It was approximately 7:50 AM when we arrived just east of big fork. This was where the ride was planned to begin. Jordan looked a little tired which was understandable with the hard day yesterday.
We were a little concerned about Highway 83 out of Bigfork as there was a sign that read "construction underway, motorcycles consider another route". It's not that there are other logical routes for a bicycle, so he proceeded onward. (See video here.) The views were pleasing!
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| And he is off! |
We were a little concerned about 83 out of Bigfork as there was a sign that read "construction underway, motorcycles consider another route". It was not that there were other logical routes for a bicycle so he proceeded onward. The views were pleasing!
The wind was heavy. The web stated it was only 2 miles an hour, was obviously much stronger. It was a headwind! Jordan exclaimed "I was riding 17 miles an hour yesterday with the same effort that I can only get 12 miles an hour today". We guess the wind was well over 10 MPH.
The temperature kept climbing and the road was very busy. (See video here). After about 50 miles, we found the road was indeed under construction. It would be a dangerous ride so we loaded up the bike and skipped the nest 5 miles. The bright side, eventually there new paved road. It was smooth as silk.
There is this fact that I did not notice we used they significant amount of gas while we were in Kalispell. By the time I realized we needed gas, I was deep into the mountains. Checking the GPS, Condon, MT had a gas station. However, arriving in Condon (that sounds BAD), the gas station was permanently closed. This heightened anxiety for fuel. According to GPS there was another gas station in 40 miles (Seeley Lake) and the car estimated 80 miles of fuel was remaining. There was no comfort in the 80 miles as they were many gad guzzling climbs.
We were so happy when we arrived in Seeley Lake as the City was actually large. The number of services available exceeded our expectations. We decided it was time to take a break and found a food cart next to the lake. We had burgers and rested for about an hour. We had hoped for cooler temperatures, but knew are hopes would be crushed.
When Jordan finally got on the road, after about 6 miles it was a very narrow road. We decided it was not safe to continue. I am happy he agreed to let me give him a ride for approximately 6 miles to Highway 200 (Clearwater Rest Stop). Highway 200 has a good 5 to 6 foot shoulder. When he realize that he only needed another 30 miles to get 100 miles for the day, he decided to ride to Missoula as opposed to staying at the earlier designated spot. We also found the last 30 miles has some significant decents which made for great time.
This route also had some desperate barns I was able to photograph.
We made decent time and arriving in Missoula at 6:30 PM. Jordan was really tired and was ready for bed by before 9:00 PM. We decided to order pizza as I washed clothes and prepared for the next day.
TOTAL miles for the day was 102.4 miles. That is 202.5 miles for the first two days. The first and last Segment:Ride (first 57.5 miles) summary:
- Strava Link
- 57.5 miles – 4:01:47
- Average speed 14.2 MPH and maximum speed 38 MPH
- Average cadence 77 RPM and maximum cadence of 108 RPM
- Average heart rate of 116 BPM and maximum heart rate of 155 BPM
- Ascent 2,240 feet and decent 1,200 feet
- Starva Link
- 34.6 miles – 1:52:50
- Average speed 18.39 MPH and maximum speed 34.88 MPH
- Average cadence 77 RPM and maximum cadence of 98 RPM
- Average heart rate of 136 BPM and maximum heart rate of 158 BPM
- Ascent 754 feet and decent 1,200 feet
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