Day 14 – June 17 – Lolo Hot Springs, MT to Missoula, MT – 31 Miles

It started raining sometime during the night.  By morning it was intermittent between a light drizzle and a good soaking.  At home, when it is cold and rainy it always seems tough to get out of bed.  When camping in small tents with the prospect of tearing down camp, packing up gear then getting on bikes and riding for a few hours, it is even tougher.  Remarkably we got going relatively quickly.  Today there were three big incentives, a downhill grade all the way to Missoula, a short mileage day, and tomorrow a rest day. The sooner you get there the sooner it starts.

With the rain, were we glad we had made the summit of Lolo Pass yesterday.  The easy ride made the rain seem inconsequential.  As we progressed, the sky broke and the rain dissipated. The scenery was beautiful once the rain stopped.  We passed two “Moose Crossings” marked by signs and in big white letters on the roadway.  It reminded me of a school zone.

The 21 miles to the town of Lolo, MT passed quickly.  We stopped there for a late breakfast.  10 miles farther and we were in Missoula.  We found a Super 8 Inn on the outskirts of town.  We have camping gear drying in the room and the laundry is done. I have updated the blog pages and it is just about time for pizza!

We are a short distance from downtown Missoula, and even closer to the campus of the University of Montana.  Joe is considering taking a campus tour while we’re here.

In downtown Missoula, we need to stop by an outfitter and bike store to get a few items.  We will also stop by the Adventure Cycling Association Headquarters to register our ride and visit.  Adventure Cycling is the organization that produces the detailed maps for several cross-country cycling routes, they are also instrumental in cycling advocacy.

I had not anticipated the lack of communications infrastructure we have experienced for the last few days in Idaho and into Montana.  No cellular service whatsoever.  Periodically along the highway would be emergency call boxes. That was it.  Eastern Montana, may provide a similar situation although our route follows the same route as Amtrak, on our way to Portland.  I don’t recall having problems connecting during that portion of the trip.

We will see.