Day 2 - Deer-ie me! Lincoln to Sims, MT 56 miles, 11.3 mph ave. 2500 ft elev. gain

Our deer friend wandered over this morning to see if we had anything for her breakfast, accompanied by three handsome bucks who will probably end up in a stew if they don't wise up by hunting season.

Today's ride included riding over Rogers Pass, the Continental Divide, so we planned for fewer miles.

Not too far out of town we ran into a bit of a slow down, a construction / obstruction... For 5 miles.

Skinny tire bikes, gravel, traffic and pilot cars make for interesting navigation. Slow and steady.

We made it to the top of Roger's Pass before the heat of the day, in perfect weather.

The descent was fantastic! Last year it started raining just as we reached the summit, so we were riding in driving rain and wind. It's so much better with dry, clean pavement! With a 70 pound loaded bike, I think the fastest I went was about 35... all the luggage probably creats a lot of wind resistance.

After the pass, we started the rolling hills and heat... We can tell when it's going to be a steep climb because there's a passing lane ahead sign. If it's a steep downhill, there's a truck with a wedge of cheese sign... Pretty tiring, going up and down hills... So, I decided to establish my new work cubicle...

Nice, huh? Sunny, airy...

We made it to Simms about 3. And found the only camping is in an RV park behind the gas station / convienence store - no showers, and the store hours (rest rooms) are from 7-6. Not many bushes around, either...

But, the Sun River is just down the road...

So, off we went for a swim / bath and to rinse out our riding clothes of the day.