Today we rode from Red Meadow Campground, Montana, US to Columbia Falls, Montana, US. Very sunny weather with no clouds, warm at moments. Road conditions included gravel roads and paved roads. Highlights of the day include downhill from Red Meadow, scenery around Whitefish Lake, eating at a sports bar.

Riding statistics: on Sunday, August 7, 2022, day 7 on the route, it took 06:06h (03:34h moving time), between 07:14 and 13:21, to cover 67 km (42 miles), including 419 m (1375 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 19 km/h (12 mph), while reaching a maximum speed of 48 km/h (30 mph). During this ride the average temperature was 20 °C (68 °F) with a minimum of 3 °C (37 °F) and a maximum of 50 °C (122 °F).

Totals: So far, it took 1 days, 20 hours, 29 minutes, and 37 seconds of cycling time to cover 634 km (394 miles), including 7053 m (23141 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 14.6 km/h (9.1 mph).

As on several other days, we had set our alarms at 6am so we could leave around 7am. Today was cold and everything was wet from the damp, really wet. The rain fly of my tent weighted four times more than normal. From the group, we were the first ones to leave the campground and start the ride to Whitefish. It was a long way down, which was nice after the uphill we did yesterday at the end of the day. However, with the cold (5 degrees Celsius, 41 degrees Fahrenheit), shade side of the mountain, and going down, it was still cold. We had our gloves and puffy jackets on until we were about 10km (6 miles) before Whitefish. Only then we removed a several layers of clothing.

While nearing Whitefish, we had to go around Whitefish lake. Just before we arrived at the lake, the road surface changed from (nice) gravel into pavement. Whitefish lake is a beautiful lake with incredible houses at the shores and the surrounding mountain sides, all within a pine tree forest. Even tough we were on pavement, we still had to work hard. The road kept going up and down. Eventually we ended up in a main street of Whitefish. There were a lot of people outside, probably still morning traffic, maybe also because of the beautiful weather. Arriving there at 9:50am, we checked for the nearest bike shop (Glacier Cyclery & Nordic) to check Anna’s front wheel. It may not be true anymore. However, when checking with a finger when turning the wheel, it seems to be the tire and not the rim. Unfortunately, the shop was closed on Sundays. Fortunately, there was another shop (Boedie Cycles), however, that one opened at 11am.

We decided to go for another breakfast / lunch at Loula’s Cafe. We had to wait for about 30 minutes before we could get in. We used the time to make phone calls to the loved ones at home. It is always nice to hear their voices (and see their faces via a video-call). We had a nice breakfast (I ate pancakes, Anna ate a big omelet). After we finished breakfast, we headed towards the other bike shop.

It was a fifteen-minute bike ride before we arrived at the bike shop. The kind guy helped us immediately. He could confirm all is OK. It was indeed a wobble in the tire, and there was not much that could be done to fix it (besides a new tire, but the current one still good enough). We had a chat with the guy and after that we continued our ride towards Columbia Falls.

The ride to Columbia Falls was pretty straight-forward. It was a short distance to ride, all on paved roads. Nice to see the area though. In Columbia Falls we checked-in at the local RV park for a tent site where we could pitch both tents. A bit expensive (although we shared), but very good facilities. The showers were great, good laundry at site, not too expensive shop for the necessities, etc. First, setup tent and cleanup. Dirty clothing in the laundry machine and dryer. And we could use a shower ourselves as well. I felt reborn after cleaning up. When waiting for the laundry we could sit on some chairs in the laundry room. Fortunately, it had air conditioning, it was afternoon and really hot. After doing the laundry and cleanups, we decided to walk into the town center to check upon the Subway, do groceries and have a burger in a local sports bar. In the sports bar it was the first time this trip that I saw someone (an ugly woman) visibly carry a gun. Unfortunately, the Subway only opened after 9am, so we could not stop by when leaving town next morning.

Back at the RV park we saw that Dee and Taylor had arrived as well. They had the tent site next to ours. We liked that; they were nice company to have around.

We even had a power outlet at our camp site, so we could charge all our electronic devices during the night. We went into our tents not too late since we would like to get up early again.

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