Day 52: Riding HighHigh in Lolo

Missoula, MT to Lolo Hot Springs, MT

Stats!
Miles biked today: 38.6
Total miles biked on trip so far: 1839.0
Max speed: 24 mph
# of feet climbed in elevation: 700
# of feet it looked like we were climbing, as we rode along: 0

We are back!

We deliberately chose to make today an easy day for ourselves, for a few reasons. One is that it's our first day back after a week off. When we were in Cooperstown, ND, a couple that we met (Bruce and Dana) said that a rest day is great, but getting on the bikes after three consecutive rest days makes the ride feel like the very first day of your trip. You might as well be starting over totally. And we had seven consecutive days off. Or maybe six? Anyway, a lot, so we wanted to take it easy.

Also, right after Lolo Hot Springs is Lolo Pass, our first rocky mountain climb. We wanted to face that fresh, rested, and well fed tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed!

And, finally, after Lolo Hot Springs, there are no towns for over 90 miles. I think we will definitely be camping tomorrow. Here, we have no cell phone signal and only get wifi by blogging from the lodge lobby, so I think tomorrow we might be totally incommunicado. Don't worry if there's no post. And, mom, I'll call you asap the next day to let you know we're okay! But we are on the outskirts of nowhere today, and tomorrow I expect we'll be in the exact center of nowhere.

As we were leaving the motel this morning, we saw a group of bicyclists that we had spoken to a few times before. The girl in the group is a junior at Virginia Tech! She has a jersey that is covered in VT logos and local Blacksburg business sponsors of the VT Cycling Team. I really want one of those jerseys! They were driving to Lolo and then biking the pass today. Cheaters! (hahahaha) The girl is traveling with her brother and boyfriend, and their dad is driving the support vehicle, so they don't have to be loaded down with all their gear. Nice! They started from Virginia Beach, so we had a lot to talk about.

When we were at breakfast this morning, I asked Dean, "Are you happy to be getting back on the bikes?" He grimaced and said, "Uh...... kind of?" But once we were on the road and riding again, it felt great to be back, and he agreed. Resting was nice, but biking is lots of fun, too!

The ride today was 100% climbing, but on a very small incline. To the naked eye, it looked flat, but your legs sure can tell the difference. Still, it wasn't too hard. It was a beautiful day, if a smidge hot, and we enjoyed the beautiful scenery. There were no towns between Lolo and Lolo Hot Springs, so we had gas station jerky and granola bars for lunch. It was delicious!

As we rode along, we could actually smell the pine trees. They smelled really strong, and were everywhere around us. I said to Dean that the smaller mountains didn't look all that much different than the Blue Ridge, but he thought they did because there are no deciduous trees -- all smelly pines. It looks distinctively western.

We passed beautiful streams and gorgeous mountains and lots of bees being kept by area beekeepers. We also stopped at some of the historic pullouts along the way, talking about Lewis and Clark's journey and the history of the area. In 1996, a windstorm knocked down thousands of trees, and we rolled by a bunch of them, still blown over, on the sides of the mountains.

Rides can be long, and our minds wander. At one point, I had "The Lazy Song" in my head, and I asked Dean what song was running through his head. He said, very matter-of-factly, "No Scrubs," by TLC. I guess that's reasonable, since neither of us want any scrubs.

When we arrived at Lolo Hot Springs (the town name that is very fun to whisper in a sexy voice), it was pretty early and we were feeling good, like we could probably conquer the mountain in the afternoon. But rationality prevailed, and we decided not to blow our entire rest week on the first day. We actually weren't even sure if we were in Lolo Hot Springs, since it consists of two building complexes -- one on each side of the road. We thought maybe we were on the outskirts of town, but nope, this is it.

At the Lolo Hot Springs Lodge we looked around and thought, "This place is going to be EXPENSIVE." It's really beautiful inside, having kind of a ski lodge western feel, but very well done, and all guests have access to the hot spring spa inside. The lady at the desk took one look at us and said, "Now, our least expensive rooms are...." She was looking up the available rooms and rates, and I said, "So you get a lot of bike tourists?" and she said, "Yep!"

The tone of voice she used (a warning, bad newsy kind of tone) when saying she was looking up her cheapest rooms made us a little bit worried, but we were stuck anyway because there was no other town to go to after this. So when she said, "$69 including tax," we were super relieved. We've stayed in way less nice places for more money than that. Our room is really cute and rustic looking, and we've already dipped ourselves in the hot springs. Very relaxing! I think we're ready to face our first rocky mountain tomorrow!