Today I dedicated the ride to my dad’s cousin, JoAnn. Picture the bubbliest, most loving, generous, Texas woman squeezed into a mere 5’3”. She was always the relative that my sisters and I got excited was staying at our house. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the fall of 2015 and passed away in her favorite place, San Antonio Texas, this past March.

Even though we had to wake up at 5 AM this morning because the YMCA we stayed at opened at 6, we still were unable to make the 7:15 rollout time, much to the chagrin of Tyler. But it’s okay because what we lack in timeliness as a team, we make up for in fun. The Spanish speaking conversationalists finally got to ride today and there was mucho practica. The ride today was awesome conditions with little to no wind, a cool yet warm temperature, and no winds. We finished off the last 18 miles at an average pace of 19 mph.

Drummond is a small town of only 300 something, however the local diner, Parker’s did not disappoint. With over 101 burger options to choose from, Nick Nodus, the team foodie, even claims that it was the best food that he had on the ride so far. After this pre-dinner before pasta and lentils, we attended a meet and greet at the library, run by husband and wife power duo Jody and Kevin. They both work at the high school we are staying at. After talking about our favorite summer memories from the ride so far, they invited us back to their front yard for s’mores and stories. Their daughter even let us play with her 10-week old golden retriever puppy.

As far as ideal i4k days go, today was pretty sweet. Tomorrow we have a short 55 mile ride to Missoula where we have a rest day.

MB