May 18, 2002

distances in km.

May 18

Ah, the sweet smell of summer! You forget what spring smells like when you are suffering an endless winter like us Calgarians. Great day. Sunshine, and temps into the 80’s today.

My day started with a 10 km teeth clenching rush down the big mountain road. What a thrill that was! I reached a top speed of 65 kph with the trike. Then a couple of hours to the Summit health club in Kalispell where I swam 3 km in an hour.

I finished the day near the town of Swan Lake for a total of 96 km my first day consisting of 83km trike, a 10km run and the 3km swim. Absolutely awesome countryside – lush and green with glittering lakes, soaring eagles and old picturesque ranches – stereotypically Montana.

The shoulders on 83 were pretty well nonexistent, but there was little traffic and most vehicles did not seem to mind slowing down and moving over. Expect the Trans Am guy. He wasn’t too happy with my roadside activities, so he chose to drive beside me for a while with the passenger window rolled down yelling something incomprehensible through it. Then he pulled over and waited for me to pass him so he could say it to me again. I guess he thought I didn’t hear him because he passed me yet again slowly and repeated his words of wisdom.

A shot from the heli-cam that follows me.

I am happy to report that everything is working well – running while pushing the trike worked great and it was a real nice break at the end of the day from spinning peddles all day.

The happy trike machine seems to encourage smiles from everyone – either that or they’re laughing at me.

My sister Theresa and her husband Pat were kind enough to pick me up at Swan Lake and drive me back to the cabin for one less hotel stay. They’ll drive me back to Swan Lake tomorrow morning where I’ll start my day. I hope to make it to Seeley Lake tomorrow, and possibly add 15 to 20 km of running.

>> Close Window <<