Day 28 – July 10, 2015

Day 28 – July 10, 2015
Bozeman 0 day

Bumble Bee – Audrey

We took a deserved day off in Bozeman. It’s a nice town, a bustling town. It has something different than Missoula, it had little bit of LA, with it’s fancy jewelry stores and high end realtors. Along with that it had some classic characters that reminded me more of Beverly Hills that a small town in Montana. As we strolled the streets we saw the “types” women with shopping bags and lifted expressions sipping their lattes at the little coffee shop on Main. At our hotel while we were having breakfast a couple sitting just behind Gregg were meeting with a realtor who was showing them pictures of huge ranches. The couple looked very LA, Malibu, etc…middle aged, he was handsome, she had the tanned fitness/pilates/yoga body we are so familiar with in LA. When the realtor stepped away they argued. Strange. It was kind of surreal to be surrounded again by these people that seem so alien to us. We have been away from this for awhile now, so separated from that world.

Yet with these types come the comforts of home. The flip side are also there in great numbers, my people, the Co Op people, the gr

een people, the conscientious people. We stopped at a great Co Op and stocked up on Organic Sun Block, oatmeal, dried fruit, and hand lotions.
Great to have that.

The other things we did on our day off were to go to REI to pick up my replacement sleeping pad, go to photo store to get extra SD card for video camera, eat Korean food, and drink some beer at the Outlaw Brewery. It was threatening to rain the whole time we were in Bozeman so we rushed thru it all. Having only our bikes as transportation limits us. One, we can’t go to far, two, we really don’t want to ride too much since it is our “O Day”. Oh yes, did some laundry too.

Gregg ~ Bear

Good thing for me, and for all of you blog followers out there, that Audrey’s is so intent on keeping up the blog. Sometimes I lack the energy. Sometimes I lack ideas. And some time, to be honest, my level of energy is low.

We have had an interesting last few days. Once we started following the I-90 (all frontage roads so far) it felt like we had re-entered the familiar after leaving the exotic. As I understand it, as we move East, the exotic will reappear slowly until we are pedal deep in America’s outback-Great Plains-hinterland… Why exotic? For days we had weak or no phone signal, no-wifi from anything other than our hotspot (if that), no major news papers or TV other than FOX News (video no sound) or ESPN. The distance between sources of drinking water or a market with fresh food was vast. It wasn’t as if we were alone. We were on an almost major highway with sometimes significant traffic. We were in the land of JESUS bill boards, pick up trucks, and frequent road kill. The human kind were often commemorated by, uniform in design, little white crosses set up just outside the shoulder. Many of those crosses were extensively decorated with flowers and toys.

Just about everyone we met was nice and very willing to help. Nevertheless, I would never chance having a discussion about politics or religion with anyone. It was a bit of a environmental and cultural shock for a big city boy like me. This brings me to one of my topics of rumination while making miles – cultural diversity. In some ways I feel more culturally close to the French I met in France than to my fellow Americans fifty or so miles inland from the Pacific coast. I am secular, not nationalistic, social democratic on most political and economic issues, and, urban. I am so accustomed to racial and ethnic diversity, that the lack of such on most days feels strange – that is until it jumps out at you at the Indian Pow Wow in Arelee. I’m not a Christian or even religious. To the extent I have an ethnic identity it is Jewish. I get the feeling the vast majority of my fellow humans living in rural Washington, Idaho and Montana are white, Christian and conservative.

A few things that might be useful:

First, you need to carry, and drink, enough water. On some of the hot days we have been having, a large water bottle barely lasts ten miles. On one occasion, the time we begged some water, we drank the equivalent of two large bottles in ten miles. On several occasions, we arrived at our destination sipping the last drop of water we carried. We carry two large water bottles in the down tube and seat tube holders. We also carry a small bottle under the down tube between the bottom bracket and the front wheel. We also mount, with a velcro strap, a large water bottle to the top of the low rider rack on the left side. We have on a few occasions, stuffed a water bottle into the space between the bag riding on the top of the rear rack and the seat post. We could, attach another water bottle to the right side of the low rider rack. And, as some do, put a bottle inside the rear pannier if there is space. So far four water bottles (sometimes five) has worked for us. From now on, unless it gets real exotic again, three or four water bottle should work.

Second, you need to have a strategy to cope with traffic on rural roads. I have mine. It seem to work, which is to say, I have never been injured while practicing my method. Years ago I followed the stay to the right of the fog line whenever possible. I spent hours tensing up my shoulders and neck muscles every time a car or truck passed close – which is to say almost every car or truck that passed. Eventually I evolved a new approach. Take control! Make the cars and trucks that want to pass give me more room, or pass me slowly, or best of all, both. To do this you need a rear view mirror. I have one mounted to my helmet. You can get a rear view mirror for you glasses or mount a rear view mirror on you handle bars. When I first see a car or truck approach behind me (at some distance), I move out into the middle of the lane to maximize the chance I will be seen. Just as important as being seen, is being seen as an obstacle to be avoided. As the car or truck gets closer, almost all the time, it will either slow down, start moving to the center of the road if there is no oncoming traffic. When the car or truck does move or slow down, I start to move toward the fog line. When the car or truck is actually passing me, I move closer to the right side of the road, but never closer than a foot from the edge. In some ways this is a little like playing chicken. Judgement is required. If the over taking vehicle is a red pick up truck with giant tires and a loud engine, maybe I’ll chicken out early. If the vehicle is a Prius, I might stand my ground like a proud rooster. In any case, as the overtaking car or truck gets within a few car lengths (more if more speed is involved), I move to the side no matter what. In some cases, the only prudent thing to do is pull over and stop – too much on coming traffic, a “wide load” vehicle, a difficult turn for a large truck. In some circumstances my method would be suicide – heavy traffic for example. I believe my method, when used under the right circumstances, make the ride less stressful and safer.