This week has pretty much been cold, rainy, and long. I think to tell you about this week I'll just summarize each picture below. Enjoy!
Blessings,
Sara
P.S.-- I'm jealous of you southerners right now. I'm dearly missing the hot, sunny weather about now. I seriously underestimated the amount of cold weather we'd encounter on this tour.
Rainy start to the ride from Thompson Falls, MT to Missoula, MT. I drove support this day, but I was still able to enjoy some of the most beautiful scenery Montana has to offer (and this time from the comfort of a dry van seat).
Because we had a "snow day" in Missoula, we had the chance to stop by the Adventure Cycling office. They were all so nice and showed us around their building, offered us ice cream out of their stocked cooler for cyclists passing through, and even took our picture to put on their wall next to many other cyclists that have passed through on expeditions of their own.
I want this.
Although we weren't able to ride the ride from Missoula-->Lincoln, the day off was appreciated and even came with a surprise interview for the local 10 o'clock news.
This is what a "snow day" on tour looks like: Sleeping bags, Skittles, popcorn, and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Snow days also include Shelby and Brenda arm wrestling.
And bench pressing Carmen….
The Red Team cooked dinner for everyone tonight-- chili and cornbread!
Well this happened…. We shuttled from Missoula to Lincoln since the team had to miss that ride due to snowy conditions. This is where we pulled into the gas station parking lot to drop off all the cyclists so they could start their day's ride to Helena. When I hopped out of the van, I looked back and realized we had left the trailer sitting in the road. I'll never forget this memory! Thankfully there was a hardware store across the street, so once we had the cyclists on their bikes and riding, we headed over to the store to get the biggest chains they had in stock and reattached the trailer to the van.
At the top of Flescher Pass (the Continental Divide) it started flurrying on the team. The crazy weather we've encountered on this tour is incredible! I mean, it's June!
First flat of tour on the way into White Sulphur Springs. Sometimes sweep forgets about you because they're about half a mile back with a flat of their own. So, I had the chance to sit on the side of the road and watch the clouds roll across the mountains and the trains stretch across the valley next to me while I waited. Honestly, I sort of enjoyed this time.
The ride over the mountain and into the valley that leads to White Sulphur Springs is one of my favorite stretches of road the entire tour. Why? Because of views like this.
And this….
And then you get to White Sulphur Springs and you have sunsets like this. Seriously, God's creation astounds me daily. Montana, you don't disappoint either.
See? How can you argue with these Montana views? I'm amazed.
Century ride from White Sulphur Springs to Lavina= wonderful tailwinds and sunny skies!
Chris decided to take advantage of the dry, rocky conditions of eastern Montana to do a little climbing at a rest stop.
White Sulphur Springs--> Lavina. Mark decided to sweep it with me today. We spent a majority of the ride talking about food and Disney movies.
White Sulphur Springs--> Lavina
View of Billings up on the bluff you come in on. You drive into Billings overlooking the city from this view. Beautiful, huh?
Nola decided to host all the women again this year. Thank you so much for your generosity at the last minute. It was so wonderful to see you again! You've been such a blessing to two Venture teams now, and you will not soon be forgotten.
Anyone who decides to host 11 women is a brave soul. Thanks, Nola!
Team outings on a Sunday afternoon in Billings
The guys were late to pick us up from Nola's house. Naturally we decided to take naps, even though it was only about 7am.
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