Thursday 13^th May, Lolo Hot Springs Motel Montana.

13.45

Yesterday

We visited the HQ of the American Adventure Cycling Association yesterday morning. . They are the people who gave Mike the idea for our trip. Full of happy, shining, young cycling enthusiasts, keen to give you coffee, bagels and ice-cream (actually they were really nice people). We had our picture taken and it is now on their wall of honour, If only the poor suckers realised that I intended to go back that night and blow the entire place to kingdom come.

I ended up watching the match in Red's Bar and Grill which was empty apart from Mike and myself and a small group of locals watching a baseball version of Match of the Day. Mike (not a football addict) left at half- time to pick up the laundry, so to say the atmosphere was electric would be over-egging it slightly. I was joined for the extra-time period by another Mike, one of my new-found friends from the Union Bar the previous night. What are the odds against the entire audience for the Europa Cup Final in Missoula Montana (Maybe the entire audience in Montana) being called Michael? . The result was typically Fulhamish. A heroic failure and in a way I am glad it's over. ( “I can handle despair. It's the hope....”). Red’s was a nice bar and, in an odd way, it will be one of my abiding memories of this trip.

Mike ( the American one) told me that he was a Rolfer. When he first announced this I started backing away slightly but it turns out that they are like chiropractors but work on muscle rather than bone. He said there are only three of them in Montana. I wasn't quite sure how to react to this so I nodded and said "Ahhh". I find this usually works.

Dinner was in a lively bar called the Old Post and after a farewell visit to the Union Bar, I floated home, deciding magnanimously to spare the Adventure Cycling Association in the end.

I liked Missoula.

Today.

We had a very easy 36 mile run to Lolo Hot Springs today. Warm sunshine and a lovely pine tree-lined road. We got here at 11 and dithered for some time as to whether we should go on to Lowell. It’s 85 miles away and would have taken at least 7 hours. The weather was good with little or no wind but there was nowhere to stop on the way and there would be no food when we got there (the restaurant is open tomorrow but not tonight). In the end we decided to stay at Lolo. It’s a small holiday centre consisting of a couple of log cabin motels, a bar, a store and the Hot Springs themselves. The bar has wi-fi and I am sitting here typing this and having a beer while Mike samples the Hot Springs. Each to his own.

Tomorrow will still be a long day but we’ll have an early start and the forecast is good, so fingers crossed.