Day 13 - Melted Donettes

Final day of this series and then it is rest day 2 in Lincoln MT.  Since we were in Skip and Bettys driveway this morning there was no need to disconnect and the bikes were stored and ready to go.  We needed to drive 15 miles to where I left off, so we simply woke up and started driving.  I figured this was the perfect opportunity to hit a Starbucks and find a good WiFi network.  I can already tell
scavenging for connectivity is going to be a major challenge for this trip until we get to the Midwest.  I can personally attest this Verizon map is a bunch of BS.

It was all good for this morning as we hit an Albertsons Starbucks right off HWY 200. 

I have only had a few cups of coffee since we left on the trip, so this morning was a special treat to get a coffee and have a strong WiFi signal! What a start to the day!

After coffee we traveled the 15 miles to where we left off yesterday to get ready.  As I have mentioned before, our daily routine involves Cheryl making these delicious egg sandwiches while I get the bike ready and finish charging my 12 devices and gather everything else I need for the day.  We have also started the tradition of eating these extremely healthy chocolate doughnuts (Donettes to be precise).  I’m pretty sure they are vitamin fortified and gluten free.  It’s been hot in the RV cupboard lately and they are not faring to well.  “Waste not want not” is what my mom always said. 

After downing a few Donette remnants,  I hopped on the bike and enjoyed one of the best rides so far.  Weather was cool, road was very good and the scenery was again beautiful.  Traffic was pretty heavy on HWY 200 and I had a few unnerving encounters with a couple semi’s but all in all a really terrific day. 

In addition to the usual roadside artsy shots, I also got one of the sag wagon so you could see it in action.  I was also happy to see an old friend I thought I left in Idaho.  The Clearwater River.  More of a creek at this point. 

We found what appears to be a very basic place for RVs to park in Lincoln.  Minimal hookups but we are fine with dry camping for a night and will get full hook ups tomorrow.  We asked the caretaker of the place (Richard) for recommendations for places to eat.  He had plenty to say and was very helpful.  Regarding the local pizza place, he said “they used to hand toss their crust, then they shipped in hand tossed crust from Helena and now they get it from Sysco  Just one more thing going in the wrong direction in the world.”  Now you won’t get that review on Yelp!

We are looking forward to our second rest day tomorrow.  A few errands to run and small “to dos” on the RV.  We are super excited to have Skip and Betty join us.

This concludes the regularly scheduled programming for today so if your reading for the ride you can stop now.  However, I mentioned early on I would provide a little background on the trip and with tomorrow being a rest day I figured tonight would be a good time.  So if you would like a little more background information feel free to continue reading…….

I am asked all the time why I am riding my bike across the country.   Is it a bucket list item?  Are your raising money for something? Are you an idiot?  The latter is probably the most accurate but It’s a little deeper than that.

Personal aspect - There is some truth in many old cliches, one in particular is “no one lies on their death bed wishing they spent more time at the office.”  This does ring true to me and even though I have enjoyed my career and feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with amazing people, there are many things I want to do away from work and thee are finite number of days to be physically able to do them.  8 years ago Greg and I rode our bikes to the Golden Gate Bridge (see the beginning of this blog) and it was such an epic experience that I didn’t want to end so I started thinking about a longer ride.  For me, if I could combine three of my favorite things: a physical challenge (I thrive on physical activity), an RV (my RV is my happy place) and being with family, in this case, Cheryl (the love of my life) then I felt I should try and make that happen sooner than later.  Of course, I needed help.  First of all, my leadership and teammates at work were very supportive for me to take a leave of absence, my kids are absolutely amazing supporters and keeping things going at home and Cheryl, of course, is the MVP being the sag wagon.  What a support system I have.  So thankful!  So I said let’s do this!

Charity - I was originally going to do a much longer ride and make it a fundraiser.  My grandmother

Freda and Cheryl’s mom Cathy both suffered from Dementia and we were going to dedicate this ride to them and seek donations to help stop this terrible disease.  As time went on, it occurred to me that donating is a very personal experience and I don’t want to be presumptuous to suggest where you donate your hard earned resources, so we scrapped the idea.  We are still dedicating the ride to Freda and Cathy but not actively seeking donations.  I would simply say that when you are considering opening your purse or wallet to donate, you consider one of the many charities fighting against dementia.  The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research (Fisher)

Foundation is very good.   

So there is a little background as to why we are on the road to Portland ME.  I appreciate all of you out there joining us for this adventure.  And now back to the ride…