PowerCycle

06/12 Road construction is awesome. About 5 miles out of Missoula this (beautiful) construction woman had a bunch of cars stopped so I rode up and she said go ahead, just be careful because the next 20 miles is a construction area. I thought it was going to be horrible but I loved it. The work they are doing is repaving so some sections were hard packed gravel. It was very hard packed so I didn’t have any trouble riding on it. The best part was that they would hold up the considerable traffic and only let it through with a pilot vehicle. So about once every 10 minutes a line of cars would come through going no more than 35mph. That would last a few minutes and then there would be absolute silence for another 10. Loved it.

The campground here is pretty decent. They are right in the middle of cleaning the pipes so no water (or showers). The lady at the office let me stay here for free which saved me $8. She also hooked me up with a few bottles of water to get me by. They have a fridge set up on an honor system so I loaded up with Coke and a couple more waters (paid for of course). They stick you down in this huge meadow and you can camp anywhere in it. There’s a pavilion with picnic tables so there’s some shade and a place to sit. Since I had a little free time I finally got around to replacing the rear brake pads. There’s also an action shot from hour three of me trying to sew the velcro strip back onto my bike cover. No sure why my mouth was open. That may have been when I was pulling the needle back out of my thumb.

On my way through Missoula I stopped off at the UPS Store and sent my Dad a present. I haven’t been using my fancy and quite heavy U-lock so it’s gone. So is the last Pacsafe I had. If I need them I don’t think its going to be for a while.

The big event of the day was my visit to the Adventure Cycling Association headquarters in Missoula. For those that don’t know, among other things they publish maps specifically for bicyclists. They have routes all over the United States, about 7 of which I’ll end up using for this trip.

As soon as you walk in it becomes very obvious that they see their customers as more than just an income source. They were even really nice to the very odd, kind of latharjick rider that came in while I was in the next room. The picture I took ended up being blurry which sucks. I have to remind myself to always take two. The co-founder Greg, who I met a bit later, has quite a history. He was one of the first people to ride a bicycle from Alaska to the tip of South America. I think it was in 1972 or so. Back then none of the roads up north were paved and you should see some of the mess he had to ride through.

Anyway, I was given a tour of the office (thanks Winona), given a complimentary membership, had some free ice cream and had take my picture taken for the poster board of riders who had been by. It was funny because I recognized 5 of the pictures on the board as people I’ve talked to who were riding past me. Greg also took some black and white shots that he frames and sticks up in the lounge area. All in all I had a great visit.

Stopped off in the downtown area for some lunch and a smoothie– no huckleberry though. While I was eating lunch outside a rather disheveled guy kept asking people walking by if they wanted a jelly bean. He had some takers which was a little surprising. Missoula has an amazing number of bicycle riders in it. There were probably as many bikes on the road as cars. Wish I could stay a day but Alaska isn’t coming to me.

Another perfect day today. It’s been about 82 F for the last 2 days with a very light wind. I’m trying to get off the road and into camp by 3pm just to get some shade because its so hot in the sun. My tan was starting to fade so I’m not complaining. Not thrilled that I had to ride east all day but I start heading back north tomorrow. Unless I jump on the interstate and/or stay on Hwy 93, which get as much traffic as any interstate I’ve ever seen, this route is the best I suppose.

GPX Track