DISTANCE TRAVELED: 22.99 Miles
AVERAGE SPEED: 12.04 MPH

          Today we woke up much to my liking at 9:00. Everyone was then treated to one of the few restaurant meals of the trip at a small cafe. The day was already warm and did not have a single threatening cloud. Getting a table for 12 proved a little difficult but after combining three normal tables, we eventually all fit in and ordered breakfasts to satisfy our appetite until lunch. After eggs, toast, and hash browns, the final bike repairs took place and bags were loaded up for the trial run. We made some sandwiches and then it was time to take off. After four trips down the stairs, I finally had everything outside and ready to be packed. I snapped the BOB onto the bike and began loading. Somehow, the trailer appeared to be much more full than when packed at home! With bags layered up about 2.5 feet, it proved to be a little squirrelly on the first short downhill. We rode past Big Mountain Ski Resort, passing great downhill trails that we all wanted to ride down (without a full load of course)! The rolling hills passed by ... well they passed by very slowly with an extra 50 pounds of gear behind the bike. After ten miles of rough pavement, we had finished about 1/2 of the way around Whitefish Lake and came to our turn-around point for the day. The entire group gathered at the end while swatting mosquitoes that were hungry for our blood. On the trip back, we felt a little more wind as it beat our faces. A few hours after we had begun, we had finished our first ride of the trip. Unfortunately, it did not help to subtract from the total milage from Canada to Mexico. As soon as we returned, I learned that Marnie and I would be cooking the first meal of the trip. This will turn out to be “an every-6-days-type of chore.” Of course, we had to get the normal provisions for the first night: spaghetti with a Paul Newman sauce, salsa and chips, salad and juice. We rode to the store with one BOB attached to my bike to carry the food back. As we filled up the shopping cart, we realized that two BOB's would have been better. The bill ended up being over $100 for dinner, breakfast, and lunch. We ended up have four bags in my trailer and two bags on Marnie's handlebars! A large amount of food disappeared since everyone was beginning to experience their appetite growing. It was very interesting cooking the pasta since only two of the three Peak stoves worked and only one was in perfect condition. Altogether, it took about 25 minutes to boil the water, which meant that we even had to refill the stove midway through cooking. After a quick clean up, I got ready for the first true day of riding. Once again, I went to sleep about 11:00 after people started to come back from another restaurant run similar to that of the night before.