Day8

(This is cool if you like lots of data! It may take a few seconds to load but you can hit play and time compress our ride)

DAILY REPORT: David, John, James and Skip. The weather man was predicting that there were going to be thunderstorms from 1400 to 1600 today. Sunny and hot. Expected high temp around 95 deg.

So we were off after our nice stay at the Quinn hot springs feeling

refreshed and rejuvenated. We had another beautiful day to begin our biking for the day. We had the wind to our backs and gentle down hill slope for the first third of the ride. Now if that didn't make you happy what will....??

We made really good time. In fact our average speed was 19+ mph for the first part of the trip. Even Skip was impressed how far we had gone before he caught up with us. Then we hit the construction in Arlee and the head wind which caused us to slow considerably. After 7 miles of dirt, gravel and no shoulder and lots of traffic along Hyw 93 we found Skip and loaded up the bike into the trailer. Safety was our concern here and it just was not safe with the number of RV's and tractor trailers going by. I would like to thank the numerous motorists who did slow and give us room as they went by. Our helmets are off to you. Thanks!!

We continued biking at the I90 interchange about 10 miles outside of Missoula. We had a quick lunch because the weather forecast predicted thunderstorms and we could see the clouds building. We had aprox 40 miles to cover to get to Stevensville..

We took the old hyw 93 and ran the out skirts of Missoula passing the airport and then headed south. This was the first major city we had been in since Spokane. Seemed strange seeing all the stores and fast food places, etc.

Once we got father south it was rolling hills. We were fortunate to run across several cyclists loading up their bikes at a gas station we had stopped at for water and a bathroom break. In talking with Mindy and Jill we mentioned we were on our way to Stevensville and they said "Oh, you're taking the bike path?" So fortunately for us we ran into them and we had a leisurely ride to our destination.

One of the things we observed once south of Missoula was the quantity of grasshoppers killed along the highway. There were literally thousands of them along the road and the bike path was just crawling with them. You couldn't help but get them w/ your tires and spokes as they flew.

We were staying in two hotels today. Skip was staying at the Bitterroot Bed and Breakfast of which Tim was kind enough to donate

for our charity ride. Tim and his wife started this B&B about 4 yrs ago and they have a very nice place. They are just off the river. And Robby at the Stevensville Hotel gave us good deal for the three of staying together. The hotel is a converted hospital and all the rooms have neat names like "Nurses Quarters", "The Insane Asylum", etc. The owners have spent a lot of time remolding and giving is this hotel a lot of charm. Very nice.

Tomorrow we have some major climbing and the weatherman is predicting rain so we see what we are in store for.

YOU DON'T SAY:

John - Dad when you planned our route did you intentionally try to have us stay in only small towns? How are we supposed to enjoy the night life?

Dad - If you have that much energy, you must not be pulling enough during our pace lines!

Skip - While loading up the vehicle, Skip handed James a bag to take out to the trailer. "Here take this bag of poker chips; this will be the most (chips) you'll ever have."

James - "I have never seen so many grasshoppers; I must have killed millions along the bike path!"

DID I REALLY DO THAT?:

Some times while we are on the road we have hard time tracking down our SAG support. Know we know why.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Some of the local wildlife running across he road. Pretty good I was able to get my camera out for this shot. And two, I had flash back of when we watched our friend Greg Pelton got hit by a deer during a triathlon.

Some of the other wildlife on the road...Jurassic Park 3??

Bike path from Florence to Stevensville (~20 miles). Thanks to several bikers (Jill and Mindy) that we met that told us about this! Much nicer than riding along the road.

John was impressed that Missoula named a restaurant after him.

This was our accommodations for the night. Robby the owner was very nice and helpful. She even called the local new paper and arranged for an interview for us with Mike.

Biking sure does make you hungry...and nope John was not able to finish it at one sitting! (He did later that evening.)

Day 08 (Sun 7/5/09)

Great day for riding in Montana

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