It’s very rare that those who ride on the east coast, ever get a chance to experience riding on the other side of the continent. The continental divide separates East from West to a point. It’s not exactly the middle of the US but the difference in the ride is something that is just amazing. The further you go west, the more open and vast the landscape is. Keeping a mind to your gas milage and gas stops can play a larger part of your ride. Sticking to the Interstate highways helps though.

Leaving Loral and heading to Lolo Montana takes us over the continental divide. Heading west I think is the more impressive experience. The drop into Bute Montana is frankly thrilling. The “S” curves on the downhill are fun to take, passing trucks who are trying not to outrun their rigs (There are no runaway truck ramps).

On the west side of the divide the landscape is more rugged, the open spaces become smaller and smaller, and the hills and rock outcroppings become more prominent. And frankly, the scenery becomes, in my opinion, more spectacular. The hills and trees tower over the land and the rivers snake through them with small rapids and waterfalls.

After a long ride it felt good to get off the bike, and unfortunately, I think we hit the low side as far as accommodations went. We’ve been trying to stay in Best Westerns due to having rewards with them. In Keystone I realized that I had a Wyndham Account and so we added that to the list. In Lolo, due to a long stretch without available (on the map) gas stations, we wanted to book a place as close to the pass as possible. Well, our hotel had lukewarm showers (not hot) and a sink that only provided lukewarm water (no cold water). Plus, the fact that both of our Montana Hotels were EXPENSIVE…. just made it all that much more worse. So as for Montana, expect to pay more for hotels.