Powell CG (Clearwater National Forest, ID) to Missoula, MT

Via Hwys 12 and 93. 59.9 miles. (Ridden August 7th).

It was a tale of two halves today. The first half of our ride was nice, even though the first 13 miles involved an uphill grunt over Lolo Pass (elevation 5,235 feet).* It rained early in the morning before we left our cabin and it was quite cool. We had the wood stove in the cabin cranked up to keep us warm and dry our soggy gear.

We crossed into Montana at the top of the pass, where the temperature could not have been much over 40 degrees. On the way down the other side we had every article of clothing we owned on to try to stay warm.

We took a lunch break about 15 miles into Montana, after passing several sections of Hwy 12 adorned with designated "Moose Crossing" signs. (After being assaulted by the pesky things while we tried to eat, we decided they should have posted "Savage Mosquitoes" signs as well.)

It began to rain about 10 miles from Lolo, MT, and there was a strong wind in our faces as we rode down the Lolo Creek canyon. As a result, the rain stung like hail and we felt cold even though the air temperature was supposedly in the 50s. We pulled into a C-store about 3 miles from Lolo to pump down hot drinks and regroup. From there, the ride into Lolo was not bad, but things got ugly when we turned north on very busy US93. We had a decent shoulder the entire way in to Missoula but the heavy rain made for poor visibility. We later learned it was an all-time record rainfall for Missoula. There was a lot of standing water at intersections, which should have told us this downpour was something out of the ordinary. With the heavy truck traffic on the highway, despite the decent shoulder, the ride into Missoula was a little scary.

As we entered the Missoula city limits we pulled into a Wal-Mart to pick up a few things and dry off a little. We found two other touring cyclists there doing the same thing.** That bolstered our spirits a bit - knowing we weren't the only idiots riding bikes long distance on a miserable day. All 4 of us got a good laugh out of the situation. Penny and I just kept thanking God that we did not have to camp tonight, and are looking forward to a day off tomorrow.

*Only the last 5 miles were seriously steep.

**Surprisingly, unlike our motel tonight, Wal-Mart had the heat on and the A/C off.