Day 51 – Monday 7/18/22

Missoula, Montana to Lochsa Lodge, Idaho – 63.2 Miles

Missoula is the home of the Adventure Cycling Association, the organization that plots the routes and creates the maps for bicycle tourists from around the world. Several of the national routes pass-through Missoula and visiting the ACA headquarters is a must for many. It was for me.

Located in downtown Missoula, it was easy to get to. I didn’t have to guess which building it was, because the occupied bicycle racks out front gave it away.

The front doors had a nice touch.

Cyclists are greeted by staff as they enter and make everyone feel welcome. There’s a guest book for each traveler to sign, and a picture is taken with the rider’s name, hometown and ride details to go up on the wall.

When I walked into the lobby, there were several other riders talking to staff members. Two of them were Cliff and Josh, recently graduated college students who I’d last seen in Farmington, Missouri weeks earlier. They’d crossed Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming, while I’d been working my way through the Dakotas and Montana, but we ended up in the same place within an hour of each other.

David, of the ACA, gave me a great tour of the office, including the history of many of the bicycles decorating the walls. A few of the bikes had a sad story connected with them. One slightly used custom touring bike had been donated when the owner died at age 51 of cancer. Another had been given by a rider who could no longer use it because of a muscular disorder. Hearing that made me feel I’d made a good decision to make this ride a priority.

Missoula has an excellent bike path system, which I used to get out of town and head towards Lolo. The wind was obscene today, so it wasn’t easy. Instead of an annoying 8-10 mph wind, it was blowing at 20-30 mph, and in an unfavorable direction. Once in a while it would taper off but come back strong enough to send me sideways. I was hoping that when I got into the mountains things would calm down.

Lolo was 8 miles from Missoula, where I picked up Highway 12.

From mile 18 to mile 50, it was one long climb to the top of Lolo Pass. The wind was blasting me from the front and side as the road changed direction. Sometimes the trees or terrain provided a shield, but it seldom let up.

The elevation graph shows an increase, in steepness around 46 miles as the final climb to the top of Lolo Pass began. I’d already experienced this when I crossed the Continental Divide earlier, so I was glad to see the road rise in front of me. As always, the key to climbing hills on a bicycle is to find a comfortable gear, stay relaxed and don’t overexert yourself. If you “blow up” by trying to do too much a lot of time can be lost recovering from the wasted effort.

I reached the top of the pass at 5:15 and celebrated with a couple of pictures of my thirteenth state border crossing. What I hadn’t realized was that I’d now be on Pacific time and had just gained an hour. Even better, it was literally all downhill to Lochsa Lodge.

The thirteen miles to Lochsa Lodge went fast. Going from 5,200 feet to 3,400 feet got my speed up to almost 40 mph for several miles and kept me around 20 – 22 mph for most of the time. This is Tour de France speed for Ishmael.

Lochsa Lodge is self-contained, with cabins, restaurant, gas station and store for guests. They allow free camping for bicycle tourists but got their money back when I ate dinner there. There were National Park Service campgrounds nearby, but those are basic campsites and lack any kind of services.

For once, I wasn’t the only cyclist at a campground. There were three others there and as I set up my tent Ian, from Boulder, Colorado, came up to help. He and his friend Dan are riding from Seaside, Oregon to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Mary Ann was going from Oregon back home to Minneapolis. We had a lot to talk about.

After seeing all the things people are hauling around in motor homes and trailers, it’s impressive what one bicycle can carry. The tent, sleeping bag and air mattress become “home”, while the phone and some ear buds provide the entertainment. Many of the best evenings on the trip have been quiet time after the ride listening to something interesting.

Ian tells me that it’s all downhill to the west, so a higher mileage day is a possibility tomorrow.