COVID CROSS

Covid Cross Day #37 July 10, 2020 Great Falls, MT to Augusta, MT 56 Miles Start 9:50 AM Finish 4:34 PM Ride Time 6:15 Ascent 1188 Feet Descent 511 Feet Tour Total 3110 Miles Details at:  https://cyclemeter.com/3f1ef27914a4c684/Cycle-20200710-0950-02647 I slept incredibly well last night in my bed at the O'Haire Motor Inn in Great Falls. It felt great to be clean again. I woke up early and packed up all my dry gear and laundry. It was raining outside, so I took my time and edited yesterday’s report. I went to Clark & Lewie’s for my complimentary breakfast, where I had an egg over-easy with bacon, toast, and coffee. The O’Haire Motor Inn was recommended on the ACA route, and it was straight out of the fifties fantastic. There was a rubber ducky waiting for me in my room. I didn't take it, but in the lobby I found a composite of guests' touring photos with their duckies. I told the lady at the reception that the duck would be too heavy for me to carry. I wai...

Covid Cross Day #38 July 11, 2020 Augusta, MT to Ovando, MT 83 Miles Start 6:07 AM Finish 4:47 PM Ride Time 8:24 Ascent 3007 Feet Descent 2807 Feet Tour Total 3194 Miles Details at:  https://cyclemeter.com/3f1ef27914a4c684/Cycle-20200711-0607-08718 Last night was recorded as a campsite sneak-in. I slipped into Wagons West Campground in Augusta after dark and left before anyone was awake. I pitched my tent on the grass near a chain linked fence, and slept great. I woke up with the sunrise and the birds chirping. My tent was filled with condensation when I got up, and it was chilly outside. A half moon hung in the sky above me, and the town was still asleep as I rode south. On my way out of town I spotted five deer in a field to the right of the highway. It was the first time that I'd spied deer in Montana. It was a family with two fonds. I was freezing so I pulled over to put on my rain jacket and leg-warmers. Five more deer were spotted as I crossed Elk Creek...

July 13, 2020 Off Day Missoula, MT I had a nightmare last night that I was out in the middle of nowhere and my front fork was crumbling and I was riding on flat tires. My dog Blanka was running besides me and we were heading towards a highway. It startled me and I woke up. Other than that I slept well at the Bell Aire Motel in room 115. Scott and Chris were both been giving me a hard time about the videos I had posted on Instagram and my squeaky chain that needed to be lubed. I also learned that Andy from the 2018 Transgang had been in the very same teepee in Ovando just a few nights before me. I had seen his name in the guestbook, but couldn't wrap my head around the coincidence that it had been the same Andy S. He was doing the Great Divide from the Canadian border to the Mexican frontier, the trip that I had wanted to do this summer. He was posting his tour on Instagram: @stoutabout I packed up my dry tent, ground cloth, Thermarest, and laundry, and was ready for breakfast. I ha...

Covid Cross Day #40 July 14, 2020 Missoula, MT to Lochsa Lodge, ID 68 Miles Start 6:25 AM Finish 5:00 PM Ride Time 8:42 Ascent 4410 Feet Descent 4164 Feet Tour Total 3334 Miles Details at:  https://cyclemeter.com/3f1ef27914a4c684/Cycle-20200714-0625-31348 I slept well last night at the Bel Aire Motel in Missoula. Before going to bed I talked to Linda and Henry of Team Spokane, whom I'd be joining in Clarkston on Friday. I set my alarm for 6 AM and was on the road by 6:30 AM. Two years ago I did this ride with Scott and Eileen. We never had a 6:30 AM start ever. It was cold out, and I was wearing my sweater. Bill had made to Lincoln yesterday and Andy was nearing the Idaho border. Jane was in Seaside, and Chris and Sidd had camped next to Rosauer’s Supermarket in Libby where I camped last year with Chris and Brian. Chris and Sidd had spent the night camping alongside a cyclist named Robert. Today would be my last day in Montana. It had taken me nine days to cycl...

Covid Cross Day #41 July 15, 2020 Lochsa Lodge, ID to Apgar Creek Campground, ID 58 Miles Start 10:11 AM Finish 5:21 PM Ride Time 4:25 Ascent 376 Feet Descent 2138 Feet Tour Total Miles 3392 Details at:  https://cyclemeter.com/3f1ef27914a4c684/Cycle-20200715-1011-51249 I shouldn’t have let the server last night talk me into taking a roadie back to my tent. She poured me a 16 ounce jar of Cold Smoke and covered it with saran wrap. It was cold outside, which meant that I had no other choice but to return to my tent. I had the munchies so I retrieved a bag of trail mix from my rear pannier. Long story short, I fell asleep with a three-quarter full jar of beer beside me. In the middle of the night I woke up to a big mess and set the jar outside my tent. I was exhausted, and rolled over and went back to sleep.  I woke up with the sun and the birds and my tent smelled like a brewery. I got paper towels from the bathroom and begin the long cleanup. The other fo...