June 30 - July 2

Wed June 30
Tough start to the day. Chris felt a but under weather, but started the ride out of Thompson. We had a nice breakfast school put on by the Lutherans. As we rode he really felt bad, then we realized a storm was about to hit. Clouds were coming in fast from the left. Suddenly there was a simultaneous flash,boom and sizzle. A bolt of lightening hit within a few hundred feet. I have never heard the air sizzle and crack like that – very scary. I had not realized the storm was that close. We were in a big open area with only telephone lines for shelter. We rode a bit more and came to a bar with about 50 bikes in front. Everyone was taking shelter there as well.

As the rain let up, Chris decided he really did nto fell well. We flagged down the van and he got a ride the rest of the way.

This was the day Anne and Nancy had flown out to meet us with our Montana friend Bonnie. They met me at lunch and got to see the working of everything. The plan was to just have lunch, but Anne wanted to go check on Chris. Luckily she did as he had been driven to the school in Ennis and was basically laying under a pine tree in shade – uncomfortable on a bed of needles. He did not feel up for anything.

She got him set up with the tent, but then moved him over to a spot in the school hallway. He basically slept from 2 pm onwards. He had the 48 hour stomach bug that has been going around the group. When I got in a bit later, I got him gas station instant chicken soup and kept him comfortable.

For the ride that day, I escaped some really bad weather. A hail storm hit and golf ball sized hail fell on some riders. The Cycle America team did shuttle service back and forth on the route and rescued a number of riders.

Thu July 1
Chris sat out on this one. He was better, but not up for a ride. The lunch spot on this ride was at Earthquake Lake – a beautiful view but up a windy canyon. In the late 50's an earthquake hit the area and caused a landslide that flooded a campground.

The end of the day was rough – we had a strong head wind the last ten miles were into West Yellowstone. It was hot, windy and busy with lots of RV traffic. We camped in a public campground on a section of ground near a bath house. We all fit, but the area looked like a true tent city. I did laundry while Chris continued to rest and recuperate.

That evening we walked around town – suddenly a lot of tourists shops and people. It was suddenly so crowded and different than we had had all week. After dinner, we saw an I max show and then fell quickly asleep.

Fri July2
Chris finally rode again today. He felt much better. We still took it easy and did not push hard. We are both feeling the effects of almost two weeks of riding. Our legs are heavy after each stop – hard to get going. We were on a busy road with too many trucks and so enjoyed a nice coffee along a lake. Then we saw some beautiful water falls. We also climbed the continental divide a second time.

I have pictures to post -but will do that later.

Tomorrow we climb the continental divide the third and final time. We go over Teton pass at 8456 feet. As of tomorrow we will have climbed 40,000 feet and ridden 1000 miles the last two weeks.