Time to talk turkey

I'm finally realizing that the most courageous thing I've done so far was to cut myself loose from my work and house in Grand Rapids. The rest of the idea, riding across the country, is probably more than I bargained for. I still love the idea of it, and perhaps I'll be able to do it sometime with a riding partner or a group of people. The part about doing it alone isn't working so well at this point.

Sometimes I feel as though I just don't have the stick-to-it-iveness, the will power, or something. In thinking this over, I've realized that when other people are involved I can move mountains. I can make stuff happen.  But I seem to be having a hard time doing it for me. Josh Keeler asked me one time about "women's strength." He said people kept mentioning this thing called "women's strength," and he wondered about it. I told him it's force of will. Men are generally (not all) physically stronger than women; but women have an ability to overcome things that many men would balk at. I've always felt like one of those women, yet here I am balking.

We're in Bozeman tonight. I didn't even plan to come here. Tayler thought she might take a side trip here sometime while I was riding between Great Falls and Missoula. Yet here we are. Last night, in Circle, we looked up bike shops where I could get some help with my back tire falling off. All the shops were well away from Circle, so we chose Bozeman since Tayler has some friends here, and Bozeman has some hot springs and is supposed to be quite a lovely city.

After 5 1/2 hours in the car with Remy, we were all ready to tear our hair out. He just doesn't relax. He stands up on his hind legs, full of tension, for the entire time, moving back and forth from one side of the car to the other. Of course there's no place for him to go other than the front seat, because the car is so full of stuff.

When we arrived in Bozeman, we went straight to the bike shop. Tayler discovered that the coffee shop that was recommended to her, Wild Joe's, was only a couple of blocks away, so she walked down there while I had my bike fixed up at Summit Bike and Ski. The young man who helped me there put a longer skewer through the back tire and added some spacers to make everything more secure. He also checked over my gears, since I'd had some trouble shifting yesterday on the road. All for $10! I'll tell you what -- the biking community is friendly and helpful and amazing!

Remy and I met Tayler at Wild Joe's, had a snack and did some reading. Then we made our way to the Rainbow Hotel which is a testament to "you get what you pay for." Because we were planning to stay two nights, I wanted to find something fairly inexpensive. It is. And the room smells. It's clean enough, I think, but it's stinky.

Tayler walked back to the shopping area of the coffee shop. (I think she needs some time away from both me and Remy. Can't say I blame her.) I think I'll feed the boy and then seek out a health food store/coop nearby for some dinner.

I hope the weather cooperates tomorrow. I'd like to bike around Bozeman and maybe take in some hot springs. We'll leave Sunday morning for Great Falls, and I hope to continue riding from there -- although I have to say that I have some concerns about riding the mountains, especially now that I'm here, and haven't had the degree of preparation I thought I would by this point. Just another rock in the stream.

Tayler and I have talked a bit about changing our plans. One possibility would be for me to send her on to Seattle by bus or train or something and then take day trips out from various places by bike with Remy, moving slowly across the rest of the planned path. We talked about her driving on to Seattle and leaving me on my own, but I'm afraid my confidence has waned considerably since beginning this adventure, and I'm not sure that's a good idea.

Whatever happens, I'll keep you posted right here. It's very reassuring to know that so many of you are following along and sending me your good wishes and energy.