{"id":15822,"date":"2015-07-13T21:05:03","date_gmt":"2015-07-14T01:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=15822"},"modified":"2015-07-14T07:31:03","modified_gmt":"2015-07-14T11:31:03","slug":"day-2-monday-july-13-helena-to-townsend-montana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=15822","title":{"rendered":"Day 3. Monday, July 13 – Helena to Townsend, Montana"},"content":{"rendered":"

A good night’s rest and later start did wonders for the soul and hopefully the legs. \u00a0The cool night air still lingered, though the sun was bright and warm. \u00a0Rain clouds gathered in the western hills behind us,\u00a0\"DSCN3351\"<\/a> \u00a0as we headed out of town on a busy road.\"DSCN3344\"<\/a>An occasional breeze blew through as the energy of the clouds behind us struggled to build.\"IMG_0035\"<\/a>\u00a0 We were enjoying our relatively flat and occasionally downhill road through the Helena Valley.\"DSCN3362\"<\/a>Fifteen miles into our ride, the rainclouds caught up to us.\"DSCN3368\"<\/a> \u00a0We had a few miles of very<\/em> scattered sprinkles and overcast skies, dropping the temperature down to 73\u00b0, cooler than our morning start.\"DSCN3370\"<\/a> \u00a0The play of sun, clouds and hills made for beautiful scenery.\u00a0 \"DSCN3372\"<\/a>With a short ride today, we enjoyed the luxury of relaxing lunch and a beer, \"DSCN3384\"<\/a>while the Duckies relaxed in the shade. \"IMG_0042\"<\/a>\u00a0Like an oasis, a huge lake appeared to our left. \"DSCN3398\"<\/a>\u00a0As we shortly realized, this had just been a very wide portion of the Missouri River. \"DSCN3412\"<\/a>\u00a0At the edge of\u00a0town on the side of the road, we stopped for fresh cherries; grown in the micro-climate of Flathead Lake (largest natural fresh water lake west of the Mississippi) just outside of Missoula.\"IMG_0046\"<\/a> \u00a0Not sure why we had to pedal close to 200 miles to taste them, but it was worth it. \u00a0One might think we are getting soft in our old age, biking only 33 miles, but we like to think of it as just getting wiser.<\/p>\n

Once again, dinner was not spectacular and we felt a bit guilty for the pasta after such a short ride,\"DSCN3415\"<\/a>\u00a0but in a town of 1900 people, we were happy the restaurant was within walking distance. \u00a0We will need the extra carbs for tomorrow when we cross the mountains we admired from afar, today!<\/p>\n\n\t\t