Day 11: Sheridan,MT to Wisdom,MT

Miles on the great Montana asphalt: 104 .... same as yesterday. But today we climbed over 4,000 ft including two mtn passes (Badger and Carroll)

# of centuries we've ridden on this trip so far: 4 (125, 112, 104, 104)
# of centuries left: 2
# of interstates we've ridden on: 3 (I-70 in Colorado, I-80 in Wyoming, I-15 today in MT)
# of deer we've seen in the last 48 hours: 25-30 at least
# of cows we rode by today: at least 1,000 .... I thought I was in a cow heaven
Tomorrow's Ride: 74 miles to Hamilton,MT (over 4,000 ft of descent!) CLICK HERE to see the route we're taking
Tomorrow's forecast: temps in the 40's and 50's, rain and t-storms all day

Today's Weather: Let's just say that we dodged several bullets and got partially wounded by one. And by bullets I'm talking about the insane weather that we had to deal with the entire day including rain, hail, wind and thick black clouds that, while harmless in and of themselves, could make some little boys run home and cry to their mommies. Do us a favor, Go ahead and look up the word "elusive" in the dictionary. What you'll see is several pictures of Luke and I in spandex on our bikes dodging many thunderstorms across the great state of Montana. I kind of felt like we were in a game of Ms. Pacman. We were constantly being chased. I feel like it would have been appropriate for someone to have blasted "Welcome to the jungle" by GNR right as we were leaving our motel this morning because we definitely felt like we were in the jungle all day long. Except this jungle didn't have fun and games. The pinnacle moment of the afternoon came when Luke and I were literally blown over on our bikes by the wind as we caught the tail end of a quicly moving t-storm. We contemplated going into the ditch as we were in the middle of bfn and there was virtually no coverage, but we were surrounded by water so their wasn't much choice but to try and stay standing and hold onto our bikes as we got pettled by smail pieces of hail. Fortunately, the storm passed and we were able to continue our ride. Let me just say that's one situation I hope that I'm not in any time soon.

HOW DO WE FEEL AFTER 11 DAYS OF THE ROAD?

Luke says: "I feel like if someone took a metal hammer and started pounding on my quads as hard as they possibly could ... that I wouldn't feel a thing. But, you need to know that I wouldn't have made it this far if I did not have constant thoughts about the Lion King. Also, I would not have made it up Badger Pass this afternoon had it not been for lyrical geniousness of Taylor Swift. That's about it."

Tom says: "Other than my butt hurting, having a little bit of a stuffy nose and being tired of eating overpriced northwest food, I feel like a million bucks and could keep riding all summer. I feel like, in a very non-Hindu way, I'm becoming one with my bike as each day passes. We are developing a special bond that is difficult to articulate in this language."

WHAT ARE WE DOING RIGHT NOW AT 7:48PM MTN TIME?
Playing cards and watching the NBA finals (and praying for blue skies tomorrow)

SHOUT OUTS.....
Thanks much to Brenda at the Nez Perce Motel in Wisdom, MT (pop. 125) for the donation of one room in which the four of us are crammed into.