Leaving the Rockies behind just outside of Browning, MT, Sunday 3 July, 1997.

Staying at: Towne House, Havre, MT

Distance traveled so far: 1308 km (813 mi)

Last Modified on 9/3/97 at 6:31:28

Day's Narrative: Today we are laying over in Havre, MT. It's been over a week since we took a day off and we need to relax a bit, wash some clothes and plan the next few days.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, we will stay in Malta, MT. There are two motels in Malta, and I doubt if either one will have a phone we can use to update the web page. That's an 87 mile (140km) ride from Havre and it's probably going to be hot too. The weather reports are predicting the weather will be cooler on either Thursday or Friday. I can't wait.

The photo above was taken a few miles east of Browning , MT, and is the last we will see of mountains until Cumberland Gap in Kentucky.

Havre has a shopping mall! We cruised the mall today and found some neat shirts on sale. In this part of the country Fall will be here in a few short weeks. A woman I spoke to the other day said that the average first snow near Browning was the middle of September.

Today I checked the bike over and discovered that the recycled tire that I put a boot in several months ago had a large bulge in it at the boot location. I suspect the heat of the road yesterday loosened the boot. Road temperatures can go up to 140 F (60C) in this weather. So I had to put on a new tire. That's the third tire I've had to replace for one reason or another -- mostly due to road trash. Now that has exceeded the number of flats I've had.

WHAT DO I EAT?

I'm eating just about what I used to eat, except lots more of it. Breakfast is the most important meal. I never know for sure if there'll be a lunch, so I really eat a lot. Before the ride I would skip most of the calorie stuff -- like toast and jelly. I'd usually never eat all the hashbrowns. Not now. It all gets consumed.

Lunch is great if I can find any. I'll eat anything. For dinner I've had several steaks. My favorite is hamburger steak -- there's lots of protein, it's reasonably priced and it's hard to screw it up. I've learned to like Heinz 57 steak sauce too. Some of those hamburger steaks can be pretty tasteless.

I told Connie today that this is not a gourmet trip across the US. In the morning I want the closest restaurant that opens at 6 am, and the evening I'm usually not in the mood the look all over town to find that great little Italian place. Although we've had some good Chinese food.

Snacks during the day are Power Bars, cheese crackers, and I've found that I like dried apricots and peaches. But that's more like emergency food. I eat it because I know I have to.

By the way, I don't have a scale with me, but I'm pretty sure I haven't lost any weight.