Thursday, April 17, 2008

Don't look back

Got up this morning and pulled out all the slack from the heated vest wire. The good news is that it reached! The bad news is that it was crimped when it was installed, and doesn't work. Just par for the course on this trip, I suppose.

I headed east on I90 to Coeur D'Alene and stopped at a big bike shop, but they didn't have anything that could work. Charles suggested the MacGuyver approach, cutting out the damaged sections and crimping in a good piece of wire. That'll be plan Z, as I do not want to create new problems, just fix the existing ones. With the bad weather still approaching, I decided to make tracks for Montana. All the locals said if you're going to head east over the passes, today is the day to do it. So, off I went, over 2 passes with snow all around, but the sun was shining and I wasn't that cold. Stopped in Missoula, MT for a coffee and a snack, and then headed to Butte. Charles had researched bike shops in Butte and Bozeman while I was riding, but I got to Butte too late to check them out, and still had about an hour and 45 minutes of sunlight left. So after a quick McDinner and a full tank of gas, I continued east. As I passed the continental divide, I figured I'm over the proverbial hump and I am going to keep on going.

4 snow lined mountain passes later, I'm in Bozeman for the night. 400 miles covered today. The plan for tonight is to stay in, stretch out and relax, get a good nights sleep. Tomorrow I'm going to check out Team Bozeman Motorsports, and hopefully be able to get the vest wiring sorted out. Then hopefully go east to Livingston, MT, and south through Yellowstone. The forecast for Yellowstone tomorrow is rain showers, so I'll keep an eye on that and check again tomorrow morning.

7 comments:

Chuff said...

Watch out for bison!

Killer said...

Are you planning to continue south to see the Grand Tetons? Some of the best scenery in the US, IMHO.

Brad Bidnick said...

From Yellowstone I am planning on going east and heading to Devil's Tower, Badlands Nat'l Park and Mt. Rushmore.

Brad Bidnick said...

Just watched the local news here, Yellowstone only has 1 road open, and the whole park is covered in snow. I'm going to head towards Devil's Tower and find a place to stay.

Chuff said...

wow.. the FIRST road of the season in yellowstone opens up FRIDAY:

http://www.nps.gov/yell/conditions.htm

cstatman said...

heh heh heh he said "tetons"

haul butt, run from the snow. catch sights on the flip trip

Geo Mealer said...

Wave hi to the mothership for me. :)