It was supposed to be easy, a gentle 1%-ish grade for 42 miles. But we see snow on the hills ahead, and the headwind is unrelenting (except behind the sign for the state mental hospital).
We are paralleling the Milwaukee Road (again), so we stopped at this roadside museum for a bit of sight seeing.
59 miles, 861 miles total
Steve’s early-day flat was ‘fixed’ by replacing what looked like a perfectly good valve-core with a spare valve-core and his tyre still has plenty of air. Steve has had problems with his pump, it tends to extract the valve-core when he disconnects. Bob and I have recommended that he ditches the pump, but he perseveres (my pump was used for this morning’s successful inflation). We may have to take covert action solve this problem.
We had to do a bit of freeway riding today, but we survived. Between stints on the freeway we enjoyed nice frontage roads with little traffic (and surprisingly good 5G coverage 😀). Views from freeway and frontage were great.
We enjoyed horn-blowing and waves from passing bicycle -friendly motorists (and an Amazon truck).
As we started dinner last night we realized that food and refueling options today would be scarce, so the dinner plan of ham, cheese and salami on tortillas was restricted to just ham and cheese (on tortillas). That way our worst-case lunch today could be salami on tortillas. Luckily (?) we got some very expensive cheese and mustard at a gas station in Drummond, so our tortilla lunch was fairly tasty.
We arrived at our day’s destination thirsty, and aware that, due to adverse circumstances, we had not celebrated our state-line crossing in the manor established in this trip’s terms and conditions (Ts&Cs). So we stopped at the ‘Corner Bar’ (a self declared, 5 star dive bar) and enjoyed some Cold Smoke (a Montana special).
At the bar, camping and dinner recommendations were scarce, so dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast and lunch were procured at Safeway…
…where I took on guard duty.
Steve and Bob excelled themselves with the choice of dinner. We had bone-free pork ribs and butternut squash with avocado salad and pasta salad. As usual it was a collaborative effort. Steve set a great cooking fire. Bob cooked boneless ribs to perfection…
Colin made the butternut squash and Steve, as has become traditional, tossed the salad.
Our campsite is a little quirky. We thought we were going to a KOA. It turns out we’re at an A-OK, which is what you call your campsite after you lose your franchise for not being up to standard. That being said, the staff was very helpful and welcoming.
We will close with a picture of our campsite.
Out here, there are few options. Thankfully, most drivers pull out and stay well clear.
36 miles today and 802 miles over all.
A bit of intermittent light rain last night made for a cool wet camp when we awoke but the clouds began breaking up quickly. Early morning activities to upgrade equipment allowed for the tents to dry which makes packing much more pleasant. We left Missoula heading east on US 12 with sunny skies but clouds all around.
Having the right kit was tough today. When riding uphill in the sun you want to keep the layers light but when the clouds block that beautiful sunshine and you’re heading downhill you want to bundle up. Throw into the decision making mix the occasional rain shower and, well, it’s complicated. But we manage, that’s what we do.
The grade has been gently up as we close in on the continental divide 100+ miles down the road towards Butte. Quite a change from the roller coasting back roads of the Eastern Washington Palouse.
Pictures from the day
Bob got a new pump shipped to a drop box in Missoula as well as some gorilla tape and duct tape so we a refreshed our supplies carried on pumps.
Tomorrow Deer Lodge MT.
I found Bob and Steve on the road next to the airport late this afternoon. I had become concerned about their progress earlier in the day because they appeared to have stalled in Alberton. Upon closer examination of their real-time location updates in Google maps, I realized that they were suspiciously close to an establishment named, “Sportsman’s Tavern”. So, everything was normal, and if not, they were consoling themselves.
We resupplied at REI during a conveniently timed Anniversary Sale, then set up camp at KOA.
Next we dined lavishly at the Costco food court (2 mins on the opposite side of REI from the KOA) and discussed weighty matters related to health, wellness, risk management and proper hydration (improper hydration being a possible cause of unwelcome coagulation). With that done, we decided to head east tomorrow (rather than south or, worst case, home) and to get going early. Oh no, that was just Bob. He’s going to try and get some smaller wheels with bigger tyres fitted to his bike, so man and machine can move forward together over gravel in greater harmony. Steve and I will lounge around until we know what’s happening.
Stay tuned 😀.
