Lima, MT: maybe time for some rest.

Yesterday was a rough one.

We started off from the hostel (bunks in a tackle shop) at high country lodge, where we had a nice stay. 

Yet again we were plagued by thunderstorms from the start. We got slammed by one at around 10 am and while cold, it only lasted 15-30 minutes.

Then sometime after lunch my energy level plummeted. I could barely spin in the granny gear up short hills. Another storm was bearing down so we threw up the tent quickly and I immediately passed out for 1-1.5 hours. Afterwards I felt normal.

We met up with a British guy who lives in Qatar and was racing (we've been meeting some of the back of the pack racers in recent days). 

We crested the top of the one climb of the day and were immediately in a big tstorm. No sweat, we were descending. 

Maybe a half mile into the descent I lost control of my bike and was sliding wildly all over the trail. When I stopped and got back on the bike my wheels wouldn't move. The mud was so thick it had built up and stopped my wheels. The same happened to Jennie and the Qatar guy. We were pretty freaked out as the lightening strikes were very close and we were in the open at 7500 ft or so. 

We then pushed the bikes 2-3 miles through the sage brush off the road. Even pushing the bike across the road would pick up so much mud it would lock up the tires. About a half mile after we were able to ride on the road again we found a spot to camp and stayed the night. 65+ miles, 12 hours.

This morning we rode the 40 or so miles to Lima. Storms around but none hit us. The ride started with more wide open Montana (pic below) and then we weaved down through some really cool dry canyons with lots of steep rock. It was a great ride. Unfortunately I didn't take any pics with my phone.

Anyway, the long diatribe is to describe the conditions that have really beat us down over the past two weeks. Physically we are doing well but we are failing to put in the requisite big miles in crappy weather. And our nerves are fried from the thunderstorm encounters. The weather is supposed to change after tomorrow so we may wait here and then start riding again. Either way we are most certainly not going to finish. So soon we will pick a new destination for an end point. Probably somewhere where getting to an airport won't be a problem and the daily mileage to get there is manageable enough for us to take our time, enjoy, and maybe even explore a little. Southern Colorado? Northern New Mexico? Ideas welcome.