. Not hard, but just a steady drizzle. We continued on and about halfway to Twin Bridges, we heard whooping and hollering behind us. Two of the Colorado girls came screaming around us like we were standing still. After we cleared the rollers, we kept pace with them, but could not catch up until thy stopped to talk to their sag driver. They were right back behind us when we rolled into town. Camping is free tonight at the fairgrounds and just as we got here and safely under the gazebo, it started pouring.
Twin Bridges camp was underneath a huge gazebo. Good thing, too; it rained!
We all piled in the girls’ van and went to the local pizza joint to warm up and eat. Joe and Lou, two guys from Baltimore we met last night and rode with a little today, joined us. We had a nice group and enjoyed dinner and stories while we warmed up.
Road friends and hot pizza
Joe and Lou are doing the motel tonight. We’re going to brave the weather at the fairgrounds. It’s pretty chilly out, so should be good sleeping.
77.82 miles, 15 mph avg.
Mark and Matt
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We broke camp this morning under cool and cloudy skies. After our morning coffee and oatmeal, we headed on down the road. The trip was pretty uneventful, mostly climbing. Matt and I just took our time, enjoying the scenery as we pedaled away the miles. We stopped in Alder for a PB&J and a Gatorade. The lady managing the store came outside and asked us the usual questions. “Where you from?” “Where ya going?” “Don’tcha know they make cars for that?” Two of our Colorado Friends, Lisa and Carol, rolled up as we were sitting there. They had stopped at a bakery in the town before. They hammered on down the road before we left.
Antique gold dredging equipment near Virginia City, Montana
We stopped again in Virginia City to do some touristing. Went to a museum, checked out some sites and had an ice cream while there. We began the climb out of Virginia City by meeting a Dutch cycle tourist that had come over the other side. He said it had taken him two hours to climb up and over the fourteen miles from Ennis to Virginia City. Goody! That meant we not only had a tailwind, but a nice long downhill ahead. The climb on our side was five miles and it was challenging, but the tailwind really helped. I crested first and Matthew went flying past me as I waited for him, yelling something about a bowel problem. I took off after him, but he was on a mission. I hit 47 mph with the trailer on behind and Matt was pulling away! We rolled into Ennis and Matt insisted we find a bathroom right away. We stopped at the grocery store to replenish our foodstuffs and do other things. While there, I grabbed us something for a quick lunch.
Matt is” relieved” to be enjoying this steel sculpture in Ennis, Montana
The last eleven miles to our destination, Cameron, was pretty easy except for the aggravating rumble bars cut into an otherwise perfect shoulder.
Between Ennis and Cameron, Montana
I could hardly ride without one trailer wheel or the other on the darned things. Finally made it, hooked up with our group and got showers squared away. We all jumped into the car again, this time to backtrack to Ennis to do laundry. This was weird. First time in three weeks I’ve been in a vehicle moving that fast and that far left of the white line on the shoulder!
Tomorrow, we head into West Yellowstone, where we might take a day off. We’ll see.
55.86 miles 12.0 avg.
Mark and Matt
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Some days are just meant to test the human spirit. Today was such a day. Today got off to an auspicious start with sprinkles, dark skies and thunder. We waited it out for awhile, then as the skies looked like they were clearing, we made our coffee and breakfast. We no more than got breakfast eaten when the sky opened up. Quickly, we scrambled to get things under cover and sought refuge in our tent. Again we found ourselves waiting it out. The rain was brief, so we crawled back out of our tent to get ready to ride. Lou and Joe had already left and the girls were almost ready to leave. We finished cleaning, packed our gear and headed off, confident the day would bring good things. About five miles down the road, the head wind began. No problem, we lowered our heads and rode. About twenty miles into the ride, out of clear blue skies, it rained on us. It was then we noticed a nasty looking cloud approaching fast over the ridge beside us. We came across a rest area that had covered picnic tables. We decided it was time for a PB&J and to wait and see what would happen. First, rain happened. Then, wind happened. Then, all hell broke loose. Hail pelted the shelter and the wind drove it right into us. We grabbed the tarp from the trailer and huddled together under that. It helped, but was still cold. We were joined by some motorcycle tourists under our little shelter. We finally got a little break, but the sky was still ugly all around us.
What in the hail is all that white stuff on the ground?
We had been cussing about carrying along all this cold weather gear and not using it. Now, we were grateful. We put it all on and our rain gear over top. Off we went. We encountered showers off and on, but it wasn’t too bad. We had our first flat and lost time changing that. We stopped and took some pictures at quake lake, then were rewarded with a spectacular scene. We were climbing up a hill along quake lake when I spotted a Bald Eagle perched in a tree. We stopped and took pictures of it and talked to another touring cyclist coming from the other direction.
This lake was formed by an earthquake
We actually saw several cyclists out braving the weather. About ten to fifteen miles from our objective, we started getting a lot of lightning. We stopped at a lakeside cafe for some food and warmth and to wait it out. We paid through the nose for it, but it was worth every cent! The waitress told us we could wait longer in the lounge, if we wanted, so we hung out about a half hour. Some bikers came in smelling worse than us, so we headed out. We got wetter than wet. It seemed like an eternity, but we finally rolled into West Yellowstone. The rain continued to fall. We gave up on finding the campground and decided on a motel. We had to pay more than I wanted, but we’re safe and dry. We dried our things, checked for damage and took a hot bath. It seems like everything came through OK.
63.45 miles, 11.6 mph avg.
Mark and Matt
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We decided to take a day off in West Yellowstone. After riding in rain like we did yesterday, we figured we needed to do some bike maintenance. Matt’s back tire was getting thin, so I put his spare on and bagged his thin tire as back-up. My tire that was like this was beyond use, so I walked down the street to the bike shop for a replacement. Now we are confident we can make the rest of the journey on the rubber we have. Tomorrow, we head through Yellowstone as early as possible. We’ve heard enough horror stories about rental RV’s and their drivers, we intend to scoot through quickly as possible and into Teton National Park.
Day off 0 miles, 0 mph avg
Mark and Matt