Ronan-Kalispell, MT: Pine trees smell good in the rain.

June 21, 2016

I wrote the whole page and when I hit finish - the text was gone and I only had photos. That's no good. Let me try again. Not happy.

Oren and I agreed on a 7 AM depart. My alarm is set for 6 AM. Someone's car alarm went off at 5:45. I'm sure the whole motel was awake. It took them forever to turn it off.

7:01 and we were out the door. The forecast wasn't good. Last night it said 90% chance of rain right at noon. Jacinto said he was going to wait until 1 PM to leave, there was plenty of time to get to town before dark at 9:30. So true. This morning the forecast was down to 50%, but all day long. Hmmm. Oren and I took off and pedaled fast, hoping to beat the rain. It's a mostly flat day. I'm hopeful.

We were riding along busy 93 again. At least there was a nice shoulder. At mile 12 my CG research said to take 35, there is less traffic. That is true. What is also true is that the shoulder completely disappears. Now we were directly sharing the road with double tankers and logging trucks, among others. Everyone was very polite and waited to pass safely. We had only one car honk unkindly at us. I'm sure we all would have been happier with some shoulder. To make things more fun, it started to rain. Oh, boy.

We were riding along Flathead Lake. There were many orchards in this area, each with their own fruit stand. Each one was fancier than the last. I would have liked to take some photos to compare, but there were few good places to stop along 35.

Once we hit Bigfork, we took a left onto Holt. This was a very nice respite from the traffic. Only three miles, but three very appreciated miles. Oren did ask about stopping here and buying a soda. What? Coffee or tea, something hot, that I could understand. But a pop? I wanted to keep going so I didn't get cold. I had been holding out on putting my rain coat on. At Bigfork it really started to rain. I had to admit it wasn't just a sprinkle. I put on my homemade pogies. I had sent Oren a pair for his birthday. He hadn't installed them. I didn't know he had a bar end mirror. Oops. Pogies don't fit over mirrors. Darn. Oren was all outfitted for rain, except for his poor hands.

We were quickly back on a highway, this time it was 82. To add to the fun, we now had a strong sidewind. Darn. Only 11 more miles to go. At least the road is flat and fast. With nine miles to go we hit 93 again. This time with a bike path that we were very happy to take.

I had been following ridewithgps directions. I could see the mile sign on the path says five miles, but the ridewithgps lady is saying to exit now. Hmmm, we decide to follow the path under the highway and see where it goes. It seems to go the wrong way. Oren and I take the first chance to navigate back to 93.

When I make motel reservations, I pick a place on the far side of town for easy exit in the morning. Oren had made this reservation at his favorite place, Super 8. I wasn't so excited that it was on our side of town, meaning we would have to travel through town in the morning. At this exact moment, I was very happy at the motel placement. It had stopped raining, but I was ready for a hot, very hot, shower!

We pulled up at the motel at 12:30 and were fortunate to be able to check right in. Oren and I agreed on showers and then lunch right away. I tried to call Jacinto several times, but the call wouldn't go through.

Oren and I went next door to to a lack luster Chinese place. Oren vowed as we were waiting for our food to eat all of his lunch and all of his dinner. He hadn't eaten during the day and had bonked toward the end. Not fun. For all of his good intentions, Oren had only half his lunch. I added his leftovers to mine to take to Jacinto. Who should we see as we exit the restaurant? Jacinto! He hadn't gotten wet at all, but did have a headwind along the lake. He didn't like the traffic either. Jacinto did ride the bike path between Ronan and Polson and said it was very nice. Jacinto did the same thing we did on the bike path before town, even riding down the same dirt road to get back on track.

The guys weren't so happy with my side trip to Yaak, Mt. I am a real sucker for an interesting name - be it a town, restaurant, or motel. However, I think they will be very happy with the lack of traffic going in to and out of Yaak. As pretty as this valley is, we are all ready to get away from the constant roar of automobiles. I am very thankful how considerate all of the drivers are.

My bike is wiped down, water bottles are in the fridge (what an optimist I am), I'm all ready to go for tomorrow. It's another easy day, providing the navigation goes well. We are trying to stay away from the Whitefish congestion and are taking a number of back roads. Navigation isn't my strong point, but I used ridewithgps today. I'm hopeful that will help me.

Jacinto's Long Haul Trucker is outfitted with Jandd Hurricane panniers.

The entrance to Ronan's Main Street. Ronan is named for Chief Ronan.

I like that blue sky. Unfortunately, it soon disappeared.

What a handy place for a break with a built in take to mix up my Spiz.

We were happy to find the potty at a premium location, right across from the country club. I don't suppose they would have liked me taking a bush break on their grounds! Note that we both have on raincoats.

My attempt at a selfie while riding. It's pretty tricky to pedal, watch where I'm going, smile, and take the photo, all at the same time.

Oren insisted Jacinto take this photo under the Super 8 sign because Super 8 is his favorite motel.

Today's ride: 61 miles (98 km)
Total: 114 miles (183 km)

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