TransAm Day #48 Darby, MT - Missoula, MT
TransAm Day #48
July 13, 2018
Darby, MT - Missoula, MT
69 Miles
Ride Time 4:48 Hours
Tour Total Miles 3444
I slept great last night at Warm Showers host Curtis’s house in Darby. It was wonderful to have a shower, shave, a washing machine/ dryer, and a big comfy bed. I woke up early, and was excited about visiting the mother ship- Adventure Cycling, in Missoula. We had looked at their cyclist visitor page last night and noticed several friends on the page. My photo should soon be there as well: https://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/visiting-cyclists/
I left before the others got up and headed to the Parkside Cafe for Eggs Benedict. There I met Paul and Amanda from Bikepacking Roots. They are trail blazing the Wild West Route from Canada to Mexico on mountain bikes. It’s completely off road and rugged. They showed me their cue sheet and elevation profiles. The trail will open in 2019. The similar ACA Great Divide Trail has definitely piqued my interest. The off-road routes are considerably more challenging than the TransAm.
I heard from Brooklyn friends David and Linda, who are following me on Instagram. They are currently in Wyoming, and we missed each other by one day in Wisdom. Last night I was contacted by the boyfriend of TransAm westbound cyclist Becky. She’s a week behind me, and the last time I saw her was in Missouri. We stay in touch through text and WhatsApp. He hadn’t heard from her in a couple of days, and was worried. She was in Yellowstone, where I had the same phone/Internet problems. A warning to my readers; I hear reception in Idaho is problematic so I’m expecting communication problems for the next couple days. Don’t worry. My Twitter feed is probably the most reliable indicator of where I am.
I left Darby on the Old Darby Road instead of Highway 93. I had the small road completely to myself with beautiful horse filled pastures and mountains to either side. It was spectacular! There were several miles of gravel, and I had to slow down. The new front tire I got in Breckenridge is narrow, and doesn’t handle well in dirt or gravel. The old road was definitely better than being on the four lane highway. My chain was skipping on the smallest cassette cog. I have a feeling it’s time for a new chain. My bike maintenance has slipped significantly since Steve G left the tour. Frankly, when I reach my destination at night, I’m too exhausted to do anything but eat, drink beer, shower, and work on my blog. My other excuse is that my bottle of chain lube leaks. I have it contained within five differently sized ziplock bags, like a Matryoshka doll. It’s a pain to unravel. I should have brought a small bottle of Tri-Flow instead. I’ve never had a bottle of Tri-Flow leak, and the bottles pack better.
Crossing highway 93, trying to get up onto the bike path, I slipped on some gravel on a curb cut. I quickly got my feet out of the clips and didn’t go all the way down. Nonetheless, I sliced open my left knee and cut my right hand above the thumb. If Loki hadn’t eaten my glove, I would have been protected. I literally pedaled down the trail licking my wounds, because I didn’t want to stop. I was in a dash to get to Adventure Cycling.
The Bitterroot Trail from Hamilton to Missoula is off to the side of highway 93. It’s a ten feet wide smooth asphalt path. Here in the west they don’t have the asphalt cracking problems we have on our bike trails in the east. There aren’t the trees and tenacious roots here. It definitely wasn’t the Breckenridge to Frisco Trail, but it was nice not to be on the highway shoulder and have distance from the cars. The forty four mile Bitterroot Valley corridor to Missoula was largely sprawl. There was a cement plant, log home assembly lots, car dealerships, and the the usual fast food places and stores.
I got a call from Amazon that my new reading glasses turned up in Wisdom. I’m definitely not going back for them. The poor people of Wisdom are still dealing with me. The story continues to develop as to why cyclists are not liked there. Apparently some racers slept in the post office vestibule a few weeks ago. Excrement was found the next day. Not cool.
In Missoula the bike trail finally branched away from the highway. A pedestrian bridge took me over the highway and I then followed a railroad line through the industrial part of town. At intersections, where the trail crossed city streets, cars would yield for me and let me cross. Whoa! Western Montana is definitely more progressive than the east. Missoula is perhaps the most bike friendly place I’ve ever been. There are so many cyclists here!
I rode through the park and across the river to the old part of town near the university. I noticed surfers in the river riding currents. I headed straight to Adventure Cycling, who welcomed me with ice cream and soda. I signed the registry and my photo was taken for the wall. They gave me a tour of the beautiful facility. It’s a truly fantastic organization with a mission to advocate cycling. My bike was weighed on their scale and came in at ninety pounds fully loaded, including water. I was told that this is an average weight. There are a few items that I could have done without, but I’ve used mostly everything that I brought. I’ll give myself a grade of 95 for trip preparation. As my students know, I’m a tough grader.
I picked up my new pannier clips and then headed to Hellgate Cyclery for an inspection. The mechanics told me that the chain I got in Newton, KS was still good. Additionally, I had several hundred miles left in my tires. They didn’t have Specialized riding gloves, so I headed over to Big Sky Bikes. Boom!💥 I got my gloves replaced, and I got new socks. Next I rode to the post office. Yesterday I found two antelope bones on the side of the road. I’m mailing them to #Blankathedog and Shari’s dog Ella. I stuck my old left glove in the package for Blanka, whom I greatly miss. My next errand was replacement reading glasses. Boom!💥I found my favorite brand, Clic, but it was a long ride from the center of town. By the time I got back, Scott and Eileen were here. They had gone to REI to replace a Eileen's tent and other gear. We agreed to meet up at El Cazador for dinner. While I was waiting, Charlotte was able to help me sign a document from my laptop in Brooklyn. I was able to take care of a mountain’s worth of business today!
After dinner, we cycled over to Warm Showers host, Bruce, whom had been recommended by eastbounders Lilia and Jack, whom I helped the other day in Dillon. Bruce had told Scott, that he wouldn’t be home, but that other cyclists would let us in. The impressive house was located in a nice part of Missoula. I peered into one of the windows saw cyclists sprawled everywhere. They told us to go around to the back, where there must have been a dozen bikes. Inside, there were probably twenty cyclists on all three levels of the house. Bruce had artwork on the walls and nice carpets on the floors. He must be a musician, because there was equipment everywhere. I set up my air mattress on the floor by a grand piano. There were cyclists from all over the world, and it was a privilege to be part of this underground community.
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