Day Fifty-Four: Pushing to Polson

What a beautiful day to ride!

Today we left Missoula for Polson, a lakeside town about 70 miles north of the city.
I'm happy to report that it was an uneventful day: no accidents, no wrong turns, no poor weather--just the team putting another notch in the belt.

A land bridge for the animals--we passed under it on the way to Polson.

Descending into Polson, MT

Our lunch stop, about a mile from the host.

Tonight we're staying at a church that doubles as a school, with access to showers, internet, and laundry. I've nestled myself in a classroom corner, setting up my laptop on a desk. I feel as if I'm back in my dorm room, typing away at some assignment. It's a nice feeling of familiarity.

Still, many unfamiliar places lie between me and the finish line--and I'm excited for each and every one of them.

Into the Unknown,
James
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Today was dedicated to the children at Camp-Mak-A-Dream, for staying positive and joyful despite a difficult situation. I enjoyed meeting them, and wish them the best of luck in all endeavors.

Day Fifty-Three: Miss Missoula

Today I did something that I normally don't get to do--sleep.
I slept on-and-off 'til the later afternoon, at which point I finally got off the couch and decided to do something productive (I'm typically not someone to just lay around).

So after making myself presentable to the public, I gathered my dirty clothes (of which there was many) and clamored over to the nearest laundromat. I used the laundry time to siphon some WiFi and get some work done.

Later in the evening I wandered along the river as the sun set in the west:



People of all ages and backgrounds were using the riverside land. Some college students floated down the river in tubes, while others convened among the park benches, their dogs in toe.

It was a pleasure to have some time to myself to make phone calls and walk, just walk in my own pace and time to slowly relax. It feels like we're always rushing, moving forward, pushing westward--27 people, 27 opinions. After living within the same space with the team for so many days, it's enjoyable to have some alone time.

After ending my winding walk with a huckleberry ice cream cone (we are in Montana, after all), I scurried back to the host to get ready for the day ahead.

Westward,
James

Day Fifty-Two: Makin' Dreams at Camp Mak-A-Dream

The ride to Missoula today was lovely, we ended up on a bike trail that ran parallel to the highway. However, the four flats my group experienced--one of them being my own---were not as pleasant. I feel as though our frequency of flats has increased lately, perhaps due to tire wear-and-tear. Can you really go over 3,000 miles on the same two average (or less than average, depending on your ideal level of quality) tires? No.

Luckily the ride was a shorter one, and we soon arrived safely (though on low tires) at our host for the evening. But the day didn't end there. Today we had a really great opportunity, one to warm the heart and feed the soul: a visit to Camp Mak-A-Dream. Camp Mak-A-Dream an oncology camp that hosts a variety of different camps and retreats for those of all ages who have been/are affected by cancer. This week was kids week, so Team Seattle got to spend the rest of the day off the bike and hanging out with children who had one goal only: to have fun!

And fun we had:

• I climbed a rock wall, 30 ft up, for the first time. I was shaking like a leaf by the time I reached the top. The kids looked like Spider man in comparison to my shaky-limb dangle.
• I hiked to the top of Butte Mountain--the steepest hike of my life. It was sunny, hot, and a challenge; but it was well worth the view and sense of accomplishment.
• I assisted in a tent set-up competition by helping to instruct a group of boys as they frantically raced to finish first. We didn't win (though we know that's only because the other teams cheated, obviously).
• I learned the game aska, which is basically Ninja with your feet. Get stomped on your foot and you're out.
• I attempted to fly fish, which was the weirdest sensation. My arm just doesn't make for a good metronome (those of you who are the least bit familiar with fly fishing will understand this, everyone else can ignore this bullet point, it's really not that important. I don't think I'll ever be an angler).
• I got to frantically disassemble the tent I helped set up as it began to storm, and run inside after all the campers.
• I sung songs with the campers around a fireplace while simultaneously trying to stuff my face with s'mores. Note: gooey s'mores plus singing doesn't mix, especially if you can't sing to begin with.
• Best of all, I got to meet and talk with all these really cool kids.

Successful day? Yes.

Tomorrow's another rest day. I plan on checking out Missoula and seeing what this new place has to offer.

'Til Tomorrow,
James

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Today was dedicated to the camp counselors at Camp Mak-A-Dream, a bunch of ambitious, adventurous cancer survivors.

Day Fifty-One: Wisdom Didn't Make Me Any Wiser...

Wisdom, MT didn't make me any wiser, but Hamilton, MT is homey.

How do I know Wisdom didn't make me wiser? Well, I started off this morning by chalking the route east, in the opposite direction. Whoops.







Fortunately the groups recovered quickly, noticed the mistake, and everyone got back on route, and I got back to van duty with Caiti. It was a difficult day for water van--take it from me, miles upon miles between the first group and the last group make things difficult. In the end, we had a water cooler that was left on the side of the road for the front team, while Caiti went back 20 miles to pick me up from the previous water stop (from which the back group was just leaving), stolen. Along with some snacks. Frustrated, with a water cooler down, some snacks gone, and patience short, Caiti and I finished the day successfully. Ending with a donated meal from the Hamilton, MT McDonald's didn't hurt either.







It only got better from there. Grace Lutheran Church, our host for the evening, was warm and welcoming, greeting us at their doorstep. They began preparing for dinner while we showered. Dinner was delicious! It was one of the largest dinners we have had yet, with quite a turnout from the community.

Grace Lutheran Church

After we slowed down our eating (which took awhile, 27 hungry cyclists eat at a rapid pace for quite sometime) we decided it was the perfect time to go around, introduce ourselves, and talk about why we're riding the 4K. If I had only known what we were getting ourselves into--the floodgates were opened and soon stories upon stories were pouring forth from ourselves and our hosts, who all had been touched by cancer in someway. And I say "touched" lightly, because many are continually facing cancer throughout the facets of their lives.

The dinner in Hamilton was the heaviest dinner yet, in more ways than one. I have motivation to take me to Seattle and beyond.

This was only round one. Thank you members of Grace Lutheran Church!

Stay Hungry,
James

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Today's efforts were dedicated to Jack Moran, who I pray makes a speedy and full recovery.

Day Fifty: Watching the Skies in Wisdom

Wisdom, MT is such a strange place. There's only a few blocks to this town nestled between the mountains, featuring one saloon, a restaurant, a gas station, and no cellphone reception. In fact, there is no reception anywhere nearby besides a designated "cellphone pull-off" off of 43-West a few miles away. Ironically enough, both the saloon and the restaurant have wifi. Oh yeah, there's one more building, the community center, which is where we'll be staying tonight.








As it turns out we're now on an Adventure Cycling route, so we've run into some pretty cool cyclists along our way. Some of the people we've met on the road today are camping here in Wisdom tonight. They've been chill, helpful, and fun to ride beside.









Tonight, after making a pasta dinner, we laid out in a roofless structure across the street to watch the night sky. It was nice to just lay out under the stars and gaze, letting the mind wander from light to light, tracing the deep purple sky.






By 12 am I was content and decided to move back inside before I got too cold. I'm tired from today's long ride and will certainly sleep well.

'Til Tomorrow,
James

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Today was dedicated to the staff and volunteers from the hospital auction that we met yesterday. They generously fed us and allowed us to speak about our mission. Meeting a cancer survivor there was especially heartwarming.

Day Forty-Nine: Sharing Causes in Sheridan, MT

The route to Sheridan solidified what I had heard: Montana is BEAUTIFUL. I'll let you judge for yourself:

Cloudy peaks visible from our host's home.

How all roads are lined in MT.

Peak after peak overshadow Earthquake lake.

And sometimes there are rivers too...

But most of Montana is mountainous.

Mountainous and beautiful!

The ride to Sheridan was easier than the last few rides, a little more flat. It still had some climbs and some descents, though. Overall it was a great day, which was made even better when we ran into an ongoing charity auction/dinner for a local hospital. When we told them about our organization and cause they invited us to eat their leftovers--something 27 cyclists can easily accomplish. We even got to speak briefly about the 4K. Spreading awareness with dessert makes for a successful day.

After a long day of cycling, Team Seattle enjoys story time in the public school library.

If all of Montana is like today, I won't mind the 11 days in this state one bit.

Taking in the Magic of the Mountains,

James

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Today was dedicated to our warm, welcoming hosts from last night, Scott and Alice, as well as Casey's step-brother and his wife for their generous food donations.

Day Forty-Eight: Waiting for West Yellowstone

Yellowstone was wonderful but after two nights of camping with 26 other people I was more than ready to leave. I was ready to get on my bike and pedal out of the park rapidly.

Except, we couldn't bike out of the park today. It was a matter of safety--winding, narrow roads, no shoulders, crazy RVs, and bison (bison in the midst of their mating season). The park ranger reiterated the dangers to our ride director, while I reminded him of last year's story of shuttling through herds of buffalo. So, putting riders' safety first, we decided to shuttle out of Yellowstone to our next host in West Yellowstone.

The only problem was that one group would have to hang back and wait for the second shuttle. I was in that luckily group, and  here are all the sights from those few precious hours hanging around Yellowstone:

Yellowstone national land bridge.

View of Yellowstone from the top of the land bridge.

Yellowstone canyon waterfall.

The stone after which Yellowstone is named.

After waiting til about 2:30pm, we were picked up by the van and began the final shuttle out of Yellowstone. Along the way we saw buffalo, bears and elk. I fell asleep during the van ride and woke up just in time to catch the Montana state line:

Welcome to West Yellowstone, MT!

Our host tonight, Scott W. is the local Fire Chief and has generally opened his home to all 27 of us. His wife was kind enough to fix us dinner (and as we're told breakfast tomorrow as well). I wanted to give a very special thank you to both of them for showing us true hospitality!

Tomorrow we'll be back on our bikes and heading to Sheridan, MT. I hear Montana is one of the most beautiful states and I cannot wait to see if this holds true.

Preparing to Pedal Again,

James