ALASKA; Day 18; August 1, 2013

After having our complimentary breakfast at the Riverstone Lodge our first order of business for the day was checking out my left trailer tire.  We noticed previously that it was wearing unevenly.  About a fifth of the total circumference of the tire was worn bald.  The rest of the tread was worn normally.  Our best guess is that it was a defective tire.  I put on new tires before the trip and the other tire was doing fine.  Anyway, with the help of the other petite boys I got the spare wheel put on and I wouldn’t have to worry about an exploding trailer tire while negotiating a high speed pass.DSCN1945We were on the road at about 8:30.  It was 68 degrees and cloudy.  A short distance down the road it rose to 72 but that was the high of the day.

We rode to the east entrance of Glacier National Park.  It was busy and we had to wait in line to pay our park fees.  The ride through the park was very scenic as you’ll see from the pictures.Carl was leading today and he stopped frequently for photo opportunities (mostly because he knew I wanted pictures).  A couple of those stops were also used to allow my beast to cool down.  On the way out of the park we had a picnic lunch.picnic @ GNP

We left the park at 2:00 and we still had about 250 miles to ride.  I guess we spent too much time sight-seeing.  We rode through Browning (an impoverished town occupied mainly by Blackfoot Indians), Chotead and Great Falls on our way to White Sulphur Springs, MT.

It had been cloudy most of the day and as we left Great Falls it was threatening rain.  Since we were all manly-men none of us opted to put on our rain suits.  It was in the low 60’s as we approached Bynum, MT.  Carl knew I was wearing my light jacket so he stopped for me to put on my leather coat (what a nice guy!).  Larry put on his rain jacket but not his rain pants.  Carl, Gary, and I still opted to ride without benefit of our rain suits . . . . . . . because we are manly-men.  Between Bynum and Great Falls it rained lightly off-and-on.  Still no rain suits because they really were not necessary and . . . . . . because we are manly-men.  Somewhere past Great Falls it really started raining and still we did not stop to put on rain suits – you know why.  In addition to this we were riding a scenic portion of Hwy 89 through the Lewis and Clark National Forest which, as it turns out, is in some mountains.  So while we were riding in the rain without rain suits the temperature dropped as low as 49.  It was brrrrr cold and wet for about 70 miles.  Good thing we are manly-men.

We stopped for the night at the Spa Motel in White Sulphur Springs, MT shortly after 8:00.Spa Motel; White Sulphur Springs, MTWe walked a short distance downtown to the Mint Tavern for broasted chicken (recommended by the motel clerk).  It was LARRAPIN good chicken.

The motel has three pools filled with hot mineral water straight from mother earth.  Each pool is a different temperature.  We soaked in the 102 degree water, which is supposed to alleviate all our ailments.

We rode 405 miles today (I forgot to get the Garmin mileage from Gary and would hate to wake him up now!).  It was a great day of riding except for that wet and cold 70 miles.

For more pictures from today click on the following link: https://plus.google.com/photos/104542123131082631220/albums/5907383822239224961?authkey=CKuKwfGu7L7k5gE

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