Well, the long awaited day finally got here. My friend, Char, drove me to Missoula, MT, where I started at Adventure Cycling’s office. Only rode 14 miles today to Lolo, Mt as a warm up ride. After the drive, not much time to go any further. So we have ordered pizza and plan to party tonite before I start the ride in earnest tomorrow.

The ride from Missoula to Lolo was a bike path all the way and a glorious bike path at that. Teton Valley should take lessons from the bike path people up here. The path was smooth all the way, unlike the awful bike path in Driggs. The two things that I noticed the most were all the bloomed western salsify that had already gone to seed and the copious amounts of leafy spurge along the bike parh. The spurge is a noxious weed and the salsify is an obnoxious weed. Their heads are 5-7 times the size of dandelions. When they all go to seed in Teton Valley and the wind is blowing, it looks like it is snowing. DISGUSTING. Very hard to eradicate. Before I left home, I noticed the salsify coming up and starting to head, so I pulled all I saw. Then I hired a landscaper to come three times this summer to pull weeds. Anal I am.

Good start to what I hope to be a good ride across America. I just want everyone to know that I will tell it like it is. I will try not to complain, but I will not sugar coat anything. Doesn’t mean I’m not having fun. I know there will be challenges, but my positive attitude will get me thru even tho I may not be 100% happy at the time. That’s all for today.