Travel

At Missoula Hostel, Spring Arrives With First Long-Distance Biker

By Dave Loos, 6-17-11

	Hutchins Hostel in Missoula, where there is no shortage of parked bikes in summer.

The first bicyclist arrived in early May, and I can’t even tell you what his name was.

He was from Kansas, about 1,400 miles into a several-month long journey on his way to Fairbanks, Alaska, where he’ll be attending graduate school in the fall. He still had about 2,200 miles to go on a trip that will take him through Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon Territory and then finally Alaska. As itineraries go, it was similar in length but much different in route than the typical bicyclist who stays here at the hostel. The vast majority of bicyclists—and by my rough estimation about 200 bunked down for a night or more last year—are nearing the end of an epic 4,262-mile trip on the TransAmerica trail, a route that takes them from Yorktown, Virginia, to Astoria, Oregon.

And while Biker No. 1’s route may have been different, everything else about him was similar to the TransAmerica riders: He arrived on a loaded-down touring bicycle and an attached single-wheel trailer, all of it meticulously packed and waterproofed, down to the route map across the handle-bars. And like most bikers who arrive in Missoula, a warm shower and high-calorie meal were his top two priorities, not necessarily in that order.

But I didn’t get his name. That may be because—thanks to a fun arrangement with the Missoula-based Adventure Cycling Association—the first long-distance biker who checks in with the folks at ACA each year receives a goodie bag full of various freebies and discounted items, including one free night at the hostel. That’s no excuse for forgetting his name (or forgetting to make a copy of his ID, which I do with every other guest), but you’ll have to forgive me for being a bit discombobulated—the first bicyclist of the year if my favorite sign of spring. It means tourism season in western Montana has begun, and there will be no letting up until at least Labor Day. That’s 100-plus days of bicyclists, backpackers, wilderness students, international travelers, and, yes, even the occasional hitchhiker (one of my favorite guests last summer was a Belgian man hitchhiking his way from Tierra del Fuego to Prudoe Bay, Alaska.)

By definition, hostel travelers are extroverts. They stay here not just because it’s affordable, but because a hostel provides a social atmosphere impossible to find at any hotel or motel. Whether it’s a group of Wild Rocky Field Institute (WRFI) students using the hostel as a beginning and ending point to their outdoor adventure, a 76-year-old grandmother in town for her grandson’s rodeo or a middle-age German couple bicycling cross-country, there is also no shortage of interesting guests. They are the visitors who help to keep this city so vibrant, whether it’s during peak tourism season or the dead of winter.

Coming up on Adventure Rockies: Q&As and other profiles of hostel guests as they roll into town over the next few months.

And I’ll be sure to get all of their names. I won’t make that mistake again.

Dave Loos is a freelance writer and the owner/manager of Hutchins Hostel. He has never biked the TransAmerica Trail, but envies those who have.

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