3:1. A free Frank Lloyd Wright phone cover to whoever guesses correctly what the preceding numbers refer to. They will change over the course of our ride. All guesses are welcome.

Washington, Idaho and Montana

As we left Washington and entered Idaho, I was thinking about my impressions of the State. Scenic, green, lumber, lumber and more lumber, lots of bodies of water, and above all friendly. Washington has set a pretty high friendliness bar. We’ll see how future states fare.

Our ride through Idaho yesterday was absolutely everything a bike ride should be. Beautiful weather–not too hot or cold, nor too sunny or cloudy–and gorgeous scenery. It truly is “God’s country” as one gentleman with whom we were speaking called it. We spent the night in Clark’s Ford, a tiny town with a high school, a small country store, a bakery, a restaurant and a lodge. We were totally blown away by the quality of the food in a place we easily could have dismissed as being in the middle of nowhere The bakery used and stocked goods that were organic and local as did the restaurant. Both could easily have made it in a large city. But their owners prefer little Clark’s Ford. This ride is certainly teaching me a thing or two about assumptions.

Outside of the bakery we talked to a couple who retired to the area about 8 years ago and bought some land on the river–enough so that they don’t see any of their neighbors. I imagine that he was about 75 or so. His parents were German and he grew up in CA speaking German and still did a bit. We talked a while about our common ancestry and how his uncle had been captured by the Russians during WW II and then escaped and surrendered to the Americans, just like mine. He and his wife provide the eggs used by the bakery. They were a lot of fun to talk to (the couple, not the eggs). These short conversations we are having with people we meet on the road are some of the highlights of our trip.

Today we entered Montana after about 6 miles of riding and then continued for another 55 or so. We had decided to take an alternate route that got us off the busy two-lane highway with zero shoulders and blind turns for at least a little while. We ended up riding on a dirt road into nowhere because we missed our turn back onto the highway and got lost. Luckily for us, we managed to flag down a vehicle that happened past and the driver offered to take us back to where we should have been. We happily accepted his offer! During the ride he told us that he had moved here 7 years ago when his wife passed away. She had suffered from heart problems that cost them over half a million dollars in medical expenses. They weren’t insured because he had just started a new business and so they had to declare bankruptcy. After her death, he moved back to Montana and started driving for the oil companies. He has now retired, lives in a little cabin in the woods that is off grid (solar and generator) does odd jobs and is active in his church. If we had seen this guy on the street, we could easily have thought that he was homeless. And yet he was the salt of the earth, well-read, and interesting to talk to. And of course, helpful and friendly. Another lesson in judging a book by its cover.

Physical Fitness

On a different note, many of you are probably wondering about how we’re doing physically. A ride like this certainly has an impact on the body. First and foremost, is the posterior. 6-12 hours of riding each day takes a toll. Hot days generate painful rashes. Other days just result in pain, period. There’s nothing really to be done about it. I have pretty constant pain in one of my shoulders. Sometimes better, sometimes worse. I imagine that this isn’t going to get any better over the course of the ride. Charles is having some wrist problems that have resulted in numbness in some of his fingers. But he’s figured out that if he moves his hands around a lot, the numbness improves, so the past few days have been better. His knees are holding up. All in all, we’re doing fine. Ibuprofen is the name of the game.

Mental Fitness

You may also be asking yourself what we think about as we ride for hours and hours on end. In fact, as I’ve been riding, I ask myself that as well. It’s funny how the mind just empties… I enjoy the beauty of the land through which we’re riding, I read names on mailboxes and think of people I’ve known with the same names. I think about how many miles we’ve ridden and how many more are to come and are they flat or hilly. I think a lot about the cars and trucks that are passing us–are they too close, how fast they’re driving, how big they are, and what they’re transporting. I think about Charles and how he’s doing and whether he’s close or further behind. And finally, I think an awful lot about what the next meal will be and when it will be eaten. But a lot of the time, I don’t really think about anything at all. I just enjoy the ride.