Rode 49 miles today, all uphill with an occasional short downhill to reward us. Much cooler today than yesterday which was a great blessing. We had planned on camping at an RV park in Lincoln, Montana but as we were riding into town a billboard caught our eye that said ” Ponderosa Motel” $50. We decided to spit the $50 and sleep on a real bed the night before our hardest ride.

tomorrow we are headed for Great Falls, Montana and it is 92 miles and we cross Rogers Pass at 5,700 feet.  All the locals we talk to say it is as hard as Lolo Pass was and the day we did that we bicycled 61 miles, sooooo tomorrow will become the new “hardest day of the trip” and could remain champion for the entire trip. I am dreading it. I am thinking I might die!

There are two things that make it bearable. The first is, mountains will be over!  Flat, flat, flat at least compared to what we have been doing since we started this trip. The second is the next day is our scheduled rest day which we will spend at a KOA camp ground that has a swimming pool. I plan on sleeping a lot.

Today while we were riding a horse fly that had been circling me for miles bit me on the arm. I don’t know if you have ever had one of those rascals bite you but it HURT! I swerved all over as I attempted to kill him, and stopped quick before I wrecked, and just as I got stopped he got me again on the leg, but I smacked him, and then stomped on him several times.

I am getting into shape more each day and the pain in my butt has been reduced to an ache that is bearable as we stop and rest for a minute about every 5 miles, drink some water, eat a little trail mix, and take a picture. Love you all. Dee