Local cycling events hosted this summer With the pandemic receding, two popular bike-related events are back on the calendar this year: The Polson Triathlon and Mission Mountain Area Pedal to Plate. The Polson Triathlon on Saturday, Aug. 21, is billed as offering “exquisite suffering, pure Montana style.” Race director Matt Seeley notes that the turnout was disappointing for the seventh annual race, held in 2019. However, a deluge of email inquiries over the last two months – mostly from out-of-state athletes “really wanting it to happen” – convinced him to put the triathlon back on the schedule this summer. This Olympic-distance event includes a 1.5 km swim on Flathead Lake, a 40 km bike ride and a 10 km run. Registration for teams or solo participants opened June 1 and closes at 11 p.m. Aug. 17. Register at www.polsontriathlon. com; email Seeley at
seeleyspeedwagon@gmail.com or call 406-871-0216 for more information. Mission Mountain Area Pedal to Plate, Sept. 25, traces a new route this year. The 30-mile scenic bike ride begins and ends at the historic Red Barn in the heart of St. Ignatius, and takes participants along the base of the mountains, visiting four local farms along the way. In addition to breakfast morsels and a farm-fresh picnic lunch, riders will feast on a farm-to-table dinner at the Red Barn, with a free beer ticket for those 21 and over, local music and an artisan’s farmers market. Registration, which is limited to 125, costs $60 through Aug. 1 and $70 thereafter; sign up at www. bikereg.com/MMAPP or learn more at www.facebook.com/Pedal2Plate/. Story by Kristi Niemeyer for the Valley Journal, photo by Rob Zolman
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