20
May
2009
I Just Can’t Quit You, Ennis, MT
We made it. Up and over the Virginia City hill and ten miles downhill to sunny Ennis Montana. A nap in the city park and we’re back on the internets. If the posts feel rushed or are a little rough around the formatting edges, it’s a result of the web war we’ve been waging with countless librarians. Turns out that most libraries will let you online for only an hour or so before the computer queue fills up with locals hankering after their Match.com accounts and the latest posts on Gunbroker.com. (Yeah yeah, so I snoop a little once we’ve gotten the boot.)
Sam’s spat was a prickly one yesterday afternoon as he tried to wrap up the post below. After two flat tires on the ride to Twin Bridges last night, we found a tiny staple lodged in the tire. We’re blaming the likely librarian culprits armed with their weapons at hand.
Anyway, that all is to say that the blog posts are a burden of love and we’re trying to get as many of them going as we possibly can with life on the road. Hope you enjoy them. It’s been a blast getting to share this little journey with everyone.
Today we’ll meet up with the last Lightninger, Sir BJ Kinsey, and become a group of three again (Clay, heal those knees and we’ll be four in Chicago in no time.) Getchen and John will also be joining us for a night’s camp down by the river. There’s rumors of Elk-orizo (sausages) or some other taste of Montana’s fare. Last time it was Deer-itos. Deer-icious (sorry).
We’d like to also take the time here to start our ever growing thank you list. These are the big ones - the reason we are where we are. You’ve all helped us somewhere along the way, in thoughts, jackets, flashing lights, or just as motivators to get to that next library to wage another battle and get a post up - for you. It’s all for you, our trusty and loyal fans.
Zach - Our Portland saviour, providing us with an invaluable resource as the clock nearly struck zero. Zach was a prior Trans-Amer whom we met one day at a bicycle shop in Portland. He quickly recognized Aidan from his glory years at High Cascade, and got to talkin. On Thursday evening, at about 6pm, we met up with Zach at his house for some last minute advice and to “glance” at his maps. Those maps happened to be the ACA Trans-America Route Maps, complete with town to town mileages, directions, and services provided. We’d be a hopeless cause- probably somewhere still on the Oregon coast, miles apart and still fighting. So thanks Zach, for the headache relief and invaluable resource.
Bryan - Another Portland hero, for Aidan. After a manly morning in the Safeway parking lot, we successfully managed to replace the power steering belt in Aidan’s car. It was a junkshow, but we got that old girl rollin’ again. A quick packing job with the remaining contents of life, and the car was ready, apartment vacated. The daunting 40+ mile trip from Bryan and Sally’s house left Aidan a bit a bay. That is until Brian called, said he was in Portland, and could drive the car to his house. Amazing! Problem solved. Just remember, grind em til you find em. Thanks Bryan.
Meredith - Salt Lake City, ex-Colorado, friend/roommate alike. A few days after getting to Portland, I realized quickly that I needed to swap out shifters (swap flight decks for bar ends) for their ease of use, maintenance, and adjustability. It also soon became apparent that Aidan had no digital camera charger. So by the grace of a corporate FedEx account, the shifters and camera were overnighted and instantly put to use. So thanks to Meredith for this entire blog - it’d be nothing but a crappy try at witty jokes and anecdotes from the road. And who likes reading anyway? Picture are so much prettier.
Whitney - A package came one day. Well, packages had been coming nearly every day since my arrival to Portland. More stuff. We needed more stuff, at the last minute. It was all coming. Then finally, a package for Aidan Payson (without the second line reading Attn: Sam Woolf). He was excited. Not me. Opened it, found, among other items from REI a flashing tail light and ankle reflector straps. I made fun of him. That stuff was for the birds - those dorky commuters used that. We wouldn’t need it. We a) wouldn’t be riding at night, and b) those ankle straps need no excuse why not to wear them. Welp, wrong I was. Our first (and only) shakedown ride in Portland left us in still 10 miles out in the pitch black. Aidan turned on his light. I was jealous. Went out and bought one the next day. And we’ve used our lights countless times in the pouring rain, hail, cloudy, and dark days on windy roads. They are a signal of “I’m scared of you, give me a break”. So thanks Whitney, for being such a motherly safety freak, concerned about your precious…
(my time is a runnin out. Aidan’s is already burned. These are going to have to get shorter - not in any way a significance of importance. Sorry for this. Library battle yet again. 17 minutes and counting….)
Meg & Phil - It’s been a cold, wet, windy one. Tremendous thanks from Aidan for the fleece and vest. And from me, yet another inspiration for me to go out and get a fleece jacket before departure. We’ve lived in the fleeces. And they’re almost the same color so we look like twins…great….
Art & Celeste - We’ve been eating cheap, sugary, food for weeks. Not since leaving Jackson, MT, where we excitedly awaited the opening of the Post Office to get the greatest care package yet! After unloading and shipping a bunch of winter gear home, we were excited at how much room we had - not for long, as we soon needed to find homes for the 15lbs of Cliff Bars, 7 layer Bars, Beef Jerky, Fruit and Nut mix, and other goodies. We’re happy and full. Thanks.
Will Freihoffer - Our Missoulian host, and recent grad (congrats). The hospitality was tremendous - totally unnecessary. We showered, ate, did laundry, and got a biut tipsy (maybe not so much of a thanks for that one). But celebrate we did, and enjoy it we did even more. Thanks to you and the roommates. It was our best day off yet!
