Day 6 - Sandpoint, ID - Thompson Falls, MT

Wow!  Big sky is right!  We crossed over the date line when we entered Montana, so we're on Mountain time now.  Today's ride was incredibly beautiful.  We took so many photos of the amazing mountains, lakes, all of which sit beneath the amazing Montana sky.  Since today was a short day again (87 miles), we rode a really easy pace in anticipation of the upcoming longer days.  Temperatures were cool in the morning and we wore jackets when we started.  It warmed up later, but still moderate with favorable winds - all of which made for a fabulous time. 

Part of todays route took us onto a rural road which was mostly paved, but partially just hard packed dirt and gravel.  We were so happy that we took Skip's recommendation to change our bike tires to 25mm rather than the 23 mm we normally ride.  The comfort factor is coming in handy on a daily basis!

The way the tour works:  We get up in the morning, take our bikes outside, and have breakfast on benches set up in the parking lot of whatever hotel we're at.  That normally consists of oatmeal, cereals, fresh fruits, yogurt, eggs (lots of variety and everything fresh).  Then we bring our luggage to one of the trucks, they load it, and off we go!  There are two large trailer trucks and a van which piggy back along the route and set up SAG (rest) stops and lunch along the way.  By the time we get to our destination for the day, there are bike racks set up, luggage has been unloaded from the truck and room keys are ready.  We're on our own for dinner, which gives everyone a chance to do whatever they want/need to.  Tonight we had dinner at our 'hotel', which may be the only hotel in town.  The setting is really lovely - on the Clark Fork river - and after dinner, the group made s'mores on a campfire. (See picture below).

We spent a fair amount of time today thinking about how grateful we are to be on this trip.  Shuli's been riding strong, notwithstanding some challenges (sore, inflamed muscles, achilles tendon pain and some fairly uncomfortable heat rash on her legs).  Huge thanks go out to David Brinton for terrific coaching.  The training is paying off. :-)


86 miles
2,667 ft. of climbing

Gravel. Niiice.

MONTANA!!!

Clark Fork River. That's our hotel for the night on the left.