PACTour Day 2/19 - All You Need is Love

Beautiful, warm (mid 60ish) morning rolling out of Missoula this am.

Will looking happy on the rollout...

The World Famous Testicle Festival.  With Jim's current apocalyptic view of the current state of affairs on this planet, is it a wonder that they want to nuke us out of existence?!?!

We rolled a few miles of I-90 today.  Interstate on the left, train on the right.

The early morning peleton was sizeable.

Everything in order and in its place on PAC Tour.  At the rest and lunch stops you take off your gloves, wash your hands.

And then dry them before digging into food and drink.

Will was already looking a bit pekid a the first stop.

We rode from rest stop 1 to rest stop 2 with Jon Jahant, PAC Tour crewmember, masseus nonpareil.  Will suffering in the background...

  

Top of the 3 mile climb from lunch, heart shaped cut out of trees.  "All You Need is Love."

Over the top of the climb Will and Jerry.  Georgetown lake (at 6300 feet) to the left.  Poor Jerry would fall hard over a railroad crossing at the bottom of the descent.  He's OK and bike can be fixed.

Wes will be so proud to see Will "enjoying" his first ice bath.  100% recovery guaran-damn-teed.

Daily stats, Garmin Training Center Style.

Ascent software view of our ride.

Nice topographical course tracing.

Tough day for Will.  We rolled out OK, but after the first stop we had gradual false climbing for the next 50 miles.  Jon Jahant rode with us from Rest 1 to Rest 2, which lifted the pace a little for poor Will.  (Jon's dad, George, was supposed to be with us on the tour, but, tore his biceps tendons playing some silly SWAT team games...)  We rode alone from Rest 2 to Lunch (mile 80) now noticeably going uphill 1-3% for 20 miles into a headwind.

Will was cooked at lunch.  We tried to recover him with humor, food and drink, but it didn't work.  There is a 4-6% 3 mile climb 5 miles after lunch and Will was riding slow.  Over the top, however we started a long gradual downhill for 20 miles with a tailwind riding at 30-35mph with only an occaisional pedal stroke to keep the speed up.  Will was coming around until our friend Jerry stacked it over a nasty railroad crossing at the bottom.  Wonderful townspeople of Anaconda came to our aid and one older woman drove Jerry to the hospital and a nice man in a pickup truck took Jim, Will and the three bikes the 5 miles to the next Rest Stop so Jim could make the calls to alert Susan and Lon what had happened.

Will learned about cannibalization today from this.  When Jerry hit the ground a Nutter Butter snack fell from his pocket.  Will later ate this.  Jim had been nursing a slowly leaking rear tire (which needed replacement, not just a repair) so when they got to the rest stop Jim swapped wheels with Jerry's felled bike.  Hey he wouldn't be riding it, right?

Will recovered enough for the 30 mile ride to the Super 8 from the last stop.  He drank 2 servings of Hammer Nutrition Recoverite (strawberry flavor which apparently rocks.)  Jim then dumped him in a cold tub and added 20 pounds of ice for recovery.  He should have wings in the am for sure.

Will is listening to Steinbeck's East of Eden, which is his required summer reading while riding.   Jim has been listening to his "ultimate playlist."  Jim's apocalyptical attitude improved today listening to Queen's "Bicycle Race" (I don't want to be a candidate, for Viet Nam or Watergate,all I want to do is Bicycle! Bicycle!)   Rod Stewart's "Passion" pretty much sums up cycling enthusiasm.  Over the top of the climb today, just past the heart cut into the side of the mountainside, not really worried about Will, but trying to keep his spirits up and keep him going the Beatle's "All You Need is Love" came on.  

With a good attitude and love, anything is possible.  Thank you for reading.