Wednesday was another sunny, beautiful blue sky day. It is easy to see how Montana got the nickname "Big Sky State"! They rode through the Clark Fork River Valley and said that it was very pretty. Those prevailing summer winds that are usually from the south were not evident yesterday. Winds came at them from the north producing more headwinds, which the guys are accepting with resignation at this point. :) It's not like they can change the direction of the wind....
There were 2 flat tires yesterday. One was Lee's from the previous day that still needed to be changed. He changed it 13 miles into their ride and the rest of the day went relatively smoothly until Zhenya's tire went flat with only 3 miles left until they reached their motel. As Zhenya prepared to change his tire, Lee realized that he left the tire changing tool by the road 43 miles back when he changed his tire earlier in the day. Needless to say, this caused Lee to be very displeased with himself. Necessity is the mother of invention (or some silly saying like that) and Zhenya managed to change his tire in record time using 2 quarters instead of the tool meant for the job. Lee was very impressed with Zhenya's skill and adaptability to the "new tool"! Sasha has a bulging front tire that they are keeping close tabs on. They had narrow roads for the last 14 miles of their ride, but other than that it was a great day!
Lee says the boys are doing great. They are looking forward to getting up early today (Thursday, 2 July) for their 100 mile day! I spoke with each of the boys last night and they sound really excited about riding the 100 miles. They told me they had to get an early start because it was so many miles but they were ready for it.
DAILY STATS:
57 miles from Missoula to Seeley Lake
8:30 am to 6 pm, sunny and 80 to 85 degrees
No elevation gain
989 total miles to date
Today is the BIG day! One hundred miles is huge. Please pray for them as it will be a long day, but they are motivated and eager to make this goal. Thanks for your prayers! Tomorrow is a day of rest. They are going to spend it in Columbia Falls (near Glacier National Park) at the Big Sky Water Slides. FUN!
There were 2 flat tires yesterday. One was Lee's from the previous day that still needed to be changed. He changed it 13 miles into their ride and the rest of the day went relatively smoothly until Zhenya's tire went flat with only 3 miles left until they reached their motel. As Zhenya prepared to change his tire, Lee realized that he left the tire changing tool by the road 43 miles back when he changed his tire earlier in the day. Needless to say, this caused Lee to be very displeased with himself. Necessity is the mother of invention (or some silly saying like that) and Zhenya managed to change his tire in record time using 2 quarters instead of the tool meant for the job. Lee was very impressed with Zhenya's skill and adaptability to the "new tool"! Sasha has a bulging front tire that they are keeping close tabs on. They had narrow roads for the last 14 miles of their ride, but other than that it was a great day!
Lee says the boys are doing great. They are looking forward to getting up early today (Thursday, 2 July) for their 100 mile day! I spoke with each of the boys last night and they sound really excited about riding the 100 miles. They told me they had to get an early start because it was so many miles but they were ready for it.
DAILY STATS:
57 miles from Missoula to Seeley Lake
8:30 am to 6 pm, sunny and 80 to 85 degrees
No elevation gain
989 total miles to date
Today is the BIG day! One hundred miles is huge. Please pray for them as it will be a long day, but they are motivated and eager to make this goal. Thanks for your prayers! Tomorrow is a day of rest. They are going to spend it in Columbia Falls (near Glacier National Park) at the Big Sky Water Slides. FUN!
