Today is my wedding anniversary so woke to a nice message from Christine. I decided to stick around Libby today, check out the town & relax.

MT State Hwy2 passes the north edge of town. As expected, it’s really two towns.

The highway part with its mess of motels, gas stations & fast food outlets.

The other part, is the small, sleepy, administrative city, not pretty but claims to be “historic” going back to its beginning as a mining & logging activities around 1919. The mountain backdrop & a convenient stopover cover its main attributes.

Finally the sprinklers stopped, allowing me to get out of tent & to the bathroom. My morning was spent working through work emails whilst my kit dried out.

The restaurant opened at 11 am. Over coffee, the manager, Misty, was horrified & very apologetic of sprinklers ordeal. By then I was over it

It made for a good story & had used the forced delay well. Also I had only planned to bike about 5 hrs. Nevertheless she insisted on recompensing me with an American hamburger & coffee.

Misty is a lovely lady. As a child, she was in a fire accident, receiving serious burns & lung damage. Today she runs, plays golf & has a fuller life than most. Spirit of Montana I guess. The chef sold me his i-phone cable so another problem solved.

Misty allowed me to take her picture, she gave me a big hug, told me to be safe, & I was off!!

Rexford makes out to be a “town” but is a big & very popular campground on the edge of an enormous lake. Lake Koocanusa, A reservoir that straggles Canada & USA. The name comes from a competition winner – made up of local Indian tribe, USA & Canada.

First 20 miles follow the river.

This is serious bear county

After the bridge I came across this magnificent memorial to old Bob Tom Jim. On Eagles Wings 27 April 97. Decorated with Beer bottles cartridges bait, plastic flowers & angelic pigs?!

8 miles on, I came across an enormous black bear (twice the size of any seen on the Divide last year). I rang my bell, shouted ‘Yo Bear’ as you do, but he did not budge. Only option was to wait him out. As it happens, a pickup truck came by and off he strolled.

Today was a tough ride – 60 miles with a couple of long climbs. I hit Rout567 around 7:30pm. My choice, if there was one, was to cross onto the next dirt road, back into grizzly bear country & wild camp or follow the metalled valley road down into Libby – 20 miles south.

Today, I met fellow rider, Aaron. Riding north. He was riding Segment 1 S > N & had come access only one rider heading south. I could be in for a lonely ride???

Today I leave Whitefish, or as Tim would have it, the monument to recreation & fun! I can see his point.

Loaded ready for a lift to the border

We had a lot of fun & enjoyed educating each other in the peculiar ways of each others ways & politics & other stuff.

Together they make a great team.

Jenni had been a project manager in the construction industry but left to take stock & plan a new career. Meanwhile she is an Über drive. Unlike U.K., here taxis are scarce & these guys are a godsend.

Tim had been the ultimate multi-day cycle traveller.

Tim & his well travelled bike

11 years on the road & many successful books to his credit. Check out:

The road that has no end

Down the road in South America

Down the road in south east Asia

Downtheroad.org.

With rental properties from his boos, Tim is also now a temporary teacher. The kids love him. When kitting out in Kalispell, we met an old student who was so keen & proud to let Tim know of her college plans. Still has the itching to maintain shallow roots, always with an eye on the next state. He says he had a midlife crisis & went normal but will that last??!

2:25pm we departed the Canadian border together. Tim rode the first 10 miles before heading back to the car. Now the ride begins!!

25 miles in & headed 7 miles off route to Redford campground. Paid $15 for a pitch & show my spot. After settling in for the night I heard a gentle shower of water repeatedly sweeping over my tent. I was in the Center of a sprinkler system. I can vouch for their efficiency – by morning everything was soaking wet!!

Today was spent food shopping, wandering around arts fair & final tweaks to my bike. Very pleasant & restful.

In the evening we headed for The Great Northern Barn Grill for a farewell dinner. This is a very popular but odd place. It collects & displays the signs of every business in the area that has failed!

Despite this, the food & iPA were spot on.

The Glacier Cyclery in Whitefish had the kit I needed so looking good!  I could now plan my start. Since arriving the weather had been wet so decided to head out on Sunday with the forecasted improvement.  

Independence Day & nothing had arrived at the airport.  TSA were to blame, not the airline, so these needed to sort the matter out.  A lost property application was made & was assured of a reply within 5 days!!

Today was the day that America got back at me. All the useful shops were closed to celebrate getting one up on the English. Instead a pleasant day was had chatting & chilling with Jenni & Tim. Plus catching up on jet lag.

I had discovered Jennifer Howell & Tim Travis, through Warm Showers, a club of likeminded people who share their homes with other cyclists. These guys were warm & welcoming & I hit it off with them straight away.

I took my hosts to breakfast at my favourite Swift Creek Cafe before returning back to their garage to rebuild my bike.

Me my box & Porter (dog)

Turned out that when airport security had emptied my box, on repacking they failed to replace the stem & seatpack clamp.

After 3 hrs on the phone taking to machines & people in India We were informed to expect their arrival on the late evening flight.

So with that reassurance, the afternoon was given to a little pleasure. With Jen at the wheel, the three of us drove to Glacier National Park. It straggles the US & CA & is defined by the section of the high continental divide containing peaks & ridges, deep broad valleys & of course glaciers.

Jenni & Tim

Riding up to Logan Pass, we passed alongside a 50m wall, saw rivers that fell nearly vertically from the sky & lots of stunning scenery. All of this & only one hour drive out of Whitefish.

Manchester farewell to my wife Christine

4:30am UK, 2 July, Christine & I set off for Manchester Airport with my bike boxed. It was daylight already! I knew it was going to be a tough journey, Kalispell MT is not the easiest destination – 3 flights and 24 hours from home. My reward is Whitefish. A delightful town surrounded by mountains, forests, lakes & bears. It’s by pure chance I’m here 2 yrs in a row. Last year I was riding the Divide & learned to bikepack. Lessons learnt from today’s journey – stay clear of e-booking companies & never, ever fly into Newark for a connecting flight out of Laguardia!! With only 3.5hrs, I needed a very expensive taxi ride & only got to the Denver departure gate with 5 min to spare.

On my arrival at Kalispell, 9:30 pm mountain time, I was warmly greeted by Tim & Jenifer who sped me to their home in Whitefish & a nice, comfy bed!!