Knowing that I had a short ride ahead, I stayed in my tent until 7:30 in the morning. Even so, it was 40 degrees inside the tent, according to the little thermometer attached to my pack.

I didn’t leave until 9 am..

By 11:30, I reached Missoula. Once again in the big city, I felt restricted. For the first time since I left home, I put my watch on my wrist. Somehow, it seemed important to know what time it was in the city.

Missoula, Montana was sort of a Mecca for cyclists, since BikeCentennial headquarters is located there. One of the first things I did was locate the place and visit. It was nice to see the real faces behind the operation. All of them were friendly, casual people. No one was heavily dressed.

I left my signature in the register, of course, and noticed that Brian, Debbie, Peter, and Diane had all signed in two days earlier. The BikeCentennial person said that they had rented a car to drive up into Glacier National Park, and would probably be back that day or the next. I decided to wait an extra day, besides my usual Sunday rest, on the outside chance that I might team up with them. They had mentioned possibly taking the Northern Tier (a different route). If they did, I would never see them.

Just by chance, I went into a place called “Hansen’s Ice Cream Store,” and found that they had Gazpacho that was as good as any I’d ever had.

I was becoming an expert at spotting cheap motels. This time, however, I looked for a slightly nicer room. After all, Steph might turn up. A very nice room at the Thrifty Western Motel was $26.95 — or $29.95 for two. Okay, if she insisted, I would let her give me $3 to share the room…

As it turned out, I didn’t see any of Stephanie or the two couples. It was a fun town, though, and I stuffed myself silly at the Bonanza buffet next to the motel. The food bar was only $3.99! All the pickled herring I could eat!