Examples of Photographic Incompetence

August 6, 2013

Havre, Montana

If you are looking for an exciting journal post today you will have to look for somebody else's journal. May I suggest www.iBike4Them.org. That is the blog of a westbound rider who came across the highway and stopped me for a roadside chat. His name is Mike and he is riding the entire Northern Tier Route from Maine to Washington in order to support three of his favorite charities. He said he stops to talk to every bike rider he sees and he is up to about 1,200 meetings. I assume that includes non-touring riders as well. He handed me a fancy business card relating to his blog and his ride, and his charities, which kind of took me by surprise. I don't know if he was expecting a donation to one of his charities on the spot, but he didn't get one.

I commented that he wasn't carrying much gear for a cross-country bike tour and he let on that his wife was driving a support vehicle--a 23 ft. RV that he gets to sleep in every night. I honestly can't say if I thought of that arrangement with envy or with disdain. He took a picture of me and said he would mention me on his blog. In return, I just mentioned him on mine.

[UPDATE FROM 2018: At the time this journal was originally written, I was new to the cycle touring world and was unfamiliar with its customs. I now know it is not uncommon for riders to be supporting charities, to cross the road and talk with one another, to take photos of each other, and to exchange business cards.

I was also new to the on-line journal business and I seriously regret not taking more photographs. I originally posted "Greg's Questionable Judgement" on Blogspot with no pictures at all. I didn't think I needed them. I egotistically thought my words were descriptive enough. Plus, I didn't like stopping my forward momentum to dig out my phone to take pictures. After the completion of the tour, at the urging of a few friends, I added almost all of the pictures I had taken, which, as you can see, weren't very many. I'm sorry to say that it's only going to get worse.

In subsequent tours I have slowly developed an appreciation for taking more and more pictures. No, not better pictures, but at least MORE pictures.

One more thing: I'm still having fun re-typing and re-living this five year old trip. I now return you to the regularly scheduled journal page and its examples of photographic incompetence.]

One of my biggest disappointments over the last eight days is that, other than the two coyotes, I haven't seen any large wild animals. That includes 3-1/2 days in one of America's wildlife wonderlands--Glacier National Park. Things temporarily improved this afternoon when I spotted six pronghorn antelope. Two of them were pretty close to the highway, but when I rolled up they ran back about 30 yards to join the other four.

That's when I noticed all six of them were acting an awful lot like cows, which I now know are the stupidest animals in the world--at least according to one source. The antelope just stared at me. And stared. And stared. I came to a complete stop and they just stared. And stared. And stared. And stared . . . and stared. Come to think of it, I just stared at them too. What does that say about me?

I was the first to back down and I pedaled away feeling kind of small.

There are animals on the horizon. I know you can barely see them and you certainly can't tell what they are due to my poor photographic abilities. You'll just have to trust me when I tell you they are pronghorn antelope. If I was going to lie, I'd say they were something more exotic--like elephants or snow leopards.

When I'm riding I don't very often stop to take pictures. I've passed up plenty of picture-worthy sights. Why in the world did I stop for this one?

Havre, pronounced Hav-er in Montana-speak, with a population of 9,300, is the largest town I will see for more than 500 miles. There could be no better reason to get myself a motel room and explore what there is to explore.

I can't explain this picture either--except that I thought it looked kind of cool in a retro kind of way. I liked it so much that I checked in. True to the sign's promise, it was very quiet.

I rode to the only bike shop in town for a new inner tube. They were out of the size I needed (700 X 37) but I was assured they'd have more in a couple of days when they get their next shipment. It looks like I'll be using patches across the rest of Montana if the need should arise.

I picked up a few groceries and while checking out I noticed a headline on the front page of the Great Falls Tribune: Rising Sun Camp Area Closed Due To Bears.

Hey, I camped there just three days ago! I would have loved to have seen a bear wandering around the campground, and I find it quite surprising that no bears investigated my site. Even though I religiously placed all of my food in the bear-proof lockers provided by the National Park Service, I'm pretty sure I had enough odors on my body to attract the noses of a whole clan of bears.

I bought a copy of the paper and read it in my motel room. According to the story, a number of close encounters between campers and bears have been occurring over the last week. I am so jealous of those lucky campers.

Today's ride: 61 miles (98 km)
Total: 887 miles (1,427 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	4
Comment on this entry	Comment	0