We were able to ride the entire day today! There was only a few thousand feet of climbing, and the rest was almost entirely downhill. That made it fun to get in those 80 miles— one group averaged 20mph! The scenery was quite nice too, as there are some cool rock formations and hills surrounding the road. Though the AQI was safe for riding, we could still tell that the horizon was a bit smokey— not the best sign for what the next few days could bring. But tomorrow is our rest day, so we don’t have to worry about the air. Anyway, it felt really good to be back out cycling and putting in work!

Missoula is quite a large city compared to the places we’ve been riding through (pop. 70,000+) so it’s super nice to have a bunch of stores, restaurants, and other fun things to do within a few miles of the stayover. We got groceries and ice cream, watched people shred at the skate park, and explored a bit. Tomorrow we’ve got two things planned; white water rafting and doing laundry!

— Marielle