Gig Harbor Washington to Bar Harbor Maine 2001

Woke up to another beautiful day. We needed to stop at a bike shop that didn't open till 10, so we lazed around a bit. Garcia had spent much of the night coughing and puking, but nobody seemed too concerned about it and he seemed to have gotten over it. I wrote up yesterday's journal since I was too tired to do it yesterday.

We replaced a few supplies at the bike shop and stocked up for the day's ride at the grocery. The map warned us, correctly, that there were few services on today's ride. I also scavenged the book and music store for some cassettes. I did better than the best of Freddy Fender I expected. I got best of Van Morrison, best of Jimi Hendrix Experience, and best of Stevie Ray Vaughn. I also listened to Gridley's best of Stones and a live BB King and Bobby Blue Bland. We needed tunes today.

Loading new tunes.

Kathryn's BOB wheel fell off on a narrow bridge leaving town. Garcia and I had to maneuver around traffic to go back and help. It was nearly noon by the time we really left town. Her BOB fender fell off later and her chain fell off a few times. No flats, no derrailleur repairs.

We were on Hwy 37 all day which followed the Kootenai River. We waited while Garcia adjusted his seat after we were stopped by a flagman at Vermiculite Mountain. There were giant tractors and dump trucks crossing the road and men in moon suits everywhere. The flagman told us that they were cleaning up the asbestos that was mined, along with vermiculite, since the '20s and dumping it back in the mine. I breathed carefully and was grateful when Garcia was satisfied with his seat.

Kathryn was riding a little slow and we alternated staying back with her. I worried about a 19 year old female riding alone and didn't really mind the slower pace.

We all stopped at Libby Dam for lunch and lounged on big rocks and grass. Bagels with peanut butter, cheese, and strawberry creamcheese, along with a variety of fruit. We're beginning to get this down.

Fallen.

The dam was surprisingly big and marked the end of the Kootenai River. Now it was the Koocanusa Lake and we rode beside it all but the last 8 miles of the day. We had the lake on one side and a rock face on the other. It was beautiful and the road was wide-shouldered, light-trafficked, and clean, but offered zero shelter.

I'm beginning to understand what they mean by Big Sky Country. The sky is big enough to pack clear blue sunshine, big white clouds, menacing black clouds, thunder, lightening, rain, hail, downpour, drizzle and fog into one day. That's a big sky. We were all really enjoying the day until the first deluge. I scrambled for my raincoat and leg warmers. A few minutes later I felt like a greenhouse and stripped down again. Then the drizzle started and I put on my windbreaker. Then it hailed and I put on my raincoat again and bared my ass to Montana to put on tights. Montana didn't seem to care. I changed clothes more times today that a teenage girl going on her first date.

Garcia and Kathryn fell back together while Gridley and I forged ahead. We could see the fronts moving around in the sky and sometimes successfully sped up or slowed down to miss the brunt of it. Sometimes the sky turned black and freezing rain was everywhere.

It was coming down particularly hard about 7 miles from Eureka when we passed a campground. The office was closed and we changed clothes again and huddled under a little shelter near the door trying to decide whether to stay or continue to Eureka. We warmed up and I reluctantly agreed to go on. There was a lot more down than up the rest of the way and a little less rain. We pulled into a motel parking lot on the edge of town about 8:30 and debated whether to stay or camp. A guy walked by and said that it was supposed to rain all night. We checked in.

The promise of a brighter day.

We hadn't seen the kids in a long time and we kept watching and considering alternative plans. The restaurant was closing soon and as we crossed the highway toward it, I saw Garcia rolling up. I held out the motel key and as soon as he figured out what it was, he whooped a bit and they headed off to the rooms.

Gridley and I got the last of the daily special - meatloaf. I was thinking about what else we'd need to eat when our plates arrived. Two very thick slabs of meatloaf (each), a baked potato, salad, corn and fry bread. We both left a few bites that we just couldn't finish.

We've got bikes, trailers and dripping clothes spread all over 2 rooms. Everyone else is watching TV in the next room while I write. Maybe I'll go see what's on.