Rural Towns Capitalize on Cycling Tourism

Leigh Ann Valiton watched a customer meander the aisles of the Blackfoot Commercial Co. in Ovando, Mont. Valiton's store, and attached Inn, is open until seven 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, a 2,735-mile long 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 Di...