I just wanted to give a quick update before I head over Macdonald Pass and into the mountains of Montana as there is an excellent chance I will be off the grid for a few days.

As of right now I am enjoying a very pleasant and needed rest day before I make another push to Missoula, MT. To be honest I am pretty interested in what lies ahead on the bike. I know for a fact that I will have a grueling climb over the continental divide and I also know that I will be witnessing some amazing Montana scenery. The same type of scenery I had envisioned months ago when I decided to take this trip and as you could imagine it is pretty fascinating to see how things can come full circle and it is a tremendous feeling to know that you can absolutely make your goals and dreams become a reality.

I am proud to say that I have made it this far and I can hardly believe I am on the last leg of the journey. But let's not get too excited. There is no doubt that I have some pretty intense challenges ahead of me. There will be mountain passes, strong head winds, cold rain and very brisk fall evenings and mornings up in the mountains.

Before I sign off I wanted to say thank you to a couple of very kind and generous folks in Montana. While I was in Townsend I was feeling exhausted due to two big climbs and getting hammered by a thunderstorm 2 miles from town. I stopped in at the Fish Tale Tavern and I began looking for someone who might possibly take me in and a local named David Kearns did an extremely generous deed when he insisted that he put me up in a local hotel. He decided that any man who can ride a bike from Maine to Montana needs a good night of rest. As most of you know I am not a big fan of staying in motels but I can assure you that after a long day of headwinds, climbing and biking completely soaking wet a motel is a very wonderful place to spend the evening. After a free meal provided by the Fish Tale and good conversation with the local folks I retired to my room early and slept like a rock.

The next morning I woke up feeling absolutely energized due to my wonderful nite of rest and I was off to Helena. This would be just a short 33 miles and according to the Weather Channel it was going to be a very calm day. Somehow I think they misread the reality of the situation because when I hit the road the winds were coming straight at me and in my estimation 25-30 mph. After 4 months on the bike a man can get pretty good at predicting wind speeds.

This ride to Helena proved to be one of my hardest days on the bike. There is absolutely nothing more frustrating then pedaling as hard as you can with very little progress to show for your efforts. So from 8:30 am til about 4 pm I pedaled in the wind and barley took a break. To make matters worse there was a very consistent and heavy traffic flow on route 12 and it was Labor Day and as I pedaled along and thousands and thousands of people were returning home from their holiday weekends in their large SUV's and most of them hauling large items such as boats, ATV's and Campers. This was not fun at all.

When I arrived in Helena everything was closed. I actually liked this because after getting my butt whooped by Mother Nature it was nice to have Helena all to myself. With heavy winds and my inadequate camping gear I need to find a place to stay and the first place that was open and had been recommend to me was the Blackfoot River Brewery. This was just fine with me as I was in need of a good beer and some relaxation. I walked up to the bar and ordered the IPA which was fantastic and the girl behind the bar says "was that you I passed biking today" The odd thing was that I actually remembered her. I remembered seeing her Subaru and then I remembered the fact that she went well into the other lane to avoid me. This was a very kind thing to do in comparison to the thousands of others who zoomed right passed me just a few feet from my bike.

With this small conversation started I said "this might sound odd but do you know anyone in Helena that might let me crash at their place?" she said "hmm give me a minute we will work something out" and walked over to a group of guys enjoying beer and conversation. A few seconds later they call me over and I was introduced to her brother Josh who said he would be more than willing to put me up and I have a entire bedroom all to myself. Wow! That was easy I thought to myself. And there I was after all of that hard work on the bike enjoying a cold beer with new friends in Helena, Montana. The good beat rolls on.

This story extends quite a bit and Josh's generosity continued to spill over when he cooked me trout that he had caught in a local river and told me I was welcome to stay as long as I like. So with this invitation I decided to take an extra day and rest my legs before I climb Macdonald Pass. Today I enjoyed  backing up my files, laundry, stretching, grocery shopping and downloading new audio books (Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose) and most of all I enjoyed watching the wind blow and not out there pedaling.

The story doesn't stop there. Knowing that I am going to be heading into the mountains and faced with potential severe weather I needed to get some new camping gear. Socks, hat, gloves and certainly a sleeping bag warmer then the summer bag I have been using. A few minutes later Josh came out with a hat, pair of gloves and a sleeping bag fit for a king sleeping in the Rockies. All he said was " You are gonna need this more than I will in the near future. Just ship it back to me when you get to Washington. No need to kill your budget."

This is exactly the type of story that you should... but don't hear about in the main stream media these days. These are great people in great communities helping a total stranger. When a stranger puts you up in a hotel and another lends you expensive camping gear trusting you will return these items having known you for less than 24 hours you can't help but feel a bit amazed. These are the types of actions that really move me and keep me motivated and pushing forward. I must have some pretty darn good karma.