June 29, 2018
Missoula – Darby
119 km (74 miles)
508 m (1667 feet) elevation
5:03 moving time
1734 km (1077 miles) total

Fairly uneventful ride today as we rode on a nice cycle path next to the highway for most of the day. There was quite a bit of noise from the cars which took some of the romance out of the ride. Even though we rode side by side quite a bit it was not easy to carry on a conversation. We met only one cyclist on the hole 50 mile bike path. Stephan from Switzerland that has been cycling in America for three months and will keep on going for another three months.

Two observations regarding the trip so far. Firstly, we are surprised to see almost no buses, except for parked school buses. Secondly, we are surprised by how few McDonald’s we have seen. Perhaps 4-5 for the whole trip.

Today we had our first rain of the trip but it didn’t last long. The temperature was low until midday. Even Saemi wore his leg warmers which he didn’t think he’d need at all. Monika on the other hand who is always cold didn’t need to wear hers. Maybe Saemi is getting accustomed to the warmer climate.

Many Montana people seem less friendly or just don’t care for people in bright tight clothing riding bikes instead of riding huge gas-guzzling trucks wearing cowboy hats. Some have been very friendly.

We spent the night at our first Warmshower host ever. We have hosted a few people ourselves but never stayed at another host. It was a great experience.

Our host Curtis went out of his way to make us feel welcome. He cooked us a great dinner and we had our own bedroom with a queen size bed. Simply amazing hospitality. He has set the bar for other hosts incredibly high.

There were three other guests at his house at the same time, two young cyclist girls and a dad of one of them. We all had a great time and a good discussion over dinner. It was so much fun hearing about all the adventure they have encountered so far.