Tim Bishop's Blog, page 13
August 5, 2014
Windy Wyoming
August 1, Day 30 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
We bicycled from Lovell to Worland today. Toward the end of the day, dark threatening clouds hovered in the western sky and the wind picked up, bouncing us from side to side as we headed south. They warned us about the wind in this state on the Adventure Cycling maps…but they didn’t mention much else.
Wyoming doesn’t say much about itself either. When we pedaled through Montana and Idaho, we got the full scoop on the early settlers, but Wyoming doesn...
August 4, 2014
Pregnant with Triplets at 13
Several months ago, I had a chat interaction on TheHopeLine that I will never forget. A 13-year-old girl, or someone who claimed to be one, opened our chat with something like, “I’m 13 and pregnant with triplets, and I don’t know what to do.”
My initial reaction was that Debbie should be handling this chat, but she was already engaged on another. Then I thought, Is this possible…I mean, biologically possible? And, of course, the additional thought was, Is this girl—or guy—pranking me?
Three hou...
August 2, 2014
Entering Frannie, Wyoming
July 31, Day 29 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
After biking for six days in a row and logging over 350 miles, we chose to take a rest day before entering Wyoming. We found a cute set of cabins on the outskirts of Columbus, Montana, Tuesday night and booked two nights.
Trying to rest on a rest day can be a challenge. We had to walk over a mile each way to get a good breakfast. Then, we worked to catch up on blogging, laundry, fundraising, bicycle maintenance, and yes…rest! Tim even fit in a much ne...
August 1, 2014
Rough Riding
July 29, Day 27 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
A conversation that I overheard at breakfast in Livingston today made me glad that we chose not to go through Yellowstone National Park. A man who drove through Yellowstone on Monday mentioned how a bicyclist was run off the road and suffered severe road rash. That was confirmation that we chose the right road to travel. Even though today’s route had its issues, we are far away from a mad crowd of tourists who are huddled in the corner of Montana and...
July 31, 2014
Interstate Adventure
July 28, Day 26 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
This morning started off innocently enough. We rode the I-90 frontage road from Belgrade to Bozeman, following driving directions provided last night by a tech-savvy motel receptionist. Once in Bozeman, however, I began to doubt the route ahead. The Interstate seemed to offer a more direct route to our intended destination, and the climb through Bozeman Pass would be much more gradual than on secondary roads.
So, after discussing this with Debbie, we...
July 30, 2014
Encouragement Comes in Many Forms
July 27, Day 25 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
Our departure from a bed & breakfast in Whitehall signaled the start to a brand new day. We both needed one. We’ve developed some battle wounds from our tour. We’ve had some hand and rear-end soreness, and Debbie had burned her foot using the Jetboil on our last evening of camping. What’s more, our helmet camera had mysteriously disappeared, despite great efforts to find it. In addition, our newly acquired task of route planning has been slow to mate...
July 28, 2014
Suicide Kills
July 26, Day 24 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
On a day in which we crossed the Continental Divide, we were reminded of a sober topic on either side of it. It seems you find it wherever you go…youth suicide is a very serious and prevalent issue these days.
When we shared information about TheHopeLine with a retired social worker in Anaconda, Montana, last night, he affirmed our work. “You’re in the right place.” he said. “Suicide is a real problem with the youth around here.”
Later today, our hosts...
July 27, 2014
Perseverance Pays Off
July 25, Day 23 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
After eclipsing the 1,000-mile barrier yesterday, Debbie and I were feeling pretty good about things. However, not every day goes as planned, or is easy. And one shouldn’t take life’s blessings for granted. That was today’s lesson.
We had two choices this morning: ride frontage roads and the Interstate, or travel Montana Route 1. Each path leads to the same destination, but gets there in opposite directions, circumventing a mountain range on either si...
July 26, 2014
Friendly Missoula
July 24, Day 22 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
We started our bike ride today at 4:30…pm! It is not that we are slackers…we just had much to do before hitting the road. Deciding on a route out of Missoula and beyond was top priority today.
Before today, Tim and I were not in total agreement on how we wanted to venture across the country. I had my heart set on taking the TransAmerica route because I could see my sister in Denver and my friends in Colorado Springs, where I lived for 20 years. Howeve...
July 25, 2014
Lolo Pass
July 22, Day 20 of TheHopeLine Tour of 2014
When I crawled out of the tent at 6:00 am, a friend from the wild greeted me. Much to my relief, he was no bigger than a breadbox and had long whiskers, the kind of critter you may think of around Eastertime. Our stay at Powell Junction was a mixed bag: roughing it outside in the dew-splashed tent while later being treated to a gourmet breakfast at the Lochsa Lodge. We knew they could dish out the cuisine in fine fashion from our passage through thes...
