Missoula to Drummond - How Squido got his groove back.

June 17 - 57 miles. 4.5 hours of seat time.

Dissonance of Speed

Traveling faster is Not

A journey well spent

When we left Missoula 16 days ago, we had originally thought the trip home by van would take 2 days. But as we got onto I90 we realized we could make the trip in a day. Though we didn't follow the whole of the ridden route, we traveled through so many different points that I had previously ridden through slowly and it struck me that traveling by car can give you a sort of visual essence....but you don't really connect to the environment the way you do riding a bicycle or hiking. The smells. The sounds. The temperature changes.

Also you don't notice what is uphill and downhill. It's worse than racing video games.

The return trip to Missoula through the Palouse was filled with that same sort of cognitive dissonance. As if driving a car through the countryside was cheating.

We spent the night just past Missoula in Beaver Tail State Park. 4 local emo girls (I'd have said goth chicks....but it's a different era) tried to snag our spot as we had arrived almost at 8pm. It was still very light out. After a quick talk with the camp host and awkward embarrassment that can only be generated by 4 emogothgirlchicks, we settled in for the night. Just before bed, I started researching breakfast places in Missoula that served breakfast burritos. You know I like a good breakfast burrito. Once I saw the name, I knew we had to go.

Bunny said they had good coffee.

Split between two people this was perfect. 9.5 out of 10. Would absolutely recommend 'The Pit'. I'm not sure if that's a reference to a mosh pit or a mining pit but the spicy chorizo makes hot sauce unnecessary.

On the return trip in the van I also remembered that the Adventure Bicycle Association is headquartered in Missoula. We had to stop by and get a pic taken. While there we learned a few different things.

1. Marshal and Amy had come through about 3.5 weeks earlier on May 21.

2. The ACA was celebrating it's 50th anniversary. It was formed during the US Bicentennial with an epic ride across the states involving thousands of people. See more here.

3. A significantly larger number of people do this sort of thing than I had originally thought, and I am not the only one doing it sag wagon style.

All in all, a worthy stop even if you aren't totally into long distance torture.

And so began the ride for the day. Initially a gravel trail out of Missoula proper with a ride past the local University.

The river pictured is the Clark Fork.

And then it was just immediate immersion back into Bik Sky Country.

I wish it was easier to see the cliff faces dead center in this picture. It's obvious that the geology around me is changing.

The ride today was by warm and cool by turns. The dramatic cloudscape provided significant coverage from the sun. All in all a very pleasant day ending in the town of Drummond, MT. The local park/rodeo/gravel pit served for camping.

Don't judge my beer. Sometimes you want cheap and cold.