Day 10- Lowell to Lolo Hot Springs

Another day on that awful road, and a whole lot of riding uphill...
25miles in, I met a group of 3 girl students from England, and their
guy friend who goes to high school in the US. They're touring fully
loaded, and I have the utmost respect for them- I wouldn't be able to
get much more stuff up these mountains than what I have now! We rode
together to Powell, which was the first town since Lowell- 65miles of
forest, and the road winding back and forth along the river.
Thrilling. Anyways, it was really nice to bump into them, but I am
glad I'm not doing the whole camping thing. I would have to carry more
stuff, wouldn't get as many miles in each day and I'm certain I
wouldn't recover as quickly. It's just a tradeoff between how quickly
you want to get this done, and how much you're willing to spend!

Anyways, after lunch I only had 20miles to go to the motel. The route
took me over Lolo Pass, luckily the climbing wasn't too bad. At the
top, I crossed into Montana and also back to Mountain Time, maybe for
good now!

I have to say I'm really disappointed with this motel. They charge a
fair amount more than all the others, but my room doesn't have
anything other than a bed and bathroom: no TV, phone, wireless
Internet, not even the sachets of shampoo I have come to depend on!

I should also say that while I am enjoying riding through the state
parks and forests all day, I have had about enough of all this
wilderness. The towns are ridiculously small (upwards of 500 is
unheard of), and proper food and supermarkets are rare. I think it'll
stay this way for a while yet...

PS I bought dog spray from a bike shop the other day, but I will
probably talk to the peeps at the Adventure Cycling Association (who
make the maps) about alternative routes when I ride through Missoula
tomorrow.

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