Thankfully the morning in St. Regis was much calmer than the evening. I ate, packed up, and tried to hit the road ahead of the oncoming storm. I did a decent job of it, but I had cross winds and still got some sprinkles that were, for the most part, refreshing since I was wearing a jersey that hadn't been washed after a long day of use. The riding was mostly uneventful but I did come across another Rest Area that had free coffee, lemonade, and cookies. Whoever thought of this is a genius and the people who voluntarily staff and supply it are saints. It's so refreshing to arrive for the bathroom and water and get coffee and cookies as well! We talked about my trip a bit, I got some route suggestions, and one of the ladies even gave me a couple Power Bars from her car.
There was quite a bit of construction along I-90, which is usually good for a biker. Many times a lane is closed but there's very little work actually going on so I can ride in the closed lane, worry free. There were several stretched where the entire westbound freeway was closed and traffic was diverted onto eastbound, making it a narrow two lane highway. So I figured the safest thing to do was to get onto that closed section, and soon I was riding down the middle of westbound I-90 by myself!
I was much better about snacking and keeping a constant fuel supply going, and eventually stopped 30 miles outside of Missoula to eat when I got another flat, this time a glass shard. In pitting the wheel back on I noticed that one of the rear spokes was broken! This would explain the wobbling I have felt over the past couple days. I have a couple spare spokes but I elected to deal with it for the next 30 miles and pleaded with Babe to cooperate in exchange for a professional tune-up when we got into town. After that I had a great tailwind that carried me into town.
I met up with Aunt Betsy and my cousin Rachel and took a shower while they food shopped. Uncle Brad came home and we talked about the trip a bit since he had done his own bike tour after high school from Iowa to Washington and down to California. Brad and Betsy made us all dinner, my first home cooked dinner since Teri and Steve's, over two weeks ago. It's really nice to have these stationary breaks every once in awhile. It gives my legs time to recuperate, as well as my psyche, and I'm able to wash clothes and spend time cleaning and mending. I'm looking forward to exploring Missoula tomorrow and hitting Lake Blaine with Dad, Nat, Brad, Betsy, and Katie over the weekend. I've topped 1900 miles so far, time for a weekend off.
There was quite a bit of construction along I-90, which is usually good for a biker. Many times a lane is closed but there's very little work actually going on so I can ride in the closed lane, worry free. There were several stretched where the entire westbound freeway was closed and traffic was diverted onto eastbound, making it a narrow two lane highway. So I figured the safest thing to do was to get onto that closed section, and soon I was riding down the middle of westbound I-90 by myself!
I was much better about snacking and keeping a constant fuel supply going, and eventually stopped 30 miles outside of Missoula to eat when I got another flat, this time a glass shard. In pitting the wheel back on I noticed that one of the rear spokes was broken! This would explain the wobbling I have felt over the past couple days. I have a couple spare spokes but I elected to deal with it for the next 30 miles and pleaded with Babe to cooperate in exchange for a professional tune-up when we got into town. After that I had a great tailwind that carried me into town.
Dude, you could publish a book of your photos!
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