July 5, 2005
Darby, MT - Missoula, MT: Easy riding. Too many cars.
This was not such a fun day. Way too much traffic going way to fast. It was easy riding all down hill except for the last approach into Missoula. There was a bike path between Florence and Lolo. It was nice to get away from the cars, but I didn't like the meandering and up and down stuff when I could see the road was nice and straight just down the slope from me. I did stay on the path.
I was interested to see the terrain around Lolo. We would be back there soon to head up Lolo pass. After passing the town of Lolo the road increased to four (?more)lanes of busy, fast traffic. There was a big shoulder, but it was very, very debris strewn. So far my only mechanical issue was the sliced tire. I was hoping not to have a flat on this nasty road. Our group had been plagued with flat tires. Ryan had several a day for several days in a row. Every evening he was 'entertained' by check and rechecking his new tires for slivers of glass or tiny wires.
Ryan had said there was a big WalMart just at the entrance of Missoula. I stopped there to download my photos to a disc and to print them. I waited an extraordinarily long time as everyone and their brother was printing holiday photos. Finally I had my turn at the machine. I had an hour to kill while the photos were printed, so I went across the street to the very conveniently located Golden Corral Buffet. There's nothing better than a buffet to a hungry cyclist. I really, really wanted a shower and change of clothes after eating. It's funny how the most basic of things make me happy while cycling. Food and a shower and I'm good to go. I got majorly lost several times trying to follow the ACA directions via bike path to the campground. Finally I decided to just follow the road to the campground. That worked fine. The traffic was very heavy, but I rode in a predictable manner and had no troubles. The KOA was an oasis in the middle of the city.
We had a nice camping spot by the creek. I picked a strategically placed site for my tent. I wanted a shady spot in the morning for maximum sleeping time on our day off. : )
I was happy that evening when Tom and Ryan served watermelon for dessert. I kept stealing slices before dinner and finally got in trouble with Ryan. Usually dessert was cookies or some other sugared treat that I was not allowing myself to eat. I was happy to get to eat a healthy dessert. There was some irony in the end as there was plenty of watermelon left over.
Ryan was filling in for Tom's cooking partner, Christian. Christian had done the Trans Am in 1976 as a college student and hadn't really cycled since. He had signed up for this trip to clear his head before taking a sabatical from teaching college. Then Christian would be writing a book. This trip was to serve as inspiriation. Christian admited that he hadn't had time for much training and was hoping his legs would remember what to do. A few years and a few pounds make things a bit more difficult. Christian was always cheerful and an interesting conversationalist. He just wasn't quite ready for the miles. Christian had dropped behind us when the terrain got tough. He planned to catch back up to us by riding on the rest day. We all missed his company. The guys especially missed Christian's contribution to the beer every evening.
I was very happy to have a rest day. I think having two rest days the first week was a good idea. As was the shorter miles the first few days. That's the nice thing about a long trip. On a week long trip I've always felt like I needed to get plenty of miles in as I only had a week. About the time my legs quit protesting, the week was over. It was at about Missoula that I started to gain much more confidence in my cycling ability. I quit checking the book for the terrain on the next day's ride and just took it as it came. I think I was a bit frustrating for Ryan. He enjoyed taking things one mile at a time with no advance warning. I liked to have an idea of what I was getting in to. At map time in the evening I always wanted details on the next day's ride. If we had long miles I wanted to start early. If we had long miles and climbing, then I wanted to start extra early. I needed to do this to compensate for being a slow but steady rider. I reached the point at about Missoula that I still started early because I enjoyed it, not because I was worried about my capabilities.
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Today's ride: 65 miles (105 km)
Total: 434 miles (698 km)
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