R: I’m here on The Dirt Carpet at Beaverdam Campground with Chris, and Chris, you are sporting an interesting outfit, are those long johns under a pair of mountain bike shorts?
C: Yes.
Tag Archives: Montana
Trail Angels: Julie and Buck
Day 26 – Helena, MT to Basin, MT
I knew that it was going to be a good day when I found the heads up penny. The copper coin sat in the parking lot, glinting in the late morning sun, an omen of good luck. I picked it up, and Chris and I climbed into the blue pickup truck that we had driven there. As we pulled onto the road, I pried open the cardboard box in my hands, revealing two dry meals and a Salsa Anything Bag. I had left my fanny pack with my parents, and this third Anything Bag that we had shipped to Helena would serve as a replacement, providing space for overflow food. The dried meals were a bonus, added to our order so that we could get free shipping from REI.
After purchasing a new seat from Great Divide Cyclery (I’ve had a few more saddle sores than on our cross country trip), we headed back to my younger brother, Sam’s, house. The truck we drove is his. He and his fiance, Kelsey, were out of town, but they let us crash at their house.
We lingered there until 4:00PM, reading our maps, tweaking our bikes, and eating leftover Chinese food and ice cream cake from my birthday meal the previous night. Finally, we climbed back onto our bicycles.
GDMBR Week 3
The third week of our journey down the GDMBR was book-ended by rest days. One end was our day off in Eureka before Rachel’s parents came to join us for 6 days on the trail, and on the other end we were extracted from the trail for 2 days off in Lakeside, MT at Sydney and Jack’s beautiful home on Flathead Lake. We pedaled from Eureka to Holland Lake in Condon, MT before being whisked away in Jim’s truck. Between Whitefish and Big Fork, the route was mostly pavement and flat, but the rest was forestry roads with daily climbs.
The Captain’s Log
Day 19 of the journey
Wayfarers State Park
08:01 – Chris farts. He asks me, “Did you hear that? The alarm went off!” He giggles at his joke. I pull my sleeping bag up over my head and tell him to snooze it.
A New Do
I’m not sure why, but my long hair has bothered me much more this trip than it did for our cross country trip. After mixing with sweat, bug spray, sunscreen, and dirt, it is nearly impossible to get a brush through it. After only a day or two of riding, it quickly begins to resemble a giant dreadlock.
Accordingly, I have been dreaming about chopping it off. Usually when I get a haircut, which is only once or twice a year, my conversation with Chris beforehand goes something like this:
R: I’m thinking about getting a pixie cut.
Long pause
C: I’m not good at dealing with change.