Hammer time.
These two days blurred together. My goal was to get to Missoula as quick as possible to catch a flight. I actually arrived a day early which gave me a chance to rest and fix my bike.
The ride was rolling hills through national forest land. Nice country. I wouldn’t mind visiting again.
Swan Lake
Campsite at Swan Lake Store
On the first of the two days of riding, I stopped at Flathead Lake for lunch and discovered that one of my rear Ortlieb panniers had come apart. This was disturbing because I had just purchased them 3 weeks earlier. I fixed the pannier and went on my way. Finishing my ride on the first day, I camped behind the Swan Lake Trading Post and Campground.
On the second day, nothing much remarkable happened, except that ride was long and it was 90 degrees when I arrived in Missoula. The last 10 miles coming into Missoula were nice as I rode next to the famous Blackfoot River. I enjoyed watching the tubers rafting down the river. This reminded of me when I was young and used to tube down the Upper Truckee River near Lake Tahoe. Also, some of the female tubers were topless.
Old farmhouses before entering Missoula
I had one potential mishap riding into Missoula. On Highway 83 just before the Junction with Highway 200, the road was narrow. I passed a bike tourist with a poorly strapped-down load riding a mountain bike with a wobbly out-of-true back tire. Riding down a hill, a bunch of pickup trucks gathered behind me. They individually passed me as traffic started to drive up the hill from in the other direction. Because the road was narrow, this meant that the traffic in my direction would have to pass carefully. The last pickup truck started to pass. Just as it did, vehicles passed in the other direction on the other side of the road. This last pickup truck drove dangerously - it blew its horn and swerved towards me. I held the handlebars steady and wasn't bumped off of the road, but I my heart was pumping and I was irritated that this truck decided to pass me this way.
Day 10 - West Glacier to Swan Lake - 71 miles
Day 11 - Swan Lake to Missoula - 115 miles
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