Crazy Night, Crazy Day

A great meal is prepared and served by Kelly our route leader.

Last night was very crazy. We were staying in a church basement in Malta, Mt. Someone must have turned the air conditioner to 50 below because I felt like I was sleeping in the Arctic. Wearing layers of clothes to stay warm I finally fell asleep to the rhythmic chattering of my teeth. At 3:00 AM I awoke to a commotion at the basement door. The local police wanted to know what a group of homeless people were doing sleeping in the church. Someone had left the front door ajar and the police thought the church was being burglarized and while investigating the came upon a ragtag group of people sleeping in the basement. Tim, one of our elder statesmen explained the situation to the officers and no one went to jail. However, I would have gladly volunteered to spend the night in the slammer where I would have been much warmer. Today’s ride was like a scary funhouse. The first 50 miles was great because we had an easterly wind that blew us down the road at 18 mph. It was great fun sailing with the wind. After our second rest stop the ride got very scary. We were traveling on the only east to west rode in northern Montana, Rt 2 that had a tiny shoulder with cars and trucks traveling at 70 to 80 mph. Some riders elected to get in the van rather than becoming a bug smear on a truck’s window. I elected to be an idiot and ride on. At the same time the wind shifted and was in our faces at 15 to 20 mph. The last 40 miles of our 90 mile day were a nightmare. For some riders it took 6 hours to go 40 miles. Everyone was pretty rattled by the time we came into town and most of us went right to drinking beer to calm our shattered nerves. At least that was the excuse I gave for downing several beers before eating a great team dinner that was prepared and served by Kelly our route leader. Tomorrow we’re hitting Rt 2 again at 6:00 AM to try and beat the wind and traffic. I don’t want to endure another scary funhouse day.