I stopped in Bethel at a bike shop to see if they had a nine speed chain. I no longer had confidence in the one that broke. They weren’t open.
The locals were descending on the convenience store/gas station in their pickups next door picking up their provisions for the work day. I snapped the picture below of one of their trucks with a tail pipe of quite impressive diameter. Have you noticed that full size pickups are getting to be gargantuan? I think the driver could have fit this one a little better in the parking spot but it really is too big to fit.
This morning I discovered that cucumbers (this one is from yesterday’s free veg stand) are a great riding snack.
25 miles into the day, I made a bad choice. I could have kept to the bigger road I had been riding on, all the way to Lewiston and gotten there in time to visit Forage Market for a sit down lunch. I was excited to try their wood fired oven, sourdough bagels. But instead I told myself I had plenty of time to take the scenic route to Lewiston. Sure it would be a little more miles and climbing but what am I out here for? I was lured into this route but the farther I went, the more I regretted it.
The roads were supposed to be paved but after a while, they went to gravel, not terrible gravel but steep. Eventually I was on some truly terrible gravel roads that I had no business riding a loaded touring bike on.
At one point I saw a man doing yard work in front of his house and I asked how much longer I should expect this suffering. Many more miles was his answer. He was wondering why on earth I was on his road riding a bike. Eventually I hit some blessed pavement.
This route did take me past the fetching Lake Auburn.
I was worried that I wouldn’t make it to Forage Market before they closed at 1:00 so I called them to see if I could make an order and possibly pick it up after hours. They were sweet and said they could accommodate that. I was able to walk in their door 10 minutes before they closed.
On the way to a park to have a picnic lunch I noticed Rainbow Bicycle and went in for a replacement chain. The owner helped me and we talked about bicycles, touring and the best route out of town. I noticed some old pictures on the wall that had people with penny farthing and safety (modern style frame) bicycles. He told me it was a local Lewiston bicycle club.
I was tempted to eat in the park by Great Falls but there was no shade so I went to another river side park that had some.
Really, I was going to ride out of town and camp but I couldn’t find a campground and my electronics needed to be charged. I went to the public library and charged them a bit. While I was there I texted my friend Jim who is an airplane pilot and had offered to put me up in a hotel using his frequent flyer points. I told him if he was serious, I would take him up on his offer. It wasn’t long till he texted me back with a confirmation code for a room at the Hampton Inn a few blocks away. Thank you Jim!
It was great to be able to clean up and go out for dinner. Besides the time my wife came out, this was the first stay in a hotel on this tour.
Slow and Steady 
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