EPIC Day 11- Libby to Kalispell MT

We have a Big Day planned to give us some time to do errands in Kalispell, and have an easier ride to West Glacier the next day.

We are definitely in Montana now, and I can literally feel it in the air. It's crisp and the sun is poking out. These are great omens for the challenging day we have planned. We headed out of town feeling refreshed and ready.

Since it was cool, we cycled in our shells for first couple of hours - exited off hwy 2 on Farm to Market road after 4 miles - it proves to be an easier climb with no traffic (and only one aggressive dog to shout down/intimidate with RV2; just like bullies, these curs wilt with the sight of the oncoming freight train that is this tandem barreling down upon them!) We are cycling in the Cabinet Mountain range here, and it's a very scenic place to be - but definitely feels like we are in the "foothills" of the Rocky Mountains now.

After a bit we rejoin hwy2, and continue with lots of long climbs, but we have some good cloud cover at times to keep it from getting too hot. And we have the "Presidential" podcast in our headsets to keep our minds occupied through the miles of pedaling up, and up, and up!




After a bit got to the town/wide spot in the road named Happy's Inn (pop: 164), but it was still too early and neither of the two roadhouses were open. So we started munching on bars and cashews, low on water. But soon the door opened and had we a great greasy burger (chicken sandwich for BD) and fries! The woman behind the bar asked us how much we needed to eat each day when we're cycling this hard, and we replied it's probably between 3,000-4,000 calories (though I have read of some accounts of self supported Trans-Am folks like us consuming 5,000 per day and not gaining weight! I have to say that we are a bit deficient on fruits and veggies, but we are taking multi-vitamins (and glucosamine) to compensate and preserve our joint health. And so far, no Ibuprofen!). She also graciously filled our bottles with ice and water before we left.

On way out of the roadhouse, up cycled Scott & Greta Lee who were also eastbound on singles and travelling very light. Immediately Greta asked if we were "that couple on a tandem headed for Boston that she'd heard about" - and we replied that yes, we were headed to Boston, but probably not the same folks she was talking about (how would she have known, after all??

They were visiting the US from Perth Australia, and had started in Oregon, diagonalled across WA state (the hot part), and were heading for Chicago (Scott maybe further). Scott marvelled about RV2 and asked me at least 20 questions about the setup and features, which of course I was happy to explain.

(Funny story: shortly thereafter, when back in cell phone coverage, I received a text from my friend Al in Seattle who said that he'd heard we'd met - turns out Al is friends with Greta's sister back east, and he'd given them a head's up that they might run into us - so their info was valid!!  Cue the "It's a Small World" music!)

We told them we'd be in Kalispell that evening, and happy to buy them a beer at our planned stop: Kalispell Brewing. They thanked us, and went in to get their calories for lunch.

At 41 miles, Happy's Inn wasn't quite halfway through our day, so we remounted and headed east past the chain of lakes steadily gaining elevation until we topped out at 55 miles, near the west end of MacGregor Lake. After that it was riding along a rolling plateau for another 15 miles, and a nice big downhill finally at 70 miles. At the base of that descent we pulled up to a mini-mart for a snack and some gatorade, and I had a nice chat with older guy in cowboy hat with big beard. He was impressed with our trip and travelling this road, and left wishing us good luck and saying that he'd say a prayer for us that night.

Having topped out some time ago, the route continued on a slight descent, though we weren't really enjoying this stretch of Hwy2 with it's traffic and narrow (if existent) shoulders. Fortunately just at the base of what looked to be a fair sized climb, we picked up a nice rail-to-trail 10 miles out of Kalispell which allowed us to skip some small hills, and get out of the traffic on a pretty nice path (why is ther so much traffic on a Monday afternoon?) This turned out to be the Great Northern Historical Trail from Kila that runs to Kalispell and beyond. It sure was a nice way to get to town!

Soon we found our hotel for the night (Travelodge Kalispell), and unfortunately had a 2nd floor room. 😒    They provided a secure, locked area for us to stow RV2, and after stripping it down, and lugging "Burley-Boy" up two flights of steps and to the room, I went to go get us some shower beers at a nearby grocery while Brigitte had refreshing and well deserved shower.
(Lagunitas Lil' Sumpin' was necessary, after a long riding day like this!) 

We then headed out for our real beers at Kalispell Brewing, where we sampled their Cloud Croft IPA, and English Major ESB.  The IPA was worth a growler fill, so we did!

Afterwards we went to dinner at a nearby Thai restaurant (pretty good!) and then headed back to the hotel for a much needed rest.  This was our biggest day to this point, and we were bushed!



The OMG we really did this Stats: 91.5 miles, 3,527' climbing! eek!