Days 24 & 25
June 25, 2005
Today was a long day of spinning to Bozeman. As Pop-pop would say, "It was a hard fight Mom, but I made it."
We got up and on the road by 8. Filip wasn’t feeling too great, so he headed into town to find a pharmacy. We said goodbye and parted ways. Shortly up the road, I pulled off to stretch my legs a bit. For some reason they were a little tight getting going.
About 15 miles up the road Filip caught up to me. We both noted the billboard for the deli/bakery up the way, and headed for it. The ride wasn’t too bad. There was little to no wind and the grade was relatively flat all day.
We got to the store, had a little snack and enjoyed the nice rest in the AC. As we were resting and I was enjoying my Apple-raisin Danish, four Brazilian motorcycle riders came in. Filip, spending much time in Central America with his Guatemalan wife, is much more confident in his Spanish than I am and struck up a conversation with one of the fellas. The four of them are on a six-month tour of the Americas and are now headed to Chicago for a Goldwing convention. It was cool to watch them converse, and I was proud to find myself able to follow most the conversation.
We got back on the road and made our way to Manhattan; a far cry from the New York City burrow. We stopped in a bookstore to see what we could find and got to talking with the nice lady who owned the store. We told her we were headed to Bozeman and she gave us directions to make our way into town. She told us the road we were on gets really busy as we get closer to Bozeman and gave us directions for a little detour that would save us the headache of the traffic.
The detour added at least 3 miles to our ride. 3 miles doesn’t sound like much, but when you get so close to your destination the last thing you want to do is take an extra ride around the outskirts of town to avoid "traffic" that may not have been much of a problem after all. The nice lady meant well, I know, but it became more of a headache than it was worth. I hit the wall with about a mile to go on the detour, but we finally made it back to the main road only to find ourselves with 2 miles to go.
The lady did help a lot by giving me directions to the Chronicle, the local paper. I reached deep and gathered enough energy to swing by the paper and finish the ride. Shortly into Bozeman I said goodbye to Filip and parted ways. He told me to really consider going through Boulder, so it’s possible I may see him again.
I arrived at the paper, chatted with the editor for a bit, gave him a rundown of the event along with all my info, and headed over to my friends’ house. The editor left things rather openended, I'm not sure if they will be able to do anything or not.
It had been a long time since I was so happy to reach a destination. The miles and the grade weren’t too terribly difficult today; I think it was the sun that made the day so tiresome. I’m definitely getting into the summer heat; at least it’s not humid out here. I pulled up to the Julian’s and was welcomed with a loud, “BJ’s here!” from the little ones inside.
The Julian’s, Steven & Stacey, were our youth pastors at our Portsmouth Alliance Church and are now working here at the Bozeman Alliance. They have two little sons and were also entertaining Stacey’s sister and her two girls. Graciously, they welcomed yet another guest into their already full house and are allowing me to rest and visit a few nights.
I got here, hung out and gathered myself from the exhausting ride, showered and got ready to head down to the Bozeman hot springs. The hot springs here are much nicer than the disappointing experience in Lolo. Multiple pools of naturally hot water, all varying in temperature – allowing the opportunity to prove one’s manhood by soaking in the hot baths and immediately jumping into the icy water nearby, I wasn’t man-enough… But I did enjoy the Rain Forest steam room and the hot sauna before leaving.
We came home, all nicely deflated by the soothing waters, had dinner, and visited before trailing off to bed. One interesting fact about today: this was my first time in a car since my fun hitchhiking experience in Florence. And while we’re on the subject of fun little facts: when I was saying goodbye to the girls in Missoula, I gave them each a hug before they rode off. That was the first time I hugged someone since I said goodbye to my mom the morning I flew out. Just interesting the little things like that you notice…
Too exhausted to type last night, I am writing this today, Saturday, while The Wiggles play in the background. Zach, the younger of the two boys, is watching a little sing-a-long before heading up to a nap. It’s been a great visit in Bozeman. Stacey’s sister, Garalyn, flew out this morning before I woke up. After I had a little cereal for breakfast, Stacey handed me a little note and donation Garalyn had left me for the Foundation, I was totally surprised and thankful for her gift. Thank You so much Garalyn!
They took me by the post office where I was able to mail a package back home then headed over to the Home Depot for a water softener/filter. Evidently, the water in Bozeman is really hard and difficult to wash with. It’s naptime now in Bozeman. After the peace period, we’re off to a fair, followed by a dinner.
I apologize for the delay in the update, but appreciate your understanding. I continue to thank all of you who email me short little notes of encouragement. I’m not always able to respond to all of them, but, of course, I read and get excited by each of them; they work wonders for keeping my spirits alive.
Tomorrow after lunch, I’m headed up to Big Sky, halfway to Wyoming and Yellowstone from here. Monday I’ll move into my fourth state, it’ll be another great day and mini-milestone I’m sure. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to that. I’m thinking I’ll take a day off in Yellowstone to tour around and try to see some of it. Although, I’ve heard it can be a bit of a headache, trying to maneuver through all the tourist traffic. So, we’ll see…
Again, thanks to everyone for the continued love and support. The knee is doing wonderfully and I’m feeling good. If all goes as planned, I think the next update will come from Wyoming!
Stay tuned…
Day 24: 79.77 Total: 1121.99
Today was a long day of spinning to Bozeman. As Pop-pop would say, "It was a hard fight Mom, but I made it."
We got up and on the road by 8. Filip wasn’t feeling too great, so he headed into town to find a pharmacy. We said goodbye and parted ways. Shortly up the road, I pulled off to stretch my legs a bit. For some reason they were a little tight getting going.
About 15 miles up the road Filip caught up to me. We both noted the billboard for the deli/bakery up the way, and headed for it. The ride wasn’t too bad. There was little to no wind and the grade was relatively flat all day.
We got to the store, had a little snack and enjoyed the nice rest in the AC. As we were resting and I was enjoying my Apple-raisin Danish, four Brazilian motorcycle riders came in. Filip, spending much time in Central America with his Guatemalan wife, is much more confident in his Spanish than I am and struck up a conversation with one of the fellas. The four of them are on a six-month tour of the Americas and are now headed to Chicago for a Goldwing convention. It was cool to watch them converse, and I was proud to find myself able to follow most the conversation.
We got back on the road and made our way to Manhattan; a far cry from the New York City burrow. We stopped in a bookstore to see what we could find and got to talking with the nice lady who owned the store. We told her we were headed to Bozeman and she gave us directions to make our way into town. She told us the road we were on gets really busy as we get closer to Bozeman and gave us directions for a little detour that would save us the headache of the traffic.
The detour added at least 3 miles to our ride. 3 miles doesn’t sound like much, but when you get so close to your destination the last thing you want to do is take an extra ride around the outskirts of town to avoid "traffic" that may not have been much of a problem after all. The nice lady meant well, I know, but it became more of a headache than it was worth. I hit the wall with about a mile to go on the detour, but we finally made it back to the main road only to find ourselves with 2 miles to go.
The lady did help a lot by giving me directions to the Chronicle, the local paper. I reached deep and gathered enough energy to swing by the paper and finish the ride. Shortly into Bozeman I said goodbye to Filip and parted ways. He told me to really consider going through Boulder, so it’s possible I may see him again.
I arrived at the paper, chatted with the editor for a bit, gave him a rundown of the event along with all my info, and headed over to my friends’ house. The editor left things rather openended, I'm not sure if they will be able to do anything or not.
It had been a long time since I was so happy to reach a destination. The miles and the grade weren’t too terribly difficult today; I think it was the sun that made the day so tiresome. I’m definitely getting into the summer heat; at least it’s not humid out here. I pulled up to the Julian’s and was welcomed with a loud, “BJ’s here!” from the little ones inside.
The Julian’s, Steven & Stacey, were our youth pastors at our Portsmouth Alliance Church and are now working here at the Bozeman Alliance. They have two little sons and were also entertaining Stacey’s sister and her two girls. Graciously, they welcomed yet another guest into their already full house and are allowing me to rest and visit a few nights.
I got here, hung out and gathered myself from the exhausting ride, showered and got ready to head down to the Bozeman hot springs. The hot springs here are much nicer than the disappointing experience in Lolo. Multiple pools of naturally hot water, all varying in temperature – allowing the opportunity to prove one’s manhood by soaking in the hot baths and immediately jumping into the icy water nearby, I wasn’t man-enough… But I did enjoy the Rain Forest steam room and the hot sauna before leaving.
We came home, all nicely deflated by the soothing waters, had dinner, and visited before trailing off to bed. One interesting fact about today: this was my first time in a car since my fun hitchhiking experience in Florence. And while we’re on the subject of fun little facts: when I was saying goodbye to the girls in Missoula, I gave them each a hug before they rode off. That was the first time I hugged someone since I said goodbye to my mom the morning I flew out. Just interesting the little things like that you notice…
Too exhausted to type last night, I am writing this today, Saturday, while The Wiggles play in the background. Zach, the younger of the two boys, is watching a little sing-a-long before heading up to a nap. It’s been a great visit in Bozeman. Stacey’s sister, Garalyn, flew out this morning before I woke up. After I had a little cereal for breakfast, Stacey handed me a little note and donation Garalyn had left me for the Foundation, I was totally surprised and thankful for her gift. Thank You so much Garalyn!
They took me by the post office where I was able to mail a package back home then headed over to the Home Depot for a water softener/filter. Evidently, the water in Bozeman is really hard and difficult to wash with. It’s naptime now in Bozeman. After the peace period, we’re off to a fair, followed by a dinner.
I apologize for the delay in the update, but appreciate your understanding. I continue to thank all of you who email me short little notes of encouragement. I’m not always able to respond to all of them, but, of course, I read and get excited by each of them; they work wonders for keeping my spirits alive.
Tomorrow after lunch, I’m headed up to Big Sky, halfway to Wyoming and Yellowstone from here. Monday I’ll move into my fourth state, it’ll be another great day and mini-milestone I’m sure. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to that. I’m thinking I’ll take a day off in Yellowstone to tour around and try to see some of it. Although, I’ve heard it can be a bit of a headache, trying to maneuver through all the tourist traffic. So, we’ll see…
Again, thanks to everyone for the continued love and support. The knee is doing wonderfully and I’m feeling good. If all goes as planned, I think the next update will come from Wyoming!
Stay tuned…
Day 24: 79.77 Total: 1121.99
posted by SuperByron3000 at 6/25/2005
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