Saturday we started the day in Harlowton and were headed 92 miles to Billings Mt and a day off on Sunday. We were hopeful that it would be another good day like yesterday. It started off very nicely with flat roads ,no wind and nice scenery. We had a 9 mile stretch of dirt road to ride on because of construction but it was not to bad. We left at 6 am and by 9 am we had covered the 46 miles to our lunch stop. After lunch the story changed. The roads became  more rolling with several steep climbs including one that went on for 2 miles. Then the dreaded 15 mph head wind picked up and the day became a grind. All you could do was put your head down and pedal. It took 4 hours to go the last 40 miles. I am now at Montana State University in the dorms with a BED and a day off to rest up before the adventure begins again on Monday. Thanks for reading my little stories, please leave comments if you like.

Friday 6/29/2012 will go down as one of my favorite days on the Big Ride. It did not start off so well because in a hurry to get started six of us went the wrong way to start the day and ended up doing 3 extra miles on a 100 mile day. The first 11 miles were steep rolling hills and the next 12 miles we a long but not to steep climb up through a beautiful canyon. THEN the fun started. We had a screaming 6 mile down hill where I reached 42 mph. Then the road flattened out and we picked up a 20 mph tailwind and I was cruising along at an average speed of 22 mph for the next 30 miles. WOW!! We reached the little town of Harlowton,Mt  (pop 950 ) and spent the night. We had a great dinner cooked just for us by a local couple trying to start a resturant. All in all a VERY good day.

Thursday 6/28/2012 we awoke to a temp of 32 degrees. There was ice on everything including my tent and my bike seat. We did have blue skies and no wind so it was a good start. The first 11 miles of the day were all uphill with the last 4 miles being pretty steep. Then we crossed the Continental Divide 6352 ft and had a screaming 10 mile down hill. The rest of the day( luckily it was only a 60 mile day) was some steep rolling hills and a 15 mph wind in our face the rest of the way. It was a gring but we arrived in Townsend, Montana and are camping at the local high school. The prettiest part of the trip is probably behind me. I don't know how it can get prettier than Idaho and western Montana. This truly is a great experience  and I am enjoying every moment whether I have a tail wind or not.

Wednesday 6/27/2012 we left Missoula, Montana after our day off and rode 99 miles to Avon,Montana. Before I describe the day let me tell you what was going through my head as I rode. I am the luckiest man around!!! I am on vacation for 8 weeks, I have a beautiful wife and daughter that are supporting my dream of riding across this great big country, and I am having the time of my life!!!! Now for the day. It was a riders dream,beautiful scenery which I can't describe, A 20 mph tailwind blowing me down the road and gentle sloping up hills nothing steep. Yes it was 99 miles but who cares when everything is going my way.
we arrived at our camp in a private camp ground where our dinner was catered by a local resturant that makes the best pies. Have I told who how much food you can eat when you ride 100 miles a day. I had three pieces of pie: chocolate cream,blueberry and apple. What a life!!

Today was our day off in Missoula ,Montana. We spent the day doing laundry, cleaning our bikes to keep them going and trying to rest our bodies.We were invited to an ice cream social hosted by the Lung Association to drum up support for the Clean Air Bill. We will probably be in the local press. It was a good thing we were not riding today because it was 56 degrees and there were several thunder storms with hail. Tomorrow we go 98 miles to Avon,Montana and we start climbing the Rockies.

Saturday 6/23/2012 we left Spokane heading for Sandpoint Idaho. Idaho is beautiful. Green does not describe it. Everywhere we looked were lakes and rivers. It was truly beautiful. It was a perfect biking day. Good weather, rolling hills and a small tailwind. It was 77 miles and an easy ride EXCEPT for the fact that I got 4 flat tires in one day. I had them at mile 10, mile 50, mile 60 and mile 73 just before camp. When I got to camp I took my bike apart looking for a reason. We looked at all the tubes and the punctures were in all different places so we called it back luck and went to bed. When we went to bed it was a beautiful clear evening. Around 4am all hell broke loose with thunder,lightening and a torrential downpour. Luckily my tent surrived and it stopped raining before we got up in the morning.
Sunday we rode 86 miles into Montana. It stayed green and we rode along a huge lake all day. We saw a moose, a bear, two deer and another torrential thunder storm. Mother Nature is having a lot of fun with the Big Ride this year.We camped at the local high school in Thompson Falls ,Montana and were warned not to have any food in our tents as the bears are active. it was an uneventful night for once and we awoke rested and ready for our105 mile day from Thompson Fall to Missoula Montana. Once again it was a beautiful day . Blue skies a little head wind in the first half of the day and the a tail wind as we got closer to Missoula. There was one long 5 mile climb but then there was a great 14 mile down hill coming into town. We now are at the University of Montana for our second day off. One full week done, six more to go, but I have learned a lot about riding and about myself. I am really glad that I am doing this.

I finally have found a place to blog about my trip. Please bear with me while I catch up.
On Friday 6/15/2012 I left Sacramento by train heading for Seattle and the Start of the Big Ride Across America. On Saturday I met several other riders and we rode around town running last minute errands. Just by luck the University of Washington was celebrating the Summer Solstice by having a goofy parade. The highlight of the parade was 350 naked people walking and riding thier bikes. They were covered in body paint and nothing else. Actually the body paint looked awsome and the effect was hillarious. I considered biking across America this way but was told by the Lung Association that I could not.
Monday we rode out of Seattle at 7:30 am  on a 94 mile trek up the Cascade Mountains. In true Seattle fashion it was raining and continued to do so all day. We rode through some beautiful country and finally made camp where it was still raining.
Tuesday was overcast but no rain. We rode 78 miles from Easton Wa. to Vantage Wa. it was still a climbing day but without the rain it was more relaxing. We arrived in Vantage and set up camp on the banks of the Columbia River. The sun had come out and it was a beautiful afternoon. Around 7pm the wind started blowing and continued to blow harder.Some time around 9pm a gust of wind caught my tent so hard it inverted the poles so instead of beeing a dome it became a bowl on top of me. Some one came to help and I had them pull the poles out so that the tent collasped down on me. I slept that way until around 3am when the wind died and I put my tent back together.
Wednesday was a mental test. We had a 78 mile ride with a 20 mph headwind. All we could do was put our heads down and grind it  out.At the end of the day I knew that I was both mentally and physically ready for the challenge.
 Thursday we had another windy day but it was not as bad as the day before so we rode or 86 miles into Spokane and our first day off. We stayed in Spokane at Gonzaga University and had time to do laundry, clean our bikes after the rain and just relax. All in all it was a great first week.