Days #64 & #65 – Bike Across America

Day #64

I was able to get into a dentist in the morning and have my crown permanently fixed. It was a lot of waiting, but it just gave me time to read. I’m still reading, “Autobiography of a Yogi”.

After the dentist, I walked around Missoula. Got some lunch, went to an art museum, went into a local bike shop, and talked with some people at the Adventure Cycling Association (their world headquarters are in Missoula).

It started getting too hot, so I made my way back to my hotel to cool off. I was very tired, and felt a little feverish in the afternoon, so I took a nap for a couple hours. I actually wasn’t hungry for dinner, which was weird. So, I took an Advil and went to bed early.

Over the last two days, I was able to do some more detailed work on my route for the next several days to understand where the hotels and other services are. I also checked out the roads that I would be biking on to be sure they had a good shoulder to ride on.

Day #65

I woke up before my alarm at 4:30 and I felt good, so I got ready to bike. I started riding at 5:30. It was 60 degrees out, but the forecast was for the temperature to get to 96 degrees by mid-afternoon. I wanted to be done riding at lunchtime, and I had a couple of options for towns to stop in.

Missoula traffic was surprisingly busy, even that early in the morning. Fortunately, my route took me on roads with a bike lane or a good shoulder to ride on.

After about ten miles, I was on the I-90 frontage road and there was a nice paved trail that ran right next to the frontage road.

After ten miles of biking on this trail, it disappeared. Then the frontage road stopped and my route had me riding an eight mile loop into the mountains to get to where the frontage road picked up again.

The eight mile loop was half asphalt and half gravel. The climb wasn’t too steep. The scenery was beautiful. I saw several deer on this stretch.

Back on the frontage road, I was biking next to the Clark Fork.

The frontage road ended at the next exit. I had no good option from there, but to bike on the interstate again. I was hoping to only bike three miles to the next exit, but that exit was closed for a bridge being out. So, I biked on the interstate for about eight miles and two exits. The traffic was very light, and I had no issues.

When I got off the interstate and back on the frontage road, there was a sign that said, “Dead End”. I kept on going. Then a sign that said the road ended in 1,000 feet. I kept going. The bridge across the Clark Fork was closed for cars, but I could easily bike across. Crisis averted. And I’m glad that I kept going, because the view from the bridge was amazing!!

I took a longer break on the bridge to admire the view, and since it was closed to car traffic, it was very peaceful.

After another mile of frontage road, I was back on the interstate for another eight miles.

I was back on frontage roads for most of the rest of the day. Here are some pictures of the scenery.

I was making great time, and decided that I would bike to the town of Saint Regis. The road to Saint Regis turned to gravel about six miles from town. There was a little climb, but the scenery was beautiful.

Then, about two miles from town, Komoot wanted me to take right turn into a dirt road. There was a sign that said it was a private drive and no trespassing. I checked the map, and could not see a way around, without biking back ten miles. So, I biked down the dirt road. It led me to a railroad service road. Of course, there was a freight train going by at that time.

I really don’t know how I continue to put myself in these situations. 🤪

It was only a quarter mile on the service road and then I was on a gravel road for another quarter mile. When I emerged from the gravel road, I was in the outskirts of St Regis.

The temperature was up to 93 degrees, so I made this my ending point for the day.

It was a little after 12:00. So, I stopped at a local restaurant for lunch. Surprisingly, I wasn’t hungry, but I ate anyway. While at lunch, I booked my hotel for the night.

After lunch, I met Michael, who lives an hour out of town and is a gold prospector. It was interesting to hear about a site that he is researching. We had a nice conversation.

The town of St Regis is the trailhead for 125 miles of rail trails that I’ll be riding over the next few days. I’m really looking forward to being off of roads for a while.

For the day, I biked 82 miles and climbed 3,000 feet.