Moving On

The original purpose behind The Fourteen Percent Ride has long since been fulfilled. So, I've decided that Mighty Proud will be the last posting. It just seems right.

But, don't worry. Or maybe you should. In any event, I plan to continue. I'll keep riding. And writing. Click here to come along in my new blog ~ The Long White Line. <-- check it out!

Thanks

As I've ridden for the last two years, I've picked up on the fact that Shirley, my darling wife, has been more worried about my safety than impressed with my "accomplishments." How do I know this? Well, when I'd come back and tell her, for example, that I'd hit 53.6 mph going down FO, she'd reply, "I don't want to hear it." Being the sensitive sort I figured out, after many such comments, that just maybe we were not on the same page here. But last week, she told me that she would "greatly reduce her focus on the 'fear for my safety' issue." We talked about the tour, looked at some maps, researched nutrition suggestions on the internet, and so on, just enjoying the idea of the ride. How nice is that? Thank you, Shirley!

Friday, July 6, 2007

Transition

Saturday, June 23
Missoula
I got off of my bike, leaned it against the Penske truck and helped Dan unload the bike boxes. In just a few short minutes, I'd gone from a rider to a civilian. It took some negotiations to arrange for transportation to the hotel where we would stay tonight - Dan needed to get it all straight with Carol, who was riding one of the sag wagons still out on the highway. Everything gets sorted out and Dan even gets DC (Cycle America staff) to ride along, enticing him with the promise of a stop at the Missoula REI. Bikes are disassembled and boxed and we are ready to leave. Not a lot of goodbyes, as only a few of the riders are in yet. We leave the tour, riding in one of the two vans.

How do you mitigate the effects of pasta withdrawal? Beef! The desk clerk at the hotel tells us that The Depot has the best steaks in town. This recommendation is seconded by the cab driver who picks us up a few minutes later. When we arrive, we find that they do not open for about an hour, but the staff suggests that we might like to wait at The Iron Horse, located about three blocks away. This sounds like an excellent idea. We go and decide maybe we should ease into the steak with some quesadillas. Sort of like stretching before the ride. We apply ourselves diligently to this task and leave ready to tackle the heavy lifting of real meat.

The Depot is one of those dark wood, low light establishments. There is a really interesting painting used over and over in the restaurant; I see it on the walls, the menus. A cowboy painting with bold colors. I like the effect, very much*.

We finish out this last day of the tour with good beef and good conversation. Getting back into the multi-tasking mode, I decide this dinner should also be a celebration of Bill's birthday, which was one week earlier, the day we flew into Seattle to start the tour. A fitting end to a day of transition.

* I find out later the painting is one of a collection gathered by the owner of The Depot, all of which have been done by artist Larry Pirnie. See some of the collection by clicking here.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

So the "Late Day Bull with Brew" was you and Bill? Late day Bill . . . :-)

July 9, 2007 at 8:58 PM

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