DISTANCE TRAVELED: 52.50 Miles
AVERAGE SPEED: 9.91 MPH

          Today we woke up around 7:00 since we thought that the day would be fairly easy. We all ate breakfast and started to ride out of camp. Unfortunately, about two hours earlier, a grader had begun to smooth out the road. While it succeeded in getting rid of potholes, it made the ground very soft and there were chunks of dirt instead of hard packed but bumpy ground. We rode on this for a few miles and then turned onto another road. Here we began a 3.5 mile climb of about 1000 vertical feet, which did not show up, on the map. (Picture15) On the map, the profile was flat! After we reached the top, there was a long gradual downhill with great views of the surrounding mountains. (Picture16) We ate lunch at a large meadow that had resulted from a clear-cut operation that probably took place over 30 years ago. (Picture17) We rode on and came to blocked roads which had two foot deep trenches in front and a two foot high wall in back. With a little help, we were able to push the loaded bikes over the blockade. These roads had hardly been used other than by horses and wild animals. We eventually got to the highway and since Marnie and I had to cook, we had to buy food. We rode for 5 miles in the opposite direction from where we wanted to go, to the closest grocery store, which was a small quickie mart that was surprisingly well stocked. We loaded the food, ate some candy to give us energy for the extra few miles, and then rode to the campground at Holland Lake. We then wasted another 3 miles trying to find our campground. Finally, when we arrived, the mosquitoes attacked, forcing me to put on long pants and a jacket to keep them off. The next task was to cook. (Picture18) For dinner, we had a pasta salad, which turned out very well. Brian told us his story of the day, which was that he ended up seeing a grizzly bear on the trail while he was riding alone. Fortunately, he was able to back up and wait a half an hour until it was gone. After dinner, I set up my tent, took a shower, and went to the lodge for some of their homemade pie. I got a huge piece of mixed berry pie with two scoops of rich vanilla ice cream. It was some of the best I have ever eaten. The lodge was beautiful since it was built in the 1920's out of all wood and was decorated with hunting trophies. After desert, I played a game of pool and headed back to camp to go to bed at 11:00.