Day 13: REST DAY!

After 886 miles and 12 days straight of riding the less traveled paths through Montana, Idaho, and into Wyoming, I’m going to remember that this is a vacation and take a break from my break.

Having stumbled across the Jackelope Motor Lodge and it’s adventurer friendly digs, today has been pretty wonderful.  If I was in a video game my health/life bar would be steadily growing as I sit here and write.  Brent and the two other riders who rolled in last night are also taking a “zero” day.  All of us are mentally and physically preparing for the next two days of riding, in which we tackle the Great Basin- land of little water, wild horses, crazy winds, insanely fluctuating temperatures, and intense microbursts.  Sounds neat!

Sitting under the veranda digesting the constant input of food (yay for half gallons of lactose free chocolate milk!) and watching the 3rd mini storm system whip through, I’m thinking about what has and hasn’t worked this far.  This has been my longest stretch of biking non-stop days wise, and the longest distance wise on a mountain bike.  It’s a good time to reflect:

• Tiny alcohol stove:  yes and no.  Worked great when I had liquid alcohol fuel, which burned hot and boiled 2 cups of water quickly.  But now that the liquid fuel is gone I’m stuck carrying around an empty flask.  And now I’m using the solid fuel Esbit tablets, which take forever to get anything done, but does the job for making instant coffee.  I think carrying more liquid fuel is the way to go.  Maybe on the downtube.
• Camelback: yes.  I love the packing freedom it gives me throughout the day as temp and weather conditions change, and the 3L of water I am able to carry erases any anxiety about having enough water on most dry stretches.  And it’s a great place to carry Cheese-It’s.
• Dynamo and Sinwave Beacon- love them and love never having to worry about power.
• Having 2 cycling bibs- yea.  It’s been so nice to be able to switch back and forth, washing and drying the other between uses.  
• Tent:  Bivies are dumb.  Sleeping is actually enjoyable in a tent.  And I can shove all my clothes for the next morning in my sleeping bag with me and they are then ready to go the next morning, then actually get dressed in the tent, which is usually a little bit warmer than the cold morning air is outside.
• Iodine: only used a few times, and compared to all the complaining I’ve heard from people about pumps I think this is the way to go.  If there is silty water, I’ll run it through my handkerchief first.
• Disinfectant butt wipes:  Every day after riding the first thing I do is change, wipe down with an antibacterial towelette, and then apply a layer of Doublebase cream (from the UK).  My butt is in the best shape ever given what it’s gone through.
• Garmin Edge 830: now that I’ve figured out  what this little guy is capable of- oh man!  I’m in love with it.  Everything that has gone wrong has been stupidity on my part as a human.  When used corrrectly, this little guy makes navigation super easy.
• Quad Lock Bike Mount:  in past trips I found that if my phone is packed away, I don’t use it.  Having it right out front has been great.  I can access the Cycle America app to identify POIs, Tao into Google Maps if I want to head of course to find something, and it’s super easy to snap my phone off and take a picture.  The only thing to watch out for it to make sure the snap lock is pushed up all they way, because ever since that big day in the rain it does’t always snap into position automatically.  If it is though, my phone has stayed firmly in place despite the insane descents I’ve flown down.
• Flip flops: nice, but I honestly don’t know if I need them.  My bike shoes are comfy enough that anytime I need to walk a fair distance in town or at camp, I just wear them instead of the flip-flops.
• Hydraulic Disk Brakes: I never thought I’d need brakes so much.  Yes and thank you.
  

I did some sink laundry and it’s hanging up on the clothesline to dry.  I’ve read a bit on the Kindle.  I’ve eaten a lot… slightly uncomfortable now.  Washed the bike, quite a bit of mud and/or cow crap stuck to it, and cleaned the drive train.  Then sun is beating down and the air now carries that dry, western, summer heat feeling, but it is perfectly warm in the shade.  I’ve watched a number of riders in both directions roll by, and now that it is afternoon I’m sure more will be joining us here for the evening.  
I need to go find and mail postcards.  And eat more.  And then pack for tomorrow.  I’m planning on an early 4am start tomorrow morning.  
Most importantly, I’m resisting the urge to nap because if I do I’ll never sleep tonight.