Hebgen Dam, Montana, to Madison, Wyoming -- 38 miles

  

 We had intended to get up early, but slept in until 6 am, and got on the road by 7:30 am. Today was a short day because our choices for camping were 38 miles or 75 miles. Lorraine was dreaming of omlettes and biscuits, so Lenny promised to take her out to breakfast. We rode beside Hebgen Lake for about 16 miles, then followed the road for another 8 miles to the town of West Yellowstone.

We had breakfast at the Silver Spur Cafe, and it lived up to Lorraine’s dreams! We ran errands, including stopping at the drugstore, grocery store, visitor’s center and post office. We entered Yellowstone Park, with another 14 miles to go for the day. We took our time, stopping to dip our feet in the Madison River. About 1/4 mile before the campground, traffic started backing up. We passed some of the cars, and saw the tourist attraction - a giant bull elk grazing by the side of the road. Lenny was afraid to get too close, so we crossed to the other side of the road and took pictures. We had the rest of the afternoon to relax. Lorraine made veggies and rice, with tortillas, for dinner.

Virginia City, Montana, to Hebgen Dam, Montana -- 64 miles

We packed up camp and started biking at 6 am. We had a 2.5-mile climb, and as we started climbing, we noticed that the air in Lorraine’s tire was very low. Lenny inflated it, without patching it, just to get to the top of the hill. When he checked the tire pressure at the top, it seemed to be fine, so we continued riding. We descended rapidly along the twisty, 9-mile road, and views of the entire valley unfolded in front of us as the air rushed past our faces. It was an exhilarating ride as we passed green fields dotted with ranches and brown rock outcroppings. We stopped in Ennis to pick up groceries for dinner, then again in Cameron for Lenny to mail home 3 lbs. of stuff we weren’t using. We found a shady spot to eat lunch, right next to the Madison River. Lorraine’s tire seemed to be holding air with no more problems.

We met John and Donna Van Ackeren, who are biking part of the Great Divide Trail, and spoke to them about chiropractic. We stopped at the Quake Lake Visitors Center, and watched a video about the 1959 earthquake that shifted the land, which dammed the river and led to the creation of the lake. 28 people were killed by the force of the earthquake and 100 mph winds generated by the falling mountainside that swept people into the river. One family of 5 that was camping by the river lost 3 family members - only the mother and eldest son survived. Another woman noticed the rumbling, went outside her house, and jumped over a 5-foot crevice to safety just as her home plunged into the river. We camped at Campfire Lodge - Lenny did laundry while Lorraine cooked parmesan noodles, chicken, and mushrooms for dinner.

Dillon, Montana, to Virginia City, Montana -- 58 miles

We slept in later than usual, and chatted with bikers Jim and Ed as we packed to leave. We started riding at 8 am - the route was mostly flat with some rolling hills. By 10:30 am, we had ridden 28 miles and stopped in Twin Bridges to eat our lunch. We chatted with Ron Schend, a landscaper, and his wife about vertebral subluxation and bike touring and the terrain ahead. In Sheridan, we bought groceries for dinner. Lenny spoke to Eric Johnson about vertebral subluxation and gave him a brochure. He shared some watermelon with us! Lenny also spoke to Jerry Braach about chiropractic. We formed a paceline to try and cover the last 20 miles as quickly as possible. It was getting hot, and the scenery of ranches and mountains had turned to sagebrush and sand. Plus, because we had left later, we were riding during the hottest part of the day - and the heat always makes us cranky and argumentative. We passed the ghost town of Nevada City and ended the day at the Virginia City Campground. We enjoyed falafel gyros for dinner, despite the flies at our campsite nearly driving us insane.

Wisdom, Montana, to Dillon, Montana -- 66 miles

We got up and began biking at 5:15 am. The road out of town had a 360 degree view of the mountains, and as the sun came up, it illuminated the snow-covered peaks. Today’s route was mostly flat, with some rolling hills, two climbs, and few cars on the road. We hit a strong headwind and a steep hill for the 1.5 miles to Big Hole Pass - Lorraine had to walk her bike to the top. The climb over Badger Pass was longer, but not as steep. We had lunch at the top, then rode the last 17 miles to Dillon. Along the way, we met 3 bike riders who were headed west. The first guy, Jim Damico, was biking the TransAmerica Trail and then looping back around to do the Great Divide - an 8,800-mile tour! He will end up in Texas in the beginning of November to complete this fundraising trek for a memorial scholarship at a small woman’s college. The second and third riders were from the Bath area of England and were on a tandem bike. In Dillon, we went to the grocery store and camping store.

We camped at the KOA, and Lorraine cooked “Barcelona Bird,” a recipe from her “One Pot Gourmet” cookbook. Lenny did the laundry and spoke to Theresa & Gary Best about vertebral subluxation. He had an enjoyable conversation with Theresa about everything from chiropractic to voluntary simplicity and cycle touring. It started thundering, but didn’t rain. We went to sleep at 8 pm.

Darby, Montana, to Wisdom, Montana -- 58 miles

We got up at 4:15 am and packed up camp in the dark. We had chocolate muffins for breakfast, which sat like lead in Lorraine’s stomach and slowed her down. We started biking at 6 am, knowing that most of the day would be uphill. About 22 miles in, the climb became much steeper as we approached Lost Trail Pass. We climbed for 9 miles, at about a 5-6% grade. After reaching the summit (6,990 feet), we came dangerously close to going back into Idaho, but turned just in the nick of time. We climbed one more mile to the top of Chief Joseph Pass (7,241 feet). We had lunch at the summit and enjoyed a short, fast downhill. It was still 27 miles to our final destination of Wisdom.

We rode over rolling hills, and saw a couple live elk galloping through the sagebrush. We were planning on camping, but the bloodthirsty mosquitoes were keeping up with our bikes at 12 mph, and we were afraid we’d be sucked dry by morning. Of the 2 motels in town, we picked the one with no phone, no clock, sulfur-scented water, and unhealthy-looking caged coyotes and foxes in the backyard. We had burgers and huckleberry ice cream at Fetty’s Restaurant. One of the waiters, who called himself “El Greco,” kept cracking jokes and chatting with us. We were asleep in the motel by 8:30 pm.

Missoula, Montana, to Darby, Montana -- 70 miles

We left the motel before 5:00 am - most of the city was lit by streetlights, but we still used our headlight and rear flashers. We got to the town of Lolo and rode along a smooth paved bike path for about 8 miles. There was a really nice sunrise, which Lenny took pictures of. We stopped at a gas station to use the bathroom. Lenny downshifted into a lower gear but didn’t turn the crank far enough before he stopped and the gear did not change. When we left, he was backing up and forced the bike, which slightly bent the derailleur. The result was that the chain would skip in some of the lower gears. It did not incapacitate the bike, but since we were biking another big mountain pass the next day, those lower gears would be needed. We rode another 25 miles to Hamilton and stopped at the Valley Bike Shop. Tony Neaves fixed the derailleur, but Lenny didn’t want to take any chances, so he had him replace it. We talked with Randy Leavell, the owner, about bike touring, chiropractic and vertebral subluxation.

We left around noon to bike the remaining 17 miles to Darby, and it was hot riding. Lenny went into the post office in town, while Lorraine napped on the sidewalk outside. We camped at the Wilderness Motel & Campground. Lenny met Tom Allison, a logger, and got into a debate over logging. Lorraine cooked lentil stew over the range in the common area. We walked into town to get ice cream, but the shop was closed, so we bought groceries and split a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. Lorraine was looking forward to seeing elk, bears, cougars and big-horn sheep on this trip, and we saw all of them in Darby...with our faces pressed against the window of the taxidermist shop! We went to sleep at 8 pm to get an early start the next day.

Additional rest day in Missoula, Montana

We got up at 7:30 am and walked over to the University of Montana campus to “hike the ‘M’.” A dirt trail winds up the side of Mount Sentinel to the base of a giant white concrete letter “M” (which signifies the University of Montana). From the top of the trail, you also get a bird’s eye view of Missoula, Lolo Peak and the surrounding area. We took photos, and spoke to a couple from Corning, NY, whose son attends the U of M. We continued following a narrower trail above the “M”, where it became a straight and ridiculously steep push to the top of the mountain. We started up, but turned around when we couldn’t see the peak - just more and more steep climbing. Going down was probably more difficult - we took baby steps, because a twisted ankle would have ruined the Ride for Chiropractic!

We went back to the motel to shower, then met Paul & Monica Adkins at the Adventure Cycling headquarters to go for lunch. Wednesdays are “Out to Lunch at Caras Park,” with live music and your choice of food from many downtown vendors. We ate Mexican food and had time to talk with Monica and Paul about chiropractic and bike touring. They had to go back to work, and Lorraine wanted to ride the Missoula carousel - one of the fastest carousels in the country! It was the first carousel she had been on that actually had rings to grab - catch the brass ring, and you won a free ride on the carousel! Afterwards, we went to the library to check the website. When we came out, it had started raining. But by the time we went back to the motel, got our rain jackets, and began walking towards the grocery store, the sun started coming out. It was bright and sunny again when we finished shopping. We grabbed some burgers for dinner, and went back to the motel to pack the bikes for an early start tomorrow.

Rest day in Missoula, Montana

We got up at 8:30 am - Lenny made phone calls from the room, while Lorraine used the motel laundromat. We finished the journal entries for last week, then went out to have lunch, go to the library, mail packages from the post office and check out the visitor’s center. Then we grabbed our bikes and went to a bike shop to have kickstands installed. We left our bikes at the motel again, and walked to the chiropractic office of Monica Adkins. Her husband Paul works at Adventure Cycling, and they were anticipating us passing through town. We decided to stay in Missoula for another day, and arranged to have lunch with Monica and Paul tomorrow. We walked around Missoula’s downtown area, browsing in stores and purchasing some souvenirs. We had delicious veggie pizza at Zimgrino’s “Red Pies Over Montana” and went back to the motel to watch TV.

Powell, Idaho to Missoula, Montana -- 60 miles

  

 We woke up at 6 am and began biking at 7:45 am. It started drizzling as we were taking down the tent, and rained as we made our way up Lolo Pass. The route went uphill gradually, until the last 4 miles, where we climbed a 6% grade. At the top of the pass (5,235 feet), we crossed into Montana. It was cool but sunny for the downhill ride past mountains, fields and ranches.

We stopped at a National Park picnic area to eat lunch. We reached the town of Lolo by 1 pm, and the highway into Missoula became very busy with cars and trucks. We followed the route maps to the Adventure Cycling headquarters, where we signed their register, had our picture taken and enjoyed free ice cream and soda. We got some information about Missoula and checked into the Bel-Aire Motel. We were going to go to a steakhouse for dinner, but it was more expensive than we wanted, so we walked around the same blocks of town in circles, trying to pick a restaurant. We ate at the Iron Horse pub, where we had quesadillas, burgers and salad. We came back to the motel and watched TV - one of the best things about the “great indoors”!