This morning was cool and dry in Lincoln and though the tents were wet, I got an early start on the climb up Flescher Pass and crossed the Continental Divide at 6130 feet. On this side of the divide, all the water eventually flows to the Mississippi.

The first half of the ride to our picnic stop was nice. At the picnic stop, however, there were ominous clouds and rain in the direction we were heading. (It's hard to always use the singular first person when there are 60 people riding along with you, though every day I ride with a different group or person, and often alone. But, for now, I'll stick to plurals).

Shortly after leaving the picnic stop and getting on Interstate 15 for 8 miles, it started raining. Hard, but not torrential or anything. There was a lot of wash from the trucks though, and we were glad to get off the interstate and onto the busy regular highway, where soon it cleared up. At mile 68 we had a water break, and at mile 70, my riding partner of the moment, Leslie H., noticed that my wheel was wobbling. I had broken a spoke and had to stop as I didn't have all the parts and tools with me to fix it. I finished the last twenty miles in the sag wagon with a lot of people who just didn't like getting wet.

We're in Townsend tonight, a nice, clean little town, with a modern school and library where I'm posting this message from. We head to Ennis tomorrow. We seem to be in a river valley and the riding should be much easier, and the weather is supposed to be clearer and warmer. I'm planning on loading up the BOB and taking in along for my first fully loaded ride since starting.