Written by Dave

Day 21 – June 18 – 67 Miles, 1,550 feet climbing (Missoula to Darby)

Everyone was sad this morning to leave our nice AirBnB in Missoula. We enjoyed a great location and very comfortable space, a perfect place to wait out yesterday’s rain and inclement weather. But the show must go on. We had a bunch of leftovers for brekkie, including meatloaf sandwiches and mashed potato cakes – yum. We delayed as much as we could to let the last of the morning rain stop and finally pulled away at 9:30. We were all moving slowly.

Pete, Curtis and I mapped a safe exit from Missoula and within a few miles we joined the Bitterroot Trail. We would follow this trail for 50 miles up the Bitterroot Valley. The trail was paved and more or less parallel Highway 93 the entire way. It was probably a little slower than riding Highway 93’s shoulder as it dipped around driveways and drainage ditches. It was better than being on 93 as at least for the first 25 miles, the traffic was pretty heavy.

We had a couple stops out on the trail at port-o-potties and finally took lunch in Stevensville, at the Frontier Cafe. The cafe was one of those places where I don’t think they serve many cyclists. We were warmly welcomed by both staff and patrons. With the voices they said, “hello” and “welcome”; with their faces they said “what the heck is that, never seen that before, I’d better be polite, hello” – gave us all a good chuckle. One of the patrons came over to tell us his tails of riding in past lives and give us God’s blessing. He had a side pistol (Gloc) at his hip and a small revolver like pistol in a harness in the middle of his chest. I think he might have been right handed, just saying. Nancy and Peter later had a very friendly conversation with the owner of the cafe. He drives big cattle trucks and wanted to learn more about how his rig affected out bikes. It was a fun stop and we got some delicious split pea and ham soup.

At some point during the day every single person on the team commented that they were dragging. We’re not sure if it was the mild headwind, the steady 1% climb we had nearly all day or the fact that we had had two days off the bike. Whatever the cause, we were a bit like sloths, not arriving at Darby until 4:30.

 We intended on getting a large 6 person canvas tent in Darby but the owner had not communicated the same message to her staff that she had to Nancy and the tent was not set-up or clean. We could have camped at the same resort but agreed to spend about $15 more per person and get a giant 3 bed cabin/apartment. I think the general group flagging contributed to us being soft. Or maybe it was the overnight low of 37 forecast for tomorrow morning.

Nancy booked the apartment and we rode to the self check-in area. While we were monkeying with the keyless entry, my phone rang and it was the apartment owner. She wanted to know when we would want to check-in. I said, now.  She countered that the apartment was not clean and asked for an hour to clean it. No worries, we headed next door to the 406 Saloon/Big Cat Cafe. We were all ready for showers and a little chilled, but no worries, a few amber beverages got us loosened up and feeling warmer. The food was pretty good as well. And best of all, the apartment is more than adequate and warm. We are happy not to be camping as clearly by now – 7:30 – it is getting cold quickly.

Tomorrow we head up and over Chief Joseph Pass. At about 7,250 feet, it won’t ultimately be the high point of the trip, but it will be the highest to date. It’s about 32 miles to the top, with the last 9 miles being 5-6% – we’re excited to see how our legs feel in the AM. We are currently at about 3,800 feet, should be a fun day…