Today I wanted to stop
Today we had a choice to make. Do we want to push one big day, or do we want to chop the remaining distance to MIssoula into 2 small sections. We went for the push.
We got up extra early, packed quickly, and headed out on the road. Our planned route for the day had us zig zagging via frontage and adjacent roads to I90. So I wasn't expecting much for views. However, I was delightfully surprised. This part of the country really has to try to not be scenic. I don't' think it tries super hard as the views were rather stunning. You can tell that the terrain is changing again. There are larger vales and valleys where there are no trees. Not much in the way of agriculture, but large grassy areas that fill the floor of the valley.
Even though we left early, the sun was still hot. When it hit ya, bam. Hot. I've been trying to be very diligent about drinking lots of water and keeping up on my sunscreen. Heck. I've even got an alert that goes off on my bike computer when it's time to reup the sunscreen. Even with this diligence it's very hard to keep from getting somewhat burned. I have a feeling that I will return with a pretty good tan from this trip.
At one point we really didn't have much of a choice but to hop on I90 for a few miles. I found the thought of riding on the Interstate to be a rather harrowing one. 3 miles was all we needed to do which should hypothetically take me about 20 minutes. Once on the interstate a few things fell into place.
The shoulders were extra wide. So had plenty of room to move over.
The 3 miles were almost all downhill.
Traffic was very politie. Almost everyone moved over to the far lane. A few trucks couldn't because they were being passed, and a few others weren't going to move for anything.
After the interstate we met up with a largely disused portion of trial. Not sure what happened to it, but it served as a lovely connector down into the town of Alberton. A quick stop at the grocery store in Alberton brought some much needed fluids and calories as well as a chance to be out of the sun. Did I mention that it has been HOT this last week?
I also discovered a fascinating used book store in this town. Floor to ceiling, front to back, ladders everywhere used book store. I was amazed!
Pulling into Frenchtown I was very tired. Some irises brightened my day (I'd never seen so many in one place) but I was ready to be done. I did not want to do the last 13 miles or so to Missoula. I was hot, bug bit, sore, and probably sunburned. At one point I felt like I was chafing behind my knees (not a good feeling) so tried to wipe off what sweat grime I could.
Somehow I pushed through the last 13 miles to our Airbnb in Missoula. Tomorrow is a rest day and I am very thankful for it.
'till next time
-Matt
Miles Ridden Today: 89.39
Total Miles Ridden: 794.10
Feet Climbed Today: 2,585
Total Feet Climbed: 32,475
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