Bicycling Coast to Coast

Stats:   Today's miles :   0 miles Today's feet of elevation gain:   0  feet Total miles traveled:   719 .0 miles Total feet climbed:   26,517 feet Dead Rattlesnake count:   16 Current elevation 3,314 ft So what happened to Aug 6?…..False start due to weather. I was ready to leave Missoula Saturday morning at 6:00, however when I went to the office to drop off my key, this is what it looked like outside. Winds over 20 mph had been blowing since the middle of the night and heavy clouds were threatening in the east. With little improvement by 10:00 it was too late to ride to the next camping location. (Photo doesn’t show the trees bending in the wind very well)

  Stats:   Today's miles :   0 miles Today's feet of elevation gain:   0  feet Total miles traveled:   719 .0 miles Total feet climbed:   26,517 feet Dead Rattlesnake count:   16 Current elevation 3,314 ft I’ve opted to spend a rest day in Missoula. In addition to recovering from the ride over Lolo, it’s time to do laundry, pick up some supplies (Albertsons and Scheels) and make plans for the next stages to Great Falls!

  Stats:   Today's miles :   57 miles Today's feet of elevation gain:   2,218  feet Total miles traveled:   719 .0 miles Total feet climbed:   26,517 feet Dead Rattlesnake count:   16 Initial/Peak/Final elevation 3,553 ft / 5,225 ft / 3,314 ft I find it hard to break camp and be on the road early whenever I ‘tent it’. I was out of Lochsa Lodge by 7:15, shortly after Israel and Anna had left. I admittedly had some trepidation about the 12 mile climb to Lolo Pass. The first 6-8 miles were much like the day before, a moderate climb, but manageable with rest/water stops. Then the climb became very real!! I’ve mentally adjusted to a very incremental approach to riding (one more mile marker, one more turn of the crank…etc), but when you shift to your lowest gear and make such limited forward progress that the bike weaves and is difficult to control, especially with limited/no shoulder, it’s time to switch strategies. While I can claim to have ridde...

  Stats:   Today's miles :   39 miles Today's feet of elevation gain:   1,542  feet Total miles traveled:   662 .0 miles Total feet climbed:   24,299 feet Dead Rattlesnake count:   16 Initial/Final elevation 2,122 ft / 3,553 ft In terms of mileage, today was a light day; however, notice that the rate of elevation gain has stepped up. Additionally stopping at Lochsa Lodge was the logistical break-point before grinding up Lolo Pass and riding down into Missoula. The road continued along the Lochsa river with the same spectacular scenery. The river narrowed and definitely quickened in pace. Quiet pools were few and rapids were frequent. Unfortunately, that meant the slope of the road increased accordingly. Along the route there were amazing stands of old growth cedars and pines. The last couple miles of the route were noticeably up-hill…my legs have a way of letting me know!! It was great to pull into the Lochsa Lodge resort for a burger and bee...

Stats:   Today's miles :   59 miles Today's feet of elevation gain:   1,653  feet Total miles traveled:   623 .0 miles Total feet climbed:   22,757 feet Dead Rattlesnake count:   16 Initial/Final elevation 1,196 ft / 2,122 ft After a comfortable night with AC at the Clearwater 12 Motel (nice place) and fine dining at the local pizza joint and Albertsons, I left the hotel just after 5:30AM hoping to beat the heat and be done riding around 1:00 PM. The ride continued along the Clearwater and Lochsa river with the same steady uphill climb. There are nearly endless ‘A River Runs Through It’ scenes along the Lochsa, gentle pools alternating with rapids and rippling streams. It’s awesome to ride through and disappointing that a camera doesn’t truly capture it. Most of the route is sparsely resourced, no convenience stores or cafes after the first 8 miles at Kooskia. A convenience store chicken-bacon-ranch hot box sandwich (not recommended) and 2 granola...

  Stats:   Today's miles :   64 miles Today's feet of elevation gain:   1,188  feet Total miles traveled:   564 .0 miles Total feet climbed:   21,104 feet Dead Rattlesnake count:   16 96 F @ 1:00 PM Finally, after 6 nights in Lewiston, the heat wave started to break and it was time to start putting on some miles. The area temps are still in the 90’s, but they’re manageable with early starts and limited miles (early afternoon wrap-up). So at 5:30 this morning I waved goodbye to my source for lunch/dinner/refreshments for the last week….bye Stinker!! (western convenience store chain) (this is a long story, ask me about hotel location some time) and headed east along the Clearwater river. The ride was fairly easy. The elevation change was consistent over the whole ride. The route was on US Hwy 12 for most of the ride, which for much of the way has nice wide shoulders, although plenty of logging trucks. I suspect that I may have committed a feder...

Stats:   Today's miles :   0 miles Today's feet of elevation gain:   0  feet Total miles traveled:   500 .0 miles Total feet climbed:   19,916 feet Dead Rattlesnake count:   16 After reviewing the options with my support team we agreed that the best plan was to just wait out the heat wave which breaks on Monday. I did anticipate having to stay in hotels for bad weather, I just didn’t anticipate bad weather would be a heat wave (thunderstorms/severe weather, sure). So, until Monday morning I’ll be hanging out at the Super8 in Lewiston.