Day 37: Bozeman, MT to Butte, MT: Day 38: Early Morning (J's Version)

Good morning!! I'm blogging for the hotel lobby because it's actually pretty darn nice! Most of the

hotels we've stayed at offer a "free" Continental Breakfast, but since G typically leaves really early they aren't set up yet. If I hang around i'll check them out and something I noticed is that usually they don't provide scrambled eggs; however, this Holiday Inn Express does. The TV is right in front of me showing Fox News. Man. The world is in shambles.

We got up fairly early but spent a good hour + trying to fix Jenard. G always checks the air pressure every morning and puts more air in the tires, but he noticed the air wasn't holding. Turns out the back tube was flat, and when he replaced it, he pinched it by accident which caused another leak in the new tube. Also, putting the tire back on along the rims is pretty hard. I mean I just stood there watching, but G was struggling but like always remained calm. I summed up the process in only a few sentences but in real time it was much much longer. He ended up just putting one of Root Beer's tires on Jenard instead. I hope this won't mess them up psychologically.

Root Beer out for the count

My main task for today is to find a bike shop and get a new tube on Jenard's original back tire AND have the guy put it on. I don't know if we'll make it to Missoula because it's 119 miles, and we had a later start. Yesterday, G made AMAZING time. I predicted he wouldn't be back until 5ish, but he was back at 4 AND would have been here earlier, but he spent half an hour with a guy on the side of the road who had car troubles. The poor guy was traveling far away and his car breaks down kind in the middle of no where in Beaver something forest, BUT he still had cell phone service because he called Triple A! He has Verizon. We have At&t, and G hates it.

Yesterday, after I left City Steam I stopped for lunch at Wheat Montana Bakery and Deli per G's

Wheat Montana Bakery and Deli

recommendation. He was ahead, and texted me to stop there for lunch saying I wouldn't regret it. Holy cow. Off the highway with nothing else around it except an Adult Store called Adam and Eve lol. I had possibly the best Turkey/Ham sandwich of my life! They make their own bread, so it was fresh and soft and all the fixings melted in your mouth. Unfortunately, I was so hungry I ate it before I could take a picture of it.

Also, after I ate that amazing lunch, I saw G about 20 miles down the highway. I pulled over, and he went to the bathroom (if you strategically open the front passenger door and the side cab door no one can see "what" you're doing. TMI?) and was refreshed with a V8. We talked for a few minutes, and guess what we see on a regular road that was parallel to the highway? We see a man and a woman (i'm assuming hubs/wife) both cycling with SO many panniers on each of their bikes. G shouted "Hey!!! Where ya headed?" The woman yells "Massachusetts" G yells backs, "I'm going to Portland, OR." She says back politely, "Nice." then G goes, "I came from Portland, Maine." THEN, her reaction was "Whoa. good job!" It was neat to see that couple (I didn't get a chance to take a picture) because it made me think that's what G and I would have looked like if I decided to do this trip, too. Then, after realizing she must have had 40 lbs of stuff in those panniers, I was glad we are doing it the way we are.

Later on that day, as I was approaching Butte, I saw two guys cycling on the highway!!! This is the first time this entire trip that besides G, I've seen a cyclist on the actual highway. It was pretty cool. Unfortunately, each guy was filled with panniers. There really is a shortage of roadie support crew workers.

I know G keeps saying he can smell the ocean already, but for me once we hit Washington in a few days, THEN it will become real. Since July 1st I haven't had any alcohol, french fries, coffee WITH cream. I've been extremely cautious of what I've been eating. The only day I splurged a little was the day that we won't speak of. #mountaindrama  I plan on celebrating with wine and bad food the day he dips his wheel in the Pacific! He's freakin' amazing.

Starting today until the end of the trip (which is rapidly approaching!) i'm going to share three things each entry I learned over the experience or tips for future cyclists who plan on doing a long journey. (Sidenote: There's SO many cool experiences out there aside from cycling cross country. Our friends V&E are traveling to France in Sept. to run a marathon through a bunch of vineyards!! Another pair, T & B walked El Camino de Santiago in Spain/France. I know those examples are in Europe, but there's so many other cool things just in our own country.)

1. Do not over pack: I totally packed way too much for us for this trip. I don't know what I was thinking. I packed us clothes for almost every occasion aside from a wedding. When in reality, instead of 3 bags of clothes, those could have easily been condensed into one. I've only worn really 3 shirts and 3 capris in rotation. G wears his cycling shirts each day and at night just gym clothes. Since I over packed, the bags in the back seat of the truck  just takes up lots of space. Also, the

Natural

irony is that I brought almost all of my make up with me thinking I would "experiment" with different looks like blue and purple eye liner. Reality. I stopped wearing make up the day after we left Fulton, NY! I've been make up free for a month, and man it makes life so much easier especially at night. I don't have to take all that junk off my face.

2. Bring your own laundry detergent. Most hotels have guest laundry and if you don't bring your own detergent, you'll spend way too much money buying theirs. Finally, by the third washing cycle it dawned on me to buy my own bottle of Tide. Also, if you plan on doing laundry make sure you have quarters.

3. Blog/Write in a journal/Voice record as much as you can: Whether you're roadie support crew or the actual athletic participant it really is therapeutic to write down your thoughts/reflect on your journey each day. Honestly, if I wasn't blogging, I'd probably go crazy. Well, not really, but yeah, maybe. I don't know what I would be doing. Plus, it serves as a great memory and everything is documented. If you want to go the next step like us and share it with others that's even better, so your audience can experience it with you. When we get back and someone asks us about the trip who didn't read the blog, I'm tempted to just say, "Refer to entry 16."

View of mountains from Super Walmart

These odd moths were ALL over the truck and ground. I have serious bug issues.

Have a great day!!!!