Speed Limit = 75 mph, gotta love it!!!

Since I was delayed getting to Montana, I had to stay an extra day. I didn’t work that extra day though; instead I hiked Mount Sentinel, shopped a bit, and walked around. I must say Montana is a pretty fun place, the girls are fairly up front and fun, ahhh country girls… how refreshing, none of the hoittie toittie rich attitude city girl shit. Real girls, where did you all go?
So I guess I do have one little story from Mt. It was 3pm and I was driving to the airport to catch my 5:20 flight. Driving alone the W. Broadway highway and I pass a sign, a sign that says “Every Mothers Nightmare Tattoo Parlour.”
If you know where the rest of this story is going raise your hand. You should know that I am terrified of needles. I have had many bad experiences, all of them revolving around my tougher than leather skin (more stories for that). 4:15 tattoo is done, I swear I’ll never get a tattoo again (but probably will). 4:30 get to the airport and get selected for secondary screening. Do I have something written on my forehead? Nevertheless I make the flight down to Salt Lake City just so I can get back up to Vancouver. More implusiveness to follow likely.

Montana

After getting denied entry for having all of the right forms but not walking in confident enough in what I needed to do to get across, and for being honest, I got in on round two. I swear, they won’t let someone in to the country to do something legal and that will be beneficial for them, but they’ll…. Argh!!! Frustrations aplenty, and pretty much these were just the start of what was to come. Let’s just say after holding onto a 50 lb metal pole in 12 feet of water travelling at up to 15 ft/s I have some pretty intensely strong forearms.
I personally have never heard of removing turbines from a penstock and then opening the gates wide open and letting the water rip roar through the structure. As one of the experts there I felt a little over my head when they were asking me questions like “that seal we just blew, is that bad?” I think I knew the answer, but not from my degree, more intuition, that with the dam vibrating et al…

Yvonne on the Connector Highway between Merritt and Kelowna

I rode Yvonne 450km’s on my first day, up and over two mountain ranges, in 50+ km/hr winds, in snow covered banks and hills, and along on one of the River roads that follows the Fraser river floodplain. I am so glad that I waited until Yvonne came around, everything worked out just right getting her. I am always willing to take you for a ride, but maybe not letting you drive her just yet.

Yvonne in Kelowna

Now usually I don’t have two pictures of the same thing, just to try and limit the amount of downloading time. But I really couldn’t stop myself. Here are pictures of my and Yvonne. I named her after the really awesome woman that sold me her. Honestly I was super curious to meet the woman that rode this bike. This bike is not a girly bike by any mad stretch of any wild imagination. This mother of four agreed to sell me this bike 3 weeks ago and waited until I had enough money to purchase the bike; she refused other higher offers and even picked me up at the airport. She wanted Yvonne to go to a good home, and figured that I would be that good home, which I wholeheartedly intend to be.