Great news! When I was repacking with my new front panniers, I found out they are bigger than my old ones. I can take even MORE, heavier stuff with me now! (By the way, I actually did weigh my bike in Whitefish. 82 pounds minimum, sometimes more depending on how much food and extra water I am carrying in any given day).
My stay with the Drapes was so great. They live at the top of a hill so while the end of yesterday was tough, the beginning of today was easy.
I was going to be heading south into the Bitterroot Valley today. It is another beautiful Montana valley with an added bonus. From Missoula to Hamilton, there is a 44 mile bike path!! It is named the Bitterroot Trail and it is awesome. And it is fairly flat terrain and a bit of a tailwind to boot.
I made a short detour today into the old town is Stevensville for lunch today. It was at a really nice sidewalk bistro. Well worth the extra mile off the route for today.
After lunch, the scenery got even better. You could start to see the mountains to the west that were in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area. There were a few snow capped peaks as a part of these mountains. I was reminded of a nice backpacking trip I took there many years ago.
Once in Hamilton, I stopped for some groceries and decided I would press on to Darby, MT. It was only 16 more miles and would set me up a little better for some serious climbs due up tomorrow.
So now I am sitting in my camp, looking at a cloudless sky, thinking of the shower I am going to take in about 5 minutes, and then the dinner and beer I am going to enjoy after that. Oh yeah. I will be thinking about Chief Joseph Pass too which awaits tomorrow morning. Something for all of us to anticipate for tomorrow.
I am so glad it is smooth sailing , you are totally tubular!
Mike and I are thoroughly enjoying your adventures. We rode over Chief Joseph Pass a few years ago on Cycle Montana. It snowed. Hope you have sunshine.