Powell, ID to Missoula, MT (59 miles)
Much anticipation began the day, with the destination being
Missoula, home of the Adventure Cycling Association (ACA). The maps I purchased
from them ride on my handlebars and ACA has been a great resource in preparing
for my adventure. There was a 6 mile climb in the morning, which took me a
couple hours. I did see a young deer, then stopped at the visitor center at the
summit of Lolo Pass, including free coffee. The next exciting thing was not only the downhill ride,
but enter another state. Montana welcomes you! It was a great downhill with
very little traffic. The landscape leveled off and followed Lolo stream to the
town of Lolo, MT, where we turned north and travelled about 13 miles to go into
Missoula, MT. Missoula is a pretty large city of 57,000. I mean after all they
have two Walmart stores in. It is the first Walmart we have saw in many miles
and that was back in Oregon. So, Vera
was able to fill prescriptions, we got the oil changes in the Durango and Walt’s
camper, plus picked up some more groceries.
But, the first stop in town for me was the headquarters of
Adventure Cycling. Kim, Walt and Vera joined me for the visit. We me some of the staff, including John, who gave us a tour and brief history. Plus we met Greg Siple Greg, co-founded Bikecentennial in 1973 and ACA. Greg was intriqued by our being from Lima as he use to live in Columbus, Ohio. He brought out his camera and took my picture in front of the new addition to the building. He said it will be on the ACA website, but I have not saw it yet. We were allowed to use the Cyclist lounge which included use of the internet, free ice cream and sodas. It was fun!
After ACA, I had to take my black stallion to Open Road Cyclery for a repair. My back tire was nearly tredless and my front fender was broke. So, they worked me in, put on a new tire and new fender. I had sent an email to Civia Cycles about my fender breaking and the situation. They were good enough to work with Open Road Cyclery to replace my fender for free. Kudos to Civia Bikes, and thanks Chuck Sween!
We had a late lunch out and spent the night at the Missoula KOA. It was a busy, but fun day!
Bike used by one of the 1976 organizers of the BikeCentennila cross country ride.
No comments:
Post a Comment