Day 2. The small things.

One of the really great parts of this type of adventure is that it makes you treasure really small things.

No snow! No Puddles! No cars! Wine gums! Pants!

I don't know where my aversion to pants came from. I think that I've had it since I was a kid. Yesterday, I was stubborn and wouldn't put pants on, even though it was cold. And then, when it was wet, I rationalized my bare skin with the logic that dry pants would be more helpful as a means to help me warm up and recover at the end of the day. Foolish. This morning, I started out with pants. So warm. So luxurious.

It was "downhill" to Elkford for breakfast. 60km in 4.5 hours, due to washed out roads and mud from the rains yesterday. This brings me to another small thing that I've come to treasure in the last day. We set out on this trip with the intention to do this in the spirit of the Tour Divide Challenge; however, there is something very different about this ride that doesn't exactly follow the spirit of the race. So, we ultimately decided instead to just ride the Divide on our own terms.

The best part about not doing the race is that it liberates us to make decisions such as...taking the Fernie alternate this afternoon. Our weather situation yesterday presented a logistical challenge that would have made the Flathead even tougher. So, we opted for a different route. Fernie!

This provided an opportunity for our third bear encounter. And then a handful of moose. There is something a lot more enjoyable about this experience when you are with people.

I'm glad that I'm here.
Sent using a Blackberry that I'd better not lose.