Day 2 - On the Puddy Train

Today was another beautiful day and a great day of riding. I rode out this morning with the guys I finished with yesterday and they're a great group. Andrew Puddy is an Aussie who did the Elite Tour last year - the one I was thinking of doing (which I'm glad I didn't ;) Andrew likes to be at the front and keeps a strong steady pace. The rest of our group is David, Craig, John and Chip. I stayed with these folks all day.

We were given all the route slips at the orientation meeting. None of us know this area so it's always an adventure to figure out where we're going. Today we had a great 'mis'-adventure. After taking a dead end street about a half mile, we realized we were in the wrong place and needed to be on the interstate (I-90) that ran parallel to our dead end street. So we figured, no problem, we'll cross this small field, cross the train tracks and just hop on the Interstate. First - a mile long train came by just at that time - ok, we waited a few minutes. We cross the tracks and then encounter a barbed wire fence. Fortunately, we found a place that was missing a row. So we pulled it apart so that we could all get through. We're keeping it interesting :)

The riding was great, and the scenery was beautiful. Lunch just outside of Phillipsburg, MT where we saw some puppies. We had headwinds for a time and then hit our first 8% climb at 86 miles. Once over this there was 20 miles of flat and downhill and tailwind through the town of Anaconda, MT. A great reward for the day (and yesterdays winds). Majestic scenery at 35mph. Sweet.

The tailwinds stayed for the most part all the way into Butte. Overall I'm feeling good. Sleep helps a lot and I'm eating and drinking like mad. Tomorrow is an easier day at 101 miles.

Stats:
Day 2 - 137 miles
RT - 7:23
Avg - 18.2
Elevation Gain - 5400 ft.
Weather - Perfect!... again.