Day 12: Wisdom,MT to Hamilton,MT

Miles on the Montana speedway: 76

Weather: I feel like we were “showered” with y’alls prayers today because, miraculously, we did not encounter any t-storms and hardly any rain (just a light sprinkle the first two hours) despite riding under dark clouds the entire day. In the words of Joey Lawrence, all I have to say is “WHOA!”

Wildlife viewing of the day: We saw about 12-15 elk crossing a stream on our way out of Wisdom this morning about 10:30. I felt like I was watching the Discovery channel....just live. Then, after lunch we saw about 7-8 rams crossing Hwy 93 on our way up to Hamilton. And, as the picture shows, we saw some more deer. This guy wanted to fight Luke, but then heard about how Luke is good friends with Simba, so he held back.

News Flash of the Day: Here in blogger world, we're ecstatic to reveal to you why Luke is constantly consummed with the Lion King movie and soundtrack. The pic above says it all. Supposedly it started at a very young age and his parents have no explaination for it. Rumor has it that after his first viewing he ran away from home and they found him two days later in the Denver Zoo....in, you guessed it, the cages with the lions. Psychologists are yet to figure out a name for this but many call it, "Simbamaniasm." I guess one could say Luke is a "Simbamaniac."

SUMMARY OF THE DAY.....

We woke up at 7:30am and went and ate breakfast in the home of Brenda, the owner of the Nez Perce Motel where we stayed last night in Wisdom. She cooked us a delicious breakfast of blueberry waffles and an egg/sausage mix. Of course, there was a pot of hot coffee for us as well. BTW, sorry Jones', but apparently I've turned your son into a coffee drinker. It's been his morning drink of choice as of late. I've heard coffee can stunt a young man's growth. But I guess in the case of Luke that might not be such a bad thing. We hit the road for Hamilton a little after 9am after spending a little time reflecting on Colossians chapter 1 together as a group. GREAT chapter. Reminds me a lot of Ephesians 1 in many ways. Paul gives us a picture of WHO Christ IS and WHAT He has DONE for us. God's word is so good and these are great promises to rest upon.

Like I said earlier, the rain held back for the most part today and we were extremely grateful for that. It was a bit nippy with temps in the high 40's, but we managed to break a bit of a sweet as the first 25 miles had 1400 ft of climbling. We probably saw 10-12 cross country bikers today. This is no surprise as we are currently on a road that is highly traveled by cross country bikers. CLICK HERE to see these sweet routes that Adventure Cycling has put together. I've never met a cross country bicyclist that I didn't like. There's always something to talk about and there's the obvious natural connection that immediately bonds us together.

OUR HOMER SIMPSON "DOH!" MOMENTS OF TODAY....

1. Happened right out of the gate when I lead us .63 miles in the WRONG DIRECTION out of Wisdom. Had my former student, Stewart "saves the day" Gunther not corrected us, we may be writing you from Butte,MT tonight.

2. About 60 minutes into the trip, the top of my head was starting to hurt. I couldn't figure out why I was having so much pain. I figured out that I had put my bike helmet on over my sunglasses (which I thought I left at the motel) before I started riding. There's no person that is laughing right now more than my wife .... because I do these things all of the time and she thinks it's hilarious.

3. Luke had a serious wipeout going about 3mph as we pulled into the Super 8 this afternoon. He unclipped and put his foot down, but unfortunately for him they didn't stick....and down went the Lukester. Yes, he is okay. The play was pretty close, but I think the ump called him safe.

FUNDRAISING UPDATE.....

As of this morning, we have raised $16,137! Thanks so much for your prayers, encouragement and support in our efforts to build a health center in Tikoling, Uganda! We are only $10,007 away from meeting our primary goal!

SHOUT OUTS....

*Shelley and Rob and the Super 8 of Hamilton for the donation of a motel room. Room 116 will never be the same after the Hunger Ride rides through it!

*I gotta give it up for Eric at the Pizza Hut in Hamilton. After riding 76 miles, I walked in to see if PH would be willing to partner with Hunger Ride 2010 and donate a deep dish pizza to the cause. Eric was thrilled to be able to give. Thanks, dude! Great pizza!