Friday 6/15/18

Lolo Pass visitors center to Danby, Montana

I set the alarm for 6:30. That got us up before folks starting coming in to use the restroom. So the plan worked to sleep in the visitors center bathrooms where it was heated. The low at the pass was in the upper 30’s.

The visitors center opened at 7:30 and had coffee and hot chocolate. So we had a good breakfast of peanut butter sandwiches with the hot beverages.

The ride down the Montana side of Lolo pass was a nice ride but slower than I thought it would be. I understand it is notorious for headwind. So steady pedaling even though going downhill.

At Lolo Nishanth and I stopped at the gas station that had a Quiznos. Soon a local cyclist who was following the race met us. Roger had two grandsons with him who were very interested in Nishanth and his being from India. After finishing eating Roger rode with us a few miles and did a short video interview that he was going to post.

During our lunch we had arranged a Warmshowers host at Darby. Darby was about another 50 miles from Lolo which would give us a good day for Miles. We had a strong tailwind so the plan seemed reasonable. Unknown to us was a storm blowing thru ahead. About 20 miles from Darby the storm came in and the tailwind turned to a strong headwind and light rain. Luckly the worst lasted 30 minutes and then the wind backed off. Not the conditions we had but better.

We got to Curtis Burton's home about 8PM. He had a nearly full house with 5 other cyclist already taking shelter there. He had a spaghetti meal waiting for us. We enjoyed the company of Curtis and the other cyclist. After eating we cleaned up and settled down on the available floorspace in the basement. Curtis had been a trucker and had some moving blankets and Cushioning pads. So the accommodations were relatively deluxe compared to the visitors center bathroom floor.

Days miles about 85.