Mood:  energetic

This may sound a little anal, but now that I am on Mountain Time, I want to leave and arrive at the same time as I did on PST. Which, if I explained it correctly, if I wanted to leave at 8 AM MST, then I would need to leave at 7 AM PST.  Oh well, one less hour of sleep.

One nice thing about last night in Superior is that, even though this is a small motel, it had a commercial washer and dryer.  I hadn't intended on using them, until I realized that most of my clothes still smelled of smoke from the motel room in Coeur d'Alene.   So it was nice to have everything fresh again.

My goal today was to get to Missoula and secure a motel room within reasonable distance to the American Cycling Association (ACA) office, and preferably one with a computer on which I could write in this journal.  Not sure where the ACA office was, I called a little after 8 AM and was informed that they would not be open tomorrow or Sunday, and they closed at 5 PM today.  this news changed things a bit because I was told that this was a rite of passage for all bicycle travelers through Missoula (I'm not sure why), and that meant that I would have to hussle to get there in time.  Several locals said that there several long hills on the way to Missoula, so I anticipated some slow pedalling at times.

Weather was cloudy and a bit cool.  Forecast was chance of rain.  I hit the road a little after getting off the phone with the ACA.

It was probably my imagination, but it seemed that I was still traveling downhill.  Lookout Pass was 4,800', going downhill to Superior, which, according to one local, was 2,800', and Missoula is around 3,150'.  so a bit of climbing would be necessary.

The ride started off well with a reasonable pace that would eat up the miles until climbing would be necessary, a rate of 12-15 mph.  It seemed to be a bit downhill, which is nice now, but would mean more climbing to get back to Missoula's 3,150'.  I had an 11 AM lunch at a cafe in a small town called Alberton.  Less than 40 minutes later, I was on the road again.  I have to get there before 5 PM.

Those that know me know that I am careful about what I eat, following a low-fat diet regimen with small portioning.  this way my weight has been stable for years, yet if I want to indulge in something fattening, I could do so without guilt.  So it may come as a surprise that I have thrown that out the window for this trip.  I need the calories to run the engine, and I don't care if its a hamburger or fried chicken, as long as it is filling.  This may be an error in judgement, but it seems to me that, with all of this physical activity, there won't be much of a chance for fat to be stored.  A typical example was lunch today.  I had the special:  Patty melt, french fries, a cup of split pea soup and a large glass of milk, and lots of water.

As I was leaving Alberton, I met an interesting couple who were bicycle touring westward.  they had started in Dallas, journeyed to Yellowstone, went up into South Dakota, then to Missoula and west on I-90.  They were headed to Vancouver, B.C., then to Calgary.  I don't think that was their fianl destination.

The rest of the trip to Missoula was very picturesque, and I'm still going somewhat downhill.  Oh, those hills are going to be big ones.  Actually, I was 27 miles to Missoula from Alberton, and the miles went by quickly.  There were a few small hill, but soon I was circling Missoula on I-90, and the big hills were non-existent.  Believe it or not, I arrived at the Adventure Cycling Association office a ltittle after 2 PM.  There I bought a special sweat band headpiece (I'll explain later) and relaxed.  The ACA photgrapher walked into the conference room where I was and wanted to know if I was the owner of the large touring bike.  I said yes, and he wanted a photograph of the bike and I for his collection.

Hmm.  Where to stay for two nights.  I opted for the cheapest alternative and it was only a block away.  I needed some stamps--the Post Office was one block west.  I needed a computer--the library (where I am right now) was one block south.  I needed a replacement part for my hydration pack--it was three blocks south (a long ways, but I need the exercise:)

There are a couple of dozen restaurants within 5 blocks so I ate but not so fully since I would not be cycling much tomorrow except for around town (by 10 PM I was ravenouosly hungry).  Coincidently, Friday night was the first of their evening Art Walks where all the galleries stayed open.  It was fun strolling around.

 The next portion of my ride, starting Sunday morning carries a little dread with it.  The unseasonably cool weather has lowered the snow level down to 5,000'.  In the next six days before stopping in West Yellowstone, I have 4 mountain passes to ranging from 6,700'-7,300'.  Snow is a likelihood, but I am hopeful that it will not stick to the road, and also that I will not get too cold from the perspiration that climbing causes.  We will see what Sunday brings.

Will McMahan