Days 11 & 12

Yesterday was day 11. We biked only about 30 miles from Thompson Falls to Missoula, Montana. The first 12 miles or so were terrible. The pavement was pretty much solid gravel, and I was struggling to go 12 miles per hour or so. It was so frustrating because I was going slightly uphill for a while without knowing it; it didn't make sense why it was so hard to pedal.

When we rode in to Missoula, every pace line missed a turn and we had to turn around, adding to the confusion of biking as a group through a city. Missoula is a city of about 40,000 people (I think) with more in the towns surrounding it in the valley. We are staying at one of the high schools in town, Hellgate High School.

We explored the town a little, went to see a movie (Get Him to the Greek), went to a pub/grille for dinner, hung around in the gym, and went to bed. Here is a picture of the sunset, taken from a bridge while walking home from dinner:


We had a day off today, with no programming but a sponsored dinner at China Buffet at 630 (courtesy of last year's trans PM, Jeremy Jones), so I slept in until 1145. When I got up I went with a group of guys to climb to the giant "M" that was on a hillside just outside town. We found out that there was a hiking path up to it and that the M is for the University of Montana.


When we got up to the M, Wes and I decided to climb up higher to the top of the mountain, Mount Sentinel. On out way up we met a man, Don, who was from the area who pretty much acted as our tour guide for the hike. He knew a ton about the area. Here are some pictures:








This is a picture of a slab where hang gliders jump off from, reminding them to hook in their carabeeners:


On the way down we walked right by a deer, about 30 feet away:


When we got back, Wes and I got pizza at an amazing pizza shop, Pizza Pipeline. They had one dollar slices. Here's a picture:


I did my laundy in a laundromat and went to dinner. When we got back we cleaned out the vans and hung out and got ready for tomorrow. Now I'm about to do push ups and ab exercises, pack for tomorrow and go to bed on my broken air mattress that will be flat by 2 am. Wake-up is 6 am tomorrow; we have a long ride, and the forcast is heavy rain and thunderstorms. It should be fun.

Here's a picture of a crazy tailgate I saw on a pick up truck in the parking lot yesterday:




- Posted from my iPhone

Location:Missoula, Montana