Day 8 Thompson Falls to Missoula - 102mi

Today was the first century (100Mi) of the big ride.  I woke up late & feeling rushed.  But I still got things packed with some help and I think the extra sleep most likely did me a great deal of good.  I felt much better today and the ride went well.  More incredible scenery.  The Thompson river, which we rode along most of the day, was running high and strong.  Quite impressive!  I have rode centuries before, so I kept telling myself this was doable and just kept going.  We got into some big sky scenery, which can make you feel small when it's just you and your bike out there.  We started the ride in rain. Later it cleared and became sunny.  There was a ridge we had to climb over to get into the valley where Missoula is, but it was gradual and not as bad as I thought it would be.  It was very warm and sunny as I started the climb, and I was hoping some of the clouds int he distance would come cover the sun and cool things off.  Be careful what you wish for.  The clouds turned into a thunderstorm and cooled me off good!  I was OK though with my storm jacket I got for our Pacific Northwest winter weather.  We all finished the day strong and feeling well.  Today helped my confidence greatly.