Miles 109.53 Total 3,297.62 Daily Avg 70.16
Avg Speed 15.6 Max speed 40.8 mph Alt climbed 1850 ft
Decided to combine two shorter days of riding and ride directly to Missoula and take two rest days. We departed the mosquito den at 7:30 on a cool morning. Five miles into the ride I noticed two gray items moving under a shrub. We soon realized it was the ears of four coyote pups hiding under the shrub keeping watch. I assume they were looking out for their mom so we did not go near them and continued on our way. Today we were riding through the Bitterroot Valley, an area explored by Rogers and Clark. Signs denoted this around every bend. The valley was a beautiful area with our route riding along the Bitterroot River.
We had one climb over Gibbons Pass 7,241 ft early in the ride. The climb was followed by a 5 mile descent into the Bitterroot Valley. The descent had wide looping turns and long 7% straight sections. This differs from the steep descents with tight hairpin turns we saw in the east. We were now at the border of Idaho and Montana, although we will not turn west into Montana until our next day of riding.
With such a long ride ahead of us we decided to stop for an early lunch in Darby. Since it was Sunday the restaurant was serving breakfast all day. Everyone is giving me a hard time concerning the weight I have lost so I ordered pancakes. There should have been a picture of these two, dinner plate size pancakes. They were delicious and quickly devoured. After the hearty brunch we got back on the road at noon for the final 55 miles.
Things were going well until we hit a 7 mile stretch of road constructions where we were forced to ride on dirt and gravel roads. These conditions beat us and our bikes up. We were lucky to make it through without any flats.
We reached Missoula, MT at 4:00. Our plans are to spend a day in Missoula and drive to Glacier National Park Monday afternoon, spend the night and do some hiking on Tuesday. Great way to spend your rest day, hiking mountains. Wednesday morning we will begin our final days riding to Oregon and the Pacific Ocean.
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| Good thing we slow down at night? |
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| Bitterroot Valley |
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| Signs you are staying in a classy hotel |
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