Wind

Today was supposed to be an easy day, and it would have been were it not for the wind. I took my time enjoying waking up in a bed with a place all to myself this morning and got a late start. I should have set out earlier before the wind got so bad. The terrain was easy, the road was straight, the shoulders wide, the temperature perfect...but the wind was blowing 25mph with 35mph gusts. And of course, it was directly against me. There were times I really just wanted to scream, "Seriously? Stop already!" to the air, or throw my bike down in despair. I really hate biking in winds like that.

Otherwise though, it was a rather simple, straightforward day, especially compared to all the excitement of Yellowstone. I had one incident heading through a construction zone, where as I was weaving between cones to stay out of the way, I accidentally hit one with my trailer and tipped it over.  It messed up my hitch, and then you in resetting it I then had to realign the axle to get the wheel trued again. I had to work frantic and fast because if where I was (also, the oncoming rain, which thankfully never amounted to much), but with only a minor bruise to the container on my trailer everything was set back good as new.

Sadly in Yellowstone, my waist pouch I've had forever had its main zipper break, and nothing I could do could set it back to new. I've still been using it until I can get a replacement (probably tomorrow at Walmart). But today I had a granola bar fall out on the road in a construction zone and I couldn't retrieve it. I felt awful for littering and wasting it. I tell myself that where it was, it probably got picked up fast, and knowing construction workers, being wrapped still, it might have even got eaten. Heh.

As another disappointment of the day, I missed the post office in Saint Anthony where dad sent my replacement stakes, because they close at only 4. And so, I'll have to backtrack from the farm out of town where I'm staying in order to get them tomorrow. But it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Wind is supposed to be decent tomorrow, and I don't have far to go. My host tonight is a really nice older woman and her husband. They were at a baseball game when I arrived, so I had to wait on the porch, but she generously provided a cooler full of really great snack foods. And when she did get here, I got a warm shower and a hot meal (with farm fresh eggs even!). She's a cyclist herself, no cross country trips yet, but she does some very impressive day rides. It's been great getting to meet her.