Friday, August 29, 2008
Day 9
Where do I even start…
Today is day nine and I am in Missoula, Montana. So far the bike and I have traveled a little over 600 miles. As planned Bri and I started biking on the 21st in Portland, OR, I had spent so much time preparing for this trip, and getting everything moved out of my apartment I had neglected to adjust to my new shoe/ peddle combination. There were problems right away due to my inexperience with my new peddles. We started by crossing an intersection, and I could not get clipped in. I ended up hopping across the intersection- it was a struggle to stay upright with a heavy load on the back of my bike. While I was hopping I managed to twist my handle bars around, apparently I didn’t get them as tight as I thought when I reassembled my bike. Luckily that was an easy fix.
Our trip started on a bike path that went between the North and South bound lanes on 290. It didn’t take us long to get out of the city. Once we were out of the city and on a road with much lighter traffic my bike came to an abrupt halt while going down hill. I got off my bike and noticed that one of my panniers had flipped around and was stuck between my rear wheel and my rack. This felt like a big set back.
Once my bike was back in working order we were on the road- again. It turned out to be a beautiful and scenic ride. Most of the route was along the river with mountain views. After traveling for 54 miles I hit a big square rock and ended up with two flat tires. Luckily this happened right in front of an RV park. Although this park didn’t have tent sites the manager was kind enough to allow us to stay for free. Over a campfire he told us all about his career as a bigfoot hunter. This was the first time I had ever met a bigfoot hunter.
Over the next few days the landscape changed drastically, it went from lush valleys along the river to prairie deserts. On day 5 were at low elevation, and the riding was easy. It would have been a good day to get a lot of miles under our belts, unfortunately I encountered few problems. Right after lunch I got my first flat tire of the day, after that I averaged one flat every 15 miles, by the end of the day I had had 5 flats. I think I am at 11 flats right now.
After my day of flats Bri’s knee started to bother her. The pain persisted for a day and half of riding and by the time we got to Clarkson, WA she was ready to stop biking, so we parted ways.
I made it to Winchester, Idaho on my own. I feel in love with the town of Winchester, population 376. While I was there I met 2 other cyclist, Steve, and Laurel. We stayed at the same campground for a few nights in a row- the plan was to wean me into traveling on my own. It proved to be a little premature because the next morning, in Lowell, Idaho, while I was eating breakfast Bri showed up at the same diner I was eating at.
She had bought a knee brace, a map of Idaho, and taken a half day of rest. She cut across route 12, which was a 90 mile trip and camped in the same town as I had. She is a little slower than she was when we started, but she was able to make it to her destination of Missoula.
This is really the abbreviated version of everything that has happened so far. I am happy to report that I am in good health, and love my life on the road
Today is day nine and I am in Missoula, Montana. So far the bike and I have traveled a little over 600 miles. As planned Bri and I started biking on the 21st in Portland, OR, I had spent so much time preparing for this trip, and getting everything moved out of my apartment I had neglected to adjust to my new shoe/ peddle combination. There were problems right away due to my inexperience with my new peddles. We started by crossing an intersection, and I could not get clipped in. I ended up hopping across the intersection- it was a struggle to stay upright with a heavy load on the back of my bike. While I was hopping I managed to twist my handle bars around, apparently I didn’t get them as tight as I thought when I reassembled my bike. Luckily that was an easy fix.
Our trip started on a bike path that went between the North and South bound lanes on 290. It didn’t take us long to get out of the city. Once we were out of the city and on a road with much lighter traffic my bike came to an abrupt halt while going down hill. I got off my bike and noticed that one of my panniers had flipped around and was stuck between my rear wheel and my rack. This felt like a big set back.
Once my bike was back in working order we were on the road- again. It turned out to be a beautiful and scenic ride. Most of the route was along the river with mountain views. After traveling for 54 miles I hit a big square rock and ended up with two flat tires. Luckily this happened right in front of an RV park. Although this park didn’t have tent sites the manager was kind enough to allow us to stay for free. Over a campfire he told us all about his career as a bigfoot hunter. This was the first time I had ever met a bigfoot hunter.
Over the next few days the landscape changed drastically, it went from lush valleys along the river to prairie deserts. On day 5 were at low elevation, and the riding was easy. It would have been a good day to get a lot of miles under our belts, unfortunately I encountered few problems. Right after lunch I got my first flat tire of the day, after that I averaged one flat every 15 miles, by the end of the day I had had 5 flats. I think I am at 11 flats right now.
After my day of flats Bri’s knee started to bother her. The pain persisted for a day and half of riding and by the time we got to Clarkson, WA she was ready to stop biking, so we parted ways.
I made it to Winchester, Idaho on my own. I feel in love with the town of Winchester, population 376. While I was there I met 2 other cyclist, Steve, and Laurel. We stayed at the same campground for a few nights in a row- the plan was to wean me into traveling on my own. It proved to be a little premature because the next morning, in Lowell, Idaho, while I was eating breakfast Bri showed up at the same diner I was eating at.
She had bought a knee brace, a map of Idaho, and taken a half day of rest. She cut across route 12, which was a 90 mile trip and camped in the same town as I had. She is a little slower than she was when we started, but she was able to make it to her destination of Missoula.
This is really the abbreviated version of everything that has happened so far. I am happy to report that I am in good health, and love my life on the road
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