Miles City, MT to Wallace, ID

More Typing 6/26/13. Now aboard Amtrak Train #8 The Empire Builder from Edmonds (near Seattle), WA to Chicago, IL.

Leaving Miles City, I had lost one day in my skip-a-day plan. I put my head down, and started putting serious mileage behind me. I made it to Billings, MT. I was on the interstate all day, with moderate headwinds and climbing. I was starting get a head cold, but I just kept pushing through. 3 flat tires in a day is discouraging when your trying to make that kind of mileage in a day. I didn't know anywhere to camp in Billings, and I felt like garbage, so I got another cheap motel. This cheap motel, well, it was the biggest dump I stayed in the entire trip. The door framing was packed with newspaper to "stop draft." The sink took about 5 minutes to drain per 30 seconds of running water. I literally slept in my sleeping bag on top of the bed. The next morning I was up early and feeling just as crummy. I could not breathe through my nose, which may have been convenient to avoid the stench of cigarettes in my wonderful "non-smoking" room. If I was in a nicer place I would have considered a day of rest to kick the cold. Instead I made the 120+ ride to Livingston, MT.  My original plan was to ride to Big Timber, but I was making good enough time, so I decded to make the push. A generally uneventful day with considerable climbing, but still rolling hills and not yet mountain passes. Leaving Livingston I had a decent jump on the day. Exit hills, enter mountains. I started the day with a nice 14 mile climb. Mid day I had another 10 or so mile climb, and to finish it all off, I cleared the Continental Divide (Homestake Pass), about 16-17 mile climb, bringing me into Butte. When I say climb, I'm not talking about gradually gaining elevation. I am talking 4-5% continous grade with a 6-7% grade Pass for about 3 miles at the top. These are generalized numbers. I think its important to rememeber at this point, I am riding a fully self supported touring bike weighing in at no less than 85lbs, typically closer to 90-100 with sufficient food and water supply. I have two options on these climbs: sit and spin at high cadence, or gear down, stand up, and crank each pedal stroke with all of my 145lbs.  Neither way is easy, and as any cyclist knows, the different pedal storkes work different muscle groups. The biggest thing I notice with the loaded bike, is that when standing up and pedaling, you can't push as hard as you can on an empty bike due to the fact and the side to side balance and resistance.

All this bitching about the climb. What goes up, must come down. There really isn't a way to describe the feeling of cruising at 30-40mph on a bicycle for 10-15 minutes at a shot. It is an amazing feeling. It certainly seems short lived after the 1-2 hour constant grind to get there, but the high you experience is hard to top. The gyroscopic effect sets in on the wheels and the bicycle can be controlled much like a motorcycle at speed where you simple lean your head, and the slightest weight shift sets you into an arching corner. Dropping down the Continental Divide into Butte, I litterally had to slow down so that I wasn't passing trucks decending in low gear. While it would have been fun and exciting to say that I did pass a truck, the chance of a truck blowing a tire or any other number of things going wrong was too high, and it wasn't worth risking my life.

After Butte, I was on my way to Missoula. This day started with brutal headwinds and a nasty looking storm front was heading my way. I took a quick stop out of the wind in an underpass to call for a weather report. After my proven-most-reliable weatherman Allan S. helped me out, I knew I was going to get wet, but it looked like the thunderstorms were minor, and slim to no threat of hail. Pushing on in the wind, I hear/see the moving billboard of a rental RV eastbound beeping and waving. Now, I get several cars a day giving a friendly beep and wave, typically either a hippy rig covered in stickers or a vehicle with bike racks, but this has been the only rental RV. I knew my friends from VT were taking a rental RV trip in Montana at this same time. The coincidence was amazing that we had passed each other! As it turns out, they had seen me earlier, turned around to find me, but I was in the underpass getting a weather report, so they missed me. After
ransacking the small town of Drummond, they thought it was a lost cause, and continued east, until, once again, they saw me. Return chase, this time they caught me. We had late lunch together in Drummond. They'll probably read this at some point so: it was really cool to see you guys on the other side of the country! Shortly after Drummond the rain set in, and then set in heavier. I continued to Missoula where I spent the night with family of a friend. I had never met the family before and I cannot express how thankful I am for their great hospitality!

Departing Missoula in the rain, I could see what kind of day it was going to be...you guessed it....wet. I have a long 70 mile "phantom" descent into St. Regis. It was generally downhill, but the grade was so mellow, it certainly didn't feel like it, especially with the wind and rain. There was supposed to be some sort of rail trail that lead out of St. Regis and connect to Wallace, ID. The day was getting late, and after a second failed attempt of trying to find the trail, I didn't want to waste anymore time, So back onto I-90 I went. Lookout Pass was not as bad as I was expecting after all the hype. It was about 30 miles of mellow grade and 3 miles of steep at the top. The top of the pass was the point where I crossed into Idaho and Pacific Time. The western side of the pass was also much colder. The eastern side was rain the whole way up, but with the effort of climbing and generally slow speed, I stayed warm. At the top of the pass, the rain had a hint of mixing rain snow sleet mix. While there was no accumulation, it did not fall like normal rain. The temperature dropped drastically once over the peak. After the first mile or so, I stopped and put on every layer I could, and I was so greatful I had thermals with me that I hadnt used since NY. My insulated leather gloves also came in handy. I was planning on camping, but the 40* temps and rain were a perfect combination to wimp out and get a motel for the night. A few miles before Wallace, ID I did find a paved rail trail that would take me down the remainder of Lookout Pass.