Missoula to Hamilton, MT

Sorry about the huge slug of posts at once. We've been without cell/Internet coverage for a week - both because we've been mainly riding through canyons where there is no cell service at all, and due to gross incompetence on the part of Verizon. Anyway, I am happy to report that we're back in the saddle (so to speak).
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Via Hwy 93 to Stevensville, Hwy 269 to Hamilton. 52 miles. (Ridden August 9th).

It was a pretty uneventful ride today until a few miles before the end. Most of the first 13 miles from Missoula to Lolo were on US93, the same stretch that we'd ridden in the monsoon rain on Friday. Today the sun was mostly out and the weather was cool but dry. Moreover, today was Sunday so traffic was relatively light. In other words, it was almost pleasant.

South of Lolo we rode along a paved bike path all the way to Stevenville (16 miles). We rode through the Bitterroot River valley, where many celebrities own ranches. It's certainly beautiful, but they obviously aren't raising animals on these ranches (we saw very few cattle, horses or anything else with 4 legs).

At Stevenville, the bike path ended and we turned onto a 'side road' (Hwy 269) that paralleled US93 a mile or so to the east. It was definitely quieter and more scenic, but had no shoulder for much of the way into Corvallis (remember, we are in Montana and not Oregon). There, as we rode by a cafe we spotted another loaded tandem. It was the three-seater* ridden by the couple and their 10-year old son that we had heard about in Oregon from the couple on the recumbent tandem. Mike and Dorrie are from California, where Dorrie was a teacher and Mike had a handyman business. When she recently lost her job due to the budget crisis in California, they decided to sell their house and their cars and take off on their tandem with their son Gregory. They left Baker City, Oregon (we also passed through there in late July) a couple of weeks ago and are also riding east like us.** Even though Dorrie received a new job offer shortly after they sold their house, they decided to go on their tandem ride anyway. They explained that, for them - particularly with Gregory along, the trip is all about the people they meet. They had many stories of people inviting them into their homes,*** giving them lifts to the top of some of the passes, etc. As I have previously noted, that has been our experience as well. The bike riding is great (most days anyway), but the people we've met and experiences we've had are the things we'll treasure the most.

When we told Mike and Dorrie that they were somewhat famous (after all, we'd heard about them when we were still two states away), they told they had encountered a 5 person family traveling by tandem on a 7,000 mile trip. In addition to the mother and father on the bike, there were two small girls (6 and 4 years old) and a 2 year old baby! The baby was in a carrier on the back, but had the ability to lean forward so he (she?) could sleep easier. Are you kidding me?

Late today we finally heard from Devon again, the young woman riding solo. While she was in White Bird she met some river rafters who invited her to go rafting with them in northern Idaho for several days. When she called she was in Coeur d' Alene, which is well north of the Adventure Cycling Association route we have both been following. She got someone to agree to give her a ride to Missoula, since the feasible direct way from Coeur d' Alene
to Missoula (where she can rejoin the ACA route) is on an interstate highway. This again highlights the advantages that a young, good-looking woman has bike touring over a couple of middle aged has beens. The same is true of Mike, and Dorrie, the tandem couple with their 10 year old son Gregory. They have gotten offers of help, etc., that we'll never experience (don't get me wrong, I am not wining - that's the way it should be). But we were disappointed today when they declined to lend Gregory to us for a while to garner some roadside sympathy.

*Mike rides in front, Dorrie behind him and Gregory behind her. Like us, they are pulling a B.O.B. brand single-wheel trailer, creating a ridiculously long rig.

**When I pointed out that - based on their current pace of about 40 miles/day - they may not reach the East Coast until winter, Mike said "if that happens and we get cold, we'll just head south instead of east." Wow, talk about not having a fixed agenda!
***For example, they stayed in someone's home in Missoula for a week. The owner had to go to San Francisco after a couple of days, but told them to stay as long as they liked and left her car for them to drive.
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