St Regis to Missoula
Bike adventure concludes, more or less.
For those keeping track of the actual rides, here's the Strava link.
Started the day in St Regis with breakfast (eggs, huckleberry pancakes, coffee), and then sat around willing it to warm up a little bit. By 10:30, it had climbed to 52, so I got on the bike and got going.
Massive oversight on my part not taking pictures on Montana 135. That road is gorgeous. And lovely to ride on; decent road surface, not a lot of traffic, and at least a little bit of shoulder for when there are cars. Really, really pleasant. But only 21 miles long, at which point you take a right onto Montana 200. Also gorgeous, but more traffic and less shoulder.
I stopped for the first time in Perma, which consists of maybe half a dozen structures you can see from the road, including the Perma Bait Shop, where a super-chatty man sold me a cold coke and then told me I should learn a trade instead of ****in' around with computers, because that's all gonna end soon. Then back on the bike and down into Ravalli, where I had an excellent burger and some sweet potato fries for lunch at a tiny little cash-only spot where Montana 200 meets US 93.
Then I got back on the bike and went south on US 93 until Missoula. This particular bit of ride was... Not fun. Most of the way, there's a decent shoulder, but it tends to vanish whenever there's a guardrail (i.e. on most of the corners). Also, there's a big, deceptive climb in it, and the whole stretch was into a screaming headwind; absent the power meter, I'd have assumed I was on a bad day.
Speaking of: If the power meter is any indication, I was on a bad day. I rode the whole day with a vague "this is the last day," mindset, so I went hard up a couple hills and generally broke all my rules around perceived exertion for the trip. Even so, I was down about 15 watts from the much "easier" feeling days earlier in the trip, and this afternoon felt pretty lousy across the board.
I have pretty mixed feelings about the bike portion of the trip winding down. In order to make it to Bozeman on time and not shelled, I'm going to take a Greyhound bus from here to Bozeman tomorrow; I could maybe have tried for Helena, but would almost certainly have been shattered and late. So on the one hand, 6 days from Rockport to Missoula is pretty good? But on the other hand, it's not 7 days from Rockport to Bozeman. I can't decide whether I feel accomplishment or failure.
Some stats: 6 days. 533 miles. 20,385kJ of work done, which equates to about 20,000 calories burned. 22,650 feet of climbing. 3 red lights (one in Cheney, WA, and two in Missoula). Other bicycles seen: 14. Other bicycles seen on roads, not bike paths: 0.
If I had this to do over again, I'd find another route into Plummer for sure, and I'd set a somewhat less aggressive schedule. Instead of trying for 110 mile or so days, I'd try for 80. I'd also try to limit swamp hikes. And I'd maybe make sure that my 6 year old wheels were 100% before setting off.
I'm really glad I did this. I'm not sure how I feel about it being done, but my body is pretty much through; I felt some knee stuff today, and I don't think I can sit on a saddle for another day. My legs, surprisingly, feel basically fine; apparently, at least some of the training worked.
Gonna finish up dinner, re-pack a bit, and have a sleep; tomorrow is all logistics until about 3pm, at which point I'm officially on vacation for three days.
For those keeping track of the actual rides, here's the Strava link.
Started the day in St Regis with breakfast (eggs, huckleberry pancakes, coffee), and then sat around willing it to warm up a little bit. By 10:30, it had climbed to 52, so I got on the bike and got going.
Massive oversight on my part not taking pictures on Montana 135. That road is gorgeous. And lovely to ride on; decent road surface, not a lot of traffic, and at least a little bit of shoulder for when there are cars. Really, really pleasant. But only 21 miles long, at which point you take a right onto Montana 200. Also gorgeous, but more traffic and less shoulder.
I stopped for the first time in Perma, which consists of maybe half a dozen structures you can see from the road, including the Perma Bait Shop, where a super-chatty man sold me a cold coke and then told me I should learn a trade instead of ****in' around with computers, because that's all gonna end soon. Then back on the bike and down into Ravalli, where I had an excellent burger and some sweet potato fries for lunch at a tiny little cash-only spot where Montana 200 meets US 93.
Then I got back on the bike and went south on US 93 until Missoula. This particular bit of ride was... Not fun. Most of the way, there's a decent shoulder, but it tends to vanish whenever there's a guardrail (i.e. on most of the corners). Also, there's a big, deceptive climb in it, and the whole stretch was into a screaming headwind; absent the power meter, I'd have assumed I was on a bad day.
Speaking of: If the power meter is any indication, I was on a bad day. I rode the whole day with a vague "this is the last day," mindset, so I went hard up a couple hills and generally broke all my rules around perceived exertion for the trip. Even so, I was down about 15 watts from the much "easier" feeling days earlier in the trip, and this afternoon felt pretty lousy across the board.
I have pretty mixed feelings about the bike portion of the trip winding down. In order to make it to Bozeman on time and not shelled, I'm going to take a Greyhound bus from here to Bozeman tomorrow; I could maybe have tried for Helena, but would almost certainly have been shattered and late. So on the one hand, 6 days from Rockport to Missoula is pretty good? But on the other hand, it's not 7 days from Rockport to Bozeman. I can't decide whether I feel accomplishment or failure.
Some stats: 6 days. 533 miles. 20,385kJ of work done, which equates to about 20,000 calories burned. 22,650 feet of climbing. 3 red lights (one in Cheney, WA, and two in Missoula). Other bicycles seen: 14. Other bicycles seen on roads, not bike paths: 0.
If I had this to do over again, I'd find another route into Plummer for sure, and I'd set a somewhat less aggressive schedule. Instead of trying for 110 mile or so days, I'd try for 80. I'd also try to limit swamp hikes. And I'd maybe make sure that my 6 year old wheels were 100% before setting off.
I'm really glad I did this. I'm not sure how I feel about it being done, but my body is pretty much through; I felt some knee stuff today, and I don't think I can sit on a saddle for another day. My legs, surprisingly, feel basically fine; apparently, at least some of the training worked.
Gonna finish up dinner, re-pack a bit, and have a sleep; tomorrow is all logistics until about 3pm, at which point I'm officially on vacation for three days.
Nice job! Really enjoyed reading about the journey!
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