DAY 3 – Holland Lake to Lincoln (93.6miles)

It’s straight into a climb first thing over Richmond pass. Half way up it starts to snow lightly and I pass three other riders I don’t recognise. I wait for Bruce at the top and Ashley, Nathan and Matt McFee continue past who I hadn’t recognised in their rain gear. When Bruce arrives the snow is getting heavier and we gear up for it. Its cold and time to get this pass done, so we press on as quickly as we can traversing along the mountain on a narrow track as the weather deteriorates and the snow begins to settle. The other riders are poorly equipped for this weather and moving slowly; eventually we get past and they disappear.

At the bottom of the descent I break to sort my wet kit out and Bruce heads on. I find him a few hours later in Ovando at the Stray Bullet Café. The bad weather is a distant memory and I’ve dried out and warmed up now, although chain suck had been plaguing me. Out of Ovando we press on for Lincoln together over Huckleberry Pass and arrive at dusk. It’s time for a motel tonight to get everything dried out. We hit the first place we see, hose down the bikes, and head for a restaurant. Outside the motel next door to the restaurant we see Ashley’s bike outside and bang on the door, getting him out the warm shower he was taking. The three of us go to the restaurant and are just finishing dinner when Josh and Matt arrive. I’m glad they made it over the second pass and out of Ovando where I’m sure some riders will spend the night.