It was still raining when we headed out so we I donned my haz-mat suit (see the photos) and turned east. The rain stopped at about mile 17 and I remember this because I commented to Ellen that it was a good thing it stopped right when she got her flat tire. The plan was for her to change the tire so she could get more confidence with the procedure but as soon as we stopped we were swarmed by Minnesota worthy mosquitoes and the goal changed to fixing the flat as fast as possible.
There was no rain for the rest of the day but it was still overcast until we got into Glasgow. Because of the wet roads, we all set to a group session of bike cleaning. I learned that today four people had flats, a pretty high number and often secondary to debris sticking to tires in the wet weather. Close inspection of my tires revealed a sharp rock ready to puncture the tube at any second. Ellen found glass in her tire waiting for an inopportune moment to present. As we were expressing relief at finding the problems while in the parking lot and not on the road, Peg's tire exploded – a calm explosion but it left no doubt what it was doing. Again Ellen and I expressed relief (that it wasn't ours).
Dinner was curried chicken followed by homemade tiramisu. Our ride tomorrow is only 51 miles and the skies are supposed to me sunny. Life is good.
So it's been mosquitos and rain and exploding tires. Not a bad day, I guess, all in all. :-)
ReplyDeleteLooks like you'll be following the river out of Montana. Hope that adds to the view. I remember relatively flat country driving through there, but always thought "they" were right about the Big Sky. Almost to North Dakota - time passes quickly. Imagine the tailwind helps! Good luck, Jane!
Robin