Vaughan Cunningham: You always seem to be deep in thought. Tell me, what are you thinking right now?

Karl: I was thinkin’, I’m gonna take me some of these taters home with me.

Vaughan Cunningham: How about before that?

Karl: Well, let me think… I was thinkin’ I could use me another couple cans’o that potted meat if ya got any extree.

-Slingblade

–

Two days of sleeping in a warm bed without bugs tend to spoil a man used to living in a tent. The rest day was a day to get caught up on chores especially my blog, laundry, purchasing needed supplies and addressing problems such as the Garmin cable.

The Garmin now appears to be charging properly and worked as expected on today’s ride. All the congestion of the past week seems to be gone, but I am still a little gimpy in the ankles and knees.

The ride today of 69 miles or so was easy except for 1 longer climb on the gravel of maybe 5 or 6 miles. Most of the ride was on undulating paved roads and I kept up with the lead riders for 50 miles or until the climb started. The day started out a little warmer than normal and due to the flat terrain and lethargy from our day off, the pace started slow. Petra, one of the two ladies doing the entire ride, asked me if those were the “fast riders up front”. I told her to “go for it” and she proceeded to take the lead and set the pace while shouting “girl power!”.

The whole group of riders stayed had to wait for a very long and slow BNSF train (thank you Warren Buffett). At the 10-mile mark, there was a coffee house and almost everyone stopped for coffee. I had visions of 25 riders going to Starbucks at 5 minutes an order and decided to keep cycling with 6 other riders. It was a fast group and the pace picked up.

We stayed together until lunch at about 45 miles or so. We got there so fast that the lunch wasn’t ready. We chilled and had something to drink. We did take an abnormally long lunch break and many other riders pulled in. Simo said it was his birthday and I sang the “Simo. Simo he’s a wonder song” to him. Only a couple of people will understand this reference, but let me know if you do.

After lunch, we started to climb soon and the road turned to gravel. It was also getting hot. I stuck with the lead group and then decided to back off. I knew that their downhill skills were much better and quicker. From that point on I basically rode alone from that point on. Montana is something to behold and despite the heat, I enjoyed the rest of the ride.

The leaders got into camp a little before me but not as much as it has been. I am feeling better but want to take more photos and enjoy the scenery. The counter to that is that it is somewhat stressful to have a lot of extra things to do before you turn in. So, in that case getting to camp sooner provides a larger window of opportunity.

When I got into camp, I saw that I was on crew. Each day four riders are part of the serving and cleanup process for dinner. This is my first go at it. No one seems to mind and the meals are excellent. We always have soup and snacks when we arrive at camp and dinner at 6 or so. I am never hungry.

Before I sign off, I will mention that a new rider joined us today, Pat M. from Mississippi. He mentioned that he was reading my blog and his wife is reading it as well. Pat had a good day, if you are reading.

 

Thanks for reading!

Tailwinds

Chuck