July 6, 2005
Day off in Missoula, MT: Rest on our day off? Ha!
We had an appointment to tour Adventure Cycling's office and an invitation for lunch. Mmmmm. First I wanted to go by REI and buy a new rain coat (Marmot Clip Percip) and a new rear tire. We hadn't had rain for several days, but as sure as I didn't buy a new coat, then it would guarantee rain. I found what I wanted and then was running late to get to the tour. I got only slightly lost on the way to the office. I did pretty well in the big city traffic. The drivers were very aware of me. I never felt in danger, just overwhelmed by the number of cars around me. I missed the first part of the tour, but got there in time for the windup and delicious BBQ burgers for lunch. We had all of the fixings, fresh fruit, and salads. ACA was treating us right. We took our group photo after with Greg Siple. It was nice to see Guy again. He is a very charming fellow. I checked my email and browsed the selection of free books.
I walked to the neighboring post office and mailed back my old rain gear and some souviners. In my rush to get to the ACA office I forgot to bring the developed photos to mail. I ended up carrying them with me for a couple of days before finding a convenient post office. I went to a bicycle shop with recumbent John and then headed back to the KOA. On my way I passed a day old bread store and circled back. I bought bagels and bread for the following night, which was my turn to cook. I'd have to carry the bread over Lolo pass, but the price was right. Ryan had me well trained to watch the budget.
For dinner several of us walked to an Outback Steakhouse for dinner. We invited along Jim Daly. He did the Trans Am in 1976 and has crossed the USA 'countless' times since. Jim said all of his belongings were in his BOB trailer. He's made the trek so many times that he has friends in almost every city to stay with. Tom and I chipped in together to buy Jim's dinner. It was worth the price to hear his tales of the road. Jim said when he gets low on money he goes back home and works in the LBS until wanderlust strikes again. Jim shared our camping spot at the KOA. I'm not sure that I would like to be so footloose that everything I owned would fit in a BOB, but I love the idea of being on the road until sated.
I ended up riding 12 miles on my day off. I felt rushed and frazzled all day. I wasn't used to the big city traffic or having to navigate where I ride. It certainly wasn't the laid back easy day off we had in Dillon. I needed a rest day from my rest day. Nothing doing, we had Lolo Pass to climb in the AM!
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Today's ride: 12 miles (19 km)
Total: 446 miles (718 km)
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