Missoula became an El Dorado for multiple reasons.
In the summer of 2002, we travelled through Missoula on the TransAmerica Bike Route. Missoula is the home of Adventure Cycling Association and we looked forward to visiting the office (free ice cream!), getting our picture taken and looking for other travelers’ pictures we’d encountered this year.
We were also eager to eat fish tacos at Taco del Sol. The fabled delicacies had come up numerous times in conversation through the years. Our collective memory (ours and fellow cyclists Mike & Maria) recalled a near religious experience upon tasting the fish tacos for the first time.
Additionally, Sarah has several friends from St. Lawrence University living in Missoula and was anxious to catch up with several of her “Larrys“. Jennifer, a fellow alumni and resident, spoke of multiple breweries in the town and surrounding area. I looked forward to tasting the results of the local recipes.
Finally, Missoula would be a major repair and resupply stop. The repair list was getting long.
My bike’s headset is grinding and will be replaced; my pedals’ bearings will be repacked. Hellgate Cyclery was recommended for the repairs. Luckily, I contacted them about a week earlier to secure a repair slot in their schedule. They were booked out about a month for repairs.
My rear Phil Wood hub will be shipped to California and remanufactured. This is disappointing since the hub only has about 5,000 miles (~8,000 km) of riding on the hub. Furthermore, I learned the “lifetime” warranty doesn’t cover much other than the shiny metal housing and this will be an expensive repair.
Additional repairs include my computer. It refuses to boot. I don’t know if it is a hard drive failure, connection issue or other hardware problem. Technology is supposed to make lives easier but this laptop has been a constant source of frustration on this trip.
Our mail and a few other re-supply packages will also be waiting for us.
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The riding was easy, the mostly downhill route was along the Blackfoot River. It was a beautiful day and we saw people floating, tubing and fishing along the entire route.
In Missoula, we discovered we took one too many breaks throughout the day. Unfortunately, we arrived 45 minutes after the bike shop closed (it was Saturday) and learned that shipping my rear hub would need to wait until Monday (ground shipments did not leave until Monday).
Dejectedly, we made our way to Jennifer & Don’s house. The delay in repairs would cost us a few additional days of down time.
Later that evening, the disappointment was soothed by the splendid efforts of Kettle House Brewery. The Cold Smoke Scotch Ale is sumptuous. I did not have a chance to drink the Bongwater but hope to do so in the near future.
I think I mentioned Kettle House and Cold Smoke. Just knew you would like it. Sorry about the wheel repairs, but like you said Missoula is a nice place for it to happen. And yes, it seems like there is more activity by people in Montana on outside activities than in Houston.
Hi John, glad you could join us. I agree, Kettle House does a great job. I think the weather is a bit more conducive to being outdoors in Montana than in Houston.