Day 7 Thompson Falls, Idaho (82 miles)

Located in a beautiful valley in Northwest Montana along the Clark Fork River. Thompson Falls is situated close to the Idaho border along highway 200 and is surrounded by National Forests.

Today the riders took their time getting into Thompson Falls. They pretty much all finished within an hour of each other. Chuck said that the pace liners even slowed down today. Who wouldn't... it is such a beautiful area. Almost half of them were together to take a picture at the Lake Pend Orielle overlook. Chuck said that there was just a touch of snow on the mountains behind the lake. The riders also entered their third state today.


Group of bikers at the Lake Pend Orielle overlook

He got another flat today, so he changed out both his tube and tire. He brought only three tubes, as he didn't have any flats the first time across the country, so now he will have to buy more tubes in Missoula.

The weather was mostly in the 80-90 degree range. Chuck says that he thinks that his odometer/speedometer read 100 degrees at one time. Still, it is a far cry from 120 degrees that we had two years ago going into Thompson Falls. I remember that it was so hot that people's tires exploded at the high school, from just sitting outside in the sun.

This year they are staying at the middle school instead of the high school. They had dinner at Minnie's diner. Chuck said he had a burger, fries, and a salad. Yum!


Walking to dinner at Minnies

Tonight he is sleeping in the gym. He remembers what the mos
quitoes are like in Montana and of course the train tracks are right behind the school. You hear a lot of trains at night when you are trying to sleep on the Big Ride. Good night Big Riders. You'll need a good night's rest, because tomorrow is your first century ride into Missoula. Good Luck!




Above are pictures that Chuck took today