452 miles
More daily mileage than I was planning for week one, but feeling good. Only part of body that hurts are my thighs. Pushed too hard day 2 so thighs have been sore since then. Used a rolling pin on them nights 4 and 6 (Bernie u were right, I should have brought one of those big rollers from the gym with me!)
Trip is more fun than expected. I love the solitude during the ride, but enjoy Having people to talk to at end of day
Going up hills sucks. Going down them isn’t much better! You soon realize that when u are going thru a mtn range, if u are going down, it only means u will have to climb back up. They should have designed these MTns so that when you hit the first peak, it is flat until the end of the range. I will have to write a letter to the manufacturer. This first week should be the hardest MTns. This coming week I do hit the Rockies/Continental Divide/Glacier National Park/ the famous Going to The Sun Road (see pic of map) But I think it will be easier than week 1. Then no real hills until the bad Appalacian MTns in PA.
States left to go thru: MT, ND, SD, IA, IL, IN, OH,PA NJ
So far the hardest aspect of the trip is comprehending mileage. 20 miles is farther than it sounds . When looking on map, distances seem much closer. And mileage at end of day is much more difficult than morning mileage. I don’t have good topo projections which makes planning for hills difficult.
Wind is a major factor. Day 5 wind was in my face all day including going down the mtn. When wind is at your back, it is heaven
My watch has paint on it from before I left. It covers up the date which is perfect for this trip. I have no idea what date it is
Today I slept late and lay in the hammock reading, surrounded by chickens and turkeys. (I know the biggest turkey was in the hammock) Decided I needed to do around 30 miles today to allow me to get to Libby tomorrow. Need to get to Libby because the next town after that is 80 miles away. I was going to bike 30 to Clark Fork. But Lisa called up friends of hers that live in Hope, on the lake. So tonight I am staying with Tony, Trish and Ethan Butler. They are making me a huckleberry rhubarb strawberry crisp, all picked from their garden. And salmon Tony caught in the Columbia river. We just took a dip in the lake and on the way back spotted these animals, they call deer!
I think that answers most of the questions people posted. The mystery photographer will remain such
Today spent about 2hrs biking 21 miles to Hope ID.
No pics because bad cell area.
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