Day 34: Rest day in Missoula MT

We went by the Adventure Cycling headquarters when we got in to Missoula yesterday.

For those of you not familiar with ACA, it was previously named BikeCentennial and it created the TransAm route as a celebration of the Bicentennial in 1976.    That year I had just finished my freshman year at the University of Virginia when I heard about the TransAm.  I have been wanting to ride this route for 50 years!  I guess there is something to be said for not giving up on your dreams.  

Today I got a haircut and went to REI to buy some new sandals because my shower shoes are not comfortable to walk any distance in, and at the end of a day of riding, I really don’t want to put my bicycling shoes back on to walk to dinner.  If I wear them too much they don’t dry out and start to stink!

I also bought a new sleeping pad at REI just in case Brian and I are unable to find a motel.  Although I no longer have my tent, if it comes right down to it I could put my ground cloth down and sleep under the stars (what they call Cowboy Camping).  My new pad is much lighter and smaller than the one I threw away, and a lot more expensive!  Older people always think anything they have purchased earlier in life is expensive because I think we create a cost reference in our heads that we don’t update for things that it may be many years before we buy them again.  Given an annual  rate of inflation of 3%, a sleeping pad that was $50 twenty years ago will have almost doubled in price. Our minds have a hard time accounting for inflation unless it is something we buy often, or at least annually.  

Tomorrow we continue our journey west.  Astoria is about 975 miles from here, which will take about 3 weeks.

For Dylan, Jackson, Olivia, Liam and Lia-Marie, this is where I currently am.





Comments

  1. Jay GrahamJune 24, 2026 at 5:12 AM

    The map shows how impressive your accomplishment is. Thanks for adding the graphic. I’ve enjoyed telling friends about your adventure

    ReplyDelete

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