GOODBYE MONTANA....HELLO IDAHO!Miles on Hwy 12 (Montana & Idaho) : 108
CLICK HERE ..... for the video of the day!
Weather: Perfect! The best day we've had yet! low 70's, mostly sunny, winds light and variable. This was a long time coming. After many days of feeling like I was in Siberia, we finally saw some blue skies.
Terrain: This was the easiest century we've had yet. It was pretty much 108 miles of downhill. We dropped over 4,000 feet in elevation. Unbelievable. It was gorgeous too as we literally rode next to the Lochsa River for 99 of those miles. And let me tell you the views were stunning. Some of the finest riding of my life today.
BULLFROGS AND BUTTERFLIES.....
Well, we didn't see any bullfrogs today, but we did have several dozen encounters with numerous butterflies that littered the road along the river where we were riding. Andrea"fresh legs" Rand, taking the lead for the first 70 miles, took the brunt of those. However, Luke did manage take a butterfly to the mouth. We heard him spitting and moaning for about 2 min after this happened. Very funny.
TODAY'S RUNDOWN.....
7:20am: woke up
8:00am: ate breakfast in the Lolo Lodge in Lolo Hots Springs
8:59am: hit the road
1:00pm: Our awesome sag crew brought us sandwiches to eat while on the road
3:51pm: Arrived in Kooskia (107 miles in less than 7 hours!
4:33: took a dip in the Lochsa
4:33: took a dip in the Lochsa
5:37: ate dinner at the Grapevine, a local diner in town
I AM NUMBER ONE! OR AM I......
One story from yesterday (Thursday) that I forgot too mention happened when we were just south of the bumbling metropolis of Lolo,MT. We happened to be riding on a dirt road (due to some construction) and there was basically no shoulder to ride on so we were taking up the entire lane....and cars had to go all the way over in the other lane to pass us. Well, one lady in a Ford Probe must have been pretty ecstatic about Hunger Ride 2010 b/c she decided to lay on her horn and speed up as she passed us. So, naturally, I wanted to acknowledge her appreciation for our efforts, so I kindly waved back to her. Well, next thing I know, her hand is in the air, and she has one finger in the air. The bummer though is that I couldn't figure out exactly what she meant. Does she, much like my wife, think that I am #1? Is that what her finger meant? Is she a fan as well and she just wanted to let me know? Or, was there some other meaning in this gesture? Could she have been expressing her excitement that there is (was) only one game of the NBA season left? Or, was she possibly trying to let us know that there was only one carton of eggs left at the grocery store and that we should be quick to buy? I'm not sure.... but apparently this will forever be a mystery.
One story from yesterday (Thursday) that I forgot too mention happened when we were just south of the bumbling metropolis of Lolo,MT. We happened to be riding on a dirt road (due to some construction) and there was basically no shoulder to ride on so we were taking up the entire lane....and cars had to go all the way over in the other lane to pass us. Well, one lady in a Ford Probe must have been pretty ecstatic about Hunger Ride 2010 b/c she decided to lay on her horn and speed up as she passed us. So, naturally, I wanted to acknowledge her appreciation for our efforts, so I kindly waved back to her. Well, next thing I know, her hand is in the air, and she has one finger in the air. The bummer though is that I couldn't figure out exactly what she meant. Does she, much like my wife, think that I am #1? Is that what her finger meant? Is she a fan as well and she just wanted to let me know? Or, was there some other meaning in this gesture? Could she have been expressing her excitement that there is (was) only one game of the NBA season left? Or, was she possibly trying to let us know that there was only one carton of eggs left at the grocery store and that we should be quick to buy? I'm not sure.... but apparently this will forever be a mystery.
TOMORROW'S RIDE....
82 miles from Kooskia to Lewiston. We drop down to 700 feet above sea level. Crazy! There's just so much air to breathe down here!
SHOUT OUTS...
SHOUT OUTS...
*Thanks much to Mike and Arlene of the Western Motor Inn of Kooskia, ID. Kooskia (pronounced Koos-kee) is a town of about 275 people. The town is right along the Locksa River (where the boys shot the rapids this afternoon) and much like some of the other towns we've been riding through and finding accomodations for the night.
*Our love, support and prayers continues to go out to VALOR TEAM AFRICA as they're well into their stay. Hoping the best for you guys as you share God's love with those in need!
YOU ARE NUMBER ONE TOMMY! I'm giving you the number one signal right now.
ReplyDeleteAs for the video: Good to see Tom permanently installed his helmet this year. There is nothing worse than having to take that thing off at the end of a long day on the road. I would know.