Monday, July 12, 2010

day 63. coeur d'alene, id to pullman, wa. 92 miles.

i tried to get up bright and early to get a good jump on the day. but it didn't happen. i snoozed for a couple hours, enjoying the comfort of my hotel bed.

on my way out of the city i stopped at a local bike shop to top off my tires. just before stepping inside, two dudes approached inquisitive of my origins. when i said nyc they became stoked and shook my hand. toward the end of our conversation, one asked, "i bet you like weed. i can get some if you need it." i politely declined explaining that while i do support the sticky plant, it's effects just don't do it for me.

i rolled over a few mountain passes before being out of the woods, so to speak. its amazing how the terrain can change in the blink of an eye. rolling hills of lush green grass and wheat surrounded me in all directions as if floating on a raft.

the day went on, the heat reached 100 and countless cars and trucks screamed by, their air conditioners blasting, no doubt. in an effort to remove myself from traffic i took a right and veered into washington state towards pullman. the green rolling hills continued for miles as i rolled over one hump to see many more of its brothers stretching on into the distance.

the clock showed 7pm as i hit pullman. standing out in the parking lot and looking at a map, a dude with a pony tail, glasses and a baseball cap approached interested in my travels. after some brief discussion he invited me to stay with him. paul owned his own place where a spare bedroom and a shower awaited.

we spent the night at two breweries talking about all sortsashit and drinking tasty microbrews. paul was a cool guy looking to earn his phd at wsu.

honestly, i started thinking this trip was just winding down as i cruise through these last couple weeks. but honestly its just the same as when i started except my endurance is a bit better. I'm still going to have some wild experiences and meet some interesting folks. yes, there may only be three weeks left but its gonna be awesome.

2 comments:

  1. highonbike@gmail.comJuly 13, 2010 at 12:44 PM

    Seems like you get acosted by lots of pot smoking beer swillers with pony tails!

    ReplyDelete
  2. andrew came charging through pullman on a really hot day, and the sight of the bike and panniers perked my interest. invited him to stay after ascertaining he was mostly sane, and we enjoyed some pints (multiple) of the local beer.

    super stoked to know people are out there charging new adventures and meeting new people. andrew was super open minded and unimposing- a real gracious guest besides the fact that left me working off a massive hang-over.

    looks like he made it. congratulations, you earned it. get a long board and cruise down to santa cruz!!

    ReplyDelete