Due to historic flooding, NPS has for the first time in almost 50 years closed all entrances to Yellowstone National Park. The closure comes as a safety precaution due to high waters and multiple road collapses inside the park. Morning and time to go - I need to make up time and miles in the next coming days to get back on track. Bike packed and out the door...wonder if the grill is open yet...could use something other than a Clif bar for breakfast. Nope...damn, ok - Clif bar consumed and down the road I go. The ride to Lolo is a mostly downhill trip with scenery much like the previous 8 miles since cresting Lolo Pass. Montana wilderness Into Lolo a little over an hour later...a little bit bigger of a place than the previous small towns traveled through on this adventure. First order of business, food. McDonald's...which I never eat at under normal circumstances...was the best candidate. While they didn't offer the "big breakfast" option that had been my ...
Morning came with the screech of an unknown animal off in the distance. It was probably a dog howling but in my half asleep head it was something spooky and maybe dangerous so sleep was over and it was time to get underway. Took a bit longer to get everything stowed on the bike; bivvy would not pack down to the size I needed it to get to and so it took a couple of tries to get it sort of right. I slept decently but was feeling a bit groggy with a little bit (maybe more than a little bit) of fatigue. My coffee habit/dependency was not being fulfilled despite bringing a full pack of Starbucks instant packs. The packs are really handy for a quick pickup; put one in a water bottle (make sure it's water of course... probably not delicious with Gatorade, etc) and shake well - instant caffeine. However, I drink a lot of coffee on a normal basis and while these helped it was not quite enough. Oh well, coffee can't be too far away, right? Wrong...coffee was still miles and hours away up...
NWS reports severe thunderstorm activity with heavy rain in NW Montana. This weather in conjunction with the melting snowpack increase the possibility of flooding in the area. Morning in Riggins, ID and time to go. Most of my kit was dried out and I had again repacked my gear, discarding a couple of items that didn't work or that I deemed too much weight to the benefit that they might bring. As I pushed my bike outside I found Stuart out there doing some drivetrain maintenance and I set forth doing a bit of my own. I found that if I spent a couple of minutes in the a.m. wiping/lubing the chain, wiping off the derailleurs, and (using a cut down toothbrush) cleaning the rear derailleur gears that the bike shifted a lot better and was overall more reliable than if I didn't. Having done that it was time to roll. As we slow-rolled down to the local C-store for supplies it...wait for it...began to rain. Great...just great - so much for drying anything out. yup, more rain...
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