July 28, 2023
Day 77 Hamilton to Missoula MT
Just a note of correction to my previous post to anyone who already read it. I wrote that Ricardo made chorillo when I meant to say he made chilorio, which is a Mexican breakfast dish of shredded pork, onion and spices. Chorillo means diarrhea. I hope that washed over people’s heads.
I was excited to ride to Missoula today. First of all to get to Adventure Cycling Association and secondly to get my bike checked out. I’ve been concerned about La Tortuga ever since I ran over that large rock and blew two tubes and a tire and dented the edge of the back wheel. I think my rear wheel is out of true and I certainly don’t want to break any spokes.
The ride was completely on trails today except for the last few blocks. The Bitterroot Trail took me from Hamilton to the Clark Fork River in Missoula. From there I got on another trail, crossed the river and was soon at ACA where I signed their log of visiting cyclists, got my picture taken and posted on their board, helped myself to free cold drinks, got some route advice for getting to Sandpoint ID, and bought some straps for my bike rack. Then I managed to bike to the Missoula KOA campground and found Peter and Henry.
We loaded Tortuga in the truck and took her to Missoula Bike Works to have her checked out and the wheels trued. We’ll pick her up tomorrow. I really appreciate these bike shops that fit you into their busy schedule in the middle of summer.
Next a trip to REI to get a waterproof compression sack for my sleeping bag. And a belt to hold up my pants when I’m off bike. It’s hard to keep up with the calorie demand of long distance biking. And then we went to CVS and Target for a prescription and a few necessities.
We were pretty whooped by all the running around in a strange city so Peter got some carry out for dinner. I spent most of the evening trying to map out the route to Sandpoint and ultimately to Spokane WA.
Tomorrow is a rest day, pick up the bike day, catch up on laundry and change the sheets day. We also plan to check out the beginning of the upcoming route for shoulder and safety issues. I got some equivocal feedback on that.
Now I’m going to eat ice cream and go to bed!
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Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 2,895 miles (4,659 km)
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