Today was a well deserved rest day in Missoula which we took advantage of by sleeping in for the first time in more than 2 weeks. What a nice feeling it is not having to get started early, even though a train passing close by tried to wake us up a few times throughout the night.

We took our bikes to a local bike shop for a safety checkup and visited the Adventure Cycling Association and Missoula downtown while waiting. The only things need work on the bikes were new chains, some cleaning and headset tightening. Was expecting the brake pads to be worn down but the guys told us they were fine.

Adventure Cycling Association’s headquarters are in Missoula and they welcome cyclists so we spent some quality time there. The building is amazing and has many old-school bikes mounted on the walls. We got complementary ice cream and soda.

They took our photo on a Polaroid camera and posted it on a big wall filled with photos of other crazy cyclists.

Met a family of four who are riding two tandem bikes. The kids seemed around 12 and 15. They didn’t seem super-excited. The 12 your old boy had been promised a trip to Disneyland if he never threw a tantrum.

Rode alongside three friendly bicycle-cops who ride during the summer and do school security and safety education during the winter.

Had an amazing pizza and beer at Biga Pizza and ice cream at Big Dipper.

Missoula seems like a great and laid-back town. The traffic is slow, there are bike lanes everywhere, the people are friendly and the downtown is nice. According to the locals the University is laying off people which has been one of he biggest employer. At the same time, housing costs are rising. Many people live in Missoula but do remote work.

Were planning on going downtown in the evening but it started to rain which were our first raindrops since leaving Iceland.

Went early to bed, looking forward to continuing our journey tomorrow. Will be staying at our first Warmshower host tomorrow night.