It was cold this morning. Bitterly cold. Not the day I would have chosen to ride the pass, but I don't get to choose the weather. Part of being on a bike, I guess.
The first eight miles weren't bad except for the cold and the occassional rain. It was the same grade we've been riding for two days, but then suddenly at mile eight it got steep. The last five miles were a 5%-8% grade, or so I've been told. It definetly took a fair amount of resolve to keep heading up that mountain, but when we hit the top, and it was all done, it wasn't that bad. People had been making Lolo into an almost insurmountable obstacle for the past week, so it was a worse climb in our heads than it was on the pavement.
We were wet and cold when we reached the pass, but victorious. We warmed up in the visitors center at the top with some complimentary beverages and then steeled ourselves for a seven mile descent.
It was fast, very fast, and wet, and cold all over again. We had to stop at one point and put socks over our hands because neither of us has full finger gloves. It was worth it though because waiting at the bottom of the hill was a teepee to get us out of the wind and rain, and hot springs to soak our tire muscles.
We soaked. Then we drank beers in the lodge to celebrate. Lolo is done. It's all down hill from here, right?
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