Friday June 25 - Day 12 - 59 miles - 839.2 Total Miles

This will not make sense to many out there, but I would rather do today's ride than yesterday's ride anyday. A 75 mile day with all downhills and flats would seem easier than uphills, but I beg to differ. Today was all uphill and 60 miles and it felt sooooo much better than yesterday. When you ride on flat land, you ride in one position all day long. That means you sit in the same position all day. Your joints are in the same position all day long. That same, repetitive position all day long causes aches and pains that uphills don't cause. So, when you hear we have a long climb planned, do not feel bad for us. We actually like climbing.

Tonight, we are in Lolo Hot Springs, Montana (did I mention we are in a new state?) We have a camping spot and just polished off a great meal at the only restaraunt around. We are all trying to catch up on our WIFI updates before heading back to the campsite (where there will be s'mores).

Our mileage will be a little low tomorrow. We are going to ride a short, 35-40 miles into Missoula, Montana for a little R&R tomorrow evening. We are all looking forward to some city life...we may hit a movie. I think Grown Ups is out this weekend.

I do not have much to say today, just a couple random thoughts:

First....I could do this everyday. Ride....set up camp....sit around a fire....lay in your tent and read.....go to sleep.....get up....ride....repeat.

Second....It is good that Kim and I have kids....I could easily live like this. I don't know if I would be a drifter, but I am sure that I could live with a lot less than we have.

Third....my wife is awesome. When she is not busy working for the three of us, she is pulling along side every bike rider that she comes upon, giving them the same support she gives us. They love her. Who wouldn't?

Ok....I have spent way too much time at this computer for one night. Signing off......

Steve, Nathan, and Anna at the Montana Border over Lolo Pass

Video Footage of Our Riding the Last Couple of Days

Thursday, June 24 - Day 11 - 76 Miles - 780.2 Total Miles

Left Grangeville this morning on route 13 on a nice little descent into the towns of Stites and Kooskia which sit on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation. In Kooskia we turned on to route 12 towards our destination of "who knows where" Idaho. Route 12 is one of the "Readers Digest 120 Most Scenic Rides", which highlights scenic routes in the USA. This route is called the Lewis & Clark Scenic Byway and runs along the Middle Fork Clearwater River and the Lochsa River closer to our destination. It was a relaxing, 75 mile day with little climbing. So, it was a day to get rejuvenated.



We are at a USFS Campground tonight in the middle of an area that has no services (gas, groceries, etc.) for 66 miles. That is where "van woman" comes in handy. When we got to our site today, (which cost us all of $8) we headed to the river to cool off. We definitely got that taken care of. That water could not have been over 55 degrees. It was quite refreshing. When we got back to camp, even though we had put all of the food away, something had eaten the mouthpieces off of some of our water bottles that had gatorade in them. Bobby declared war!



Tomorrow is going to be a fairly short ride by distance (60 miles), but should be challenging. We will be climbing into Montana by way of Lolo Pass, which will take us to 5235 feet. That means our ride will gain over 3000 feet in altitude. We will be camping in Lolo Hot Springs, just over the top of the climb.



Kim & the kids had a lot of errands to do today, so their fun time was limited. They did get to see all of beautiful terrain that we rode on as well as visiting the Lochsa Historical Ranger Station.





Water Bottles Damaged by the Resident Varmint



Dipping in the Cold Water by our Campground