Bozeman, MT

June 22, 2009

After waking up at 5am this morning and enjoying a hearty breakfast, the team hit the road for a long day of cycling. Today was our first real "century" ride. The journey this morning started with a temperature of only 45 degrees, lots of rain, and plenty of clouds. Myself and Shane, one of my teammates from Truman State, were the last two cyclists to start the ride today. We were the "sweeps" for today's ride, which means we rode behind the rest of the cyclists and made sure no one was left behind. Shane and I followed up the pack in a two-man paceline decked out in our lovely orange vests that read "Cyclists Ahead." Due to the weather, I also wore my leg warmers, jacket, and footies to try and stay warm.

The first climb was a 3 mile ride to the top of the mountain. Once we reached about 2,000 feet up, it was only 34 degrees outside. This made it very challenging to keep our muscles warm and in shape to ride. However, today is the best I have felt on the bike the entire trip. My legs were doing well for a majority of the ride and I am pleased with how I feel tonight. After we reached the top of the mountain, we were able to ride downhill for sometime at about 40 mph. We were surrounded by snow capped mountains in every direction and the scenery was truly breathtaking.

Our next climb was a bit of a challenge. We rode into the hardest head wind I have ever experienced. This was very difficult for Shane and I because we were in a 2-person paceline instead of the normal 4-person paceline. We finally made it to lunch and stopped for a quick sandwhich and to visit with the crew. After lunch, the ride continued through a valley, so the wind wasn't as fierce. Early in the ride, I received another flat tire on my rear wheel again. I quickly changed the tube and made it about another 50 miles into the ride before I got yet another flat tire. I tried to ride this one out and tonight I ended up changing the entire tire. Today's journey was 107 miles of beautiful scenery through the heart of the Rocky Mountains. This was by the far the neatest ride we have experienced the entire trip. The weather conditions made it challenging though as we experienced rain and freezing temperatures.

Tonight we ate dinner and had a friendship visit with Eagle Mount, an organization that teaches people with disabilities to ski, ride horses, and hand cycle. This organization has a great cause and it was interesting to interact with the individuals. At the end of the visit we had the opportunity to try the hand cycling bike. Let me tell you, it is a lot harder than it looks. Well I am off to bed now because we have another long ride tomorrow.

**I posted more pictures below in some of my old posts.....check them out!**