Midnight in Montana – Day 11

Date: Tuesday 17th August  

Route: Lowell, Idaho – Lolo, Montana 

Distance: 110 miles 

Total climb: 4171ft

Net climb: 1679ft

Today was expected to present a few challenges, being 110 miles long, starting with a 75 mile uphill and having no amenities for the first 66 miles (albeit we would be riding alongside a river, if dehydration became a serious issue).  We started early on the gradual climb to our lunch stop, watching out for the logging trucks thundering up our narrow route.  With an average speed of 15 mph and achieving some La Cucarachas, we flew the first half of the day up the river, through a wooded canyon into a cool breeze and a healthy balance of sun and shade.

The climb after lunch promised greater severity, being steeper and hotter.  However, we achieved the summit of the Lolo pass and a move in to Montana (losing an hour) after a break for a third puncture for me.  35 miles of downhill now separated us from catching up on the blog and other admin.

We stopped briefly at the Lolo Springs resort, at which point our irregular dietary habits hit Jay with full force, leaving him slumping over his handlebars and in great need of a revival.  Carbohydrates were loaded and we set off again, lights and high visibility gear in action, to race against the sunset.  The temperatures dropped as low as 75 degrees, the light vanished and we ended up thrashing out the final 20 miles in the dark, guided by moonlight and the stars.  One of Jay’s spokes on the rear wheel snapped with 15 miles to go, so we held our breaths in hope that we could get to Lolo and avoid setting up a wild camp in grizzly country, with no clear idea of how to make up the mileage or carry out the maintenance in the morning.

Arriving in Lolo after 10pm came as a huge relief, pushing the bikes to the motel to avoid a wheel taco for Jay.  Good teamwork and some fierce peddling got us here, supported by some great renditions of Bohemian Rhapsody and other songs (with held breaths?!).

McDonalds provided the nourishment and a local bar provided the beer, game of pool and quick Golden Tee fix that Jay needed, leaving some ‘blog work to be done before hitting the pillow in the early hours.

Tomorrow, we are in real need of some bike kit before ticking off some more miles.

Idaho is a state we’ll remember for hard climbs, hot weather, fun and more changing landscapes.

FP