Bumps in the road

It was one of the darkest clouds I have ever seen, and it was just west of us when we went in for breakfast. The prevailing wind, and it was very much with us, was blowing the storm right towards us. There was a rainbow in front of it, but it promised a very wet day.

It didn't keep that promise. No, that turned out to be no bump in the road at all.

We set out for our second day of hiking with a few others. We walked along the river where we would be sheltered from the wind. It was an easy walk with lots of wildflowers and pleasant company. We stopped by the river for lunch, where Bruce wandered a few steps to take a picture, then came back and perched on a fallen log over the water to eat. Shortly after that, we saw him searching around. Then he & another guy were looking hard in the rushing water. Then they were trying to reach something down in the river. This was NOT water you would want to fall in. They finally plucked something out. A rock. A rock shaped sort of like the camera Bruce had misplaced. Once we knew what the problem was, we all searched diligently. No camera. It must have fallen from his pocket and been swept downstream. A definite bump in the road.

Even so, we really enjoyed the walk. We came back to rest and pack and make a few organizational phone calls. Bruce went out for one more little walk. Well, actually, he went out with his phone to take a few more pictures. I thought I would go ahead and take a look at my tires. Ouch. My rear tire is falling apart just as fast as it can. It has several places where the tread is trying to separate from the rest of the tire, and several where the tread seems to be worn out & frayed. I have checked it often on the trip and really can't imagine what is going on. Is it a defective tire? These tires are the type I have been using for several years now and they have been really great. Could it be stressed by the load on the rear wheel now that I have ridden loaded? Hard to imagine that, seeing that I have ridden all of 35 miles loaded, and that the load is only slightly greater than what I took on the training rides, and that even with the full load, there is not that much weight on the back. I mean, if I add my weight plus the weight of the bike plus all I carried, it is still less than the average weight of a smallish bike racer without bike or baggage. Hmm. A bump in the road that may have been caused by another bump in the road.

I guess we will limp into Great Falls tomorrow - no fast descents for me - and I will change to the tire I have waiting for me there and buy a just-in-case spare at the local bike shop. Fortunately they do have a 650 in stock.

The chance of rain is very high tomorrow. The next day is the one that takes us to 7300' - the one where we cross a pass that averages 6" of snow in June. You can't even imagine how much we have heard about how cold this June has been all over Montana. We are postponing a final decision until tomorrow evening. Think sun. Think warm sun.

Thank you.