82 miles today.

That figure is as bit misleading since as we tried our best to leave Libby we got (in the words of our rescuer Fred from yesterday) “slightly confused.” The maps we had and our GPS didn’t sync up so we spent a bit of time and distance figuring things out. Google Maps is not always accurate but as a corroborating source it served us today.  We did finally make it out of town after an egg McMuffin equivalent at the local grocery store and sandwich provisions for later in the day. The road we were on paralleled the river and train tracks (the same tracks on which the long trains ran all last night with air horns blasting and, yes, they kept me awake! Train whistles may be a plaintiff sound in the country music vocabulary and each train is different but they are loud!).

After 15 miles on this very quiet road we crossed the river to take an alternate route around Lake Koocanusa (Kootenai+Canada+USA) recommended to us by some Canadian cyclists we met yesterday.

It was a very wise choice! The road was longer by 4 or 5 miles but totally our own with no lumber trucks and very little other traffic. There were warnings about grizzly sightings but we saw not a single animal of any sort (except for the vultures, crows and Ospreys). The way was hilly, with a monster up hill at the very beginning of our ride as far as the visitor center for the Libby Dam. After that we had numerous ups and downs for 45 miles but, as I said, we had the road to ourselves so could often ride side by side… And actually talk instead of listening for approaching cars and trucks.

We’ve settled on a good food plan so integrate breaks with lunch and/or bananas and good old Cliff Bars.

So… After 45 miles we crossed the river on a new and very wide bridge high above the river. The cross wind was impressive and being more or less alone on that long span with the wind actually singing through the railings was a little surreal. After the bridge we had 16 miles or so to Eureka but, once again, we had to navigate carefully the space on the shoulder between the rumble strips and the loose gravel with cars and trucks whizzing by at 70 miles an hour (not a relaxing bicycle ride).

The last miles into Eureka had no shoulder at all and, as you might expect at the shank end of a long day we were not in a good mental space to deal with the cars.  Anyway, we made it to Eureka and, trusting Apple Maps, road down a long hill all the way through town in hopes of finding our hotel.  Predictably, once we asked at the gas station we were told that the hotel was, in reality, at the upper end of town so, not happy, we biked back up the long hill and checked into a hotel. Only then did we find that this place had no wi-fi!  (Really! I say.) So we rode a little farther and got a room with wi fi at a different place. Gambling is legal in Montana so every little place (hotel, restaurant etc.) has a “casino” – they really only offer one armed bandits and computer poker etc.

We are fed and back in our room and will head to Whitefish tomorrow and will stay with another Warm Showers host.