Day 21 and 22

Fresh off a great day I was filled with confidence and I needed all I could get. Today would stand as the biggest test to date. 50 miles and over 5000 vertical climbing. One climb being 8 miles and over 3000 vert.

Wait…what about golf? There was a course in town and I peddled over there just to find they were closed for a private event. I thought I had sweet talked my way into the event when the no-show I would replace roared into the parking lot horn blaring, and screeching to a halt in the gravel lot. It was a sign. I needed the time for the biking.

The first ten miles were on a scenic byway down hill. Sounds great…of course it was terrifying. As is typical scenic byways are narrow winding roads where only tourists are really interested in driving. If you have ever driven in Estes park you also know tourists are without exception the worst drivers. White knuckles the whole way as the shoulder slipped in and out from non existent to 2’ to 12” but with rumbles cut in it. Oh yeah it is Saturday. So the “Tour-ons” were out in full force. I sighed a huge sigh of relief as I turned onto the forest service road I would be taking to my camp sight. Then…

I looked at the elevation profile and wanted to puke. This was the big one. Side note I know most of my cycling friends are killing themselves laughing at my outlandish account of what is arguably a nominal hill for them but for me fully loaded it is a massive undertaking. But I have my mojo from yesterday and the knowledge of how to attack this thing.

I sit down, take in water, and eat a significant amount of calories. Then the grind. I won’t bury the headline. I did not ride the whole thing. I had no intention of riding it all. Plan the work and work the plan. My computer gives me a read out of a categorized climb (not sure what makes for a cat climb but it seems like more than 100 feet of vert or over a half mile or greater than 3%) it shows the hill with a marker of where I am. It shows the gradient in color with green easy, yellow, tan, orange, red, and blood red incrementally harder. The plan was to ride all green, yellow, and tan so everything up to 6%. My buddy “hike-a-bike” for anything steeper.

It started great and the forest was beautiful. The beginning was mostly rideable and as the first orange section arrived I felt like there was an opportunity to ride it too. I stayed true to the plan and hiked it even though I was feeling great. As the miles ticked by it was clear yesterday was not a fluke. I am in better shape. Don’t get me wrong this destroyed me. At the end I was relegated to granny gear and barely holding on even on the green sections.

At the top there was no 360 panorama view but it felt like the top of the world. Then the real pay off. 22 miles of down hill beautifully graded forest service gravel road. Outrageous is the only word I have for this section. Zooming through endless curves and corners just letting Alister loose. I have never experienced such an unrelenting downhill. Remote vibrant forest and best of all no people. I saw one truck and three sidebysides the whole day.

Oh yeah there are still 1000 vert to go up to reach my campsite. This one stayed under 6% the whole way. In other words rideable for me. Same routine. I ate and hydrated. Then set off at a “blistering” 4 mph pace. I rode the whole climb in three planned sections. I have learned to stretch every so often to keep the legs from locking up.

I made camp and for the first time in a long time did a bear hang with my food and smelly items. I still remember how it’s done and got it on the first toss.

The second day brought me to Missoula. I popped out of the forest in ten miles and saw a billboard for “The best public golf in Missoula”. I stoped in town for two breakfast sandwiches and rode on a community bike trail one mile directly to the course.

Kings Ranch golf course is in Frenchtown that seems to be a bedroom community for Missoula.

It seems quiet but folks are playing. I check in and get a tee time. Again alone. Boo. It really didn’t get better. The course is pool table flat. The designers didn’t even lift the greens to make things interesting. There is not a single bunker on the entire property. The fairways are an even mix of clover and pasture grass. The rough is impenetrable. Basically anything not in the fairway is gone. Your reward for even looking for your ball is Canadian Thistle and mosquitos. The greens were in much healthier but very shaggy.

My play was as lack luster as the course. Early on I thought there was a chance the round would end early when I was down to just two balls (I refuse to carry more than six for weight purposes). Did I hang on to those? No but I found a few in the rough out of desperation.

The holes were unimaginative save for the tee locations. They served as the only challenge. It was as if the designer said now that I have a ho-hum hole let’s spice things up and put the tee box twenty yards left of the logical position and somehow point it 30 degrees off of the intended line.

If you get the feeling that my abysmal play is effecting my course review you are probably correct but if this is the best public golf in Missoula then I am glad there are better options for people up the I90 valley.

Lastly the whole way into Missoula seemed to be on a bike trail that followed the service road for I90. Such a nice consideration given the lack of alternative roadways. Then it disappears and Ride with GPS said take a gravel road that turned out to be a rail road service trail. It popped out in an industrial yard and while it kept me off the interstate it was definitely not a public trail or particularly enjoyable. So to any planners or engineers with new interstate projects. Make sure to include a trail.