46 miles & 0 miles
The Adventure Cycling Association caught wind of team turtles arrival in Missoula and threw us a huge party! Well kinda, okay not really ...but we did luck up and hit Missoula the day of the ACA's grand opening party. There was a bluegrass band, beer and free ice cream....heaven!!!!!
Abi and I toured the facility and got our 15 seconds of fame when the tour guide gave us a shout out. That shout out is how we found our host/home for the weekend. More on that to come.
We had started earlier that day in Hamilton and rode 30 miles of wonderful bike paths to Lolo. During the first few miles of the day I took a sprinkler directly to the face. Someone should tell the buisineses that its not nice to have water spraying in the faces of cyclists.
From Lolo we had to ride the shoulder of 93 to Missoula. Holy hecktic, it really made me appreciate the bike paths we had ridden earlier that day. Once we reached Missoula we found great bike paths, bike lanes, and shared streets.
Back to our accomidations in Missoula. We met a couple in our tour of the ACA hq that was very impressed by our adventure. John and Sandy offered to take us in in return for info and pointers about touring. Next summer John and Terry will be riding the northern tier route on cycles that John builds himself.
They have been wonderful hosts! I was able to use their repair stand to get Jolly back up to speed. (She was looking rough after my tumble) They treated us to wonderful homecooked meals and even shuttled us downtown to meet up with friends.
Today's rest day has been perfect. We rode back to the ACA hq to have our photos taken and have more free ice cream. There we spotted a familiar green steel lugged bike. Miles had arrived minutes before we got there. We had a great time catching up. I hope to ride with him in the days to come, but we all know how that has gone in the past.
On my ride downtown my bike decided it would reveal a new noise. My left pedal was making a awful pop/creak/horribleawfulpleasemakeitstop noise. When I got back to the house I pulled it apart and overhauled it. Silent as a single speed descending now... Ahhhh how nice.
We had yet another delicious meal this evening, prepared by our hosts. This time we had bbq chicken, mashed sweet potatoes, broccoli and pie. mmm mmm good.
Think im over? Nope day just keeps getting better. Abi and I went to a screening of Reveal the Path, a film by the makers of Ride the Divide. It was a beautiful film and I am sure it inspired many people to get started living out their dreams. As for me, it was a great feeling knowing I am living a experience comprable to what was being shown on the screen.
From there we headed to spend the evening hanging out with my friend G-nat and his work amigos. We had a great time swaping summer stories and even started a dance partay at the Flat River Brew House. Too fun.
I'm done now, off to sleep and back on the road in the morning.
Hope everyone had a nice weekend too.
T.
that dance party was destined by the gods. too too perfect.
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