Done and home again. Should have posted this a while ago...sorry about that.

Good to be home again...now for the real mountains...LIFE!

Crossing the finish line in Northampton, MA

With the the rain, and the mountains, and all these damned squiggly roads, Pennsylvania has generally sucked, BUT, admittedly, I've had some bad-ass down hill rides.

AND...

I was, as of yesterday, only 9 days away from home; I am now officially a "single-digit midget" or in military parlance...I'm short.

SO...

Overall, I'm happy...just a little worn out.

Entering Pennsylvania

Broke into the Eastern Time Zone. Arrived South Bend to another great group of folks. Swooped over to the Notre Dame campus for a quick look at Touchdown Jesus who towers above the Irish football stadium.

Off to the Big Apple now via OH, PA & NJ. 11 days of straight riding, no rest; all business from here to NYC.

The heat/humidity is getting up there these days. But the calendar is getting short. Soon I'll be a single-digit midget!

Been super-lazy about blogging.

In a nutshell: Minnesota was surprisingly beautiful--Twin Cities seemed very cool. The riding was easy-going, the weather was mild. All good.

Wisconsin is really gorgeous, I mean more so than I imagined, really pleasant. Very pastoral. Very quiet.

Madison was a great town. Lots of people came out to ride with me a while; lots more joined me at the Java Joint. Thank you. I enjoyed myself a lot.

Thanks Rothschild!

Thanks Eileen!

I just may return there someday.

Riding into Madison, WI

The ride down toward Rockford was...ummm...not as great. It was a "4H" day. Headwind, Hills, Heat & Humidity. Lots of sweat.

Into Chicago next..."the windy city" they call it, which is fine as long as its blowing my way.

Hopped 80 miles to Jamestown on 7/23 then the final 98 miles the next day to Fargo. The days were actually not too terrible. The night in that mosquito infested (and humid) rest area in Jamestown was worse.

I'd planned to stop another night before Fargo, but favorable conditions  can make one kind of greedy for mileage. Had the wind at my back, finally, and flat terrain--Webster flat, not "Montana Flat".

Two miles short of a century, I wanted to circle the block a couple of times to get the even hundred...but my legs voted against it. Being outnumbered, I relented--democracy in action.

As I rode into Fargo, I kept looking for scenery from the popular movie by the same name. Turns out, it was filmed in Minnesota. (???)

Laying over here for a couple of days and resting easy knowing that ND is under my belt. Next, to Minnesota; I'll continue my quest for "Fargo" scenes there.

I wanted to do at least one century before the end of this trip--yesterday was the day.

Did a straight run from Dickinson to Menoken (outside of Bismarck)...that's one hundred and thirteen miles to be exact.

Webster Dictionary Definition of FLAT:

"Having a continuous horizontal surface without peaks or depressions." (This is the version I've always been comfortable with.)

Montana Definition of FLAT:

Any surface with a grade not as steep as the Rockies. (It appears North Dakotans use this definition as well.)

Climbed about a 1000 feet on Saturday...that's "Montana Flat".

Looking down from approx. 3000 feet toward the North Dakota border

Day 29, on the other hand, smooth sailing. Wet but fast.

Compare: 75 miles on D-28, 11.5 hours. 75 miles the next day, 5.5 hours. For the non-cyclists out there...like me...lets you know how much difference the wind can make!

Day 28: 75 miles...earned every damned inch.

As part of my whole minimalist thing, I made a risky move today--dumped the tent...shipped it on home...among a bunch of other superfluous items. I really needed to make some space for extra water as I begin my move across North Dakota where one does not find frequent water fountains or anything else for that matter.

I feel like I'm bare bones now, but no doubt I'll keep stripping until I'm down to the marrow.

It was a good tent

There is some anticipated regret in this plan, naturally, but relative to the anticipated relief of dropping the tent's space and weight, I believe this will utlimately be a wise reduction.

We'll see.

...and, yes, I have a decent bivy sack.

Departing Helena in the a.m., in Bozeman by 7/11 and Billings by 7/13. About 250 miles...still on a relatively light schedule. The intensity draws up as I get on past Bismarck and toward Fargo.

7/6- Heavy headwind, rain, no particular place to go...actually turned around two miles in and headed back for Missoula...rode about forty yards and wheeled back around again and pushed on. First 40 miles were slow and painful. Luck changed, wind changed, rain stopped, went another 36 miles for a total of 76 miles, my longest run to date...and on a day I almost quit!

7/7- Cold morning, cattle ranches everywhere--the cows spot me coming about a thousand yards out. By the time I pass, every cow in sight has stopped mid-rumination to stare at me as I pedal by. Sometimes, the little ones dash off to their mamas with their little tagged ears turned back toward me. Sometimes the mamas dash off, too. I stopped for a bite and the whole herd dashed off.

Climbed MacDonald Pass to the Continental Divide. Some kind of view. Then, nearby, a guy and his two sons started loosing off rounds from their rifles sort of randomly out into the valley. Not sure what that was about. So the third beast in my Dantean tale has been literally overcome. Now for the Badlands.

MacDonald's Pass at the Continental Divide

See more PHOTOS

Some logistical considerations have forced me to shorten the trip and up my pace. That is both good and bad. Anyway, it's a reality. See the new Destination Table or Project Calendar for details. My apologies to those who this has affected.

Some PHOTOS from Missoula.

Reading at the Jeanette Rankin Peace Center

The locals say this is their BIGGEST holiday of the year. The revelry began last night and will continue, they tell me, into next week. The official fireworks display is held, interestingly enough, in the parking lot of the shopping mall.

Lolo Pass is now behind me. MacDonald is still ahead.

Laying over in Missoula for a couple of days.

I'm still in that mountain zone where I allotted myself too much time. I keep arriving early! The schedule evens out a bit after the Rockies...once I hit the Badlands.

At the top of Lolo Pass

MORE PHOTOS

Route 12...treacherous...no shoulder at all...my little plastic helmet seems hardly armor enough as the tandem tankers and the lumbering lumber-trucks roar past about six inches from my left shoulder.

Departed at dawn to beat most of the day-time traffic. Didn’t get off my bike for the first forty miles...to give you a sense of my general urgency to get the leg done quick.

Stopped in Lowell...another damned RV park--weigh stations of excess...met three retired people also cycling across the country; made me feel a sight less heroic.

I'll take the bulk of the climb on tomorrow...end in Powell...over the pass on Friday morning and then race down into Missoula.

Resting on the Clearwater River (Idaho)

D-16: Heading down from Moscow to the Clearwater River was fast and furious and not a little bit fun. But I know I'll pay for that ride in spades over the next couple of days.

A view of Clearwater River from a ridge in Orofino

Lolo Pass is upon me. The Rockies. It's gonna be rough getting back out of this valley.

On the other side of the mountain is Montana. I'll be there on Friday.

See the PHOTOS

SEE THE PHOTOS

D-13: All head winds coming out of Spokane and heading down into Plummer, ID. Nice to be out in the country again.

Entered the Coeur d'Alene Reservation and stayed with Jill the Anthropologist (employed by the Tribe) who told me all kinds of interesting...and some troubling...facts about life there. Thank you Jill.

D-14: Head wind continued out of Plummer. Temps were pretty mild until mid-day. Hills got to be a bit rolling. Was a little disappointed to have to deal with Moscow Mountain, which stands at nearly 5000 ft.

 View from Moscow Mountain

Climbed off my bike at a little past one, got some food, a shower, a bit of rest, and then rushed over to Bookpeople for a reading at five. Great crowd...much like that in Northampton.

At Bookpeople

D-15: Laying low in Moscow with Mary Jo and Joel. Off to Orofino tomorrow.

Soon to face the second of the three big mountain passes...Lolo.

Dawn is breaking over the east...sort of calling me home, I guess. The time stamp is still set in EST...it's actually 4:30 right now. Time to roll. This time alone. I'm a little glad, actually.

Still, many thanks to all those I've met so far. Very cool.

Farewell...Spokane...John Olsen...and Wa(r)shington State.

Thanks.

Actually, I was heading to Coeur d'Alene but as I got into Idaho the winds got really obnoxious. I was riding only partially loaded but with all my strength I could still only manage about 7 or 8 miles per hour. It seemed a little pointless after a while. So I turned around.

Of course, the way back to Spokane was, quite literally, a breeze!

Rode about 65 miles.

See more PHOTOS

D-6 visited the Grand Coulee Dam...stayed in an RV Park...not exactly a spiritual experience.

D-7 rained on and off, unseasonably cold...so the locals say...camped in a patch of grass in Davenport with some other cyclists. Bonded, shivered, slept a little, and left in the chilly a.m..

D-8 Arrived Spokane...ahead of schedule. Need rest and quiet.

See Photos

"Soap Lake" comes from the word Smokiam, the Native American term for "healing waters" which the Indians would use for themselves and their animals. The lake was abandoned when the area was settled by pioneers.

The lake is dead.

Nothing grows or lives in the water, which seems strange considering its healing properties. The mud..."silt"...goes up to your thighs and leaves a weird coating on your skin. The locals say there is still some medicinal value in there but I'll have to admit some reluctance. The place seems to me more of a desert Pet Cemetery.

Soap Lake--the town--is small and seems to know a thing or two about a depressed economy.

Next to the trailer park is a small empty park with a flag pole standing at the corner. At the top of the pole flies the American flag; at the bottom a modest stone placard which reads:

"Dedicated to the veterans of all wars."