Day 9 Missoula to Lincoln, MT

The morning started out with me, "It's 6:07!!"  Barb had set her alarm for 5:45, but unfortunately, her watch was still on Pacific Time.  No worries, though.  Baggage loading was at 6:45 and breakfast was at 7:00, so we made it!

Once we left the U of M, we got on Montana Route 200, and we stayed on it all day.  That might sound boring, but no.  It was another absolutely beautiful day to ride.

I rode much of the day with Hilary, a New Zealander who lives in Australia.  While we were riding, she said, "I hope someone can find me a beer."  A beer?  Oh, a bear!

Much of the day was spent following the Blackfoot River.

I'm rocking the sun protection.

Barb and Hilary are enjoying a break by the river.

I like these rural mailboxes.

Hilary's speeding down the open road.

Lots of "Big Sky" photo ops along the way today.

We passed by the Bob Marshall Wilderness area.  I like the sentence at the bottom of the sign.  "How many Brahms symphonies do we need?"

Hilary and I took a shade break by the river on the last push into Lincoln.

I entered the little town of Lincoln and immediately noticed something rubbing on my back fender.  It was rubbing so much, I couldn't move the tire.  Unfortunately, I ran over a nail.  Fortunately, it was a couple blocks to camp where our lovely mechanics were ready and waiting just for me!

Fun fact:  Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, had his cabin on the outskirts of town.  Not surprisingly, there's no sign announcing that as you enter Lincoln.