Quartz Flats, MT to Missoula, MT - Back to the big city.

June 1 - 47 miles - 4ish hours of seat time

Rain taps on van roof

The will to ride wavers now

It's warm in the bed

The stretch goal for this time period was to get to Butte, MT. There are two or three more large hill climbs like Snoqualmie before I get to the Midwest plains, and knocking one more of them out would be a great accomplishment. That said, the minimum bar is to get to Missoula. This will be almost 750 miles since the beginning of the trip and a decent stop/start point. While 750 as a start isn't as cool as 1000, having 750 means there is 3000 left to go. All of that aside, we have a number of family things that have to happen over the next couple of weekends, so at some point we will have to go back to Seattle.

I'm laying in bed listening to the rain fall outside. It's not heavy rain, but I am kind of tired and I contemplate our current situation. We are less than 50 miles from Missoula. I've had the phrase 'Missoula Monday' bouncing around in my head for a few days now. Strategically I want to 'snuggle up' to the base of next hill climb and start it on fresh legs. But if I don't do the hill climb, that will be 'okay'. Getting to Beaver Tail campground would be a good target.

On the other hand, I could lay in bed all day and write blog posts. Quartz flats is only $8/night and they give you 5 pieces of firewood per night. A zero day wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Oh my god my bladder is full.

Just like that, an empty bladder motivates me to get to Missoula today, drizzle be damned. I have a new ambition. Not only will I get to Missoula, I will test a food theory I've been developing since having a burger in Warden, WA. This theory states that all food tastes at least 50% better if you've been exercising for at least 4 hours. The corollary to this theory is that achieving Michelin Star status would be much simpler if you could get the critic to go for a bike ride before they visit your establishment.

I stopped at the local skate park in Alberton, MT. I was thinking about trying to grind some rails or do some sick tricks, but I wasn't sure I needed to make a 'blood' sacrifice again.

Bunny agrees to meet me at a wide spot in the road at Ninemile. I mostly ride along frontage roads that parallel I-90. The stop in Ninemile is brief. We both agree that the weather is weird. If the sun breaks through the overcast sky, it immediately becomes warm and humid like a low-grade sauna. Otherwise, it's mildly cold and wet.

Yes, that is a real (as far as I could tell) experimental submarine. I don't think billionaires died in it. It's obviously not made of carbon fiber.

The short ride along I-90 to get to the Quartz Flats campground would be repeated sort of. I could ride 3 miles from Ninemile to Huson on I-90 or I could take a rather large detour into the woods. I decided to go with the shorter route on I-90 mostly because I knew this would happen again between Missoula and Butte.

Somewhere near Frenchtown the frontage road next to I-90 gets a seperate bikepath/sidewalk. And then it's a gentle 15 or so miles the interchange with HWY 93 South

Still overcast, but still beautiful.

A short 5 mile ride down 93 take you past the Missoula airport.

The plane is a retired fire fighter that apparently was originally a submarine bomber in WW2.

Just past the airport was a Costco, and this $1.50 meal is deserving of a Michelin Star if you ride a bicycle for 4+ hours. The fountain Coke is....heavenly. Most people who run or bike long distances will tell you that aid stations with iced Coke are kind of like magic.

Best $1.50 spent EVER!

I ran around Missoula picking up comfort items. I stopped at Barnes and Noble and picked up a copy of Mistborn. I know....I'm late to that. Hopefully I'll complete the trilogy before the end of the ride. Though reading will compete with writing. So there is that.

The KOA inside the city limits of Missoula is cute. But expensive.