LW ITT Update: Lincoln, MT

The wheezing, gasping pink dot sucker punches the yellow dot, casting her SPOT tracker to the roadside atop a mountain pass in northern Montana.  But the yellow dot is unfazed, and keeps pedaling at almost 200 miles a day, a direct blow to the morale of the pink dot.  This morning, the pink dot labors up every hill in the Swan Valley north of Seeley Lake and Ovando, while the yellow dot cruises over a series of three low passes en route to Helena, more than a day ahead. Graphic provided by GW Neal via Microsoft Paint.

Lael has maintained a pace of almost 200 miles a day for three days.  She pedaled 219 miles on the first day to camp on the back side of Cabin Pass.  The second day, about 190 miles further down the track, she camped beyond Bigfork on the climb above Swan Lake.  At the end of the third day she passed Lincoln just after the gas station closed at 10PM, sourcing candy bars and potato chips for an overnight bivy and the ride to Helena.  I suspect she slept on the climb out of Lincoln.  She should be in Helena by early afternoon, and Butte by late tonight or tomorrow morning.  Lael rode and hiked over Lava Mountain in the dark last time, after leaving the hospital in Helena.  I’m sure she will appreciate the ride in daylight.

When she called from Lincoln, after I worried all afternoon that she was eaten by a bear on Richmond Peak, she asked, “Did I do good?”.  

Yeah, you did really good.

Look for limited updates of the yellow LW ITT dot today on the Tour Divide 2015 Trackleaders page.  We should be back to full tracking mode by Wednesday.

Update: Lael checked in from Helena around 11AM MT.