Illini 4000

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No Butte's about it, Butte is a wonderful town!

The team woke up this morning to a wonderful breakfast provided by our good hosts at Ennis Assembly of God. We all had our fill of muffins, yogurt, bananas, egg casserole, and orange juice before prepping our moustaches and heading for Butte.But Butte would be no easy ride. Only six miles out of Ennis stood a 650 foot climb that got many of us working hard and sweating at 8:30 in the morning. However the effort was well worth it as we flew down the other side and into our first rest stop a few miles later. Jamie was driving once more and decided to treat us to a little surprise and bought the team brownies for the first rest stop. Later on at lunch, we would be treated to a variety of jelly flavors, allowing us to deviate from the traditional grape that we have so often. Lunch was also special because it was right next to the Little Pipestone Creek, halfway up to the Continental Divide. To say the least the water was nearly freezing, however it didn't stop us from dipping out feet in, sitting down in the flowing waters, or for the real adventurous, submerging themselves completely.On our arrival into Butte, many of us made our way over to The Outdoorsman, a bike shop run by Levi Leipheimer's family (for those of you not into the biking world, Levi Leipheimer rides on the same team as Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France). They're a great group of people and helped several of our riders get the supplies and fixes they needed to get back onto the road. So if you're ever in Butte and in need of some bicycle repairs drop by and see if they can't help you.Tomorrow we continue our journey through Montana, arriving in the little town of Drummond, a small town with so much generosity. See you all tomorrow!