My sincere apologies for my rather lackluster blogging efforts in the latter half of the trip. Once my laptop failed, blogging became a rather tedious matter of locating a small town library that was open and would let me sit around and use their computers for a reasonable amount of time.
To make a long story short: I made it! From West Yellowstone, I crossed Montana to Idaho; crossed Idaho to Oregon, and crossed Oregon to the Pacific. I took a lovely ride along the Pacific coast, and finished up in Astoria on August 2nd.
Along the way, I:
- Stayed in an entirely too fancy B&B: The Old Hotel in Twin Bridges, Montana, where the rooms where gorgeous, and there was a restaurant downstairs that rivalled the best places I’ve been to in New York.
- Biked 120 miles on a 100+ degree day in order to reach Missoula, Montana, visit the Adventure Cycling Association offices, and procure the map I needed to complete my journey.
- Passed through Hells Canyon at dusk, thus getting treated to an incredible sunset, and avoiding the legendary daytime temperatures.
- Spent 3 or 4 hours biking along a canyon formed by the Salmon River in 110 degree heat, watching helicopters pump water out of the river and carry it up to the giant wildfires that were burning on the mountains in the not-so-distant distance. Oh, also: stopping every mile of the last 7 miles to pump up the leaky tube that I couldn’t be bothered to replace on the side of the road, largely because I had already replaced it once that afternoon, and was sick and tired of doing that.
- Encountered the Adventure Cycling 2007 TransAm tour group, who were very hospitable and let me tag along / eat their food for a couple of days.
- Visited Mitchell, Oregon, where the proprietor of the local gas station kept a black bear in a giant cage right behind the gas pumps.
- Was awoken in the middle of the night by the dying screams of an unidentified animal (cat?) that suddenly stopped after about 15 minutes. Probably the eeriest sound I’ve ever heard.
- Cruised up the Oregon coast, which is incredibly beautiful. Considered moving West. Decided it probably rains too much, and besides, I miss New York terribly.
That’s about it: I’m spending a couple of days resting in Sun Valley, Idaho, after which I’ll be back in New York!
Posted by: sam