To Columbia Falls

June 15, 2024

Get there before it rains

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Today’s route was a short ride, mostly flat or downhill, which was a welcome respite after yesterday’s climb. The climb itself wasn’t that difficult, just such a long way at a steady 6% that it wore us out.

The weather forecast was for winds intensifying in the afternoon and rain beginning around 2:00, so we decided to leave by 9 AM to arrive in Columbia Falls before the rain. We had breakfast at the Lodge again, with the same waitress. She recognized us and, even before we sat down, checked with the cooks to verify they would be willing to cook eggs over easy. That made me smile. (Yesterday, when I asked why they didn’t have anything other than scrambled eggs on the menu, she told us they didn’t pay enough to hire people who know how to cook eggs [!!!]. But the cook on duty that morning could do it for us. We all thought that was pretty funny, but were happy we could get our eggs the way we wanted.) Rich and Gen ordered the same breakfast as yesterday, while Jim and I opted for the French toast—mine, with over easy eggs on the side.

Though the sky was clear when we went for breakfast, by the time we got the truck loaded and Rich could instruct Jim on the nuances of the Ridgeline, it was closer to 9:30, the sky was clouding up and it was cold with temps in the upper 40s. But the ride really was flat for the first 10 miles and it felt good to get my legs working. As we rode back down to West Glacier Village, there was a lot of traffic heading the other direction—tour vans and cars and trucks, many carrying bicycles. We figured the word must have gotten out about the road being open to cyclists.

We turned right onto the bicycle path that parallels Hwy 2, a gentle ascent of 1-3%. I didn’t sleep well last night—for some reason lying there awake between 1:30 and 4:30, so even though I would normally classify today’s ride as very easy, my legs were feeling every little hill.

It’s a pretty, rolling ride through backroads and rural residential areas. About 5 miles from Columbia Falls, the wind kicked up and we had to fight the headwind gusts the remainder of the way in. Arriving at our hotel, the Cedar Creek Lodge, at a little after noon and too early to check in, we were told to come back at 3:00. So we rode 2 blocks up the street to the Nite Owl restaurant, which is diner style and linked to the Backroom restaurant and casino. The food and service were both excellent—Jim had a French Dip sandwich, I had a turkey sandwich with breaded/fried mushrooms on the side, Genny had a grilled chicken salad and a cup of the creamed mushroom and bacon soup, and Rich had a ham and cheese sandwich with chicken noodle soup. Jim also had a slice of peach pie. Everything looked and tasted homemade.

While there, it started raining. We hung out for a while, drinking coffee and chatting until there was a break in the weather. Then we hightailed it back to the hotel. We were still too early, but they had two rooms ready and let us check in. The rooms are lovely and large and very comfortable. A nice change after the too-tiny rooms at the McDonald Lake Motel. As I write this, I am sitting in a comfy chair by the window, having showered and done our laundry, while it is hailing outside. I hope Kelly and Jacinto didn’t get caught out in this weather, wherever they happen to be in this moment.

Time now to chill.

Some of the lush pasture land we rode by.

Rosie, the food service robot at Nite Owl Restaurant in Columbia Falls.

The waitress, moving the food to the table after the robot delivered it.

Cedar Creek Lodge — image pulled from the web.

Another image pulled from the web, but our room pretty much looks like this.

Today’s video compilation.

Today's ride: 30 miles (48 km)
Total: 112 miles (180 km)

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