Day 12 Daunted Courage, July 11, 2013

Day 12 Route: Circle to Brockway, Montana

Throughout Lewis & Clark’s expedition, they often discovered that it took a lot longer to cover distance than they expected.  Sho, Saya and I got a taste of that experience today.  We ate a good breakfast in Circle and stocked up on supplies, preparing to ride the next 66 miles with very few places to get food and water.  Before we set out, a reporter from Circle’s local newspaper interviewed us about our ride.  I’ll post the article when it comes out.

We finally started cycling at 11:15 a.m. with plans to ride until perhaps 6 or 7 p.m.  But the temperature was well on its way to 98 degrees, and a strong headwind blew in our faces.  Over the next 3 hours, we rode into the wind and worked hard just to pedal about 5 – 7 miles per hour.  We took frequent breaks by the road to drink and rest.  There were no shaded spots to offer relief from the pounding sun, and I realized that it would not be prudent to attempt to ride hard all afternoon.  Sho, who has had no trouble so far keeping up as we ride, began lagging behind.  He promised me that he was drinking regularly, but he was clearly suffering in the heat.  I was too.  Saya, who could take breaks from pedaling on the trailercycle, seemed fine.  After 12 hard miles of riding, we came across a lone bar beside the highway and took refuge.  The bartender said that the hard part of the ride was about to begin, with many long climbs on the way to Jordan.  I stood outside feeling the oppressive heat and evaluated our options.  We could push for another 10 or 15 miles and sleep in our tent by the road, or we could stay inside the air conditioned bar, set up our tent nearby, and get an early start tomorrow.  I decided on the latter.  Sho and Saya happily agreed to the plan.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to cover more distance tomorrow.

Here are some pics:

Sho and Saya chillin' on the bikes

Saya loved this horse

Wearing a shirt from Danny Shane, one of the trip sponsors

The bar in Brockway, MT where we escaped the heat

Saya outside our tent, set up behind the bar in Brockway