Becoming a minimalist

"Once you've succeeded in dispensing with something you thought essential, you realize you can also do without something else, then without many other things." - Italo Calvino, If on a winter's night a traveler

A little over a year ago I began to seriously reconsider the amount of "things" and "stuff" in my life. I decided it was time to get rid of clothing I never wore and the things in my drawers that were useless and unnecessary. I tackled my closet first, getting rid of a good number of clothes that I never wore and were no longer in interested in. Shoes came next and jewelry. Then, I lived with it for awhile.

Meanwhile a friend introduced me to a neat blog he came upon - mnmlist.com. I perused the blog with fascination and admiration for the author's simpler lifestyle. I was particularly attracted to this post:

"Stop buying the unnecessary. 

Toss half your stuff, learn contentedness. 

Reduce half again. List 4 essential things in your life,

do these first,stop doing the non-essential.

Clear distractions, focus on each moment.

Let go of attachment to doing, having more.

Fall in love with less."

Several months passed and then I went full throttle back to my closet and drawers to get rid of more
things: clothing, shoes, cosmetics, books. I was soon to be leaving on my cycling trip, so my purging was coupled with packing and organizing. Finally I was set for my trip with one small duffel bag, taken up mostly by my sleeping bag and thermarest.

Living this summer with only cycling clothes and 2 shirts, 2 shorts, a pair of jeans, tennis shoes, a fleece, and several other little things allowed me to let go essentially of any connection I had to my stuff. I wore whatever was clean and it didn't really matter - twas the nature of the trip. When I returned home this fall I took my final steps to really defining myself as a minimalist, getting rid of most my books, jewelry, clothing, single-use kitchen items, office things, bags, and more.

The journey to becoming a minimalist is never ending - I continue to donate things and question my need for certain items. In particular, I am always questioning how I can have more functionality with less. I'm still on the search for the perfect minimalist wardrobe...just enough clothing to cover all my activities, but not too much. 

So far, I'm loving it. Minimalism is the lifestyle for me. 

Why I did it?

1) Stuff is stressful - being surrounding by lots of stuff is outright stressful for me; stuff management (also known as organization) is not fun; whenever you move you have to bring all your stuff.

2) Most stuff is unnecessary - when comes right down to it, most people probably don't use half the things in their homes; so, I ask, why own it? I personally would rather only be in possession of the things I use frequently. 

3) I'm searching for simplicity in life - I want the simplicity of a walk in the woods, to be the simplicity of my everyday life. In 21st century society, this is hard to come by. For me, simplicity is going to be a lot easier to achieve with less choices of outfits and more time to focus on what really matters. 

4) To practice non-attachment - attachment to stuff is unhealthy...

5) I am not my stuff - I don't want to be defined by my stuff and so there's no reason to have a lot of it.

6) Less consumeristic - it seems like a funny correlation, but it seems the more you have, the more you buy...you're searching, essentially, for the perfect item - this is not my style. With less things, I only have to buy the necessary items, once they ware down. 

At the core of it all, minimalism is not owning as few things as you can, it's owning only those things that are essential to you and making a conscious decision to be in possession of each and every item you own.

Living a more sustainable, frugal, and chemical-free life

In October I made a trip to, what I feel resembles, a modern apothecary shop to pick up some ingredients to make my own lotion. I had found a recipe in a book of herbal remedies I recently obtained and wanted to try it out. Needless to say, it was somewhat of a failure. I tried a multitude of different recipes and methods, but couldn't quite get it right. So, I scrapped the lotion idea and dove headlong into finding recipes to make everything else I could think of: shampoo, toothpaste, lip balm...you name it. 

Through trial and error I have found the recipes that work best for me. Instead of lotion, for example, I now enjoy using a harder body balm. My goal through this process has been to keep my ingredients at a minimum, to reduce the amount of things I'm purchasing and to add to the simplicity of life. 

Conditioner and Shampoo (I've since gone back to using a organic, natural conditioner because of my lovely dry winter scalp) 

Toothpaste (great consistency!) - unfortunately tastes like soap; I need to obtain some stevia to help sweeten and flavor it. 

Perfume spray, deodorant (works great, smells great, since moved to a tin), lip balm, dry skin oil

Ingredients box (essential oils, glycerin, tools, coconut oil...etc)

Other products in my cosmetic cabinet: saddle sore/acne remedy (important for a cyclist), homemade lemon balm tincture for reducing stress and anxiety, lavender body balm, sleep pillow...

One may ask, why I've chosen to take on the hobby/lifestyle of making my own products. Here's my answer:

1) More sustainable - to the best of my ability, many of my products have metal containers and those that do not at least are at least reusable. I still am trying to figure out the best way to not use plastic in the shower; I've already broken a glass container. Commercial products, whether in tin or plastic, come in a new container every time you purchase them. Also, as much as I can my ingredients are local, therefore energy is not used to ship them to me. The same goes for the products themselves; unless your commercial products are produced and packaged locally, they have a huge carbon footprint to get to you.

2) Frugality - simply put, homemade products are way cheaper...by lots.

3) Chemical-free - my homemade products are 100% natural (literally, not in the marketing sense) and contain no chemicals. I'm sick of unknown ingredients and unpronounceable ingredients. Many of the ingredients in our cosmetics have properties of neurotoxicity, contribute to cancer (DEA ingredients turn to nitrosamines, which may cause cancer, also formaldehyde releasing ingredients), and are also environmentally toxic. [http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/dirty-dozen-cosmetic-chemicals/] I look at cosmetics the way Michael Pollan looks at food... eat food - use only the true natural ingredients.

Want to read more on cosmetic safety? http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/myths-on-cosmetics-safety/

Future recipe goals: sunscreen, soap (though usually very good locally made), makeup, cleaning supplies (simple with vinegar and baking soda)

Burlington Bound

After a 2.5 month journey across the country on my bicycle, the last thing I want to feel is...settled and rooted. And so, my new adventure and new life exploration will be in Burlington, Vermont. Why?

1) The great outdoors:

When it comes right down to it, I just want some fresh air. Living in the 21st century, means living indoors for a lot of people and blocking out nature as much as possible. With air conditioning, cars, and gyms, people don't have to spend time outdoors if they don't want to. They can live in artificial environments if they choose, but that way of life is not for me. Here in Ohio, particularly Southern Ohio, I can certainly find ways to be outdoors, hiking in foothills of the Appalachians, horseback riding, kayaking in our many lakes, cycling the country roads, and even doing farm work. But there is a  part of me that wants to live in the mountains for a while and take hikes up to vast vistas, ski on real snow, and so much more.

2) For a change of scene:

I grew up in Ohio and I went to college here as well and I love it. I embody the midwest, but I don't want to settle down, just now, in a place that I know so well. It's time for a change and to experience a new place.

3) To meet like-minded people:

There are cyclists, rock climbers, foodies, environmentalists, and people with my lifestyle here in Ohio, but in scarce numbers. I see them at the farmers markets, at the bike co-op, at the rock gym, and in coffee shops, however they are the sub-culture hidden beneath the trending suburban lifestyle. I want to find a place where my lifestyle is reflected in the majority of people around me - I think Burlington is an excellent start.

4) For an adventure:

Plain and simply I just cannot sit around any longer. It's only been about 3.5 months since I ended by cycling adventure and it's time for a new one. Now is not the time to settle, it's the time to get  up and go do something new.

Six months ago, I was not in this mindset at all. Had I not taken this cross-country trip, I would be settling down and I may have ended up miserable. It took an adventure to push me onward to even greater adventures. So, to all those young people out there - take the time right now if your life to go exploring...whether that means a moving new big city, traveling abroad, picking up a new hobby, do it. You don't have to go far to find it and you won't regret it when you have exciting stories to tell your children someday and life experience to draw from.

Life Post-Bike and Build

Well, real life is back again and the transition from Bike and Build has somewhat resembled the feeling of culture shock. The things that are completely acceptable on a cross-country bike trip, in a group of 32 people that spend 24/7 together, are not exactly normal in everyday life. For example, I can no longer...
- bring my camelbak wherever I go and look like a normal person (does this stop me? absolutely not)
- pee on the side of the road or behind a bush (going to the bathroom is so complicated now)
- randomly participate in giant cuddle puddles
- eat 6000 calories a day
- go to bed at 8:30 pm and not be missing out on the happenings of the evening
- where the same clothes every day...people would start to wonder
- not shower yet continue to have normal interactions with people
- ask cafes/stores/bike shops to give me discounts or free stuff for a good cause
- have morning/afternoon/evening dance parties (it's not the same by yourself)

Other frustrations...
- having so many clothes to choose from everyday
- having to figure out what I'm going to do each day
- nobody quite understands my summer
- my muscular biking thighs are slightly too large for my pants
- a lack of 32 buddies to bike with

Post-Bike and Build is now colliding with post-college life, which is quite ridiculous. I am in the midst of attempting to put together a collage like year of income sources and activities to keep me busy. Thus far this looks like teaching music at theatre camps, opening up a piano/voice studio, marketing myself as an accompanist...free lancing my way through this year. On top of that I am swing dancing a lot, taking historical interpretation classes, volunteering...and more. Now all I need is a house where I can grow a garden and live happily ever after with my dog :)

Vancouver!

We threw ourselves into the Pacific Ocean yesterday with excitement. We made it across the country on our bikes. There were so many emotions...happy to be there, sad we are leaving each other soon.

Today we package our bikes to be shipped home and one by one we will each depart for the real world again.

Almost there...

As we tend to do, almost our entire group ended up at a breakfast cafe this morning at mile 9: Washington Cafe and Bakery. The people there were so friendly. We got multiple loaves of bread and brownies to take with us for free! The kindness of other people is amazing. We took a group picture with one of the women there and had a great time.

Afterward we got back on our bikes to tackle our final long day. We rolled up and down the road writing inspirational and sentimental chalk messages to each other. Then out of nowhere we were riding along the Puget Sound. It was overwhelming to realize that we have come all the way from New Hampshire.

The afternoon was beautiful cycling along with the water on one side and the lush rainforest on the other. Everytime we came around a corner is was another cool thing to look at. We were cycling under a canopy of trees...awesome.

From there we cycled through Bellingham and on to Lynden where we are for the night. The final miles of the trip we could see huge mountains in the distance. The best was Mt. Baker, which reaches 12,000 ft and was covered in a blanket of snow.

Tomorrow we head into Canada and get ready for our last day and our wheel dip into the Pacific Ocean!

Northern Cascades

Yesterday was our final day of mountain climbing. We woke up to very cold weather, shivering in our sleeping bags. Finally we all managed to get our bags packed and breakfast eaten. I took off with Diane, Kate, Kelsey, and Ellen.

The Washington Pass is about 12 miles of climbing through beautiful rocky peaks still covered with snow in some places. We took our sweet time, stopping often to enjoy the scenery and rest our legs. Upon reaching the top we walked out on an incredible scenic overlook that looks down on the road we climbed up. It was neat to see from above.

From there we had a 3 mile descent before hitting our second climb, Rainy Pass. From the direction we were coming the second climb was only 1.5 miles. I wouldn't even consider it a pass, though I wouldn't want to climb it from the other way. We took off from that pass down a 20 mile descent to lunch. It was unbelievable. We descended along amazing rocky cliffs and a mountain creek. There were waterfalls falling down the cliffs and beautiful mountains in the distance.

After lunch the descent continued and brought us to a teal river...it was gorgeous. As we came out of the mountains the road became much more wooded and hardwoods began to appear. The trees almost covered the road completely from sun...it was a like a tree tunnel. At times it felt like and smelled like Ohio.

A couple miles from our campsite we stoppped at Cascadian Farms for a snack. The company was founded in the valley here. I had a Ginger ale and a whole pint of blueberries. It was so refreshing. Once at camp I headed down to the river for a freezing cold, but great bath.

It feels so good to have the mountains conquered and behind us. Washington challenged everybody and we are all happy to be descending into Vancouver.

Another day, another mountain pass

Yesterday I rode sweet with Stephanie and trekked along with Nate and Erin as well. We ate breakfast at a local cafe in Republic before hitting the mountain pass just outside of town. We climbed for 13 miles slow and steady, then enjoyed a very long descent alongside rocky formations cliffs. I am surprised by how arid the land is here. It has something to do with the mountains holding back the weather systems. We were stuck at lunch for an extra 45 minutes because Nate left his helmet in the van but we were well rewarded after with a long 5 miles descent. We then spent a long time drinking milkshakes at a local cafe before heading into our host. 

Today we climbed our 4th mountain pass. It was 18 uphill and took a very long time...plus our legs are quite tired. The descent was totally worth it though: 8 miles of 6% grade. Since we're camping tonight we all took our time riding today. Right now we are in a very cool town, Winthrop, that looks like a cowboy/western town and has awesome shops.

Tomorrow we have two more passes and then its all downhill from there.

Oh mountains

Significant moments from the last two days:
- coffee club stop leaving Sandpoint, tasty yerba mate
- rainstorm...stopped to wait for lightning
- soaking wet and freezing
- McDonalds lunch stop, craving a burger and fries, warm coffee, dried off with hand dryers
- cool birds flying in formation, loud bird in tree, maybe an osprey
- big mountain pass...big surprise...12ish miles of uphill, so tough and challenging, mentally and physically worn out
- 17.8 mph average this morning with Kevin through rolling hills
- helped dig out a canoe
- got in van for a hurting back, missed the 20 mile climb pass
- looking over grant applications tonight as a group
- everybody worn out and ready to be home, these last days are tough

Picture Time (on our day off)

Today was our last day off and I spent it resting and walking around town. Then I got an incredible 1 hour massage (full body) and now I feel absolutely amazing. Now for some pics: (and yes they're out of order again).

Dog at lunch on reservation

Can you find the cow elk?

Descending in Glacier

Notice the rainbow

Do I need a caption for this?

Glacier...east side

95 mile ride into Sandpoint

Glacier from afar

Going to the clouds

Beautiful river with swinging bridge

Montana to Idaho

On these super long days, 95 miles today, it feels like several days have passed between the morning and the evening. Many of us began our day at McDonalds to get some extra protein for the day. Then we started out along a road next to a beautiful river. There were rapids and rock formations everywhere. At one point we even saw a cool swinging bridge across the river. It was like a scene out of Indiana Jones.

It is so fun to be among the mountains. They never fail to amaze me. Our first lunch was at a lake by some incredible huge cliffs. After lunch things got pretty silly. I started my day with Diane, Ellen, Kate, Collin, and Rob. I left lunch with Rob and Kate because the others were waiting with Diane who left her helmet in the van which had left (they ended up hitchhiking). The road continued to be beautiful but the rolling hills were tough for me. My ability to bike uphill is diminishing.

I eventually fell behind my group and biked alone into Idaho. Crossing the stateline was epic as we have been in Montana for over a week. Idaho has more rocky features and does feel a bit different. When I finally got to second lunch I found out Rob and Kate had also hitchhiked and left me behind. Oh well.

After that lunch I joined with Katie K, Caity, Nate, and Erica. The road was under construction and the pavement had been striped so we found a great detour along a parallel road. We were riding along Lake Pend Oreille and it felt like we were on the coast of Italy. After a couple of miles we came upon a little hippie cafe where a bunch of our cyclists were hanging out. I honestly felt like I was in another country.

I departed with Nate for the final part but when he stopped to take a picture I got ahead and finished solo. A train came along and I watched it cross the water on the tracks. It was so neat. The road had to go around the lake.

Our host is great Dinner was made by a man who has been in the restaurant business for years. It's was unbelievable. I had beets, green beans, a sausage dish, quinoa, peas and corn, two kinds of soup (carrot with ginger and a Mexican soup with hominy), fancy bread with toppings...etc. It was literally like eating in a restaurant. Incredible! For dessert...huckleberry ice cream.

Our entertainment for the night was Frankie, a 95-year old woman of the congregation with more spunk and attitude and humor than anybody I know. She even participated in our game of slackjaw and had us all busting up with laughter.

Our night ended at a local microbrewery with some huckleberry ale.

Koocanusa Reservoir

Our host this morning gave us a great breakfast of pancakes and eggs to fuel us for the day. I started out the morning with the "coffee club" (Nate, Kelsey, Erin) and broke away for solo riding the rest of the day. We rode along the Koocanusa Reservoir today, which was incredible. All along the rode were huge rocky cliffs to our left and big rock formations to our right. We climbed atop some for a better view.

The ride was a bit tough for everybody. We think it was because of the thermal winds. Nobody could hold ther normal average. I took it slow and just enjoyed the riding. The air here is so crisp and smells of pine. It's wonderful. The last bit of the ride took us past the dam and along the river valley into Libby.

There was a car show in town which was fun to walk through. There were cars from every decade! It was neat. Once at the host Kelsey and I went over to McDonalds, since our group has to make dinner tonight. I enjoyed a tasty smoothie and fries. Yum! After a nap we ate pasta with peanut sauce and then got milkshakes down the street. It's all about food with us. I'm looking forward to resuming my normal-person eating habits when the trip is over.

Blue Lake and Pine Trees

6:30 wake-up, then my team (the coffee club) went to breakfast across the street at the Buffalo Cafe. I got huckleberry pancakes, two eggs, and bacon. Yummy! Huckleberries can't be cultivated so they are all handpicked in the wild. And they only grow in the north and in the mountains. I want to get everything huckleberry while we're here.

Our route took us on some amazing roads through pine woods. It smelled like Christmas. The entire day we had an incredible view of the mountains. Lunch was at a lake, the color of clear blue. It was gorgeous. We spent a long time relaxing there as today we only had to bike 55 miles. Just as we were leaving we saw another bald eagle soaring above the lake.

The ride was relaxing but my body is tired and slowing down. We are in good shape, but as we start climbing hills again I can feel the wear of 9 weeks of biking.

When we got into town I put a new chain on my bike, with Kevin's help, and cleaned off all the dirt. Dinner was excellent and I had rice pudding for dessert. It was so tasty (not too sweet), I had to get the recipe. It is so easy!

Tonight we are in Eureka, about 7 miles from Canada. The big resevoir here is named for the river, Canada, and the United States: Koocanusa!

Climbing the mountains into the clouds

Tuesday was our last day in the flat land of Montana as we approached the Rockies 60 miles away (but visible). We left Cut Bank and were quickly met with the worst headwinds thus far. I struggled along with Kelsey behind Kevin and Nate. We took lots of breaks and finally came to lunch in a town on the Blackfeet reservation.

We were greeted at lunch by several dogs. One was a puppy, maybe a couple months old, and looked exactly like Marlow at home but with different coloring. She was so cute and sweet; I pet her for a long time.

After lunch we continued our struggle in the wind as we began to see a change in the terrain. The road began to curve and pine trees began to appear alongside of us. Soon enough we were climbing up and up, and the mountains were right there. It was pretty incredible. We ascended and descended for the next 20 miles before arriving at our destination. Along the way we saw a bunch of horses that weren't fenced in, so I assume they were mustangs.

I struggled a lot on the hills but it was worth it for our post-ride meal. Before heading to our campsite, Nate, Kevin, Debs, Erin, and I stopped for an early dinner. I had a bison burger with sweet potato fries and a slice of razzleberry pie for dessert. It was the best way to end the ride.

Upon our arrival at the campsite we watched an incredible change in the weather. Suddenly there were tremendous winds and dark storm clouds started pouring over the mountains. We threw up our tents and secured the rain flys as fast as we could. By the time the rain started we were safe inside.

We woke up yesterday to rain and wet tents and 40 degree weather. I bundled up in leg warmers, spandex, sweatpants, a long sleeve shirt, my jersey, a fleece, raincoat, and a wool hat. We eventually got the trailer packed and the tents put away and scarfed down a breakfast of bagels and yogurt. Despite the weather we ventured out to conquer the Going to the Sun road, 17 miles up and 33 miles down.

The rain had stopped finally when Kelsey, Nate, and I started out. The road was incredible and fairly flat for 10 miles as we biked along a lake. Within the first several miles we saw 3 elk cross 100 ft in front of us and run up the hill to join their herd. We even heard their call, a strange sound like a haunted house creaky door. Later we saw a bald eagle leave it's perch and soar down to the lake. It was awesome.

The mountains were superb, especially with the low lying clouds that filled the valleys. We stopped often to take pictures. Once the first climbing began we warmed up but we froze each time we stopped. At one point we stopped for a break at a bathroom and sat inside to refuel on some energy bars. The last 7 miles we took lots of breaks. Within the last 2 miles we became one with the clouds. It was mesmerizing; you couldn't see 100 ft ahead of you.

Finally we reached Logan's Pass at the Continental Divide, 6646 feet. We ran into the visitor's center for warmth, except as our sweat dried we stayed pretty cold. On the other side of the pass the clouds were parting and blue skies were showing through. It was 37 degrees up top so we were eager to descend. Descending is tough though because there is freezing air in your face and the roads are wet. We feathered our breaks and pedaled in a low gear to keep our legs warm. When we stopped I literally put my hands in my mouth to warm them.

The views were unreal and there was a rainbow. How perfect?! There was some road construction going on so traffic was held up for a while. One of the construction women gave us her car keys and let us warm up inside. It was so nice. We eventually were allowed to continue and we slowly made our way down the mountain. We had 12 miles of 7% grade. It felt pretty epic to ride the Going to the Sun road with the power of my own two legs. The final miles were along a river trough beautiful pine woods. It was incredible. I will definitely have to return someday to hike and camp and enjoy the mountains more.

(Today we had our final build day. It was right in view of beautiful mountains. We spent the day putting up second story floor trusses on a duplex. It was a typical build day with a great supervisor.)

Pics of Glacier to come!

Flying in the plains

This morning we were feeling powerful and had a slight tailwind. My average at lunch, mile 37, was 17.5 mph. It was good to be flying on the bike again. After lunch we came into the town of Shelby (3500 people including the 500 prisoners, so we were told). We stopped at an incredible coffe shop/gift book store. The barristas were so friendly and put up with all our questions about the drinks. I ended up getting an ice cream mocha...so much sugar everyday on this trip.

It didn't take much longer to bike the final 25 miles. It was fairly flat, but it was one of our last days of flat land. On our way we passed a huge wind farm; it was maybe 10 miles long. We also got to see a train going super slow with small cranes on top lifting up railroad ties from an open car and putting them on the side of the track. It was really cool to see.

Other cool things from the day:
- lots of hawks making lazy circles in the sky
- neat tunnels under the road for horses to get to the other side
- the Rockies in the faint distance
- a fun western store that sold everything from saddles and tack to boots and hats to horse feet treatment
- murals all through the town of western scenes

Chinook and Chester

Chinook (yesterdays destination) means warm winds, which we definitely experienced. We fought winds all day and my great average of 16.4 the day before dropped to 13.4 today. It was pretty much miserable the entire time. My body is breaking down; my knees hurt, my shoulder hurts, my hands hurt...etc. Ice ice ice is the name of the game now.

In the morning I did get to see a hawk flying really low to the ground about 100 feet from the road. It's wing were completely spread out. I've never seen a hawk that close in the wild before. It was very cool. Besides that I tried to start another cow stampede by mooing at a herd today, but it didn't work. My mooing is pretty weak unfortunately.

The highlight of the yesterday was seeing mountains pop up on the horizon. On the map you can see some formations starting to appear before Glacier and we saw those today. It was great to look out and see something other than bluffs. The other great thing is that one of Chinook's major industries is forestry, which means...there are trees! Suddenly things are starting to turn green again and that feels good.

Today I decided to ride in the van to let things recover. I don't want to push myself too far before climbing the mountains we are about to encounter. The van is pretty uneventful; I read, napped, listened to music, ate.

A jazz musician's set list

This morning we watched stormy weather roll in from the west. Since you can see so far we could safely bike and marvel at the incredible lightening at the same time. For a moment we thought we may have to stop but we out-biked the rain. It felt like we were storm chasers. The clouds were ever changing and so beautiful and unique.

We came to a small town at mile 30 and stopped at a super cute cafe. The woman there had a little home kitchen and was serving bisquits and gravy. She also had ice cream and hot drinks. I had delicios bisquits and a spiced chai. It was heavenly. Little did we know lunch was .5 mile up the road, so we stopped breifly again to pick up snacks for later.

After lunch we experienced blue skies. The weather changes so fast around here. Kelsey and I took off and rode 23 miles straight before taking a break...very unusual for us. We were averaging 16.3 miles and rolled into town at 12:20. 70 miles in a little over 4 hours.

The temp got very hot towards the end of our ride, so we stopped at Dairy Queen; a vanilla cone has never tasted so yummy. With so much time at our host site, most people took naps, watched the Olympics, and just relaxed and hung out. For dinner tonight we have a hodge podge of donated food from around town.

It's hard to believe there are only 18 days left. My body is telling me it's time to get off the bike and my mind looks forward to home, but these last weeks will be fun. The mountains are coming up, another day off in Idaho, and Washington (a state I have never experienced).

Glasgow

55 miles from Wolf Point to Glasgow, easy riding, fluffy blueberry pancakes for breakfast, big dark storm in the distance beautiful over wheat fields, brief rain storm during lunch under the protection of a tent, sun greeted us for the second half of ride, pioneer/cowboy museum (awesome displays of saddles, handmade spurs, animals, tribal wear...etc), mail day (got some great packages and letters), and more hanging out.

Flat Land

Contrary to yesterday's excitement about rolling hills, we still have 400 miles of flat riding. Luckily today we enjoyed great views of bluffs in the distance and incredible rock formations on the side of the rode. There is at least variation in the landscape. It feels very similar to the southwest area of the United States, but with wheat fields. The area is dry and the ground is arid. Today we had the pleasure of riding on a very empty country road that runs parallel to route 2. It was great to finally be able to ride next to somebody and hold a conversation with them. Here are some of the highlights from today:

- Getting chased by 3 aggressive farm dogs. I yelled at them very sharply to go away. It worked.
- Seeing lots of horses and their babies.
- Starting a stampede of cows and their young. I've never seen cows run like that.
- Flying down the road and feeling good on the bike today.
- Hearing a Great Horned Owl twice in one day...morning and night. We don't have those in Ohio. It's so beautiful.

And now for some pictures of landscapes, because other people take the pics of me. Sorry, but they're beautiful. (And slightly out of order, but oh well)

Sunset over Brush Lake

There were so many sunflower fields in North Dakota.

Long open road

Herd of cows that stampeded.

White cows, that looked like plastic farm set figures.

Incredible Montana rocks...where did they come from?