Day 12... Till we meet ourselves coming backwards...

Day 12 started earlier than most of the other days. Nope not another Earthquake... a woman banging on the door asking for Roy. I assured her that there was no one called Roy around here and she went away. 10 minutes later there was a bang on the other door. This time I was less than polite... well it was 2am! 😀

Given my decision of yesterday (see blog Day 11 - part 2)  I now had to put my plans into action to get to Colorado so that I could start to peddle and earn sponsorship once again (shameless plug - www.justgiving/fundraising/OneChallengeAtATime).

This proved to be faaaar more stressful than any of the cycling I have done so far. Greyhound informed me that my bike would have to be boxed. Therefore I waited until the bike shop in Helena opened and then rang them to make sure I could get a box from them. With that confirmed I now had to book the tickets to ensure a seat.... but unless I could print the ticket I couldn't book! See what I mean about stressful!!

Fortunately the motel owner managed to book and print off the tickets for me so one problem down. It was so very very furnace like already and I must confess I felt a little bit of relief at not being out cycling today... mixed with a bit of sadness too.

So now I cycled down to the Great Divide Cyclery Shop to once again break my bike down and stuff it into a box. The guys at the shop were really helpful and when I noticed a bit of play in my rear hub... one of the mechanics took the wheel off and came back 10 mins later with the good news that the hub wasn't broken.. it just needed tightening.... PHEW!!

In the shop were 4 guys who came and introduced themselves (names forgotten.. sorry lads). They were cycling for diabetes awareness and were obviously crushing the ride. We had a laugh about the re-route and swopped stories for a while. Gentlemen it was great to meet you. I would love to hear how the rest of your ride went!!

Eventually my pride and joy was sealed up and a taxi eventually arrived to take us to the bus station. I had tried to explain over the phone that it would require a car big enough... but this is America... I needn't have worried... all the cars are big here 😁

I had planned to get food near the bus station but got there and there was only factories around... no where to get food and I was somewhat hampered by a very large cardboard box. But this is the internet age... and 30 mins later... up rolled Dominos with a Pepperoni Pizza. GENIUS!

And so began the Greyhound journey... as we sped through fields and fields of green pasture I reflected about how easy this was... but how I would much prefer to be out there 'suffering'. This part of Montana that I was speeding by like a falling star... looked the nicest yet.. and I made a promise to come back to Montana someday..

Despite that ... I'm happy with the choice I have made and greatly appreciate all the kind messages and comments from you folk out there. I will be back turning the pedals very soon.

I'll Never Give It Up..  Without A Fight!

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