Today’s route was all about frontage roads, which means these are the side roads that typically parallel larger highways. Everything started out as expected even finding another dirt trail that went on for several miles. Lisa Marie followed along as much as possible but ultimately we ended up at a barricade . Based on my route I had anticipated this. But understanding that this could be an issue because of some information we had received about construction on a bridge I thought she should wait and I might need to return. Sure enough, about two and a half miles down the trail I came to a tunnel which I did not know about which was not passable. Returning to Lisa Marie we use the car to figure out what the options were. Looking at the map and traveling up the I-90 interstate, we realized the bridge was not passable and my only option was to ride a few miles up the interstate along a super wide shoulder. This was not what I wanted to do, but the traffic was light and intermittent, and the shoulder was wide. Making my way along the interstate, believe it or not I was comfortable. The shoulder made all the difference in the world. Once leaving the interstate, the frontage roads continued for most of the day meandering through the countryside where we saw the back sides of these little towns. My perception of these towns from the interstate was not good. But when you ride along the back roads, you see a side of these towns that everyone always misses. There were so many cool little communities, parks, business, and homes, so often overlooked. After taking some time to enjoy a light lunch, Lisa Marie and I continued along the back roads. The route eventually led to another diversion. The road came to a gate which was clearly signifying a change of ownership or private property. Unfortunately this meant I needed to ride another few miles on the Interstate. By the way in Montana it is legal to ride a bike on the Interstate unless it is posted otherwise. YES that’s crazy. Today was a much shorter day from yesterday but tomorrow is another day.
Insights from Lisa Marie
Getting up and listening to the river right outside our patio door was a great start to another biking day. Our route took a change very quickly this morning. 4 miles in, the trail that had been dirt became pretty rocky. Then we came to a point no car was going past the barrier. I waited while Norm biked ahead to see if he could continue. Nope so we turned around. He had to get on the interstate so I went ahead to wait. At an 80 mph speed limit there was no stopping for him or pictures 😳. When we got on to the road that ran along I90 it was another great scenic drive to Superior where we stopped for lunch. Another hiccup came in the afternoon when in going ahead to scope out this one part of the route I came to a sign that said no outlet. For those who know me I of course didn’t stop and kept going till I was forced to stop😉. The big iron gates, though they were open, to me meant this was now a private road. Flashback to West Virginia to another story of gates and private roads and God reminded me of the sign-we shoot first, ask questions later. Again I digress….anyway I relayed this information to Norm and we changed route again. Made it to St. Regis with no other issues.
