Beautiful Cheerleaders in Montana

These two University of Montana Cheerleaders were along the main road out of Missoula as we entered week two and they had signs for both Sandy and me!!! Barb Burns and Ingrid Sanders were helping to make sure neither Sandy or I quit after the gruelling week of 610 miles in seven straight days of riding!

(Sandy and I were very fortunate to be able to spend our one night off with Craig and Barb Burns who are from Hamilton, Ohio, but live just outside Missoula, Montana. Their hospitality (great food and drink, beds and not sleeping bags, beautiful scenery, and friendliness made the long week a short memory! Thanks Craig and Barb!!! )

A Great Young Rider

We have a very nice young man, Nathan who had this great jersey made with Cycle Across America printed on the back. We asked him to allow us to take a picture of his shirt from his best side! Nathan has a great sense of humor so we of course did take his best side from the front. He who is riding with his parents Larry & Kari, and is a college student. Nathan is also a very strong rider and takes after his parents!

Another Divide Conquered

Here are Sandy and me as we leave Montana and enter Idaho. I am personally pleased to be leaving the Great Sky country with its winds, rain and traffic. We will be in Idaho for just a day before entering Wyoming.

Stormy Weather in Montana

This is what we have encountered several afternoons when the skies darkened, the wind howled and the rain and hail came down hard!

I took cover one day in an abandoned antique shop that was not locked. Another day it was an office to as camp ground, and then a garage of a farmer who was also a County Commissioner!

Nights it has rained and we have ridden in rain for several hours on and off. The biggest worry is the truck traffic that give us little room on the roads at 70 miles per hour. Adding to the difficulty are the rumble strips that keep drivers awake but take the berm of the road away from us to ride. When trucks pass we get thoroughly showered with water and road grime!

Two For Awareness

Everyone knows I am raisin funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Association and on this trip with 47 coast to coasters there is another person, pictured here with me, who is raising awareness for organ donor participation. Dan Olson of Wisconsin, received a heart transplant at age 37 after a virus essentially destroyed his heart. Now in his 50's Dan is traveling with us to help people see what a heart transplant can do!

Dan's donor was a young 15 year old girl who died in a car wreck.

Two Continental Divides

Mike and I met on a bike ride from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C. in 2009. We kept in touch after we crossed the Eastern Continental Divide in Maryland. We have now crossed the Divides on the East and he West Coasts! We will cross the West Coast Divide one more time on his trip as we leave Montana and head east. This weekend we will celebrate July 4th in Jackson, Wyoming.

Crossing the Western Continental Divide

This week we climbed Flesher Pass with an elevation of 6,300 feet. Not an easy task since some of the ascents were 7% grade. The nice part was the 10+ mile descent!!