Ridge of the Rockies - Seeley Lake to Kalispell MT

Our final day for this tour - 93 miles from Seeley Lake to Kalispell.  It was cold and clear this morning, and myself and about a dozen other riders had to ride a mile and a half from our motel to the "main" motel at 6:15.  Temperature was around 34 degrees F.  Fortunately the wind was not up.  After a parking lot breakfast and group photo, we rolled out a little after 7.  By then the temperature had dropped 3 degrees.  I had arm and leg warmers, a vest, and some lobster claw gloves, but it was not fun for the first 25 miles.  The tall pine trees ensured we were in the shade, and when the sun's rays finally hit the pavement it was a welcome sight.

I had ridden in this part of Montana 40 years ago as a participant in the Tour of the Swan River Valley (also known as TOSRV West).  It is a beautiful area, but we did have to be on the alert due to a fair amount of traffic on the two lane highways.  On a couple of occasions an oncoming vehicle came over into our lane to pass, but there was enough room on the shoulder for us.  If it had been a logging truck we would have had to bail out and get on the weeds.

Flathead Lake is a great place for summer recreation.  On another occasion (Sept 1972) I rode in a bike race that started at the southern end (Polson) and went all the way around this lake to finish in Polson.

Riders were disassembling their bikes and packing them in the motel parking lot when Jack and I arrived.  PAC Tour provides a banquet at the end of the tour, along with a slide show.  It's been another great tour.

Group photo before starting on our final day.  Most of us were shivering!