The century ride into Helena was awesome. For some reason I felt really good all day, and overall the ride went smoothly with a few stops for lunches, Hannah Wagley getting some prickly stickers out of her chammys, and some pee breaks. Although it was windy at points, it really wasn't too difficult a day with a lot of downhills and flats involved with a few short climbs in between. I enjoyed riding behind Barb and listening to her jazz and other choice of music for part of the second half of the day blasting from her i-pod speaker she has hanging out the back of her camelback. The worst part of the ride was about 20 miles left when I realized my camelback was leaking uncontrollably. It leaked all down my back and into my chammys, which ended up soaking them and making the last 15 miles pretty 
unbearable due to a very wett butt that was asking for chaffing.
unbearable due to a very wett butt that was asking for chaffing. Everything turned out ok, though, after some mild confusion on finding the church, and more confusion involving showers. We were suppose to showe at a nearby gym, but when we got there they were closed (since it was Sunday) and we could not get in contact with the woman who was suppose to be there to open it for us. We ended up heading back to the church where some people hose showered. Dinner was provided that night by the church, and it was a delicious burrito bar complete with homemade corn salsa (so good!). After dinner people walked to another gym about half a mile away to shower, but I was feeling lazy and anxious to get to a bar to watch the Red Sox/Yankees game so decided to "man up" (that's for you Sohia lol) and use the hose. It was extremely freezing, but I lived. bunch of us went to a cool microbrewery to watch the baseball game. The Sox won (yay!), but still ended up losing the series 2-1 (oh well, better than getting swept right?).
The next day we had a fairly short ride of 55ish miles into Lincoln, and I was feeling so tired all day. After about 7 miles or so in the morning, we started climbing a mountain pass, which at first did not seem to be too bad. I was tired and riding alone because I was cranky and didn't want to pass my bad mood along to others when I thought I was getting close to the top of the mountain. I went around a right turn, and then saw the steep switchbacks lurking ahead of me. I was totally not mentally prepared for this climb at all, and it was pretty brutal for the rest of the climb. It was not as steep as Teton Pass for the most part, except maybe the last couple switchbacks, but it was definitely longer. Getting to the top was really nice. People were cheering and the van was waiting for us with food. The decline wasn't even very enjoyable because the wind was so bad it literally almost whipped us off the road more than a few times. I had an all around tough day, which included more camelback leakings and wet clothing, and was so happy to get to the high school we were staying at. I took a shower, and layed down on my Thermarest with intentions of reading my book (Devil in the White City) when I woke up 2 hours later with the book in my hand (unopened) lying in a pile of my drool. I passed out and took the best nap ever, that was MUCH needed and it felt great. I ended up reading, and finishing my book, before a dinner of cold cuts for sandwiches. A handful of us walked to the restaurant next door to the school, "The Pit Stop", for after dinner ice cream. I got a cone of chocolate soft serve that was good, but Lisa splurged and got the Huckelberry ice cream that I was a little unsure about, but after my taste of hers I can honestly say it was delicious. I got a pretty good night's sleep (a rarity for me on B&B) in the hallway of a school that has all grades from K-12 next to the lockers.
The ride to Missoula was really good. I rode with Lindsey all day, and it really helped set a good pace for me as well as keep me in great spirits. Knowing when we got there we had a day off the next day also helped a lot. It was a really pretty ride and we got to follow the river for a good majority of the day, which was really nice. The water was so clear and shallow in most places you could see even from the road on my bike straight down to the bottom and see all the stones. It was really cool. The green mountains surronding us here in Montana are gorgeous and make for such a great place to ride. We got into Missoula, showered, made dinner (whole wheat spaghetti and sauted veggies with olive oil and stewed tomatoes with the itlalian seasonings in them- thanks mom, it's a big B&B hit with the riders), and got ready to go out and explore Missoula's night life. We found a cool bar to hang out at for most of the night and we all enjoyed the evening. I slept later than I have on any other day of the trip (9:15 am) and woke up to people already out and about and around town. I set lofty goals for my day that included making myself an omlette (spinach, mushroom, and cheddar - turned out so good!), finding a new leak free bladder for my camelback (had to call 4 different stores, and bike 3 miles to get it, but success), and nap. All goals were accomplished. I even went tubing down the river with about 10 other people. Frannie found a place that picks you up in a cool bus, lets you rent tubes, drives you up the river, you float down, and then they pick you back off and drop you off. For $12 we found it to be a good deal and decided to give it a go. If the water was warmer it would have been way better, but unfortunately it was FREEZING! We floated for a while and it was quite an adventure, and fun, but about five or six of us ended up getting out and walking the last mile and a half out of five to the place the bus was picking us up because it was just way too cold and we thought we were going to get hypothermia. Poor Lisa's feet were practically blue when we got out and it took her a good 20 minutes of walking before she got feeling back in them lol. It was probably a funny sight to see us girls walking down a major highway in our bikinis and carrying tubes. We got a couple honks from truckers (so unneccessary). =S
Missoula was by far my favortie day off, and I would love to go back and see more of the town some day. I was a little sad to leave this morning, but it was not as bad as the other days after a day off. I had a great ride in the morning with five people, and then stopped with Frannie and Dubansky for coffee a little less than 20 miles in. It was nice and relaxing, and my body felt really good after the rest the day before. I rode with the girls to lunch at a great park, and made myself a sanwich and enjoyed the grass with Julie (the girl who broke her arm came back in Missoula!). I ended up leaving lunch alone and riding the next 20 or so miles alone. It is nice to ride alone sometimes and think and be able to really soak up and enjoy the scenery. Plus you just need some alone time on B&B or you might go crazy lol. I stopped about 7 miles from Superior when I saw bikes on the side of the road. Some riders decided to go swimming and I went down to say hi. I put my feet in and that was about it since the water is just way too cold for me. The rest of the ride was so pretty, as was the general trend for the day. We are staying at Superior Elementary School tonight and then heading for Wallace, Idaho tomorrow. It's crazy, but there are only 9 days of biking left, and 2 build days and then we will all be saying goodye and heading back into the real world and real life. I don't know where the whole summer has gone so quickly, but in less than 2 weeks B&B will be over. I think we are all trying not to think about it and just enjoy the time we have left. I know it's going to be mixed emotions when our adventure is over. All I'm hoping is that other people have flights around the same time I do because if I have to go to the airport alone I think it's going to be really sad. I am hoping someone else will be there, and we can say goodbye and go to our respective terminals. I just want to hold on to Bike & Build for as long as I possibly can, until the last moment when I have to go get on my plane back to Ft. Lauderdale...
PS- not very many pictures from Montanta due to the fact that I thought my camera was broken for about three days. I was suspect that my leaky camelback had damaged my camera that I normally keep in my jersey pocket, but turns out I just needed to change the batteries in it... whoops ;)
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