Eureka to Whitefish, MT

Miles 59.4
Ride time 4:18'
Elevation gain 2437'

We left Eureka this morning early and it was quite chilly as we started out. The sign said it was 39 degrees. We headed out through the town of Eureka, which looked interesting with a nice historic area. We then turned up a country road that was quite hilly and brutal on our not warmed up legs. We did a bit of climbing, then it leveled out a bit. It was a fairly quiet road with very little car traffic. We passed an elk farm, but the elk were too far away for a good picture. It was still overcast and cool so we did not take off any layers at our first Sag stop. We were then on State highway 93, the only road for all going to Whitefish.
This stretch of road was very bad. We lost any type of shoulder and the road was quite rough in spots. It is basically a 2 lane highway with RV's, logging trucks, big semi trucks and lots of other traffic screaming by at 75 miles and hour. Needless to say, it was not fun riding. I just wanted to get off that road as quickly as possible. Jennifer and Amy were of the same mindset so we just rode as fast as we could for about 18 miles. Then highway is hilly so we had hills to climb while trying not to get hit or blown off the road. I couldn't even really use my mirror that I have to watch the traffic behind me. It took total concentration to just pound out the miles and get the heck off of that road.
Finally, we turned off on a road called Farm to Market. It was a relief to be on a quiet stretch of beautiful country road. There were many large fancy ranches and some very pretty country homes. Unfortunately, this was only a short diversion, as soon we had to make a right and get back on 93 for the last 5 miles into Whitefish. It was another stressful stretch, but at least the last couple of miles the speed limit dropped down until it was 35.
Glacier Cyclery was on the way to the hotel so we stopped in to,check it out. It is a very nice shop and I ended up buying a new jersey that I will wear when we ride Going to the Sun Road. It started to rain as we left the shop, but our hotel was only a mile away. I was really glad to get in and even happier to find out that everyone else made it in safe as well.
This area is so pretty, maybe some day they will improve the roads to make it safer for cyclists. Tomorrow we ride into Glacier Park.
I wish Judy was here to ride in with me!