Ok, we’re back! Got settled in yesterday, and today, we go back to Rattlesnake. We’ll be doing a different route today than we did the last time here. THIS time, We’ll go the right direction!

The ride started out pretty well, though a bit late, and it was slow going. we took the split we SHOULD have taken last time, and it got kinda steep. We were NOT expecting that. I wanted to go all the way to the top and then come down the way we did last year, but we were both kind of out of it, so we changed plans, and came back down what they call “Ewok”, which is a trail that parallels the road all the way down to the parking lot – about a mile and a half run or so. Well, “all the way down” from where the road is, the trail actually came down from a lot higher up. Anyway, I was expecting a lot of wiggly, through the trees stuff, and it WAS, but what I did NOT expect, and it took a lot away from it, is that the trail was full of stutter bumps. Like divots, or holes, in the trail, that seriously disrupt enjoyment! For one, your tires lose contact with the ground, so turning or braking becomes a lot more iffy. So I slowed down, and that did take a lot of the fun out of it – that, and it’s a two-way trail, and I DID meet someone coming the other way, so that adds a little excitement as well. Here’s a photo just before going into “Ewok”:

That photo is of where we came from – we’d been flying down that road about half a mile or so, just after a pretty good downhill section. We came from over on the right side of those trees. The rest of the ride could have been a lot better, but for the stutter bumps.

Anyway – lunch! Found the Iron Horse Bar & Grill, so off we go to get something to eat. And here is where I got a bad taste of Missoula. Oh, no, not from the restaurant, but from the city itself. We park on the street, and there are meters. 30 minutes for a quarter. I put in four (4) quarters, so I can get two hours. Do I get two hours? NO!!! I get 1 hour and 54 minutes! Here’s a photo:

NOT HAPPY! Bad enough you cannot park for more than two hours, THEY RIP YOU OFF!

Lunch, however, was quite good – we both had the Nachos, and boy, do you get a pile of them!

I had a Guinness with them, The Bear had a Cold Smoke Porter. Which reminds me – that’s what we drank day before yesterday at Mooses Saloon, except at Mooses, THEY WATER IT DOWN. Both of them. Both brews felt very watery, and today cinched it. I’m going to find out where I can file a complaint.

Oh, yeah – today’s ride, elevation profile:

No wonder I hurt! Look at the last quarter mile of climbing, just before we crest! Yeah, I walked that.