East. Day 44.

July 22, 2016

Columbus to Worden, Montana

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Excerpt from my book:

In the morning, a man in a gray hoodie that matches his bushy mustache interrupts my fill-the-water-bottles chore at an outside spigot. I answer his questions without pausing.

"Rich, come here, I want you to meet someone.” He gestures to a younger man exiting the restroom. “This gal is riding her bike back to Michigan.” He leans in. “My name is Dick. Rich here is my son. We’re taking a vacation together.”

“That’s nice.” I set to closing lids.

“I’m from Arizona originally, now I live in Massachusetts. Rich lives in Florida.”

I wedge my bottles into their cages and look up, edging to hit the road. Rich has the same steel-blue eyes as his father. The young man is quiet, all smiles but his eyes dart. Is that Bunny sniffling in my ear? I relax against the brick wall and rest my arm on my load. “You are a long way from home,” I say.

“We like to spend time together exploring new places,” Dick says. For the next twenty minutes, we share stories of the road.

Rich blurts, “I got hit with an IED in Iraq. I had a closed head injury.”

“I’m so sorry. Thank you for your service.”

Rich bows his head and shuffles his feet. “No problem.”

“He’s getting the help he needs.” Dick straightens and claps his son on the back. “And he’s going to be a certified diver.”

Both beam. Thanks Bunny.

Selfie with Rich and Dick.

My original Facebook post:

Postcard from the road. July 22, 2016 Worden, MT.

A mournful train whistle echoes off a rock-tiered bluff to the north. A few scraggly trees dot the top edge and a golden-cut slope kisses the road I travel.

To the south, irrigated fields of corn shimmer green and roll gently down to a tree line that marks the Yellowstone River. The sun brings heat as morning clouds break apart.

I work a gentle climb out of Park City, 20 miles into my 70-mile ride out of Columbus.

Goodbye mountains. Hello plains.

My resting bike.

From my B’76 journal:

7/22/76

Been having fantastic days. Yesterday we rode a fast 40 miles and took a 6 ½ hour canoe trip the rest of the way (16 miles) from Alley Springs to Powder Mill.

Today was a tough and hot 40 some miles to Johnson Shut-Ins. What a neat place – the water came down over the rocks to a deep pool where people dove off cliffs up to 50 feet high.

Tomorrow – Mississippi River.

1976 me.

Loading onto the Mississippi River ferry. 1976.

Big Dave and Yuigi on the Mississippi River ferry. 1976.

Disembarking the Mississippi River ferry. 1976.