rickallendunn

Today was one of those days that I knew was going to be a challenging one. My 2nd State is in the books and I moved into Montana. Leaving Wallace this morning, I knew that I had to climb the 4,710 foot summit @ Lookout Pass to get into Montana. The trails in this part of Idaho & Montana are not well marked and it’s easy to get lost. So I decided on a route that would keep me close to Interstate 90.

I had several long stretches of trail that were too steep to ride as I approached Lookout, so I had to hoof it quite a bit, not great on the biking cleats. When I got to the top of the trail I was standing next to the “Welcome to Idaho” on the West bound side of the 90, even though I had actually crossed into Montana.

My Navigation was requiring me to ride on the 90 for 5 miles into Montana. Problem was the 90 is under construction and down to 2 lanes with no shoulder and lots of semi trucks jake braking it down into Montana…yikes!

Have you ever picked up a hitchhiker? I don’t think I have ever have, but I was one today! First I tried to ride the part of the road that was under construction, it was dirt, but safe. I got waved off by a steam roller who said “no go.” Humm…now what?

I was still considering riding down the 90 and I saw a construction worker with a stop sign near the entrance to the freeway. She was standing next to a construction truck. I rode up to her and asked how far down did the construction go, she said, “you better ask him.” I rolled up to the truck window and asked the man inside his name was Kiley, “how far down does the construction go?” He said “about 5 miles.”

I asked him “how do you feel about letting me throw my bike in the back and giving me a ride past the construction?” He said, “I think I can do that.” I threw my bike in the back of the truck and jumped in. There are a lot of really nice people in the world! Kiley was one of them.

The suspicion of a challenging day ahead came true. There was lots of hiking, construction, rough trails, long climbs and heat. Ahh, just a typical day at the office! Thanks for joining us on the journey!

PS. While I was on the mountain Mary-Beth made her way into the mountain mines of the Silver Valley!