How Ovando, Montana is capitalizing on bicycle tourism – "It’s totally cool to come here."

Leigh Ann Valiton watched a customer meander the aisles of the Blackfoot Commercial Co. in Ovando https://ovandomontana.net/ . Valiton’s store, attached to her inn, is open until 7 every evening, but it was 10 p.m., and she showed no sign of leaving. The customer, Faye Cunningham, from New Zealand, filled her basket with frozen burritos, energy bars, chips and a Mountain Dew.

Cunningham was competing in the Tour Divide Race http://tourdivide.org/about , a 2,735-mile mountain bike race that stretches from Banff, Canada, to the Mexican border. The route enters Montana in Glacier National Park and meanders south, paralleling the Continental Divide.

Ovando sits at mile 550 and has become a staple stop for riders. "You always hear about the accommodations. It’s certainly known," Cunningham said as she finished filling her basket. "It’s totally cool to come here."

Micah Drew/Seeley Swan Pathfinder

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