Coincidental

For the last two days, we have been running south into Montana to avoid the rotten weather that seems to be trying to surround us and makr our riding lives miserable. Yesterday we missed the rain forecast for southern Alberta, but we were cold (except for Jim with his heated vest - the young feline!) and rode several hundred kilometres in high winds that made riding in a straight line exceedingly difficult. When we arrived in Kalispell last night, we had a more optimistic view of our chances of having a pleasant ride today after seeing the weather forecasts.

We rode out of Kalispell to 'cloudy with sunny periods' conditions but it was about 60F and at 60 mph the wind chill is considerable. Consequently, I was getting close to being cold. as we arrived at Polson, MT, on Flathead Lake. We pulled in to the Starbucks in Safeway for a coffee and a break. I joined the line behind a tall man who had a little girl with him. His seven or eight year-old joined later. He asked where we were coming from and I told him, 'Kalispell'. He asked where I was from and when I said Canada, he asked where, I told him British Columbia - Vancouver Island.

He said that he knew a guy from Vancouver Island who owned a business for about ten years. I asked him the name of the guy and he said, "Michael Golinski.' When I told him that I knew Michael Golinski as well as his wife and daughter, Grace, he was as amazed as I was to hear Michael's name. He introduced himself as Chance Cook, and said that he lived in Whitefish, MT. He knew Michael from the bicycle industry but got out of it when he had to make a  living. He had his daughter take a photo of the two of us, got my name and said that he was going to send it to Michael. 

When I think of coincidences that have happened in my life, that one must rank near the top. If I hadn't gone to the washroom and joined the line after the other guys, and he hadn't been in Polson, a long way from Whitefish, if we hadn't begun talking in the line, and he hadn't mentioned Michael's name, we would never have made the connection. At the end of it all, he even bought me a coffee. All in all it was quite amazing.

When we left Starbucks rain was spitting dwn but we headed south with the hope that we wouldn't get wet. Several miles south it began to drizzle but we could see heavy clouds and rain in the direction we were heading. It began raining more heavily, and by the time we reached St. Ignace, it was a full-on downpour. At 55 mph with cars passing, it was difficult to see. Several kilometres south of the village I saw an interpretive centre in time to pull off the highway and head for shelter in the washroom. Garry was there with me and Tom and Jim arrived later after having stopped to put on their rain gear.

Apparently this is rattlesnake territory and there was a sign warning about them. Although with the way the rain was pounding down, any rattlesnake with any rattlesnake intelligence whatsoever, would have crawled under a rock and gone to sleep for a few days. A native Indian guy was holed up in the building as well. He told us that there used to be many rattlesnakes on the grounds but since he was hired, he keeps the grass cut so the rattlesnakes don't usually show up in the short grass.

There were none out in the rain today.

The rain eased off a bit so we made a run for it. In the distance we could see more heavy rain falling but had no choice to keep riding. Again, we rode into a downpour which continued for more than thirty miles (fifty kilometres). Riding in rain like that with cars meeting and passing an throwing up road dirt with their spray made visibility very difficult. 

Just north of Missoula the rain stopped and the final 25 kilometres to Grizzly H-D was done in sunny, dry conditions. While we were there we saw a bike rider walking around the dealership with a semi-automatic pistol on his right hip. In Montana the Second Amendment is taken really seriously. Open Carry is legal and many people take advantage of that fact. At Glacier H-D in Kalispell, there was a notice on the front door encouraging anyone who wished to wear a gun in the dealership, to do so. Still, as a Canadian, that is a really alien concept and I believe that we are the better because of it.

We stayed at the dealership long enough to warm up and to get a room for the night. It was only about two miles from there to the hotel and it was easy to find, so our riding day ended rather nicely considering the misery that we had endured earlier.

Later, after grabbing a bit of lunch, Jim and I rode to Missoula Triump to check out their models. They have the largest display of new Hinckley Triumphs that I have seen. 

Now for more coincidences. It seems that the manager of the dealership is an American who married a Canadian woman and was working in Canada. He worked at Savage Cycles, the Triumph dealer in Vicotria, then at SG, where Jim and I bought our Honda CB 1100A motorcycles. He also worked at Blackfoot Cycles in Calgary where Jim had worked in the mid 1970s.

We also met a husband and wife from Chilliwack. The woman was checking out a Triumph Bobber and she had recently bought an Indian Scout 60. The other guy there had just bought a Thunderbird Commander and was taking it back to Taber, AB. It was Canada day at Triumph in Missoula this afternoon.

Tomorrow, the weather is supposed to improve and we plan to ride the Lolo Pass and end up in Liwiston-Clarkston, ID, tomorrow after an approximately 300 km ride. The Lolo Pass has been rated as one of the best rides in the US and the roads snakes and twists for sixty-seven miles. It should be fun.