June 21
We finished day 42 after 75 miles. We biked over Teton Pass, a monster 2000ft climb at 10-13% grade. We met some folks riding the Continental Divide Trail at the top. After the descent we entered Idaho! There we cycled through a few small towns and vast hilly farmlands. We still had magnificent views of the backside of the Tetons most of the day. We ended at a nice and quiet campground along the Warm River.
June 22
Day 43 is done and we are now in Montana. We rode another century today. We decided at lunch at mile 30 to go for it. We really had perfect conditions. After summiting the pass at the border we had a nice downward slope for the next 50 miles including a 10 mph tailwind. We averaged over 15 mph for the day, our fastest day of the whole trip so far. Aside from the first 20 miles in the forest, the road were pretty crappy. A poor shoulder/bike lane with lots of traffic. Hopefully we will have some quieter roads coming up.
June 23
Day 44 finished off with 72 miles with the last 30 into some strong headwinds. The wind giveth and then taketh away the next day! We rode through a couple historic towns, Virginia City and Nevada City which was nice. Then later we had crappy shoulders and busy roads. So far I am not very impressed with Montana cycling conditions. We road with this guy Russ for much of the day. He is a strong 70 year old rider, used to race back when he was a young 60 year old! He is biking to Oregon as well but then turning around and cycling back to the East coast! Also we don’t know why every farmer and home owner was irrigating their crops and lawns. In the heat of the day with 15-25 mph winds. Makes no sense to me and seems quite wasteful although we did periodically get a nice mist on the highway.
June 24
Day 45 and we are 3/4 complete on our journey to the Pacific. Today we had headwinds again but at least had some quiet roads. We rode 65 miles, over a mountain pass and into Big Hole Valley. Lots of mosquitoes at our campsite, staying at an American Legion Park in Wisdom.
June 25
On day 46 we climbed to the Lost Trail Pass at the border of Montana and Idaho. Then descended down Bitterroot Valley towards Missoula. We biked 95 miles and stayed in Stevensville at a local brewery. We woke up in the morning to 32 deg and frost on our bike seats. So it was a chilly start to the day. The first 30 miles were very quiet and pretty as we climbed up to the pass. We put on our cold weather gear again to descend as we had a pretty fast 15 mile downhill section. The road continued on down slope all the way to the brewery so we got in some good miles today. There is a surprising amount of traffic in Montana, luckily we had a separate bike path for the last 20 miles but certainly not peaceful.
June 26
We made day 47 a half day. Biked 42 miles up Lolo pass to stay at a hot spring ”camping cabin”. Took a dip in the hot spring pool, had a nap, ate a couple of times at the restaurant, and watched the Avs win the Stanley Cup on the laptop! We met a number of East bound cyclists. They all ask about the dogs in Kentucky. Anita drove off to visit her cousin for the day/night. We will meet her tomorrow at an Idaho campground.
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