Day 22: July 27, 2024 - Rest day

In the middle of the night, maybe 3:00, I woke up and realized I needed to get beyond the smoke rather than waiting for it to subside. I made a plan to ride to Boise, Idaho, rent a car, drive to Billings, Montana, and then ride to Rawlins, Montana, where I would resume riding the Trans Am route. This plan would meant that I would not ride routes 13 through 26, which is unfortunate but necessary given the smoke from the wildfires. Later in the day I learned that I could rent a car in Ontario, which is closer than Boise, and that there are cities other than Billings where I could drop the car and would allow for a drive of one day rather than two.

I use the term “Rest day” but on rest days I always have plenty to do. Maybe that’s why other cyclists call them “zero days”. One of my tasks was to true my rear wheel. The picnic table and the block of wood I found in the fire ring allowed me to turn my bike upside down without removing the cage for the bear spray.

Another task was to repair my right shoe where I had discovered a new failure of the stitching. A quarter worked well as a thimble to push the needle through the leather. We’ll see how well my stitches hold.

Linda, the camp host, brought me all sorts of food. Later my neighbors brought me a pound of cheddar cheese and a box of saltines, and then served me a hamburger and zucchini for dinner.

Here you can see the break in the rack's weld.

The bag protecting my spare tire was ripped but the spare tire had only minimal damage. I will turn the bag upside down so that the hole faces up.

One of my three Vole straps, used to secure the spare tire to the bottom of the rack, was severed.

I'll be able to use the long section of the strap with the buckle if I can heat the end of the strap to thicken it so it doesn't slip through the buckle. Or maybe my shoe maker Uriel Gurgov can sew the end of the strap to make it work.

I bought the rack Tom Reingold found online and asked the seller for shipping options. He hasn't responded and I'm guessing he won't until Monday. The estimate for standard shipping is July31-August 5, next Wednesday through Monday.I hope I can get the rack by Wednesday.

My machinst friend David Brorein told me he has some ideas about how to improve the joint of the new rack. I will send him the broken rack so that he can exeriment with it.

In the afternoon I took a nap which was much needed given that I had been up in the middle of the night making a plan to get away from the smoke.

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