1 - 2007 Cross Country Cycling Trip - Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Boy Scout Troop 845

Journal Excerpt from the 2007 3700 mile cross-country bike trip......

2615 miles later the epicness continues to grow on the biketrip.

The weather governs every day for us, and we are constantly checking how blazing hot it will be, when the storms are coming, and where the winds are gusting from.  Last week, we left Minot ND to continue down the seemingly endless Rt 2.  Upon our arrival in our targeted town of Stanley, the winds were heavily in our favor, so we made quick work of a gas station lunch, and cruised an extra 40 miles.  The next day we were delayed by heavy storms in the morning, and ended up riding in the rolling exposed Montana hills with the sun blazing down at 107 for over two hours.  More heat was on the way, so we were up at 4am the next morning and finished our day by 9:30 before the sun could pound us hard.

That day eventually climbed to 114, making it the hottest area in the US, and we sought shelter in an icecream shop in Poplar MT. Since we spent over 8 hours in there soaking up their AC, I'm sure they were very ready for us to move on.  On our way into the town a local said that they used to stop cars on their way into town to search for guns and knives....and if they didn't have any they would give them some.  Poplar had been dubbed 'stab city USA' due to its uncommonly high stabbing frequency.  To avoid said stabbing we hunkered down at the local Lutheran church and on our way out of town the next morning we read that they had found a body in the river where we went swimming only one day earlier.

Out of Stab City USA and into the Mosquito Capital of the world. I'm always skeptical when someplace claims to be the biggest or best in the world, so I was skeptical of their mosquito count since we'd been through some pretty buggy areas already.  My curiosity was satisfied when only a few miles before town we were swarmed while still on our bikes and riding at 18mph.  They quickly covered our legs and arms, any exposed skin, and would bite through all clothing as well. It was all we could do to put on bug juice and ride while constantly swatting.  Camp that night was Malta MT, and we were in our tents within 2 minutes of getting to the city park with our legs and arms streaming blood.  When it was time for dinner, we dashed to the Dairy Queen, stayed there til it closed, then dashed back to the tent to read Harry Potter and write in the journal.  The morning out of Malta was bad as well, but now that we're 70 miles past it, the bugs are at a reasonable and manageable level that actually allows us to remain outside and maintain sanity.

We've been on Route 2 now for almost a week and have a few more days to go. It makes navigation easy, and we're not worried about anybody getting lost.  Our morning briefings consist of 'take a right out of the gas station....stop at the next gas station for lunch....stop at the next gas station to camp.'  But we will be happy for a bit of scenery adjustment that's coming up in the next few days.  We hit Glacier National on the 30th where we'll take 3 full days off....wow.....and spend some time hiking through the park, hanging out, eating lots of food, and resting the body for the big climbs to come.

Sidenote:  We did break the record for the fastest wreck on this trip or the 05 trip.  This rider may or may not have a pierced ear and their identity will of course remain a mystery until we're home.  They did escape with very little road rash, and didn't even come close to winning the award for most blood drawn during a wreck.

We're in Chinook right now, and rolled in at 1:30 after a 70 mile day.  We're camped at the city park, right next to the pool...no better way to beat a hot afternoon.

We're bikin it and swimmin and about to be hikin it and of course likin it.

Brian

By: Brian Burnham – ASM T845/Trip Guide