:: shift7 ::

:: north/south adventure ::

before the ride:

day -02
training - packing - thinking - waiting - shopping - training - thinking - packing the bike!

so i've taken a bike apart before- my own bike too. and it always seemed like such an easy thing to do. and the images don't help tell the story- you can't see me slamming a hammer against the wrench to take one of the pedals off. or the fact that it took me about 45 minutes (after trying both directions). almost embarrassing, but i did know it didn't necessarily screw off in the normal direction, or that both pedals came off in the same direction. so it was a pain in the ass- but its ready to go.

my dad (bill) and thomas are already there - well, somewhere between spokane (spo-can) and kalispell, montana. that's where they'll pick me up on thursday before we head up to the canada border to start our ride- our trek- our adventure- on friday.

it seems so distant in so many ways. it was ten years ago this month that i biked across from oregon to virginia (through montana). and yet in about 2 days i'll be starting again.

day -01
all packed. this is it. i think its really starting to sink in. no use in thinking about the things that i may have forgotten. i know i have the bike and everything else is just a luxury. it almost made me laugh to think of how many electronics and associated wires i have with me. and with all that, at midnight i decided to do one more run through to make sure i got everything. i was tired, anxious, keyed up. but once i'm out there, there's no chance of getting a connector cable or a plug that fits whatever. lucky thing too- because i had missed the hookup for the camera. camera, laptop, ipod, phone, each with a connector, a plug or two, a power converter, and some extra stuff just in case! its a wonder i had enough room for my biking shoes. ah technology, its made our lives so much easier and compact-- kinda.

check-in at BWI was fun- the bike got a couple good looks and then it had to be unpacked for security reasons, and re-packed by security personnel (without me touching it). i thought i was being helpful by telling them what they were doing wrong and how important it was to not damage the spokes but for some reason they asked me to "please step away." they proceeded to drop the open box (with contents) from a table to the floor. then sit on it to close it. but not all of it, they missed two latches... and on it went. sure. i'm not too worried, there are plenty of bike shops in montana.

so after a healthy breakfast at the airport (cinnabon and juice- taco bell wasn't open yet) we're on the first flight of the day- to minneapolis and then to kalispell- actually right above lake michigan right now.

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kalispell airport has about two gates and one baggage claim. and luckily it also had my bike... and bill and thomas where there just waiting for us to get going. so we headed out to the parking lot and starting to re-build my bike. no problems - we were on our way!

we headed north into glacier park- the latest info we were able to get is that the fires were acting up again and there is a section of road (14 miles long) that is closed to bikes and cars are not allowed to stop. we can drive through but cant stop. we're not sure why exactly other than it has something to do with the fires. its smoky and you can smell it all around you.

the fires that are burning right now are concentrated on the west part of the park-- the park is split by the continental divide and the east side seems to be relatively fire free. so basically since we will be biking from the north east to the south west, we get to bike the huge 2000 foot climb from the east and then get robbed of the 14 mile descent on the west. oh well, there is still hope that we'll just keep going and ignore the signs. having driven the route to get here its clearly safe. (note: we had to drive up to the beginning of the route on the canada border and then bike back the way we came)

thomas keeps shooting, i can't wait to see some of them - maybe a month from now over a rum-n-coke.

so we're about 10 miles from the canadian border. babb, montana. there's a school, post office, general store, motel, and the babb bar and supper house. we figured the motel with not a car in sight could be an inexpensive option if it hasn't been run out of business- it was hard to tell. it looked, well it looked like a hole on the side of the road. perfect- its something about the location i guess. $55. we discussed the options and it was settled, there were no options. so this is it. and the generalization that if you stay in a motel then you'll have a phone line to update this site went right out the window. no phone. but it sure is quiet.

and like the motel, dinner was either beef jerky and cheese (in the same package) or the supper house. now, by looking at it from the outside it seemed like it might be a rowdy establishment on the weekend. but it was nothing less than first class when we walked in. "excuse me sir, do you have a reservation?" what? NO. are you kidding me. apparently we walked into a time machine. the host had a tux. there was a grand relief of a buffalo stampede with american indians. behind the bar there was a fat tire neon sign. the two story ceiling was painted black. there were white leather couches with loungers sipping martinis. the price tag on the menu was about $28 or 'market price' for lobster. what was going on here? the canadians should be scared. but unlike the motel, there was no discussion- this was it. so i had a fat tire and took it all in. bob is the chef and owner, and everyone knows him by name. george is the bartender/host and ron was our waiter. ron has a hard time remembering which holiday is coming up this weekend- it could be memorial day or labor day, "i get them confused."

we'll be up and ready to start at 7am. its 10pm here (midnight in DC). tired but not sleepy. thinking, spinning in my mind, breathing the lighter air. i need that first day to kick my ass and get my mind out of the play.

sleep:
Babb motel, $28