Clees' Coast to Coast Part 2

Jun 25 22:28 UTC 2003

Hi there!
More on my tour de America.

After leaving Idaho (of which we crossed the handle of the pan) we 
made our way to Thompson Falls.
We camped at some high school, that apparantly has brought many State 
champions at various kinds of spots.
In T Falls we ate at the Elks, somekind of hunting-charity-free mason-
ish club.
Later, the next day we actually heard gunshots being fired while we 
cycled past (this was quite close to Montana Border). Militia?

This day went to Missoula, some 35,000 souls city.
here we had a day resting time. Time to recover from the hardships of 
Washingtom cycling.
Here some people left the group, as they had signed up for a one week 
tour.
Newbies cometh.

The next day brought us to Darby. A tourist traplike town that could 
have come right out of a Disney park. 
Temperatures staretd to drop.
The next they dropped further.
We climbed our second pass of the trip, and the third (more or less 
part of nr. 1)
The descend was bitter cold.
Lunch break (outside in a party tent) was brief and all about food. No 
niceties.

Desending to Wisdom, but that didn't last long.
head winds, icy cold and strong. 24 miles long. My feet were numb all 
over.
In the hamlet Wisdom we drank a cup of coffee to recover and a 
discussion on the Iraq war with the tenant/owner lady and the one 
other customer. Nice people.
From this point it was tail winds.
with a steady 20-30 miles/hour I made the last stage to Jackson (yet 
another hamlet town) with the biker Hot Springs lodge.
Man, did I get drunk! had a good time though, with the other bikers.
Today, it was not freezing (overnight it had, but during the day not)
Much, much better.

Dillon is the name of the town we are staying currently.
We had a very short stage, which I dread, does not promise much good 
for tomorrow.

CU all soon, I hope!

Rick

response 2 of 88:

Jun 26 02:15 UTC 2003

Where the hell is that?

response 4 of 88:

Jun 26 17:50 UTC 2003

(I've seen "Where the hell is Wall Drug?" bumperstickers)

response 6 of 88:

Jun 26 21:27 UTC 2003

Ennis, Montana.
I believe this is our final day in Montana.
We cycled from Dillon, a 77 mile stage.
For the first time in a week the weather actually was nice.
First league, to the water stop at mile 21 we made an average of 27 
ml./hr. Not bad.
No need to say lunch was at ten o'clock.
(We leave at seven.)
After lunch in Hamiltonn we cycled on to Virginia city, preceded by 
Nevada City.. Both are touristlike ghost towns, of which the latter is 
a real remains of a gold diggers mining city.
Interesting. 'Little Big Man' with Dustin Hoffmann was partly shot 
there.
In Virgina city the climb started. 3 miles of a steady 6-8%
The descend into Ennis. 9 miles of the same, maybe steeper.
Halfway to road opened to wide vista and we were treated witrh 
magnifient view on Ennis and the valley.

response 8 of 88:

Jun 27 02:21 UTC 2003

*sigh* wished you had repeated the Spokane info.  Maybe next time.

response 10 of 88:

Jul 8 20:08 UTC 2003

I think I am starting to repeat myself.

Wyoming is finally nearing to its end. Next will be thrilling South 
Dakota.
I can't wait for tailwinds on the endless plains.
Provided we won't have to do the so-called rolling hills.
They never seem to be steep enough to let you actually roll to the 
sumiit of the next hill.
With head winds it gets worse.

OK, what have we been up to besides drinking Margaritas last Saturday 
to celibrate the completion of week nr. 3.
The mountain passes have been completed.
The highest were respectively Teton Pass (8,500 ft), Pogwotee Pass 
(9,658 ft) and Powder River Pass 
(9,666 ft)
Next to this I think we have done at least eight other mountain passes.
But things are beginning to blend into each other.
Well, we have visited Yellowstone, and we have done Devil's Tower (the 
mountain from Close Encounters of the Third Kind)
That's were we guzzled way too many margaritas untill we started eyeing 
margaritas, or at least, who could pass for a margarita, haha.
Nah, to be honest, it was a good party and everybody enjoyed it.
Bets were made.
I fear I am going to lose my red gore tex rain jacket to a woman called 
Theresa.
She can have it.
I like her way too much.

Next time more guys,

Rick

response 12 of 88:

Jul 9 13:44 UTC 2003

South Dakota has pelicans?  I thought they were coastal birds.

response 14 of 88:

Jul 9 15:21 UTC 2003

From the UM Museum of Zoology's Animal Diversity Web project,
[http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/pelecanus/p._occidentalis$n
arrative.html]

        "Brown pelicans are strictly coastal, and living on the Pacific,
        Atlantic, and Gulf coasts north to Nova Scotia. . . . Brown Pelicans
        live in all habitats on the Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf coasts. They are
        rarely seen inland."

According to this website, the Brown (Pelecanus occidentalis) is the only
pelican in the Western Hemisphere; the only other member of its genus, the
Eastern (Great) White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) is native to large swaths
of the Eastern Hemisphere, but does not cross the ocean.

response 16 of 88:

Jul 9 17:21 UTC 2003

A web search on pelican and Dakota turned up a Pelican Pass, a Pelican Lake
Rec. Area, and a site titled Distribution of the American White Pelican in
South Dakota.  There are a lot of lakes there.  We followed one road that went
straight to a lake and wondered what to do next until we noticed the road (a
sand trail) went around the lake and then straight on from the other side.
There are also egrets.

Florida is one of the winter homes.  Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge.

response 18 of 88:

Jul 10 13:11 UTC 2003

Huh.  Sure enough, there *are* pelicans in South Dakota.

response 20 of 88:

Jul 14 17:46 UTC 2003

Bisons, bisons, bisons.
I have seen quite a lot of them.
A whole herd of at least 200 crossed the street in Custer national 
Park, the other day.
The ride itself Needles Highway, near Custer, was way beautiful too!
After that came the pain. Iron Road towards Rapid City and doing Mt. 
Rushmore on the side.
Scary descent, I must say. (for somebody with fear of heights, that is)

The day before Mt. Rushmore, we obviously also paid a visit to the 
Crazy Horse Monument, which was pretty great too.

The wind factor is becoming more and more of a sore.
I totally hate headwinds as they drain me from all me rserves, which 
makes cycling so much harder.
Since we have left the Rockies temperatures have been rising forever. 
Yesterday we cycled in the 100s, with accompanying chills/shivers (too 
much drink too littel food and too hot weather) Got my third sunburn, 
block or no.

But the Black Hills (about the last place with trees before getting 
well into Minnesota) 
Oh yes, I cometh closer and closer to Ann Arbor.

According to Martin I had a narrow escape from death, the other day, as 
a hige truck started shearing in a steep desent (6% grade) while I was 
carefully desending too, toally unaware of what came up behind me.
These trucks go way too fast to be safe. Thay are a hazard. Se, it was 
supposed to be in low gear with such a descent, bu they intentionally 
keep ignoring traffic rules.
Anyway, I am still alive.

A woman pulled over yesterday as we were drinking water from our pre-
arranged supplies, and she told us the place was teeming with ratlers. 
That provides quite another perspective to the meaning of having a fine 
drink.

response 22 of 88:

Jul 16 15:49 UTC 2003

I've heard that rattlesnake meat is pretty good.

response 24 of 88:

Jul 17 19:10 UTC 2003

Today we cycled from DeSMet (SD) towards Watertown, SD.
This means we're 10 miles from the Minnesota border.
Tomorrow we'll ride into the other state.
SD would be  very boring if it weren't for the wind.
We have had headwinds for the better of one week, say 450 miles.
It's not funny anymore. My body totally agrees with that statement. I 
was very tired, yesterday, after the ride. 
A nd predictions look pretty bleak.
Yesterday we had our second Tornado alert.
But we still got to be on the road.

For the rest nothing new but the fact that since today I got Shimano 
Ultegra, front and rear, on my bike.
Yea!