Today I got rained on.
We left Missoula on a little delayed schedule this morning. we had one very important stop to make along the way. Adventure Cycling. Adventure Cycling is kind of a hub for all things bike touring. It was founded in 1976 by some cross country adventure riders and has grown to one of the largest route organizing and cycling advocacy organizations in the country. The joke is that it is the Bike Touring Mecca.
They invite people to stop by during the week. You'll get your picture up on the wall, and there's a fridge/freezer full of ice cream and sodas. We had some fantastic conversations about what route's we've been taking. Many of Adventure Cycling's routes so far have focused on paved riding. We tend to like gravel roads and out of the way gems. Art is our route designer. Without his time and talent, we would be SOOOOO lost. Who knows there may be some collaborations coming.
After Adventure Cycling we headed out of Missoula with a brief stint on the Milwaukee Road trail. This was a super nice trail. Missoula is known for its outdoor traditions. We then switched to what would be our main road for the rest of the day. Montana state highway 200. I have some opinions on this road.
It started really nice. Nice wide shoulders the traffic was decent enough. The road wasn't too strenuous, and I was able to just pound pavement. Then came the major turn off where 200 continued east while 83(?) split and headed towards Glacier National Park. This is where it started to get a little more nerve wracking. Oh. It also had started to rain. Our first rain days of the trip. I was prepared for rain with gear, but it certainly made the road more stressful. The shoulders narrowed up, and the traffic seemed to be less inclined to move over. This includes commercial traffic. Also the posted speed limit for this two lane highway is 70mph! So yeah. Stressful! Very grateful to pull off after 45ish miles on that highway to our destination for the evening: Ovando, MT.
Ovando is NOT a big city. Ovando isn't really even a city. Ovando is hardly a town. With a population of 50, Ovando would be really easy to blink and miss as you're barreling down MT 200 at 70+ mph. 70! On a 2 lane! (to be fair it does go down to 65 at night). This town though is something special if you're on a bike.
Ovando has pretty much gone all in on traveling cyclists. It's a crossing point of several long distance bike travel routes as well as the Tour Divide mountain bike race. They have an inn if you'd like an modern indoor option OR they have some fun novelty options including a tipi, a chuckwagon, and the town jail. There are also some large mowed and sprayed fields on the edge of town for travelers as well. The general store was stocked full of everything you could need. Snacks, gear, drinks, merch and it was all very fairly priced.
Art, Josh, Jeff, and Manvel opted for the indoor option while Alex and I opted for the tipi. Supper was just up the hill at a cool local spot called Trixi's The bike friendliness continued with lots of questions about our journey and how things were going. I debated walking to dinner as it was just under a mile away. After dinner though I was sure glad I didn't. It had started to rain again! Did I think to bring any of my rain gear along with me to supper. Nope. So in my street clothes I bombed down the hill. Well..... at least I was dry for a few wonderful minutes.
We stashed the bikes under the porch of the inn and pretty much headed for bed. Had to be careful to lock up any snacks or food items though. This is bear country. They had lockers around the town and lots of noticies to make sure you took care. I guess a couple years ago a cyclist was actually killed by a Grizzly bear on the edge of town. So yeah a few extra items were removed from our bikes and locked up. Better to be safe than sorry.
'till next time
-Matt
Miles Ridden Today: 57.07
Total Miles Ridden: 851.17
Feet Climbed Today: 1,673
Total Feet Climbed: 34,148
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