Day 38: Butte, MT to Missoula, MT: Day 39: Early Morning: (J's Version)

Good morning!!! Before I begin, let me just clarify that the Starbucks-like coffee chain in Montana is City Brew not City Steam. I don't know why I kept calling it City Steam when the sign clearly reads otherwise. I think City Steam has a better ring to it. Brew makes me think of beer. In any case, I'm currently blogging from Caffe Dolce in Missoula. It is quite grand. I mean, there's artwork on the CEILING! (Side note: If you've never looked up in Grand Central Station, do it next time you're there.) The atmosphere here is large and open. Although, the parking area is tight, and as much as I love Spearfish  (new truck in case you're majorly behind in our entries) she's kind of hard to park because of her size. I keep telling her she's just big boned, but she's still self conscious. What made it worse is that when I was pulling out and in and re-adjusting several times, the construction workers to the side offered no help. Just watching. Waiting for me to hit the other cars. Anyways, back to more important things like the food. My egg sandwich came with bacon and avocado and was delicious, until the egg dripped all over my dress and hair. #longhairproblems

Missoula is a college town and very cute. Not as cute and quaint as Bozeman's downtown but still nice. G was on the road this morning at 6:30, which isn't too bad considering all the bike issues he's had recently with Jenard. We are aiming for Wallace, Idaho, but it's 134 miles, so we'll see. As soon as we hit Idaho, we'll be in the Pacific time zone! In the words of Michelle Tanner, "Whoa, baby!" Yesterday, his time was amazing. 105 miles in 8 hours!!! He was 15 miles short of Missoula (I picked him up) but would have made it there if we didn't have the bike issues from earlier that day. Also, he could have ridden another hour to get to Missoula, but he wanted to get to another bike shop before they closed.

After I checked out of the hotel yesterday, I found a bike shop right across the street! I explained to the owner G's requests regarding putting a new tube on the tire, and the owner says with attitude, "Can't he put the tube on himself?" Hmmm. The man is cycling cross country. Logic would have it that he would know how to repair the basic necessities of a bike! As I mentioned in my previous post, because the specialized Armadillo (bullet proof) tires we have are rather tight, it makes putting the tube in harder, so if you pinch it (Like G did) it causes a leak. Sometimes you don't even know you pinched it until later when you check the air. That's why G wanted the service department to do the job for him because most likely they'd be better at not pinching it. Oh, the irony. Later that day, when G looked at the "fixed" tire it was flat.

Bike Shop Love in Missoula

That's why we took it to another bike shop when he was done with his ride, and this bike shop guy was super cool and down to Earth. No chip on his shoulder. G had a few things switched around with the tires and tubes and honestly at this point I lost track of what's been done to the tires with both of the bikes. Unfortunately, when we woke up this morning, the other tire was flat. G did

Only real cyclists color coordinate their shirt to match their truck.

another switch of tires with Root Beer. G explains all this in a video and uses a rather funny analogy:

G's video blog recap

Typically, we stay at cheaper end hotels. Super 8, Days Inn etc. However, every so often, I book us a little nicer place. I did my Yelp search and the Double Tree Hilton came up. The views for the rooms are gorgeous. Right along a river. I called just to see what the rate was, but oh my goodness. The lady said I could just put my name down and cancel for free within the hour (as I scouted out other places) but while doing this "no hassle" process she was asking me for all this information just for me to possibly cancel. Finally, her ruthless plan worked, and I said with frustration, "You know, this is a lot just for me to do a free reservation, so I'll just book it and my husband will have to deal with it." The truth is, G is ridiculously cool about stuff like this and isn't a problem at all, but when I talk to the hotels, and if their rate is too high, I say, "I'll have to get back to you to see what my husband says." 

And, I didn't get my room with a view. Unless, you count the parking lot as picturesque scenery. The room itself was lovely even though it didn't have a fridge or microwave. Irony again. The cheap rooms usually always have both.

The views I hoped for.

Three things I've learned/tips for future trips:

1. Gas: Always fill up. Even if you are 3/4 full. Top it off. Seriously. You don't know when the next time you'll see a gas station may be. It's better to play it safe!!

2. Hotels: All of the "chain" type of cheaper hotels we've stayed at have been fine. If you're planning on doing hotels like every night, unless you're super rich, these chain hotels will suffice. Sometimes, you have no other option and have to stay at a no tell motel type of place. These were okay, too. (For the most part) If you are able to, treat yourself to a higher end place every once and a while. Who doesn't like a nice hot tub? Especially after cycling all day. Also, bring your own POWER STRIP. A lot of the chain hotels don't have an onslaught of plugs, so an electrical power strip will be enough to juice up all your gadgets.

3. Text your friends: If you are roadie support crew, you will have some down time. Even if you're just waiting in a parking lot for the hotel check in time you'll have time to text. Thanks to my girls J,K, and M the days have flown by from their texting me throughout the day. Not only does it keep you in touch with people but it gives you something else to look forward to.

Have a great day!!!

Perfect! I always forget how to use this ball for exercise. 

I found this in my comb after I came back from dropping G off. You're probably either saying
"Awe" or are rolling your eyes. Leave someone you care about a surprise note! It'll brighten his/her day!