Day 47

104 Miles
I don't think it was humanly possible to pack up faster than I did that morning. The mosquitoes were still out in full force. I packed up as quickly as possible. And met Oak at the nearest convenience store and began to eat while we waited for Lily.
We headed out for the day. We ran into numerous cyclists along the way. Lily's excitement for other cyclist intrigued me. It was kind of contagious. She would chat with any we passed. There would be food, shelter, and terrain information exchanged as well as stories. The frequent run ins with other cyclists meant that we spent a good portion of the day riding together versus the several miles the separated us between our normal stops. It was a nice way to break up the day.
Near noon we took shade with some other cyclists traveling West to East. They had done many travels. We ate lunch with Scott and Katie at a local cafe. It was nice. Lily was especially excited because they had spent a day or two with a cyclist that Lily had ridden with a day or so back in Minnesota. He was a day or so ahead of us. Lily was hoping we could catch up to him. Scott and Katie shared with us their stories and Lily videoed them for the documentary she was making. Katie was a cancer survivor and they were taking their trip across country at a very relaxed pace as a result. Truly great people. Their website and blog here:  http://www.mountainworks.blogspot.com/ We warned them of the mosquitoes ahead and parted ways.
We rode hilly plains. The wind was in our strong but we pedaled on through it. We passed through more reservation land. The roadways were busy as there was a Pow-Wow going on. We discussed going to it at one such stop we made. But Oak especially wanted to press on. He was only 100 or so miles from where he'd be leaving us and heading North. At one gas station I was asked the usual questions, and one guy took it a bit further and asked if I had a boyfriend. I chuckled and said no. He asked if I wanted an Indian boyfriend and ask if I was wanted to go to the Pow-Wow. However flattered I declined and told of my day of travel still only half through.
We made it to Havre, MT, a city of about 9500 people. There was a big downhill into town. And it felt great to just coast for the first time in what seemed like days. We spent a good deal of time relaxing and debating where we would stay for the night. It was evening and at 90+ miles I was ready to be done for the day. There were several options for camping, and we had heard tell of free camping at some park in town. Oak really wanted to push out a few more miles. Lily and I agreed to do that for him. The locals in Havre were the only locals anywhere who seemed to think of us as bums rather than exalted travelers. At least 5 different people offered one or all of us their change. Their generosity was sweet but we didn't need their change or pity. This was an exciting choice and not a lot in life. We ran into some more cyclists. One of which Lily and Oak had both ridden with. He was an interesting character. We also talked to a couple with matching spandex. They told us there was nothing ahead of us for 30 miles. We had enough water and food that we figured we could risk it and just wild camp if necessary.

Hilly plains of Montana

The only problem with riding down a hill into town on the plains is the equally gruelling hill that must be climbed to get out of town. We climbed the very steep hill out of town and pushed on. The skies were darkening and the winds were kicking up. Lightning crashed on the horizon. 12 miles out of town we came to a bar just as the rains started and the winds whipped around us. We went inside. They had food! Yes! We ordered pizza. Lily and I shared and Oak enjoyed one to himself. We refreshed ourselves with soda and water. In talking with the people in the bar, the owner offered to let us camp in the freshly mowed field next to the house.This proved more than adequate.
We set up camp and settled in for the night. It was still light. But my legs were exhausted. I slept through the thunder that offered up very little rain.

Day 46

71 Miles
My sleep was restful. And I started my day pain free. Because I had retired so early I woke before the alarms. I took the time to sort through some gear and pack things up a little tighter. We planned to be up by 6. It was probably 5:30 when I had gotten up. My traveling companions waited until 6.

Oak and Lily, almost always ahead of me.

I spent breakfast feeling much more chipper than I had been the last few mornings and bonded with Oak and Lily who both seemed less than enthusiastic about the day.
I had since meeting Oak and Lily realized that my bike did in fact have a name. It's name was Upstate. I think he had a crush on Juno, Lily's bike. Maybe I'm just crazy and had been on the road too long.
I mounted Upstate and we headed out for the day. We pedaled into the wind today. The sun was hot even before 10 am. Trees and shrubs were nonexistent. The terrain was moderately hilly, but nothing severe.The grass was dry, but still had a tinge of green to it. As we pedaled along the grasshoppers darted all around us. When I say grasshoppers I mean hundreds of thousands of grasshoppers.
I kept good pace today. And as I pedaled behind Oak the grasshoppers looked like they were exploding like fireworks from the pavement behind his tire. I was amused at the constant mini explosions. It helped the time go by, as did the regular plinks that the grasshoppers made as they hit the spokes of my tires.I noticed that as soon as my shadow hit them on road that they would frantically try to jump out of my path. The plinks told me that not all of them made it.
Our stops were frequent. Mostly we stopped at casino/gas stations, as they were quite frequent. We stopped at a bar and enjoyed I nice cold soda and filled up with water while enjoying the air conditioning and conversation with a local or two. They were all okay with the Canadian and the Australian, but seemed to think that a New Yorker had much different values than they did out there. I think it was there that I confirmed and told Lily that I'd continue on with them until at least Glacier National Park. There was a buzz of excitement about that. The bartender let us know of the terrain ahead and warned us to wear long sleeves further down the road as the mosquitoes got pretty thick.
We kept our mileage goal around 70 miles. However the last stretch would be 30 miles with nowhere to rest along the way. This didn't seem so bad. I had been headache free all day and was still feeling full of energy.
I started the last leg behind Lily but a bit ahead of Oak. I had a great cadence going and a few miles into the leg I found myself switching up quickly through my gears. But as sometimes happens when I shift too quickly, my chain came of the smallest sprocket and lodged itself between the frame and cassette. This is an easy fix. I just had to dismount and pull the chain free. I did this. I moved toward the edge of the pavement leaving room for Oak to pass when he got to me. Unfortunately, Oak never saw me get off my bike. He didn't see me moved to the side of the road, until he was literally almost on top of me. His head was down as he pumped his pedals hard. He lifted his head just in time to swerve. I was bent over my rear wheel and his handlebars knocked me over Upstate. And Oak spilled himself and his bike into the road. His groceries rolled into traffic. Luckily no cars were coming. Luckily, Oak knows how to fall. He was unscathed, as was I. We both made sure we were okay. We picked up his spilled gear.
It was about this time that Lily came racing back terrified we were dead or bleeding in the road. A motorcyclist had stopped and asked her if she was with us. He let her know that someone had crashed. She sped the mile plus back in record time I'm sure.
After we reassured her and each other we were fine. I picked up my bike and checked for damage. The front tire had swung completely around and caused my brakes to unlatch. They seemed a little wonky and would need some adjustment. I could just do it at the next stop. I unhooked the front brakes and left them open. I would be fine with just the back ones for now.
Oak's bike had not done quite so well. His front tire was quite out of true, meaning it was bent a bit. This is fixed by tightening or loosening the spokes. Neither Oak or I knew how to do this. Lily did. She also had the spoke wrench needed to do the job. She labored showing us how to do this. The sun and heat was unbearable. The temperatures were near 100 degrees, without a lick of shade to be found. It was getting to be late afternoon and Oak's wheel just wouldn't straighten. This probably meant that the rim was bent, and not just from the spokes not being adjusted properly. Lily and Oak did the best they could and Oak decided it was good enough for now.

No trees. No shade.

We set off to do the last 25 or so miles before we would stop for the day. These 25 miles were especially difficult. It was hilly and long, did I mention the heat? There was no shade to rest in.There were no pull offs or public buildings, or really any buildings at all to shield me from the scorching sun. I stopped for a moment for a drink of water but I was attacked by mosquitoes. So that break lasted less than a minute. The last 7 miles seemed like an eternity. And all my chipperness earlier in the day had been spent.
Finally, I saw buildings and trains and food. Dairy Queen was the first eating establishment I came across. I didn't even look for their bikes. I knew Oak and Lily were there. I ordered ice cream and a giant ice filled cherry coke before I even said hello to them. I wasn't the only one who had struggled through that last stretch. They too felt it. We enjoyed the air conditioning and ice cream before we went off in search of a camping spot. We found a little park in town. The camping was cheap, but we skipped out on registering. Other people were setting up camp in their RVs and a few tent campers were as well. It was quite busy. We set up camp too.
The mosquitoes were quite bad. I kept getting bit and my legs were covered in bumps as they attacked me viciously. I adjusted my brakes. They seemed to be working alright. I found and outlet and charged my phone as I always did. I made some longer phone calls. This was nice, especially since I got to talk to Ron. He always makes me feel proud of myself. And he always gave me the best encouragement.
As evening set in the mosquito population seemed to explode. I was being eaten alive. Almost every inch of my skin was covered and I had sprayed myself thoroughly with the strongest bug spray I could find. They were still biting me through my clothes. My hands were becoming a puffy mess of bites. I was being eaten alive. It was terrible. I could hear their buzzing all around me.I climbed into my tent before dark and did some writing. The mosquitoes were peering through the netting of my tent eyeing me hoping I would be their next meal. I watched them back as they poked their noses through the netting in hopes of just a drop from me.
One or two buzzing managed to sneak into my tent when I had mad a quick dash through the cloud of insects to the bathroom. I heard them buzzing around my head as I drifted to sleep.
Malta Montana is mosquito hell.
More pictures at Lily's blog 

Day 45

73 Miles
The ground was hard but the day's miles made it feel like a feather bed. I slept so soundly. The thunder in the night didn't leave us with rain as I had expected. The rainfly of my tent looked dry. Low battery had forced me to keep my phone (and hence clock) off for the night. Light began to make the walls of my tent glow and I wondered the time. I heard Oak climb down out of the truck he had slept in. I contemplated getting up but laid there silent wondering how much more sleep I would manage before I gently told to wake up. Not that Oak and Lily seemed the type to pressure anyone to move when they didn't want, but I slept so well I wasn't sure I didn't want more. Conflicting was the grin on my face when I thought of the previous days epic amount of miles, and what day might hold.
I heard Oak moving around. Then I heard the gentle strum of guitar strings...
"Lily, it's time to get up..." Oak sang along to his strumming outside Lily's tent. I hear her giggle with glee and hear the smile in her voice as you exclaims "best wake up ever!"
Oak's cute little songs as, still strumming, he walks to my tent...
"Kristy, it's time to get up..."
He was right. Those miles weren't "going to ride themselves". Lily and I emerged from our tents beaming with smiles. We all got up. We ate our breakfast there. Donovan stopped by and wished us well. We thanked him again.
The day was a little slower paced then the day before. We stopped every 20 miles or so. Each stop I got to know them more and more. The sun was hot and the heat became more intense through out the day. The plains offered no shade. The plains were mostly desert like. The grass mostly browned. Along the way though I learned that the grasses were much greener than most years at this time. The rain had been more plentiful than it had been in decades.
About 60 miles into the day which was around 2:30 or 3 pm, I got an excruciating headache. I had to stop riding. I sat on the side of the road my head on my knees. I took Tylenol and drank water. I knew it was related to my teeth. Eventually the pain subsided enough that I could ride on. I tilted my head and closed one eye, because it lessened the pain somehow.
I found Oak and Lily waiting for me at the next town. They had gotten quite worried about me. I found shade and waited for the Tylenol to kick in more.
We all decided maybe a campground would be a good idea for the night. The sun was so bright and hot. Every passerby told us we should stay out of the sun. We were all surely burnt by the sun's rays despite frequent applications of sunblock.
We headed to the local library. Oak and Lily checked email. I charged my phone and made some calls. I was feeling better. The air conditioning of the library was refreshing.
We met a man outside the library with the most elaborate setup of a bike I'd ever seen. Fully loaded barely covered the description. He told us he'd been everywhere.
We found a campground and went to the store. The campground was a cute little place. They let us use their grill and put our bikes inside. A storm erupted shortly after we got there. It was intense. But it was short. I was in the shower for most of it. And when I emerged, so did the sun. And with every rough day, and nearly every storm, I saw another rainbow.

Shortly after dinner we started planning the next day. It would be my last day with them unless I decided to head further North. I was almost completely convinced of Washington State being my end point.
The painkillers had started to wear off. I took something stronger but the pain became excruciating before it could kick in. I retired to my tent very early. I begged my body for sleep. Eventually the pain reduced enough and I managed to doze off.

Day 44

114 Miles
We started our day by waking up at 6. Although I think I was awake before that. The cold made it hard to stay asleep for very long. We all got up and packed up our gear. We headed to a convenience store. I bought food and they ate cereal and powdered milk. I was looking forward to learning lots from Oak and Lily. They used a backpacker sensibility in their travels. I knew I was about to learn lots from them and the thrifty way they traveled. I washed up in the store's bathroom. Oak and Lily chatted to some locals about what was ahead. They warned us of the upcoming reservations, saying they were rough places and that we shouldn't stay in one particular town called Poplar. We all dismissed this as prejudices against the poorer communities on the reservation.
We were on the road by 7:30. This was super great for me, and apparently pretty stellar for Oak and Lily as well.
The ride was hilly, but they were fun hills. The climbs were gracious and the descents enjoyable. We stopped about 20 miles into the ride and ate again. The next portion of the road took us through Williston, ND. We stopped at a grocery store and bought supplies. I enjoyed the socialization even though I was still being quite reserved and shy.

From Lily's blog

Our next stop was at a casino on the Montana border. it was only 1:30. But Mountain Time gave us another hour. It was now only 12:30, midday. We had so much day ahead of us. We rested in the shade of the only tree around. We filled our water and ate. We talked about lots of things. We talked about our bikes. They told me the names of theirs. I told them that I still didn't know my bike's name. But I was still hoping it would tell me it's name soon.
We rode through construction. We were not limited like the cars waiting in the long lines were. We breezed through waving at the construction workers as they paved the highway.
We stopped every 20 miles or so and ate. I was impressed with myself and my pace. I think I will enjoy riding companions. With each stop came more admonitions not to stay in Poplar. We were all still a bit in disbelief that it could really be that bad.
We caught a really good tailwind as the afternoon pressed towards evening. My pace was near 16 mph, I was guessing Oak's was 17 mph and Lily's over 19 mph. We were approaching 100 miles when we stopped at a very tiny town on one of the reservations. Lily who always was miles ahead of me was offered a place to stay at the local church. She told the person who offered she would have to wait to see what Oak and I wanted to do. Oak was gung ho about moving on. I was too. I wanted to hit that century mark. Poplar was about 20 miles away and at the pace we were going all day, and with that terrific tailwind we didn't want to waste any opportunity to push ahead. We were talking to one local woman who urged us to stay there instead of "stab city", which is apparently what they like to call Poplar. We decided to push ahead anyway.
We rode together, no one pulling too far ahead. We kept great pace. The road was dotted with what seemed like hundreds of crosses. This seemed like a very deadly stretch of highway.
As we pedaled into Poplar together we could see that poverty was an issue. It was more sad to me than scary. We stopped at a sub and burger shop. We ordered food and sat and ate. Oak and Lily asked if there was a place we could camp. Even if Poplar they told us not to stay there. Lucky for us a man overheard the conversation. The man, Tracy, called up a friend who had a shop outside of town where we might be able to set up camp. It was arranged and after eating we followed the directions to Donovan's shop.
The shop was a scrap yard with cars, machinery and even an old bus. We were delighted with the free place to stay. Both Tracy and Donovan stopped by to see how we were doing. They were both so friendly and helpful. They told us that Poplar used to be a nice place but that after 2 am when the place is a different town. It was a sad tale. But our tale for the day was happy.
Lily and I both set up our tents. Oak who just uses a tarp scoped out the machinery. He settled on sleeping in the cab of the truck.
We settled in and slept soundly after our epic 114 mile day. I was proud of myself. And new friends made me happy.

Day 43

40 miles

I woke up and wanted more sleep, more time off. But I was behind. I knew I needed to press on. My joints were better but still achy. My night's conversation stuck in my head. I headed out after a calcium rich breakfast.
I was without a map, but knew I just needed to follow route 2 until I reached the place where my next map started. The wind made my travel slow. The winds must have been 15mph or more. This made my pedaling slow to 5-7mph most of the day. The hills weren't very difficult, at least until I deviated off route, taking old US-2 which was slightly North of my route. I  encountered a fierce hill which took a great deal out of my already strained body.It took me much longer to climb the lofty hill than it should have.
I did get to encounter some of North Dakota's most beautiful scenery. The landscape was grassy hills with badland like rocks jutting from their peaks. I ran into a few farms along the way. Maybe they were more along the line of ranches though. I came to a field with a beautiful little lake in it. The water appeared so blue. Upon closer inspection and lengthy viewing I realized that the beautiful blue waters weren't waters at all. The lake was a blue violet patch of clovers. This was confirmed by the bees swarming about. I was in awe. It was gorgeous. The hill was worth the lake of clovers.

My detour brought me back to route 2 and its trucks and traffic. Hours had passed and I had barely traveled 35 miles. I stopped at the next town Ray, ND. I was exhausted. The wind was killing me. I ate at a convenience store near a overturned tanker. I talked to one of the firemen. I asked him if there was camping. He pointed to a place just about a block away. I thanked him and scoped it out.
It was a park and dam area. There were RV's parked around the outer part of the park. I didn't see any information or any bathrooms. I eventually saw a man outside of one of the RV's. I asked him about fees and where to set up camp. He told me it was by donation (sweet!) and pointed to the box to put my donation. He told me I could set up anywhere. I stuffed some change and a dollar in the box.
I found a pavilion surrounded with lawn and tall bushes around the lawn. I thought it was a good spot. I set up camp. The man came over and talked to me. His name was Ike. He was from Colorado and was working as a roughneck. The oil boom brought roughnecks from all over. He told me he all about drilling for oil and fracking. I told him of my trip. He told me he'd make me a burger later. He was off to a bar to have "one drink". I started to wonder what I should get for dinner. I wasn't going to rely on dinner.
I headed up to a little diner/ice cream shop. I ordered a grilled cheese. As I walked out I saw two cyclists pull into the diner lot. I smiled and the girl of the pair looked at me kind of curiously. I against my shy nature walked back. I greeted them and asked where they were staying. She asked if I was a cyclist too. I said yes and she told me she didn't know where they were staying. I told them where I was staying and pointed out how to get there. She thanked me and I  headed back.
My grilled cheese was delicious.

pic from lily's blog

It wasn't long before the cyclists found me. They set up near me. And we sat and chatted. Lily was an Australian and Oak, a Canadian. Oak was on his way home for harvest. Lily was on a cross continental trip that started in NYC. She was heading toward Seattle. I told of my travel plans. Lily suggested I ride with her through the Rockies and hit the coastal waters in Washington instead of Oregon. As we were all traveling the same direction for a few days I decided I would ride with them for a day or two. The echo of my friend's words about staying north resonated with me. I was definitely going to consider heading toward Washington instead. The idea of company through the mountains was rather appealing.
Ike showed back up inebriated. I was glad I had company now. He did make me the burger as promised though. It was quite good, albeit overcooked. Ike wished me well.
I settled in for the night. My new friends and I agreed to get up early and ride as many miles as possible. They had been pushing out 90-100 mile days. I was anxious to pump out some high mileage days after the let down of the days mileage.
I took awhile to fall asleep. The air and ground were cold. Eventually my body in all its exhausted strain succumbed to sleep.

Day 41 & 42

Day 41
60 Miles
I didn't rush myself in the morning. I was on the road at an acceptable time for me. There was plenty of traffic out of Minot. Still too much state fair testosterone as guys from their pickup trucks yelled for me to get off the road. One shouted loudly informing me that I had ruined his life. I smiled and waved shouting out that I did what I could.
I searched for a dollar store. I wanted a cheap radio. I was tired of the folk and children's songs that plagued my mind. I couldn't get a pop song stuck in my head for the life of me. It was torture. My phone had music on it. And I listened to it when I could, but I tried to save battery for calls, texts, and pictures. There are pluses and minuses to having a do-all device. I didn't find a dollar store that wouldn't require me to go out of my way extensively. I rode on.
I spent a good hour at a very busy convenience store. I listened to people go on about the state fair. I talked with a woman and pet her two dogs. She had come from Ohio. She was driving all of US-2. I was going to be riding it for the next several days.
The ride was up and down, rolling hills. The wind wasn't bad, mostly cross winds. It was even at my back a time or two. I was mesmerized by the winds sweeping on the prairie grasses. I barely noticed the miles fly by watching the grass and the wind rippling across it. It appeared like sunlight reflecting on gently swirling waters.
As I moved further on US-2 the oil drilling traffic increased. Tankers, dump trucks that more resembled barges on wheels whizzed by me every few minutes. The scenery was dotted with drilling towers and trucks. There were flare stacks and the smell of oil and gases burning filled my nose.

When I stopped people talked of little else but the oil boom in the region. This created issue at the end of my day. Campgrounds, hotels, all kinds of lodgings were filled up and catering to the oil field workers.Melissa looked up online for town camping. She found something but the directions were nonexistent. I eventually asked around the town of Stanley. I happened to ask a man who just that same day had directed two other cyclists to a town campground. The man told me to stop at his restaurant the next morning. I thanked him and made my way to the campground.
The campground was next to the courthouse and the train tracks, of course. I have come to believe all campgrounds are next to the rails. I greeted the other cyclists and set up camp in the special tent area. After setting up they invited me to sit with them. They were a couple from New Zealand. They were making their slow way east. Shaymus and Joan talked with me about my upcoming route. They told me some alternate southernly routes I could take and places to stay to avoid the very heavy oil traffic. We chatted for some time. Eventually my very tired muscles and joints caused me to retire. I wished them well and settled into my tent.

Day 42
5 miles (only around town)
I heard Shaymus and Joan leave in the morning. I contemplated getting up and setting off. It had been almost 2 weeks again since I had taken a day off. My body begged me for more sleep. I slept in for hours. I decided I would just spend another night here.
I looked ahead and planned my next few days. I showered. I ate tacos at the restaurant of my previous day's direction giver. I was full. The tacos were huge. I explored the small town. I found  some amusing items. It wasn't like most carbon copies of towns that I had come across. The only pharmacy was a local one. There were no chain stores. Everything was local. The quaintness brought with a sense of traveling back in time. I pedaled into a time warp, a time before Walmart ruined small towns everywhere. This was heightened by the amusing oddities I found stocking the shelves of the shops. I bought some soap and food and went back to my tent after my exploring. I slept more. I showered twice. It felt good after the sticky heat stuck to me all day.
Since the campground was so cheap and more of donation than a fee, I cleaned up the garbage and debris laying around the campsites. It was my good deed for the day. And it was a nice little town. I felt it was just a small fee to pay for the rest I was awarded during my day off.
I was in bed early after watching the moon rise big over the campground. I was awoken a bit into my sleep. A friend whom I hold very dear and shares with me a strong connection text me. He said to me that I needed to stay north. I was confused by this. He told me he had a dream. Trusting him I told him I would do what I could but that I wasn't sure how plausible it would be with my planned route. I told him I would keep him posted.
I settled into sleep.

Day 40

69 Miles
I woke up and strangely went and got breakfast prior to packing up.Spiders left me a piece of art that I was sad about destroying. It captured my morning beautifully.
I sat and ate as I watched people hurry out of their hotel rooms, packing up their cars and speeding off to wherever they needed to be next. I didn't envy them. I was developing a real affection for traveling slowly. I liked seeing things that people would never see racing by at 70 mph. My meager 10 mph suited me just fine.
I packed up and headed out. I was on US-2. This would be my tires' home the next week or two. My route only diverted from it on occasion. This was actually very helpful, because I was approaching a 100 mile stretch where I would not be assisted by maps. I had been following the ACA Northern Tier route. I would soon be jumping on the ACA Lewis and Clark route. I didn't bother buying a map to link the two routes. I figured I could manage it just fine without one. I discovered that this was very possible, all I had to do was stay on US-2.
My morning ride started with an eight mile stretch of construction. The westbound lanes were closed and westbound traffic was diverted to the eastbound side of the road. This created a two-lane cone divided highway with minimal to no shoulder. I tried to ride it for a short bit. But less than half a mile in some jerk in a truck towing an RV beeped and forced me off the road. I was pissed. All the side roads were rough gravel and would add lots of extra miles. As it was Saturday, the westbound lanes were empty of construction workers. The torn up pavement and muddy construction zone seemed like a safer way to travel than being driven off the road. I rode around.the barricades and through the sand and dirt piles. Occasionally I had to get off the bike and walk it around obstacles. Still it was much better than the danger of riding on the road.
After the construction the shoulder was mostly wide and usable. I noticed an increase number of trucks and tankers on the roads. I stopped at each town I came to for a brief rest.
I rolled into Minot expecting to find a campground fairly easily. But as I rolled into town I came to a huge traffic jam. Apparently it was the week of the state fair. North Dakotans don't seem to take their state fair lightly. I got friends on the case of finding a place to stay. I also began just riding around trying to find somewhere. Everywhere was completely booked up.
I made my way out of town. I figured if worse came to worse I would just wild camp somewhere. Drivers were very unfriendly and I was flipped off more than once. I don't know if they were just pricks or if it was the excitement of the state fair. I found a KOA and even though my friend had called and been told it was booked up, I figured I would try to get a site anyway. I played the nowhere else to go card quite pathetically. But I did end up with an RV site. I paid more than I wanted to, but a shower and peace of mind were worth the money.
The owner came and talked to me. She talked about other cyclists who had stayed. She told me most of them were traveling west to east. And all of those cyclist said the mountains were easier than the plains. Man I hope so. I slept soundly.