Time travel

Now in Missoula, Montana. There are 7 bike shops here, which is like music to our ears. I got a whole bunch of nit-picky parts I haven't been able to find since Nebraska, so, score. Other than having lots of bike shops, Missoula seems big and culture-filled (though that term is relative- the Midwest can be so barren at times that I once got excited at the sight of a Ford dealership during the driest stretch of the route).

Most of the days on this trip feel like they are a week long. We wake up at 5, are on the road by 7, ride 30-100 miles through many towns and environments during the day, and end up somewhere new every night. It often feels like two days have passed by 9 a.m., rather than 2 hours. This is one of those days, in photos:

We stayed in Lincoln "Unabomber", Montana last night, in the town's K-12 public school. The school graduates a handful of students every year, and we took great pleasure in checking out what high schoolers looked like 20+ years ago.

Class of 86', in detail

Morningtime, getting ready

Women's bathroom entrance

It was 43 degrees outside when we left. After riding 4/10ths of a mile, eight of us decided to stop for coffee and wait for the temperature to rise. This is my bike outside the restaurant.

Continuing the "Van Location" project. Lunchtime.

Oh


Lunchtime came at mile 47 of 79, next to a beautiful river I don't know the name of. We went swimming. It was about 11 a.m., and by this point, the coffee stop seemed to be eons ago.

Joe, chalking where lunch is (aka turn here off the road here).

Guess who?
(Photo by Joe Atwood)

Rafters paddling by, as we put our clothes back on after swimming.

Willa, Marita, Joe, and Hannah (L to R). We stayed here, enjoying the afternoon for a couple hours. No rush to get to town.

Joe

We completely cleaned the van of EVERYTHING just two days prior. This is what happens with a group of 30 riders.

Artist Profile: Brooke Jarrett

We have a couple of sketchbook-drawers on our trip, and Brooke Jarrett is my favorite. She goes to M.I.T., is really smart, really funny, and cuts my hair. We'd been talking about doing a silly little "artist profile" where I basically take copy stand shots of her sketchbook to show everyone. That was probably back in Pennsylvania. Now, we're in Montana and it finally got done today. I love her work and think she chooses great moments in time and space to sketch, ones that do great justice to the ambling, sometimes random, and exquisite moments of this trip across country.

Beginnings of Montana, the Unabomber, etc.

We said our last goodbyes to Wyoming a couple days ago. It was hard to let go of the state. Everyone loved its wide-open, rugged expanses, the people we met along the way (ranchers especially), and the beautiful, beautiful mountain ranges we climbed up and over, revealing even more amazing views.

As mentioned, Teton Pass was the pinnacle of the state, and possibly our ride thus far. As we climbed up a 12-15% grade over 6 miles to reach the top of the summit (if you don't know, this is so steep for so long), passing wildflowers, grinding through switchbacks, breathing sooooo heavily with 170+ heart rates, and gaining an increasingly impressive view of the valley below, Chad, one of our best riders, reportedly shouted out, "Wyoming, why are you so badddddasssssssssssss?" near the top of the climb.

Now we're in Montana, an equally cool, albeit slightly less badass state. It seems our rides alternate between superflat or really hilly and mountainous. Had a pretty great, 2500ish ft pass today, with some nice switchback turns on the decent as well. If you care.

I'm writing from our home for the night, Lincoln, MT (pop 1,100). Sound familiar? It's where Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber, lived from 1971 to 1995 in a remote mountainside shack, sending out bombs that attempted to stop "erosion of human freedom necessitated by modern technologies" through terrorism. I was all excited because I thought his shack was on display here, but it apparently is in D.C. In place of a visit, I've taken some time to read up on him. You can read his "Unabomber Manifesto", actually titled "The Industrial Society and Its Future", here. Having enjoyed reading Marx, I might make this my reading for tonight.

These are all little anecdotes and updates. Here are some very unrelated photos from the past 2 days:

Lunch stop on the way to Helena, MT. We try to do lunch in towns en route, but in the West especially, we sometimes have to have it in the most random, barren places because there's nothing around. This is such a location. I had an urge to take a 4x5 photo, and I got the idea to have all the guys on the trip, in a line, Eurostyle (i.e. jerseys fully unzipped). Continue reading below...

So that's what we did. Looked absurd and hilarious.
(Photo by Brook Jarrett)


Can't wait for the film to come back. This is roughly what it will look like, but on 4x5 film.
(Photo by Brook Jarrett)

I'm trying to get into taking a photo of the van and trailer in all the different locations we visit. This is by the side of a stream near Big Sky, MT.

Cool lights, cool wood, not cool exposure.

Roof of a host- Bozeman, MT.

I wanted a photo of this...

... but instead got this. Jake Schorr, ladies and gentlemen.

Yellowstone

Went to Yellowstone yesterday. Amazing and beautiful. Sooooo many people. Almost comical how many people there were, but the park service, as mentioned before in my Sink Canyon post, does a really great job of finding a balance between letting visitors access wildlife and preserving the environment. I was surprised how "hands-on" the park was- the park service has built these boardwalks over many ecologically fragile areas, like sulfur springs and wetlands, which lets visitors walk around and closely access the amazing natural wonders of the park.

You'd think that the visitors would still toss candy wrappers and gum into the wild, but everyone was very respectful of the area. I guess giving visitors this privilege was a gamble the park service took, but it's paying off- people are obviously coming away with a greater respect of nature and are hopefully taking that lesson home to preserve and share with friends.

Geyser, from far away








Beautiful colors, sulpher pool next to orange bubbly rock.

Spasm Geyser (literally its name)

Boardwalk over sulpher springs

Tour guide in middle, white shirt




Poooooooooooooooooooooooooooooofffffffff

Sometimes it sprayed us with a mix of hot, sulphery water/stream.