Day 6, July 31: a ride like today's comes only once in a blue moon

(low resolution photos)

Missoula, MT to Lincoln, MT http://cyclemeter.com/85ef50859d8f1e5c/Cycle-20150731-0859

Distance: 81.5

Riding time: 6:01

Average speed: 13.4 mph

Maximum speed: 31.2 mph

Weather: 62° when I started at about 9 o'clock going up to the low 90s in the afternoon with some cirrus clouds in the morning and almost no clouds in the afternoon. Winds were variable at about 5 mph from the south and west, so I had some mild crosswinds and tailwinds.

Terrain: uphill 3424 feet, downhill 2103 feet, the route profile below shows a gradual climb

Today's route was very easy to navigate. I took Montana 200 all the way from Missoula to Lincoln. It is a smooth, 2-lane road with a speed limit of 70 miles mph for cars and 65 miles mph for trucks. Fortunately the shoulder was wide for most of the route. Today I got many nice views of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot Rivers.

Typical speed limit for Montana state highways. On this day's route, most of the shoulders were wide, unlike the one in this picture.

Fishers on the Clark Fork River.

For part of the day I rode with a group of three cross-country riders, Mike, his daughter Casey, and her boyfriend Adrian. They carried a lot of stuff on their bikes, including camping equipment. Mike's bike and gear weighs 97 pounds, Adrian's is 90 pounds and Casey's is 55 pounds. My bike and gear is 46 pounds or 57 if I fill my water bladders. Nonetheless, they maintain an impressive rate of speed, being young and strong riders. At the end of the day I met Adrian at a grocery market in Lincoln and I made a comment about the Blue Moon beer he had just bought. My remark reminded him that tonight's full moon is in fact a blue moon. I didn't know until he told me that a blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month. The blue moon is now visible from my motel parking lot.

From left: Adrian, Casey, and Mike. Mike's bike and gear weigh 97 pounds.

Since 1953 Montana has been erecting traffic fatality markers where people have been killed on the state's roads. Part of the idea was to reduce highway deaths by raising awareness of the problem. By one measure it has not done well. Montana had the third highest highway fatality rate of all the states in 2013. Today I took pictures of all of the traffic fatality markers I saw and I have posted them below. I probably missed some. The first three pictures concern one accident in which two high school freshmen girls were killed by a 29-year-old man who had taken prescription painkillers and had been drinking. The remaining photos are posted in the order in which I saw them. Most of the fatalities involved people in cars and a few involved pedestrians. A global movement has arisen to memorialize cyclists killed on roads by means of ghost bikes-a bicycle painted white, sometimes with a placard.