Day 45: Sula hot springs to outside Missoula

It wasn’t as cold as it has been but still chilly. Everyone else wanted a hot breakfast so they fired up their stoves. I don’t like oatmeal so I headed down the road. We still had part of the descent from yesterday so the first few miles I didn’t have to peddle. However it felt like the temperature dropped 10 degrees making my ears burn. At the base of the descent there was a gas station and a small cafe. I was really craving eggs but the restaurant was pretty pricy so I skipped a hot breakfast and settled for a clif bar. It wasn’t that far to the next town, Darby. The road was rather narrow but there wasn’t a ton of traffic so I wasn’t concerned. I got to bike along the Bitterroot river all the way into town. I really like it when there’s something to look at. I usually listen to my iPhone but it’s more enjoyable to look around at the landscape. In Darby I bought a huckleberry flavored soda even though it was still early. Hamilton was only another 17 miles away. I bought some banana chips to snack on.

In Hamilton I was getting pretty hungry so I went to my now favorite fast food restaurant, McDonald’s. I ate lunch and checked the mileage to Missoula. It was only 45 more miles. Missoula would be a special place to bike through because Adventure Cycling Association headquarters are there. The ACA are the ones who made my maps. I was really looking forward to visiting the headquarters. Unfortunately the headquarters closed at 5. It would really have to rush if I wanted to make it there before they closed. I hurried up and finished my meal and headed back out. The next part of the map directed to you a bike path that connects Hamilton and Missoula. It took me a while to find it as the map directions were a little confusing. After I was on the path I called my mom to see what she was doing. Since I was on the bike path I didn’t have to worry about traffic or the sounds of passing cars messing up my phone microphone in my headphones. My mom was busy so I tried calling my grandma but she didn’t answer. I checked my time and saw I wasn’t going to make it to the headquarters in time. Oh well I would visit tomorrow morning instead. Anyway the rest of my group was way behind me. The bike path paralleled the highway so even though it was nice to not worry about traffic, the ride wasn’t really scenic. Suddenly my phone was ringing and I saw that my friend, Eli, was calling me. She was on her ride home from work and wanted someone to talk with. It was perfect as I wasn’t doing anything. I chatted with her about how my trip was going and my future plans. It was really nice to hear from her! Thanks for calling Eli! I had to end the call after an hour or so because the bike path ended and I had to stop and check my map. The map once again wasn’t really clear where to go. I knew the path extended all the way to Missoula so it had to pick up somewhere. I saw cyclists on the other side of the street and concludes the path crossed the highway and started again over there. I saw that the town I was in, Lolo, was the last one before Missoula so I stopped at a gas station to refill my water. A couple miles out of town I got a call from Evan telling me the group wanted to get a motel for the evening. That was fine with me but I was halfway to Missoula so I headed back to Lolo. There I regrouped and we decided to get a motel in Missoula instead of Lolo. I wanted to get annoyed that I had backtracked for no reason but there was no point. I found myself not really caring. In Missoula Jolee and Mark went into the office and got a room. Then everyone else walked around back so they could let us into the room. We were a little cramped because there were 4 bikes and 5 people in one room. We made it work though. We took turns showering and debated weather to order take out. Since the room was cramped we decided to stretch out legs and go out. After dinner everyone crashed and fell asleep. I’m super excited for continental breakfast tomorrow morning. Evan says he’s getting up at 6am to eat then going back to bed for a few hours. Then waking up again to go back. I for one will be enjoying sleeping on an actual bed for as long as possible. 
I didn’t take a lot of pictures today.