Lolo Pass was a surprise to me.
The first time I rode Lolo Pass, I was riding from west to east while returning from a Concours Owners Group National Rally in Klamath Falls, OR. I had told people I was going that way and several riders warned me to strictly observe the speed limit. The day I left the Rally, I rode from Klamath Falls to Lewiston, ID, where I stopped for supper. I came out of the restaurant at dusk and learned that the low beam of my headlight on my Connie was burnt out. I had never changed the bulb before, but I did have a spare. I could hardly see what I was doing and it took me nearly an hour to figure out that I was trying to put the bulb holder back in the bike upside down. By then it was dark and I couldn't find a place to camp in Lewiston.
So, I rode east until I got to the Clearwater River Casino and RV park where there was a campground and I could pitch my tent. It was nearly midnight after a looooong day when I got to bed. I hadn't noticed until I tried to go to sleep that my tentsite was only about 100 feet from US-12. US-12 stayed busy all night and I didn't get a lot of sleep. The sun hit my tent at about 5:30 the next morning and I was awake. I broke camp, packed, and rode on to Orofino, where I stopped for breakfast. Then it was on to Kooskia and the turn towards Lolo Pass. I saw the famous sign advertising 77 miles of twisty road and slowed down to the 50mph speed limit. Those curves became like a metronome on a piano, with a relentless rhythm that, at 50mph, soon had me nodding off to sleep. I fought it as long as I could before I finally had to stop at picnic area and take an IronButt nap on a picnic table. After about 30-40 minutes of sleep I was up and decided to take my chances on getting stopped. At 70mph the curves were
much more enjoyable! I ended up riding to a friend's house on the Flathead River south of Kalispell and then through Glacier NP on the Going-to-the-Sun highway the next day. It was a great trip. I've ridden Lolo three times since then, always east to west. I did see a patrolman with a motorcyclist pulled over once. We went by him at about 70 and he didn't give us a glance.