Day 20: Lincoln to near Deadman's Creek

Ride time: 3:51
Average: 7.3 mph
Distance: 28.29 mi

Okay, so what were we doing before we stopped in Lincoln?  Oh yeah--we were riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.  These past three days with Jane and Jerry have been incredible.  It amazes me how friendly and open people can be with complete strangers.  I was quite sad this morning as we were packing up and getting ready to go. The two of them are like grandparents.  Jerry even called my mother yesterday to talk with her, letting her know that "we've got your kids here!"

Anyway, saying goodbye was tough, but I know Nate and I will be back with the twins (Jerry thinks we're going to someday have twins...) next October for his 80th birthday party.

We set out on a very cold, wet, and windy morning through Lincoln, struggling to find the right combination of clothes that would keep our temperature right.

I thought about the past few days while climbing up the pass today, and I am glad that we're not so interested in getting to a certain destination by August 20.  Wherever we are at that point, then that's where our trip ends.  Having the freedom to stay wherever the roads take us for as long as we're able to stay is a nice way to do this trip.  It gave us the chance to spend a few days with some incredible people.

Our ride wasn't too bad today.  The Divide Crossing (#2) took us through some pretty cool forests and stream crossings.  The last 1.5 miles were pretty steep, and the ride down was equally steep.

We missed the turn off for the campground, but since we were in national forests, we could camp wherever we wanted to, so we just pitched our tent back in the woods, about 200 feet from a mooing cow.