PAC Tour 2021 - Day 6 Sandpoint to St. Regis , MT

 Garmin

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Relive

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Long day in the saddle...any ride over 100 miles or over 6 hours qualifies as one needs to hydrate and eat well & enough to “survive” such an effort.  Fortunately, the weather was only a bit smokey and cool in the morning with temps rising into the 90’s by mid afternoon.  Tailwinds until the last turn westward at around 125 miles helped.  As did various pace lines with strong riders.

Mike’s close friend Ned from Missoula drove to the start from Missoula after just getting home from a business trip in L.A., arriving after 1am with a wake up call at 5 and the ride start at 6.  As this was his only opportunity to see Mike, he wanted to ride to St. Regis where a friend would eventually get him back to his car in Sandpoint.  Not sure if he really understood what he was getting into, but let it be said, he made it the whole way and with newfound respect for PAC Tour and us knuckleheads.

We rode along Lake Pend Oreille at the start which was calm and scenic. We were again joined by Bruce & Stacy who are vacationing in Sandpoint for the first part of the ride before turning around.  Pace lines were the order of the day which kept the average speeds high.  I think everyone was a bit anxious for this day given it’s length, a bit of climbing, and the hot smokey weather. So everyone was on their game to get the ride done.  None more so than myself and PA John Newton as together we road the last 32 miles together at a fairly high speed....that is until we turned westward towards St. Regis and along the downward flowing Clark Fork River.  So we were going slightly uphill against a headwind...not an ideal combination. (BTW...we see a lot of the Clark Fork River over the next 2 days.) In fairness, John pulled (led our 2 man effort) more than I but together we made it into St. Regis for chocolate milkshake recovery drinks.  A quick bike wash, clothes wash, shower and massages, along with a time zone change (losing an hour) and it was time for dinner at about the only restaurant in town.  Jaspers....not to be recommended as the service was slow, the food ok, and overpriced.  We made up for it, partially, by getting a “skyscraper” (24oz) of PBR at the Conoco gas station! And off to bed at our Super 8 Motel, which very surprisingly has improved their rooms from our Crossing in 2010...at least this one! 

It was a good day, all in all.  Felt that I had the right level of mental & physical preparation for the longest stage so far.  Though the Winthrop to Coulee City segment with temps approaching 110f was the hardest so far.  Onwards!