Bikers share the road and lend a hand

The 370 riders who amassed at the Libby Chamber of Commerce at 8 a.m. for the start of the Scenic Tour of Kootenai River ride, whether they were taking part of the 98-mile or 45-mile loop ride, were in for an exceptional day. A cool morning gave way to temperatures in the mid-70s, splendid weather for the Spandex-clad riders.

There was no bell or gun required to signify the start to the ride. A few words of caution and a call for riders to be courteous was followed by a momentary block of Highway 2 provided by Lincoln County Sheriff’s vehicles so the flock of riders could hit the road unimpeded.

“How beautiful the area is and the lack of traffic lent itself to a great day,” said event organizer Susie Rice. “I realized when I was driving up the Yaak on Saturday it happened to be just a really low-traffic day, so that made it really nice too. Most of the vehicles I did encounter were really very polite and we had great police support, I mean everything just worked out beautifully. And we didn’t run out of any food, so that’s important,” she chuckled.

For both rides there were a total of eight pit stops providing hunger and thirst quenching options for participants. But one of the favorites had to be at the cabin of Jay Ramlo.

Located about 12 miles up Pipe Creek Road, the infamous pie stop is a chance for riders to indulge in some sweet eats with the finish line looming following the downhill homestretch.

Ramlo’s summer retreat has been a refueling stop for nearly every year STOKR has been operating. “One year Susie asked me if she could use the place after the previous year’s snowstorm caused problems at the summit stop. So I mailed her a key and that was the start,” Ramlo said. 

After hearing rave reviews from some of the participants, Ramlo said he thought he needed to come up from his home in Helena to see what the fuss was all about. It’s become an annual trip for Ramlo who was on hand with his son to enjoy the day.

“Perfect.” “Amazing.” “Beautiful.” Those were just some of the adjectives riders relaxing on Ramlo’s property used to describe the day.

Brightly dressed riders were strewn across the yard, laying on blankets and soaking their feet in the small creek that ran behind the cabin.

Eighth-year rider, Bryan Anderson of Spokane, Wash., had nothing but good things to say about the day. “On this ride I’ve seen everything from freezing rain to snow at the pass. This is one of the best rides in many years—chalk this up to a great day,” Anderson said.

Inside the Ramlo cabin, a multitude of pies lined the kitchen table where around 10 pie ladies helped to cut and serve the offerings. One of those ladies was 13-year veteran Beverly Jacobs.

“It’s just a lot of fun,” said Jacobs. “The pies seem to be a highlight for the whole ride.”

Jacobs held the sign-in book and shared stories with the riders who openly engaged in conversation with the long-time volunteer. 

“The bikers are so gracious,” she said. “They feel like Habitat for Humanity is such a good cause they’re very glad to be a part of it because of that.”

On the day before the ride, 10 STOKR riders participated in a day of work putting in the floor trusses and boards among other tasks.

Also joining the team was a handful of other volunteers and two members of the Las Cruces, N.M., chapter of Habitat for Humanity, crew boss Pete Pemberton, and Care-A-Vanner coordinator Dyana Todd.

Pemberton will be leading other volunteers throughout the summer to organize workflow on this year’s Habitat home. “This is play for me,” he said on Friday while directing the workers. “This and maybe a little bit of golf.”

On Friday, Pemberton had just taken over the reigns as crew boss from Mick Shea, who had performed the duty up until then.

Represented at the STOKR workday were  some of the youngest riders and the oldest rider in the tour.

Louie Boitano is in his 80s and has participated in all 21 STOKR rides. This year he decided to ride in the shorter Sunday ride, only the third time he hasn’t done the 98-mile ride. 

“One year they wouldn’t let us go over the pass because of snow and the another year I blew two tires hitting a bad spot in the road and by the time I got them fixed I decided to do the short one,” Boitano said. “And this year I think the long one is a little too long for me.”

Boitano has also been involved in six home-building projects in Libby. He got started one year when he left his car at Rice’s house so he could bike up to Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada, to take part in a bike race up there. 

“I agreed to work on the house they were working on at the time for a few days. And when she started making it a regular thing on the Fridays before STOKR I just came over for that too.”

On the younger end of the spectrum were the children of Dave and Sarah Street, 13-year old Charlize and 15-year old Teegan.

The family from Fernie, British Columbia, Canada rides mountain bikes daily. After meeting Rice at another bike tour, they signed up for STOKR and thought working on the house would make the trip to Libby an even richer experience.

Charlize Street didn’t need much encouragement for the house-building exercise, but she wasn’t so sure about the ride; she’s more of a mountain bike rider than a road-racer. “I’m happy I did the house, but we’ll see about the bike ride,” she said.

Next year STOKR will be held on another weekend, but for the Street family it couldn’t have been a better day to cruise the roads in the Libby area. 

“It’s perfect for me that it’s being held on Mother’s Day weekend,” said Sarah Street.

Both Keegan and Charlize Street were satisfied with the work they put in on Friday. “I want to come back every Friday,” Charlize Street said.

Seeing the two neighboring Habitat for Humanity Homes gave Keegan Street a real perspective on what his work meant. “Seeing people coming in and out of them and how they decorated them with fences and stuff and seeing how it’s going to become somebody’s home was cool to see,” Keegan Street said. “When we started today it was just a big hole.”

After the final sheet of wood was laid, finishing the floor, workers signed it with thoughts of encouragement to the owner to be, Jennifer Holm and her daughter Jazmine. 

And as the riders filtered back into town on Saturday, they too stopped to sign the floor. As Jennifer and Jazmine walk through their new home by the end of the summer, wishes of happiness from all of those who helped make the home a reality will be right under their feet.