Hello Everybody!
As you probably know, it has been a few days since our last blog update, so, here is what we have been up to:
The Bad (6/5)-
After we got to Lewiston, ID, we had a 72 mile ride to Kamiah (come to find out it was actually 87 miles...). There were two choices of routes to take, one was flat but was on a busy highway and the other was almost completely uphill but was more scenic and less busy. Can you guess which route we took? That's right! The hilly one. When we started, it was raining, and it did NOT stop once throughout the day and by the time we got to the top of the biggest climb we had to stop and wait for a few minutes, so, we froze. As we biked the remaining 8 miles into the nearest town (Winchester), while my teeth chattered, I sang the traditional 'just keep swimming' song from Finding Nemo except substituting 'peddling' for 'swimming: "Just keep peddling, just keep peddling...." Finally we make it to the small town of Winchester, we stopped at their gas station for about an hour fueling up and putting on more clothes. We finally left hoping for some downhill only to find steep uphills followed by gradual downhills. Long story short, we rolled into Kamiah on a massive downhill (finally) at 10:00 pm when it was dark outside. This was not safe and it will NOT happen again, and lets just say we stayed in a hotel that night.
The Good (6/6)-
The next day, my dad, Drew, and I met back up with Neal and decided to ride 56 miles to a campground along the Clearwater and the Lochsa River (Ty was picked up in Kamiah and brought to Missoula because his knee was hurting badly). It ended up being a beautiful day, and it didn't rain at all. The ride was beautiful as the road twists and turns with the shape of the rushing water. We got into camp early that night, made a fire, and ate some exquisite spaghetti. It was Neal's first time camping as well, and, he wont admit it, but I think he enjoyed it.
The Birthday (6/7)-
I was born June 7th, 1995, so I celebrated my birthday on the winding road next to the Lochsa River. We only had to ride 40 miles, so it was nice and easy. We stayed in a small cabin at the Lochsa Lodge near the Powell Fire Station, cabin number 11 (because my family stays in it every New Year) and Neal stayed with us. My brother works at Powell so he was able to celebrate my birthday with us, plus, my mom and Ty drove over from Missoula. We spent the evening talking to my brother's coworkers, eating some burgers, and playing some pool. It was one of the best birthdays I have ever had.
The Days in Missoula-
The next day, we woke up and ate breakfast in the Lodge and started to ride to our home. The only thing that stood in our way was Lolo Pass. I took my time going up, and actually enjoyed it (unlike some people *cough cough* Dad and Drew *cough*...) At the top we had a few cups of hot coco in the visitors center where we met up with Laurie Stalling (Cory's Aunt). We all started the decent into Lolo, and at this point we were officially in Montana. By the time we got into Missoula, it was pouring but we didn't care, we were home. Cory rode with us on his new buddy bike and Arlen rode with us as well. We went to Bonner Park for a photo shoot and and interview with the Missoulian, and they did a great job with the article. We had a party/fundraiser at the Draught Works Brewery, it was really fun and the band was great! We ended up raising over $800!
Today was our day off in Missoula, and it was really good to be home. I got to rest, go to the Farmer's Market, go to Big Dipper, and hang out with friends. It was a great day and I didn't want it to come to an end, but there is work to be done, miles to ride, and great experiences to be had and I can't wait to share them with all of you. We are going to stay strong, we still have two months to go! Next stop; Lincoln Montana!
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