Mike, that is me, is heading off on a trip without Tami. Not that she was not invited, but more that she refused to subject herself to such foolishness. (T: Mike’s big mistake here is that he is leaving it up to me, Tami, to put his posts up. So that means I get final editorial control. Bwa ha ha ha!)
I am, as you probably know, as passionate about cycling as Tami is about soccer. I have had a desire to do a longer cycle touring trip than Tami would be comfortable with. On the other hand, Tami is also not comfortable with me heading out on such a tour alone. (T: No siree) That brings to her mind too many images of me lying bleeding in a ditch somewhere.
She therefore insisted that I find both a doctor and someone who could actually handle money as travel companions. So I did. There are several online forums where one can find cycling companions. On the Adventure Cycling Association, Corey had advertised that he was looking for a few people to join him on a ride from Missoula, MT to Portland, OR. That sounded doable. Even better, he was planning to keep it down to 40-50 miles per day and stay in motels as often as possible (as opposed to the hard core crazies who ride 80-100 miles per day and camp every night). Perfect!
Corey is a retired business executive from Connecticut. Scott, the other person who responded, is a newly retired ER doctor from Missoula. I think we have got everything covered, though it is not clear what skill set I add to the group. So far my role seems to be the annoying know-it-all. (T: I am quite confident that Mike’s navigating prowess will come in handy. The question is whether he will let on that he is using technology as an aid to navigation, or just let them think he has some kind of internal map in his brain.)
So the day finally came (I had been pretty much packed for weeks). At the airport I was horrified, or at least highly amused, to discover that our Alaska turboprop was painted in WSU cougar colors and logo. They did let me on, and somehow the thing was able to fly (clawed it’s way into the sky), and 90 minutes later we touched down in Missoula.
Uh oh. GO DAWGS!
Three cycling dudes at the center of the cycle touring universe!
Scott graciously picked me up at the airport, bike box and all. We stopped at the hotel to drop off luggage and pick up Corey. From there we made the pilgrimage to the Adventure Cycling Association headquarters in downtown Missoula. We were thrilled to be on hallowed ground, and even more thrilled to be given a guided tour. The whole place is decorated with old touring bikes hanging on the walls, as well as other bike touring related photography and other art. We even got our pictures taken and hung on the visitors wall. (T: Now they’re going to think they’re famous or something.)
They’re famous! Or at least pinned on the wall.
They even let them inside!
Mike thought this was for Tami’s skirt, but since she doesn’t have one, it must be for Mike’s kilt
After that excitement, we cooled down by walking around downtown a bit, hitting a couple farmers markets as well as a couple bike shops (of course). Then Scott introduced us to The Notorious PIG BBQ for lunch. Heavenly burnt ends! (T: Okay, now I’m jealous.)
Back in my room I spent some time putting my bike back together. It went well enough, but I did notice that my bottom bracket seemed a bit loose. Hopefully I can find a bike shop tomorrow that can adjust it for me.
The bike in the bubble. Well-protected and safely arrived. Mike, too.
Corey and I discovered that the bar and grill at our hotel was surprisingly good! We tucked into a couple local beers and split a bison burger and an elk burger that were wonderfully prepared (the bison came with huckleberry BBQ sauce).
I rounded out the evening watching the Sounders trounce (have not been able to use THAT phrase much this year) the Vancouver Whitecaps. It was also great seeing our new player Raul Ruidiaz get his first minutes on the field as a Sounder. Go Sounders! (T: As a live witness to the game, it was truly glorious. An actual win at home against a Cascadia rival, in the sunshine, and we got our brand new toy (Ruidiaz) to boot!)