DAY 75
May 28, 1999
I woke up with a little left knee pain again but not too
bad. A dream was just fading as I opened my eyes, the rain had began pouring down
and I was too tired to move, I couldn't get up to put my rainfly on sending the rain into
my tent. It was a relief to look up and see that it wasn't really raining and it was
only a dream. The morning was cold and cloudy as I waited for the sun to come out
and dry off my tent. I walked over to my bike and got an oatmeal raisin powerbar for
breakfast and then went into the outhouse to wash up with the "Wet Ones" I had
with me. After washing my clothes in the very cold water, I decided NOT to wash my
hair in there. Instead I set up my camelback on the handlebars of my bike and sat on
the ground to wash my hair. Now I was clean and was on the road by 10 am. I stopped at a convenient store about 1/2 mile from the campground and purchased 2 PowerAde's, a sesame bagel and a SOBE Zen Blend tea. Hey you think I'll bike my way to Zen by drinkin' this stuff :) I filled my water bottles halfway with the PowerAde and then had the guy behind the counter fill them the rest of the way with water as well as the PowerAde bottles. Of course I advised him not to look inside the water bottles because of the stuff growing there :) So now I have 4 bottles that are diluted 50/50 with water. I stood at the counter talking while I ate my bagel and drank my tea. The guy had many stories of the years he spent living on Kodiak Island. He also informed me that Logan Pass is not open and may not be open for awhile since this has been a worse snow than the one they had 3 years ago. I continued riding north on 83, and yes still have incredible scenery that I've been discussing already. How many different words are there to keep describing all of this :) There will be photos posted soon enough if they are not here when you read this :) When I reached 209 I headed west and had a slight wind blowing to the west. I then turned north on 35 to the junction of 82. As I rode west on 82 the wind was now a crosswind blowing off the lake that was just to the south of me as I rode west. From the junction of 93 I rode about 2 miles and found the building for Counter Assault Bear Repellent I've been carrying with me strapped to my bike. At this point I had traveled 29.26 miles and averaged 14.0 mph I met Bob White the Sales Representative, Anne Carter the Office Manager, Jennifer the Administrative Assistant, "Sales Guru and Shipping God" as Anne put it. They were all very funny and enjoyed adding humor :) Dan Higgins took me into the back to see how the stuff is made. That's were I met Jeff and Shane "The guys that make the shit happen" as they put it. It was really cool to actually see the process from start to finish. From the 35 lb containers of pure Oleresin Capsicum to the finished bottle containing 1.73%. I guess the pure stuff is so "hot" it'll burn your skin. The most interesting part is the lack of automated machinery instead they do most of it by hand, even putting each label on by hand. I was given a lot of information to dispel the myths and rumors I've heard over and over. I mailed the info I got to be scanned and will be added to this site to help inform others. You can also check them out at www.counterassault.com . They were all very funny and and friendly, and they even gave me 2 extra cans to help me on my journey. After leaving there I rode north into Kalispell and found the 1st Ave. Camera that D. had told me about. I was only looking to get a new mode select switch to replace the faulty one on my camera. But I've been interested in teleconverters for a long time and also some new filters. So Scott, the owner, showed me what he had and made me a deal I couldn't pass up, $190 worth of stuff for $160. I justified the cost since this is a journey I may never make again in my life and I really want to make the most of this experience. But he seemed to be a little bit like a used car saleman type in a way. While I was waiting to get my film developed,
I rode to the MacKenzie River Pizza Co, like the one I went to in
Missoula. I rode into Whitefish, found the hostel and went inside to register. Glenn showed me around and explained how everything worked around here. Where the showers were and laundry etc... Outside on the sidewalk I met a girl as I
was photographing the hostel and she was interested in my camera.
She was about 18 or 19 and just went on to say about how she is looking
for a camera to pursue her interests in photography. I thought
that this was the perfect opportunity to share what I know and what
others have taken the time to teach me on this journey of mine.
But she didn't seem a bit interested in hearing a word I said and
just wanted to talk about her pursuits. I was trying to be nice
but she seemed very into herself and really didn't care to know a
thing about this or any camera. She was very cold and soon turned
away towards her other young friends that were out there smoking with
her. Later when I ran into her upstairs I had my photos handy
as I was sorting through them, I made another attempt to share what
little bit of knowledge I do have. I asked if she wanted to
see some of the photos I have and she said no as she went into a section
of the hostel that had been sectioned off by a makeshift wall of bed
mats. This was an area were several kids hung out in the 18
- 20 age range. Back in the room I met Matt, we talked for a long time.
He is here on a summer intern and will finish college next year with a degree in Outdoor
Recreation. Today - 53.60 miles |