"Up the airy mountain, down the rushy glen." William Alling It's 42 degrees (that's Farenheit - I'm near the Canadian border but not near enough) in the morning, and you can see your breath. I hope it has something to do with dew points etc. and not the alcohol the night before. I consider Lifa, leg warmers and tights, but put my trust in the sun making an imminent appearance over the mountain tops and warming up the valley, and settle for the tights only. My two riding companions are from Arizona and South Carolina and they think that a blanket of freezing air covers the whole of Canada. They've got a distorted idea of Canadian weather and Canadian tolerance for arctic conditions which it seems I didn't help any. We shared a two room cabin last night and they stuck to one room with the gas fireplace going full blast and I stuck to the other room with both windows wide open. And no, it wasn't the alcohol then either. So they decide not to go the last 20 miles to the border. We've got to head back south and fast. Our ultimate PAC Tour destination is El Paso, Texas some 18 days hence, but they want to be there by noon. Fortunately there's no wind, the sun makes an appearance, the views are just a stunning as yesterday, and we head back down the Going To The Sun highway. It's an 18 mile ride back up to 6,680 feet, where the scenery is geat, the air is thin, and the wind picks up and dries the sweat off in an instant. No stopping this time, then a rush down into the glen. It's 12 miles of continuous descent, marred only by a van full of tourists who've never experienced the joy of being on a bicycle going far too fast, and won't let us by. We probably still averaged 35 mph on the way down. Then a leisurely lunch (a real PAC Tour training type lunch: potato chips, Coke and a chocolate bar) by the shores of glacier fed Lake McDonald where I convince my companions that the only reason I won't go for my usual lunchtime swim is that the water is too polluted, a problem we don't have up in Canadian waters. Then back to Kalispell where the rest of the PAC riders are slowly dribbling in. Pack up for the usual early start, and early to bed. Don Friedlander ------ To unsubscribe, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Club Office: [EMAIL PROTECTED], (613) 230-1064 Web/mailing list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cyberus.ca/~obcweb Newsletter: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cyberus.ca/~obcweb/Newsletter ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aVxiDo.a2i8p1 Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
