Day 12: Missoula to Helena

 Today was more of a chore than a pleasure. I say that because of the route we have to ride while transiting Montana. The surrounding countryside is beautiful, in a rugged manner. However, in that long distance cyclists have to ride on the interstate or US highways for the majority of the time, you put life and limb in jeopardy if you attempt to distract yourself by gazing around. For those of us living east of the Mississippi, riding on the interstate is not a thing you do. However, due to the dearth of back country paved roads in most of the western states, interstate cycling is permitted. It’s actually a better cycling experience than being on a 2 lane US highway attempting to share the road with a cowboy hauling a trailer to the stock yard. In that case, sharing the road is more of a hope and a prayer than an expectation.

We’re in Helena tonight, Montana’s state capital. It got its start as a gold rush mining town, and some of the downtown art work pays homage to that heritage. At about 28,000 inhabitants it’s one of the least populated state capitals. I haven’t seen a lot of it, but the downtown area is neat and tidy, with several pieces of historical art and wall murals on display. The citizens appear to take pride in their community. Of note, one mural highlights Montana’s leading roll in the suffrage movement. In 1887, while still a territory, women gained the right to vote on school board and taxation issues…and they retained those voting rights after becoming a state in 1889. Considering the 19th amendment wasn’t ratified until 1920, Montana was certainly ahead of the times.

Today we rode 117 miles, the last 20 in a driving rain. Again, it felt more like a work day than a pleasant day to go for a bike ride. Of note, we’ve had 11 days of riding to date. Of those days, we’ve had rain to some degree (always enough to soak us…) on 4 of them. That seems to me to be a high percentage of soppiness, but I’m no weatherman, so it just could be the cards we will be playing for the next 35 days. As they say, there are no bad days to ride, just bad gear!

Until tomorrow…

Cheers,
JK