Day 22
June 23, 2005
“It’s 11:29pm and I’m trying to recall a morning, this morning, that feels like days ago.” That’s how last night’s journal began for Day 22. I was tired and making little progress, so I decided to close shop for the night and knock it out tomorrow – today. So here’s how the ride and day in Helena went yesterday:
I survive the deluge of the night before, had breakfast at the same nice restaurant that let me crash on their lawn, packed up, and made way for Helena. The ride to Helena was a fairly short one, only 30 miles. However, McDonald Pass stood in the way.
It was a hot, hot morning. I’m definitely going to need bigger water bottles, I drained two of them before reaching the summit of the pass. But I did reach it. After several stops to drain my helmet of sweat and dry my head, I reached the highest point of the ride thus far: 6,325 feet, along with my first crossing of a continental divide. It was a welcomed achievement, as always. I continued down the other side of the pass for the fastest down of the trip.
8% down grade for 8 miles = a great ride. I averaged 35-35mph, topping out at 42.9, a new high. And that confidence of which I spoke a few days ago always comes into play when you’re flying off a mountain at so high a sustained speed. I always have flashes of horrible possibilities when riding down a hill like that, not many, just enough to keep my mind focused on the road. An amazing amount of confidence is put into such a simple device, one that you trust will continue to carry you down the mountain and land you on the bottom in one piece.
I reached Helena and took a ride around town in hopes of stumbling upon the offices of the Independent Record, the local paper. Upon entering and leaving Missoula, I realized how far The Missoulian, their local paper, reached. The ride out of Missoula left me a little bummed that I didn’t try a better tactic in tapping into their press. I didn’t find the IR offices, so I figured I’d get a bite to eat, ask for directions, then head over.
As I was pulling up to tie down the bike, across from where I was to eat, a guy crossed in front of me, on his bike, hopped off and went inside his office. I had just locked up the bike when he came back out of his office to comment on the tandem. “I didn’t realize you were on a tandem…” He introduced himself and invited me into his office for a glass of water while we chatted. Alex used to have a tandem and, like many, was amazed by the weight of my loaded tandem. It was nice to talk with him and enjoy a cold drink. He gave me directions to the IR office, filled me in on another great little restaurant, and watched me ride off, reminding me how crazy I was to be lugging such a heavy load. This morning I also saw he signed the guestbook, it’s so great to see people I meet go online and check things out a bit further. Thanks again Alex! The directions were great, as was the Cajun Foul Burger at Bert & Ernie’s…
While at Bert & Ernie’s they told me about “Alive @ Five.” From what I gathered, it was to be a huge town block party with live music and good food. Wanting to check that out and enjoy a little taste of Helena, I probed around trying to nail down a campground within 3 miles of town. Of course that didn’t happen, so I broke down and pulled into the Motel 8. I got a great rate and it started to pour as I was checking in, so I took that as a comforting sign as I passed the credit card over yet again.
It rained for a while and I wasn’t even sure I would be able to head down for the party. I took a much needed, they’re always much needed out here, shower, updated the journal, and hung out ‘til 7 before realizing it was clear enough to head downtown.
I got downtown and found things close to what I was expecting. There was a throng of people in the street as I was walking up, pop-up tents along the side selling hotdogs, burgers, and sandwiches. The band was at the head of the street in the intersection playing a lively jazz set. And everyone was just hanging out, mingling, enjoying the night. After roaming around for a while with hotdog in hand, I sat down in the lawn of an adjacent park to enjoy the music and call a few friends. It was a cool night.
I got back to the hotel around 9 and replied to several emails, chatted on the phone with my friend Steven in Bozeman about the night and directions to his house, and started writing the journal for the day. Somehow, it got real late real quick and as I settled down to type, my body settled down to sleep. I gave it a somewhat valiant effort then called it a night.
I woke up today, went down to the continental breakfast, checked the paper, and found the great article outlining Stephen, me, and the trip. Many thanks to Martin Kidston of the Independent Record for such a nice spread. To view the electronic version of the article click here. The paper was the one distributed to Avon, 30 miles away, so hopefully many people will be able to hear about what’s going on through this outlet and its broad radius.
Now I’m waiting for laundry to dry, another task put off for today by fatigue. When that’s finished I’ll pack up and head out of Helena.
Thanks to Alex, Martin, the folks at Bert & Ernie’s, and the coordinators of Alive @ Five for a great visit in Helena…
Day 22: 31.96 Total: 1008.02
“It’s 11:29pm and I’m trying to recall a morning, this morning, that feels like days ago.” That’s how last night’s journal began for Day 22. I was tired and making little progress, so I decided to close shop for the night and knock it out tomorrow – today. So here’s how the ride and day in Helena went yesterday:
I survive the deluge of the night before, had breakfast at the same nice restaurant that let me crash on their lawn, packed up, and made way for Helena. The ride to Helena was a fairly short one, only 30 miles. However, McDonald Pass stood in the way.
It was a hot, hot morning. I’m definitely going to need bigger water bottles, I drained two of them before reaching the summit of the pass. But I did reach it. After several stops to drain my helmet of sweat and dry my head, I reached the highest point of the ride thus far: 6,325 feet, along with my first crossing of a continental divide. It was a welcomed achievement, as always. I continued down the other side of the pass for the fastest down of the trip.
8% down grade for 8 miles = a great ride. I averaged 35-35mph, topping out at 42.9, a new high. And that confidence of which I spoke a few days ago always comes into play when you’re flying off a mountain at so high a sustained speed. I always have flashes of horrible possibilities when riding down a hill like that, not many, just enough to keep my mind focused on the road. An amazing amount of confidence is put into such a simple device, one that you trust will continue to carry you down the mountain and land you on the bottom in one piece.
I reached Helena and took a ride around town in hopes of stumbling upon the offices of the Independent Record, the local paper. Upon entering and leaving Missoula, I realized how far The Missoulian, their local paper, reached. The ride out of Missoula left me a little bummed that I didn’t try a better tactic in tapping into their press. I didn’t find the IR offices, so I figured I’d get a bite to eat, ask for directions, then head over.
As I was pulling up to tie down the bike, across from where I was to eat, a guy crossed in front of me, on his bike, hopped off and went inside his office. I had just locked up the bike when he came back out of his office to comment on the tandem. “I didn’t realize you were on a tandem…” He introduced himself and invited me into his office for a glass of water while we chatted. Alex used to have a tandem and, like many, was amazed by the weight of my loaded tandem. It was nice to talk with him and enjoy a cold drink. He gave me directions to the IR office, filled me in on another great little restaurant, and watched me ride off, reminding me how crazy I was to be lugging such a heavy load. This morning I also saw he signed the guestbook, it’s so great to see people I meet go online and check things out a bit further. Thanks again Alex! The directions were great, as was the Cajun Foul Burger at Bert & Ernie’s…
While at Bert & Ernie’s they told me about “Alive @ Five.” From what I gathered, it was to be a huge town block party with live music and good food. Wanting to check that out and enjoy a little taste of Helena, I probed around trying to nail down a campground within 3 miles of town. Of course that didn’t happen, so I broke down and pulled into the Motel 8. I got a great rate and it started to pour as I was checking in, so I took that as a comforting sign as I passed the credit card over yet again.
It rained for a while and I wasn’t even sure I would be able to head down for the party. I took a much needed, they’re always much needed out here, shower, updated the journal, and hung out ‘til 7 before realizing it was clear enough to head downtown.
I got downtown and found things close to what I was expecting. There was a throng of people in the street as I was walking up, pop-up tents along the side selling hotdogs, burgers, and sandwiches. The band was at the head of the street in the intersection playing a lively jazz set. And everyone was just hanging out, mingling, enjoying the night. After roaming around for a while with hotdog in hand, I sat down in the lawn of an adjacent park to enjoy the music and call a few friends. It was a cool night.
I got back to the hotel around 9 and replied to several emails, chatted on the phone with my friend Steven in Bozeman about the night and directions to his house, and started writing the journal for the day. Somehow, it got real late real quick and as I settled down to type, my body settled down to sleep. I gave it a somewhat valiant effort then called it a night.
I woke up today, went down to the continental breakfast, checked the paper, and found the great article outlining Stephen, me, and the trip. Many thanks to Martin Kidston of the Independent Record for such a nice spread. To view the electronic version of the article click here. The paper was the one distributed to Avon, 30 miles away, so hopefully many people will be able to hear about what’s going on through this outlet and its broad radius.
Now I’m waiting for laundry to dry, another task put off for today by fatigue. When that’s finished I’ll pack up and head out of Helena.
Thanks to Alex, Martin, the folks at Bert & Ernie’s, and the coordinators of Alive @ Five for a great visit in Helena…
Day 22: 31.96 Total: 1008.02
posted by SuperByron3000 at 6/23/2005
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