We’ve completed our first 1,000 miles (powered by roughly 16 PB&Js):
We’ve also now raised over $4,000! Thanks to everyone who has helped us get this far. We have also, finally, broke our streak and received donations from the first 2 new people we met along the way!
It turns out the problem with my bike was a broken axle – the head had cracked. Luckily the next day was our first planned rest day, and Missoula is a bicycle town. Although every bike shop I visited tried their best to help us out, no one in town had a compatible axle in stock. Thanks to Dan at MTCX and Jane at Big Sky Bikes in particular for spending so much time on it.
While most of the rest day was spent at bike shops, doing laundry and other chores, we did have some good food and drinks at Tamarack Brewing, and a pretty amazing sandwich (the Beach Boy) at Tagliare Deli. We also stopped by Adventure Cycling, which is the company that produces the maps I’m (mostly) following. We talked to them about some possibly routes to the east coast, now that we’re staying up north. They keep a board of polaroids of cyclists who pass through:
Denise insisted we get a photo w/ Monte, the University of Montana’s mascot, where she went to school:
Things have been going fairly well since then – cold nights in the mountains, but things are getting pretty hot again down in the plains. A lot of great scenery along the way:
We’ve had to make some adjustments to our planned route and plans. Because of the good weather, health, and my pessimism in planning this section, we’re quite a bit ahead of where we expected to be. But the options we’re now looking at for out east also look like they’ll be pushing things pretty close to the wire. So, we’re now planning to skip RAGBRAI, and continue into Minnesota, arriving in the twin cities a week earlier than we expected. That should also let us see Twins and Brewers baseball along the way.
We’re currently en route to Bozeman Hot Springs, where we’ll meet up with our friend Denise and camp. We’ll stay at a far less exciting RV park in Livingston tomorrow, and then meet up again with Denise at her house in Billings for 2 rest days where I hope to get my bike going again. Then we’re off to North Dakota, most likely going south from Bismarck to Pierre, South Dakota along the Missouri, and then east into Minneapolis, Wisconsin, Michigan.
I’m currently enjoy the A/C at 406 Brewing in Manhattan, MT, but I’ve got about 20 miles to go to meet up with Denise and Bob, so time to get back on the road!