7. A week already!

Today I stepped on the gas. 130 km / 1,700 m of elevation gain with 2 passes to cross. Not a cloud in sight, I rode non-stop on gravel (hard on the backside) to secure the last spot at the Whitefish campground.

This morning, I met Chris Neil, Siri's husband. A couple of cyclists passed by. Curious, but only had time for a brief chat (Dieter and Monika, Germans). Overall, each encounter is joyful because we are all on the same adventure. But they all have 60 days or 3 months; not many are moving at my pace. There are still the encounters.

Chris warned me that a fire has broken out in Lincoln, Montana, and on the trail. We hope it will be contained; otherwise, I will have to take a detour. It’s 330 km away; I still have 2 days to see what happens.

Today's challenge is the elevation with 2 passes to cross. I feel like I'm doing well, averaging almost 18 km/h. The weather is beautiful and hot, and I enjoy the rivers along the way. I resisted the urge to swim, but that won't last long. The water is super clear and refreshing. Today I rode non-stop to see how it goes. Thankfully, I prepared well ☺️.

The most incredible thing is that out of 130 km, I had to do 120 km of gravel in nature. Everything is very green, and the trail passes by lakes with incredible colors.

My only failure is that I couldn't finish the "Large" pizza in town tonight. I think it takes 2 days of cycling to accomplish that 😄.

Tomorrow I will try to maintain this pace. I have to watch out for my backside, which is starting to make itself known. It does shake, but I still don't dare film while going downhill to show you.

I'm happy about Roman's bronze medal in the 200m backstroke; he’s the son of a former colleague. Well done 👏!