That ferry ride saved us many miles and many hassles. One alternative would be to go across the Chicago area, which didn’t hold much appeal. We could have taken the ferry at more northerly Manitowoc or even ventured even farther north and come across the UP. We didn’t see any reason to add extra days to the trip, so we took the quickest route toward Toledo.

Being in familiar territory made it seem that we have covered some distance and are making progress. Although the miles added up quickly, it was difficult to get a sense of our accomplishment. Now that the territory is familiar to us, we have a better sense of place, distance and progress.

We knew that we would be staying in another trailer motel tonight, but that was fine with us. At least, it was a place to stay. Custer, the location of the motel definitely rates as the smelliest town we have visited. It seems that there are many feed lots nearby.

The next day we got an early start to Forsyth. The Hysham Hill was just outside of Custer. Little did we know that that one hill would turn into many. We did some serious climbing again today. This may have been one of our most intense days of climbing. I hated going down at all because it just meant that we would climb again and again and again.

It seems that the day either starts or ends with a climb, or does both. This was the case with entering Forsyth, a friendly town with a picturesque courthouse. We were not looking forward to an upcoming ride of 80 miles with basically no services and totally decided against it when a local suggested a longer, but less desolate route. It would add a day or two to our itinerary, but we were really in no hurry to get anywhere. Besides, we didn’t know when we would get to this area again.

The scenery in this area was spectacularly desert-like with many buttes thrown in for good measure. The trees had once again disappeared and I thought of this as a typical cowboy landscape. How different it is from the other end of the state near Glacier Park and Missoula, places that were quickly becoming distant memories.

The ride was a gradual climb at first followed by some steeper climbs. We made it into Butte before the rain and made decent time. The plan was to visit the area the next morning and head onto Bozeman, but that plan was altered by the threat of snow. We had a wonderful visit of the area in the morning under mostly blue skies. We hoped that the snow would be a joke, but that wasn’t the case. The snow came- 7″ of it - so we took the Greyhound to Bozeman. Not as simple as we thought.

While walking from the bus station to the hotel, we heard a local comment about our cycling prowess. Considering that we were simply pushing the bikes, we found the remark rather humorous. We arrived later in the day so we planned on touring Bozeman the next morning and then leaving in the early afternoon for the short ride to Livingston. As things go, the weather was following us, which meant that the snow was due to arrive in Bozeman. We simply hunkered down here another night so that we would have a pleasant ride over Bozeman Pass and into Livingston.

It was quite chilly on the day that we would be cycling over Bozeman Pass, so we bundled up in the clothes that we hadn’t needed for a long time. I thought that the days of wearing tights were long gone, but was glad that I had something to keep me warm.

We started up the pass and as we came close to the highest elevation, the snow began to fall. This road wasn’t the best as it had a disappearing shoulder and it was rather hard to see ahead with the snow blowing in our faces. We eventually reached the high point and were disappointed not to see an elevation marker. We got off the interstate as soon as a frontage road appeared and made the cold and quick decent into Livingston.

I had been to Livingston a few years prior to board a train for a tour of the area. We walked to the station and I tried to get our bearings. Since we had left Bozeman late, we were in town at the wrong time for lunch. Maybe restaurants had already stopped their lunch service for the day, but we eventually found a suitable Mexican restaurant.

Reed Point was next on the itinerary and we had a nice ride on mostly frontage roads. As has been the case almost every day, the wind picked up. We had an intense crosswind coupled with spurts of rain. our last 15 miles into town took more effort than I wanted to exert. It was such a relief to make it to the Montana Hotel, a nice change of scenery from the predictable decor of the chains that we had been staying in.

We trudged on through Montana and thought that we had already been in this state long enough to become residents. On the way to Billings, we pedaled very few miles on the interstate. We climbed some intense hills, but the climbs were worth the great views. Not shocking was the fact that we suddenly found ourselves riding into an intense headwind the last few miles into Billings. Our approach was not a good one, as it seemed like we could have avoided a very treacherous, congested bridge on the way to our motel. We crossed that without incident even though I know my heartrate was up and not from the pedaling.

We stopped in the small town of Drummond - how many big towns are there out here?- and had a better breakfast and took refuge from the weather. We didn’t rush to leave, but figured if we had to fight the wind that we should get back on the road to Deer Lodge. We did plan on visiting the Grant Kohrs ranch (listen to a podcast of the ranch at the bottom of the page)there and having dinner with some people who knew the area well.

Deer Lodge had an interesting old jail and really was an oasis in the middle of nowhere. We carefully watched the weather as there was a winter storm advisory. We were glad that we didn’t do the Scenic Pinter Road as we heard that had snow already. Although the weather was quite chilly when we started the ride in Astoria, we had gotten used to not having serious precipitation for a long while. And we weren’t expecting precipitation in the form of snow.

Lunch was good and a treat, unlike the road into Missoula. We hadn’t been near a big city in ages and traffic lights and heavy traffic were foreign to us. We made it safely into town and looked for a pathway to take us to the center of the city. As luck would have it, we found another kind stranger who led us into town and directed us to the library so that we could update the blog and check email.
Missoula was not our final stop since we had such a short day yesterday. We had many more miles to get to our final destination of Rock Creek, so we opted to take I-90 as it was the shortest route possible. The first several miles of riding were quite unpleasant as there was lots of traffic and the shoulder totally disappeared when we crossed over bridges. This forced us into the lanes of traffic, which was quite treacherous. At least we had a tailwind for this part of the ride and were ticking off the miles quickly.

When we reached Rock Creek we found our lodging for the night and headed to a very nice restaurant. I was distracted by signs at the nearby campground warning about bears; not my favorite animal. We found a nice laundry facility and washed our clothes for the first time in awhile. It’s always so nice to have clean clothes. Smelly clothes probably attract bears.

From here on in, we have many days to traverse Montana. There are more passes coming along the way. We decided not to go to Helena, but through Butte and then over to Livingston and Billings. Until we return again, we don’t know what we missed going this direction. We do know that there is a scenic mountain road that we would like to travel on - with a car.

Well, the climb was a bit more challenging than Alpowa. The road gradually climbed for a few miles, then took a steep turn. I was happy to be on this side of the road and climbing. Descending Lolo toward Powell would looked like quite the treacherous ride. For some reason, I have lost the thrill I once had of fast descents that I had enjoyed so much. I never understood those who used their brakes going downhill. I am now one of those people and totally understand as I now often feel that I will catapult over the handlebars.

Certainly, I didn’t need to worry about great speed on this climb. We both steadily climbed taking rests every now and then. At times, I wished for a lower gear, but it really wouldn’t have made the climb all that much easier. This climb was done a mile at a time and although the miles clicked off very slowly, we were making progress. We stopped at an overlook and Robert had forgotten that he was clipped in. Even after all this time, it is easy enough to forget that our feet are rather permanently affixed to the pedals. It seems the easiest time to forget is when we our distracted by something or in a situation of impending doom.

Some road workers checked to see if Robert were OK and told us that there was hot coffee at the visitor center at the top. Even though we aren’t big coffee drinkers, a warm drink became the next goal. The grade of the climb seemed to be less intense or maybe we were just feeling stronger, spurred on by the promise of a drink at the top. Snow suddenly appeared along the road, followed shortly after by a building - the visitor center.

We chatted with the friendly volunteers and some motorcyclists who informed us how much drivers hate cyclists. Just what we needed to hear. In general, most of the traffic has been courteous. My last brush with death was on the first day of the trip when that logging truck came within millimeters of my arm.

The visitor center is quite pleasant with hot chocolate, which I opted for, and coffee. Since we had a fast downhill ride to Lolo Hot Springs, we were in no great rush. The thrill of conquering Lolo made the stiffness disappear. This must have been one of those endorphin highs. The sign welcoming us to Montana was just on the other side of the parking light and its message was calling to us. It was time
to head down into the next state.

The downhill was a nice one and we realized that climbing up from the other side would have been a long steady incline, unlike the steep and sharp way we arrived. However, this made our descent far more comfortable as we didn’t need to maneuver steep hairpins. We quickly reached Lolo Hot Springs where we enjoyed the water and relaxed for the rest of the day. After all, we didn’t cover that much territory today. It was certainly a good plan on our part and a nice reward for our efforts.

I could ride down Lolo from the direction that we climbed, but there were some steep and sharp curves that would take away the pleasure.

We found more services along the road than we had expected, which made the day go by a little faster. Even though it was over 60 miles, it somehow seems shorter with some diversions along the way. We were most surprised by a very nice restaurant in Syringa, which wasn’t far from Lowell. That stop re-energized me.

We met a couple on loaded bikes just outside our motel for the night. The were heading from Missoula and had covered 66 miles so far that day. They said that they had a nice tailwind, which surprised them and since they were heading downward, they would attempt to cover another 30 or 40 miles this day. What happened to our tailwinds? We really had hoped for a push that would make higher mileage days a real possibility. Well, we eventually did up our average daily distance, but no thanks to tailwinds.

Even though I had seen so many photos of the area, the reality seemed so different than the snapshots. The scenery was definitely stunning and the thought of making a false move and going into the creek was even more mindnumbing. Lolo Pass gets more real every single day. Once we conquered that, we could relax a bit a find something else to occupy our thoughts. For me getting over Lolo would be a major accomplishment.

We hadn’t done any extremely long days just because of how accommodations fell. We would rather do a shorter day than do over 70 miles, especially considering our luck with the wind. We were thrilled on this morning when we stopped for breakfast in Pomeroy to see a loaded cyclist pull-up. We invited him to sit with us and he told us that he was doing the Lewis and Clark Route in segments.
We forewarned him about the road ahead, which for us was mostly downhill. A storm was forecast, so he headed to where we had just come and we continued on to Pataha, a tiny outpost in the wilderness. And what an interesting place this was. A singing local bought an old mill that he had dreamed of owning for a very long time. Not only has he restored the mill, but he has also used the property as part of his ministry. What was very interesting about the restaurant at this mill is that all meals are offered on a donation basis, something that we hadn’t seen before.

We met some nice people who were helping with the onsite computers and networking. The were staying at the complex in a house next to ours. There are a few houses at the Pataha Mill, which basically function as hostels. It was a very convenient place for us to stay and spared us from having to cycle 70+ miles. We hope that we can return here again and spend some time.

Day 12/May 13

This was Mother’s Day last year. It started with the perfect gift for any mother, the climb up Alpowa Pass. Fortunately for us, there was little traffic to contend with. At the top of the pass, there was a nice flat and level rest stop. We seemed to be on top of a plain, but would go down for 5 miles after we left. This was a decent descent, which ended up hurting my hands as I seem to like using the death grip on steep downhills.

We should have made really good time into Clarkston, but our good friend, the headwind came up and held us back. Since we were only biking a short distance, it was more of an annoyance than a serious hindrance to our day. We arrived early enough for lunch and had time to wash some clothes and re-organize, something we seem to have to do on a daily basis.

Day 13/ May 14

Everyday we got closer and closer to what for me the most intimidating obstacle on this trip: Lolo Pass. We were getting into more desolate areas, with poor quality roads. We had heard much about the Swift trucks and that they were forbidden from traveling on Route 12 because they had caused so many accidents. We would be on Route 12 for a few more days and hoped that we could safely traverse these sections.

Orofino was a pleasant little town with a grocery store at the opposite end of town from where we were staying. We lucked out with accommodations because when we originally called, we were told that a golf team had taken up the entire motel. When we arrived we were pleased to hear that there had been a cancellation, so we did not have to worry about plan B. We have been lucky and have always arrived at our destination just after lunch time, so we never feel rushed like we did those first few days.

Tomorrow, we have to get an early start to get to Lowell. I had read so many journals about this stretch and imagined what the road ahead looks like. The scenery was always stunning although the riding may be a challenge as it is a long gradual climb just until Lolo Pass, where the climbing becomes more strenuous.

We stayed at the excellent Clover Island Hotel, which really helped us put some things in perspective. We were disappointed that the wineries were 20 minutes away - by car. Do you know how far that is by bike? Some other time.

Of course, we found some other diversions and headed to the local museum that gave us plenty of information about Kennewick Man, who was discovered near here by a boy who was trying to get away with not paying admission to the boat race, which would pass by on the river just outside our hotel room. We were intrigued by the museum and the story of this find.

That alone was not enough to satisfy us, so we headed out to the Sacajawea State Park, which had an extraordinary exhibit on this female legacy. We learned about the proper pronunciation of her name and a lot about the Lewis and Clark expedition. This detour was definitely a worthwhile one in spite of our disappointment of not visiting any wineries.

We bicycled a lot in town and headed to a good local restaurant back in town. We really wished that we could have spent another day here as we enjoyed this town very much. But duty called and we would have to push on.

Day 11/ May 12

We had a very pleasant ride today and good see the mountains looming large far ahead. How long would it be before we started cranking up the passes and had to challenge our untrained legs. We can’t use the untrained excuse anymore because we have already many miles on our legs. So far we have survived any challenge presented us. There has to be something that will hit us hard very soon.

We pedaled in the heat again with little relief from the sun. We noticed some huge vineyards, but passed by too early to sample any of the product. We eventually reached the town of Dayton and stayed in our first converted-trailer motel. This is a new concept to us. Basically a trailer gets divided into several sections. For some reason, I always assume that I am in an Easy Bake Oven and have heightened awareness of my surroundings in these structures. I think far too much about becoming a chocolate chip cookie as I bake in my metal surroundings.

At least, there is a nice brewery in town. Check out my visit with the brewmaster at the bottom of the original post.
http://www.portlandtoportland.com/invisible-snakes/
I can’t believe that I forgot to take a look at the hops plants.