Friday August 15, 2014, 16 miles (27 km) – Total so far: 3,978 miles (6,402 km)
I sleep in. I sleep in longer. I linger. I do not check out of the hotel until noon. I normally prefer to camp, but that little bit of luxury after a tough week on the road was just what I needed.
I ride over to the laundromat in my rain gear. Since it is pouring rain, I don’t look out of place. Normally, when you sit around a laundromat in rain pants and a swimsuit, it looks a little funny, but not so much today.
I hang out in the laundromat after my clothes are clean for about 30 minutes. Then the rain lets up and I head down to a picnic shelter at the park to read and finish up the rest of my postcards. The smell of detergent in my clothes makes me smile.
In the late afternoon, the sun pops out and I take the opportunity to dash up to the Montana Bike Hostel just north of the Glacier airport. For $20 bucks you can pitch on their lawn. For $25 you can stay in a little cabin with bunk beds. There is a hot shower and a porta-potty. The owners have cycle-toured – the husband is a big-time roadie and the wife is active in local cycling advocacy issues. A lot of their business is picking up people from the airport and dropping them off at the border to do the Great Divide Route, but they do other pick-ups and drop-offs. Some people use the hostel as a base for day-rides. No one else is here tonight, so I’ve got the place to myself. Storms come through again in the evening.
The best part of today: I can breathe without wheezing or rasping! I’m still coughing up phlegm, but I almost feel like a normal person again!