We had a relaxing morning as the bike shop didn’t open until 10:00. So, we had a huge breakfast, had an extra cup of coffee and then picked up our bikes. I can’t say enough good things about Great Divide Cyclery in Helena, MT. They are friendly, efficient and very competent, fixing all of our bikes’ maladies overnight.
Well, we hit the road around 11:00 and it was HOT. We started a big climb right away and hit a road closure after only about 1.5 miles. And this road was closed- no going around the signs due to active heavy equipment… So, we had to ride a secondary road for about 20 miles then on I-15 for another 20 miles or so. We had a bit of a thunderstorm with mixed rain and hail which sent us scurrying under trees (I know) a couple of times. We then had a 6 or 7 mile climb in mid 90 degree temps with a strong headwind right before a long descent into Boulder.
We checked into our hotel and immediately went across the street for a cold refreshing beer. The best one they had was a hemp beer brewed in Missoula known as Bongwater… It was cold and refreshing so we did have a couple… with popcorn, peanuts and spicy waffle fries for our before dinner snack.
Now, after a very refreshing shower it’s off for dinner!
Daily totals: 39 miles and 2,400′ climbing
We were riding on the highway all day today. Notice how hazy it is from the fires in the West:
The OZ motel is where we are staying tonight:
Johnny relaxing outside our hotel room:
This is where we went for our refreshing after ride cold beer. Nice, huh?
And here I am enjoying an ice cold hemp birthday beer courtesy of the legendary Johnny D:
Dave Bikes America 