Big Ride Day 9: Singing (Cycling) in the Rain

We cycled to the trailhead of the Bitterroot trail today, which AB had never been to before. It feels like a particular piece of work has been completed. In the other direction, there's another 40 miles of the trail to explore - beyond Lolo Hot Springs. That's as far as we have got in a southerly direction. We could even go as far as Stevensville.

AB & SB tell me that if I do more of the Milwaukee/Kim Williams Trail, then I need to take bear spray with me. There are black and brown bears in that part of the wilderness and I need to be prepared. Apparently the spray is really effective and will see off an attack. 

Very wet and cold weather has arrived in Missoula and is forecast for a week. This makes riding more difficult, but not impossible. We just have to gear up. My bike had no mudguards. This was a particular problem with the rear wheel. I was getting spattered with spray. So I went to a bike shop and got a rear mudguard fitted. It makes a big difference in this wet weather. 

I got chatting with the bike mechanic. Turns out he had been to the same rides in Utah that we had been on. Also he had had a bad case of altitude sickness, too. Much worse than mine, by the sound of it. As he was a young man, I came away feeling I'd actually got away lightly with my illness in Utah.

AB has got me a week's pass into the University of Montana gym. It's a large, well-equiped facility. I had a good weights-room workout there this morning. 

One of the additional exercises I did was a very long period on a sophisticated cycling machine - hence the photo. I'll be regularly visiting that gym for the rest of my time here - which is another week.