July 2, 2003 We had a nice ride to Three Forks, MT today. The wind, the weather and the terrain were all favorable, and we were able to lop off our 64 miles at an average of 16.3. It was fun. There were no mechanical problems with the bike today. We did change out the front tire because it had about 1650 miles on it, and there will be a lot of high speed descending taking place over the next several days. The Team is fine, and is happy to have a short day. Yesterday evening, Ron called his friends, George and Lucia Foster. This was a surprise call because they used to live in Helena, and Ron wanted them to know that he was thinking of them. George had not gotten home from work when Ron called, but Ron and Lucia has a nice "catch up" chat. We left Helena on Highways 12 and 287 in a freeway environment on a modest descent. The first few miles really flew by. As we settled in, we had the Big Belts still with us, and we were descending a valley with mountains on all sides, and nice green grass and crops right up to the mountains on each side. The scenery was changing rapidly, so we were entertained very well. About half way through the ride, we noticed some "real mountains" just ahead. We say "real" because they have snow on them. We still haven't identified them, but we think we are looking at the Tobacco Roots. We will know more tomorrow, since we have to cross them. It was also about this point in the ride that LaValle noticed a fox on the railroad tracks next to the road. She attempted to photograph him as Ron slowed the bike, and the fox stuck his cute little head up in the air, and really looked us over. We did not have a lot of elevation gain today, but we did have two fairly significant climbs. However, what was exciting were the descents. One of them was five miles long, and the other was about four miles. We were just flying. The descents were shallow enough that Ron could let the bike run - what fun. We are staying at a motel at the intersection of I-90 and Highway 287, just short of the town of Three Forks. The town is named for the three rivers that converge to form the Missouri. The rivers are the Jefferson (This is the West fork, and the one the Corps took to the mountains.), the Madison and the Gallatin (Gallatin was Secretary of the Treasury during the Expedition). By reaching the source of the Missouri, we have now followed two rivers from beginning to end - the Ohio and the Missouri. This is exciting for us, since rivers are playing such an important role in our trip. This is also a very historic site. The Corps spent a lot of time here trying to figure out where to go. They had three alternatives, and just as they did with the Marias River, they made the right decision. If they had taken one of the other forks, they would have been involved in a lot of backtracking, and might not have recovered. The weather today was wonderful. We started in temperatures in the high 60's, and the skies were clear. The sun was very bright, and it started warming very quickly. By 10:00 it was 83, and by noon it was in the 90's. Of course, we were off the bike by then enjoying the first lunch (on a biking day) at a normal time in a long time. We are usually eating at 3-4:00 PM or later. The wind was favorable all day, and really helped us keep the ride short. Tomorrow we set out on a route that was used by William Clark on his return trip. We are not following the original route the Corps took west because it would involve traveling a lot of miles on gravel roads. We don't want to do that. However, we will be remaining very true to staying on Corps routes. This was just about a perfect day: inspiring mountains, beautiful terrane, wonderful colors, smooth roads, favorable winds, screaming descents and great weather - what a wonderful ride! Ron