Great ride, although we got off to a wet beginning. We drove into Missoula Saturday afternoon in a downpour, so opted to get a room for the night instead of camping. Good choice! In addition to the rain the sprinkler on the school athletic field came on at 5 AM, soaking all the campers. It was still raining for the first 18 miles of the morning ride, but gradually cleared -- for a while. We were racing a storm into the next campsite, but the storm won. Cold with high winds. A few of us non-hardy souls decided camping in the gym would be a good plan. Unfortunately the gym lights can't be turned off, so we crawled under the bleachers into a nice, dark, cozy cave.
Day 2 -- We are on part of the AC Trans-Am route and have seen bikers going the other direction. Clear in the morning to climb up Lost Trail and Chief Joseph Passes, but it started snowing on top. We were among the first to start down and rode right into an ice storm. The 20 miles to our water stop at the Big Hole Battlefield NM was torture. We were pelted by ice and riding in an inch of accumulated sleet. By the time we reached the Visitor Center I was soaked through and hypothermic. They stripped me to the skin, wrapped me in the blue packing blankets from the luggage truck. I still couldn't stop shaking, so they drove me in to the campsite in jackson Hot Springs -- luckily with umlimited hot water. It went down into the 20s that night. The tent was covered in ice when we woke up.
Day 3 -- Beautiful ride through the Big Hole Valley -- up and back over the Continental Divide again. Campsite at Fairmont Hot Springs -- seems there are a lot of these....
- Day 4 -- Water stop in Anaconda at the Chamber of Commerce with intereesting hhistorical exhibits. Uphhill to Georgetown Lake for lunch, where we discovered that the van that has been driving around with us all week has a map of the Adirondacks painted on the sides. Nno one seems to know why. Swooping downhill into the nicely preserved old town of Philipsburg. We had a nice afternoon exploring the town. Charlie Pace clued us in on the root Beer Floats and Ice Cream Sodas at Doe Brothers Soda Fountain. They did not disappoint.
Day 5 -- All downhill (or mostly) today. We'll take it. Another beautiful (and short -- only 42 miles) day. Our campsite, at Chateau Bearmouth, was originally planned as a brothel. The campsites were pleasant, along the Clark's Fork (as in Lewis and...) River.
Day 6 -- Last day of riding and all downhill again. After all the climbing and the 75 mile days at the beginnning of the week this is a piece of cake. We rode the first 17 miles on Interstate 90. Not too bad except for all the debris. Our ride director had requested that the highway department sweep the shoulder for us. They complied, but unfortunately they did the Eastbound Lane. We arrived back in Missoula by 11:00 anad enjoyed lunch and showers at the High School before we took off for Kalispell to begin the next leg of our trip tomorrow.
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