Day 69 - Adventure Cycling Association - Rollin' ocean to ocean

July 9, 2024

Day 69 - Adventure Cycling Association

The Transamerica route I am on was the brainchild of several people who formed the Adventure Cycling Association in the early 1970s. They envisioned riding cross country in 1976, the US centennial year. They managed to pull this off with 4,000 riders peddling part of the route and 2,000 bikers completing the entire coast to coast route. Today I was in a deli in Hamilton, Montana and struck up a conversation with a gentleman roughly my age who noticed my bike shoes. Greg rode the entire Transamerica in 1976, I couldn’t believe it. He was 18 years old and just out of high school. It was fate that I actually met one of the inaugural riders, I was floored. Forty eight years later I am riding the same route Greg rode!

I wanted to get a haircut and my beard trimmed and lucky for me a one chair barbershop was just around the corner from my hotel.

Firp Redman is the owner and sole barber in the shop and treated me to a fine cut. He even pulled out the straight razor to clean up my neck. Firp is in his 80s and has been cutting hair for much of his life

University of Montana is in Missoula. Rode into town today and passed the grizzly statue

Clark Fork River runs through Missoula. This guy was swimming against the current (basically staying stationary) for over an hour

Adventure Cycling is headquartered in Missoula. I have their full map set for the Transamerica route. Went in today for a free Haasgen-Daz bar and had my picture taken for display on the big wall. Very emotional after what happened last year

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Today's ride: 49 miles (79 km)
Total: 3,257 miles (5,242 km)

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