July 24, 2008
Day 73: Chinook, MT to Havre, MT
24.61 Miles, 2:03:27 Ride Time, 11.96 Average Speed, 21.06 Maximum Speed
After yesterday's physically and mentally difficult day of riding against the wind, I felt like taking a rest day, which I hadn't done since Illinois. I didn't want to stay at the overpriced motel in Chinook, however, so I decided to do a short ride to Havre, a larger town which, according to my maps, had some sort of hostel on the Montana State University campus there. Sounded interesting - and cheap.
Not much happened on the short, easy ride between Chinook and Havre. I met Matt, a friendly Eastbounder, but it was hard to talk much alongside US 2 because 1) Traffic had suddenly gotten very heavy and 2) The wide shoulder, which had mostly existed alongside "The High Line" since I entered Montana, suddenly disappeared, just as the the number of cars and (especially) trucks increased. What's up with that?
I arrived in Havre (pop. 9,621) to find The High Line, which of course runs through the center of town, in complete disarray - one of the biggest messes of its kind that I've ever seen. Apparently, this Road Project From Hell has been going on for almost two years. Two years for only a couple of miles through the center of town...
I easily found Montana State University Northern, and learned that the hostel was actually a dorm room. Neat. The price, $20, was a little higher than the $10 or $15 that I had expected, but I did get my own room, and the bath and shower down the hall were nice. The dormitory was almost completely empty - I saw only two students who were living there while attending summer classes.
After my fairly early arrival in Havre, the next several hours were a flashback to my wild college years: I hung around the library, then went back to my room where I sat at the desk and procrastinated doing my homework (this journal), then napped for a while.
Later I rode downtown, much of which was fenced off because of the road project, and found a bike shop, where I had new handlebar tape put on. The guy at the shop was weirdly rude and passive-aggressive. Examples:
Me: (Attempting to make conversation): "There sure are a lot of casinos in Havre."
Guy: "SO? What are you, a Mormon or something?" (?)
...
Me: "Have you had any Westbound riders in the shop recently?"
Guy: "How would I know which direction they're going?! It doesn't matter to me!"
...
Guy (On phone to someone, obviously a personal call): "Well, I've got to get off here... This tourist is getting antsy waiting for me to put handlebar tape on."
It's probably time for him to get out of retail (I speak from personal experience). Or, maybe he was just having a bad day...
Later in the afternoon, after eating the Domino's pizza I had delivered to my dorm room, I got a call from fellow Westbound rider Jordan Akselrad, who I had last seen back in Illinois. He was in Havre, and, after I filled him in on the dorm arrangements, he rode over.
I didn't get much work done on this journal, as Jordan and I caught up on what had happened the last 20+ days on our trips. That's always fun.
An enjoyable day. And, I can now add "College Dormitory" to the list of odd places I've stayed the last couple of months (mayor's office, laundry room floor, fish-cleaning shed, etc.)
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Today's ride: 25 miles (40 km)
Total: 5,336 miles (8,587 km)
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