Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Got my phones; Talls and calls in the park.

I got up while most of the house slept around me. My host said goodbye with a hug as she left early for work. Family is good. I microwaved some water and made a cup of instant Folgers from the crystals I've been schlepping. I had one of the bagels that a guy Pete gave me in Yellowstone. I spread on some PBJ, and took the whole mess to the porch.

The morning sun warmed me as I enjoyed a calm sit.

I cruised to the bicycle shop, and was happy to learn that they already had my phone - at 10:30am - and it still had somewhat of a decent charge. I checked my tire pressure, and thanked Rob Leipheimer a couple more times before hitting the road. My toes danced and pressed lightly just ahead of the spindle on the Hoopty's wide-and-squeaky BMX platform pedals.

The going was slow. I was riding a bicycle, and bicycles are a relatively slow conveyance. Walking is slower, but in the grand scheme, bicycles are quite slow. Since I can't keep a firm grasp on how much nothing matters, I am sometimes driven to curse at forces beyond my control. Headwinds take the fun out of bicycling. I pushed through a headwind for most of the day, but I still covered 90+ miles. My guidebook had three days devoted to reaching Missoula from Butte - I decided it would be better if it took two. The suggested mileages are relatively short.

I camped in the town park in Drummond, Montana. First I had a cheeseburger deal in town and acquired a couple cold beers. I set up a tent as the sun went down: Made a couple calls; drank a couple talls. I froze my ass off for most of the night.

Expense Report:
$2.70 - Oats and bananas at Albertson's
$1.80 - Chocolate milk and yogurt (to mix with lots of oats)
$5.00 - Burger, fries & Mountain Dew combo
$3.00 - 8.0% 24oz Lager; Coors 24oz
= $12.50 total

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