Week 2 |
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Rick's
Ride
Words
and Photos
(Click Thumbnails for Full-size Photos)
Day 8 6/22 Mon |
Kooskia, Idaho to Powell,
Idaho We've now started into the second week of this Ride. Still the scenery is enthralling. Today it did not change a great deal. The entire day followed a river (yes, uphill, all the way). However, the river was so clear and cold. Along the entire route you could constantly hear it rushing. The uphill was not very bad either. We had about 90 miles to ride and all of it was scenic. In fact the beauty is almost mind numbing. You simply took it for granted that every mile of the way would be covered by pine trees, hills, rock outcroppings and the river. Along the way we were stopped on the road. On the other side of the river they were cutting timber. They were using a helicopter to lift the cut timber and haul it to our side of the river. It was amazing to watch. The pilot simply flew in low, looked out the helicopter and then snagged some bundled logs. Then he would come over to our side, unsnag them, and return. I watched for about 15 minutes. Otherwise, there was little evidence of people for most of the 90 miles that we covered. |
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 Day 8  . . . . .
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| Day 9 6/23 Tue |
Powell, ID to Missoula,
Montana Camp last night was on a gravel pit at a ranger station miles from anywhere. The site was absolutely breathtaking as we are now up in the Bitteroot Mountains. There were no telephones (nor email) available. Even so, the crew did a fantastic job in setting up hot showers and food. It was just as well, because we experiences thunderstorms the previous afternoon. I think just about everyone got wet. The ride from Powell meant a steady climb over Lolo Pass. However, the pass was only a little over 5200 feet and most everyone made it without trouble. The road down was fun -- about 25 miles of steady downhill. This made up for the previous day of uphill climb. All in all the day was easy. Only 57 miles covered and we're now in Missoula. Best news of all. We're sleeping in Dorm rooms on the campus of the University of Montana. I never thought I'd want to sleep in a dorm again. However, it'll be great. Moreover, tomorrow is a rest day. No need to break camp. While I like camping, this is a nice respite. It'll give me a chance to get my laundry done. |
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| Day 10 6/24 Wed |
Missoula Today was a rest day. We spent the whole day in Missoula. It was very nice. Imanaged basic chores (laundry) and found a microbrewery in order to consume some carbos. All in all it was quite nice. I spent a lot of time in art galleries - but so far refrained from buying (although I did pick up some business cards). It was a lazy day, but is preparing us for the long trek across Montana - what a big state. |
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| Day 11 6/25 Thu |
Missoula to Avon Today started out pouring. It was cold and rainy for the first 50 miles. Leaving Missoula looked as if it was really beautiful. There were tall hills all around us as we traveled up a valley. However, it was impossible to see anything because the rain was so heavy it blocked the view. Clouds were also very low and obscured almost everything. It stopped raining after mile 50. Then the wind picked up. It was very cool, but fortunately we had a tailwind. The last 50 miles was through magnificent scenery. We alternated between a large valley with plenty of meadows and skirting mountains. The combination of pine trees on one side and sage brush on the other was impressive. Unfortunately I was so cold and wet that I took very few pictures. Upon arriving in camp the sun broke out. It was a nice ending to a very long day. Today's ride was 100 miles. For many riders this was the first time they had ridden a "century." |
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| I'm in Billings and found a
wonderful little restaurant that offers free internet
connections. I'm using the time to send a batch of
pictures. Because the weather was so crappy, I didn't
take many over the past few days. However, here's a
batch. Then I'm going to check the Website. ... later ... rkw
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| Day 12 6/26 Fri |
Avon to Townsend, Montana Today we woke up to pouring rain. The first 10 miles was a climb over the Continental Divide. The climb was fun in the rain. Then the temperature started to drop and sleet began falling. When I reached the top the wind was blowing at 30 miles per hour and snow was falling quite heavily. As soon as I reached the top they cancelled the ride for the day. We were shuttled to Helena where we waited a while and then bused the rest of the way to Townsend. It's cold and rainy and promises to be this way for the next couple of days. Welcome to Montana - big sky country has been nothing but big rain. I'm fine and managing to stay dry. There were a lot of people on the ride who weren't prepared and got cold and wet. A large number of people have been treated for hypothermia. We look forward to seeing sunshine again. Tomorrow's ride is long, will be cold and wet, but it is unlikely we'll see any more snow. |
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Postcards!Postcards!Postcards! Postmarked 6/23, Missoula, MT
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Postcards!Postcards!Postcards! Postmarked 6/26, Elliston, MT
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So far....
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