Don’t be deceived by the myth that Montana is always warm in August. It is as temperate as a certain Robert Shiels’ temperament if the full 8 hours beauty sleep aren’t gotten.

On a freezing cold morning which you would expect to find in Dublin in Mid December.Patrice lead the way for us to take the “backroads” rather than the more dangerous I-90 less scenic.Where possible  we are taking backroads although it may add an extra 10 to 20 miles to the journey we do this as on the interstates we are more prone to punctures. What is causing these punctures is staples which is coming from the tyres of the juggernaughts on the I-90 .Literally every second vehicle is a massive truck 18 wheeler gliding by at 70 miles per hour. When one of tyres explode which happens quite regularly judging by the huge amount of tyres along the I-90 its punctures galore.

We took the backroads to three forks and then rejoined the I-90 as there was no parallel road to Bozeman

Despite our efforts numerous punctures to be reported evenly spread amongst the team. We are spending a small fortune on tubes every day averaging approx 8 punctures a day amongst the team. This isn’t the issue more so the amount of time it is taking up. We are going through tyres in the same fashion Russell Brand swaps girlfriends

As the day proceeded the sun began to shine on the COA team. Regular breaks were had and numerous snaps taken of the Rockies. We seen all sorts of wildlife,Deer,bald eagles .So far we have not seen any bears despite the high population of them.We have been told there are grizzlies and have been told stories of some horrific attacks from them. They can run speeds of up to 30 mph so we always try to maintain the pace and avoid getting in between them and their cubs ,or swimming in lakes full of salmon. The mace spray is always at the ready nevertheless

We also need to watch out for grass and even rattlesnakes when were changing tubes fixing tubes by the road side. Bear grills eat your heart out

After the support team met us with some food in Three Forks we proceeded to pass through Belgrade and Manhattan to our final destination of Bozeman. When we got to Bozeman we were met by Jason Delmue and Melissa whom had nachos and chocolate milk waiting for us. Great people! They were enthusiastic about the cycle  and put us up in their holiday home which hands down is the nicest house I’ve ever stayed in. It featured moveable stairs, rolling hinges made from skateboard wheels and tri-coloured bedsheets.3 stories high it was similar to the house you would see on cribs on MTV and plus after a quick game of Rock paper and Scissors it was agreed myself and Eoin have 1 room each while the others shared the 3^rd story room