Today started off with me getting nearly hanged... ok just kidding, but kind of. Taylor and I were in the food van, and when we tried to unpack the U-Haul truck this morning, the key that was slung around my neck got caught on the door. When Taylor pulled the door up to open it, my head shot straight up and my neck stretched out quite a bit... but we still laughed about it.
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Getting breakfast for the team from McDonald's at 5AM... ouch
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We also had a situation involving the trash that was somehow both hilarious and incredibly frustrating. Usually someone is assigned the chore of disposing of the trash in the dumpster, but no matter how hard we looked, we just couldn't find one. So Taylor and I ended up with the honor, and let's just say that an incredibly heavy bag of trash was dragged across the concrete, a small hole (which may have been present before) opened up and some yogurt spilled... and by spilled, I mean streaked across the sidewalk about 20 feet. So we ended up trying to wash it out with water / soap so we didn't leave a mess at the host. Think we did a pretty good job...
Usually I'm nervous to be in the food van because I personally feel that there's a lot more pressure, but I have to say that Taylor and I did quite well today. Even before we began, the water van called us and told us that they had had time to stop by a grocery store in West Yellowstone (the town where we stayed) and had ben told that the store would give our team something if we just came back! Super excited, we headed to the grocery store... only to be told that the store had already given a box of food to a cycling team last week... presumably Bike n' Build.... oops. First come first serve, I suppose. But after that, our fortunes really turned. We stopped by a nearby bakery and upon hearing our story, just handed us cinnamon rolls, croissants, all without hesitancy. We also had great luck at a different grocery story, which we almost skipped. Good thing we didn't, because the manager actually gave us a $40 gift certificate. $40 might not sound like a lot to feed 26 people, but by this point, we've become quite efficient at stretching every penny. Whether it's buying the generic versions, or day old bread, I think $40 can feed most of the team.
Also an amazing waterfall we saw... Mesa waterfalls... upper and not lower I think. Feel free to correct me if you're from Idaho...
Afterwards, we went to a small town of about a thousand called Ashton, where we had incredibly reception by local businesses. The highlight, however, was at a restaurant called the Frohstop. The owner immediately offered us full combo meals for half of our team, which we knew together with the groceries and bakery goods, would be more than enough. She also told us the story of a local two year old child who was struck and killed by a car that was backing up and didn't see him. A tragedy like that really resonates with our team and our ride, so we couldn't help but think of Jamie when we heard. Some of us donated to help cover the funeral costs, and I know we'll all keep that family in mind.
After a riverside lunch (where people inevitably went swimming of course), we continued. Taylor, Joanna (who got into our van from the water van) and I were working on getting more food donations, but then we heard that we would need to shuttle people in order for them to make it to dinner on time. Surprise surprise, I have to shuttle people in the food van (have had to do so, every time I'm in the food van). Because we wanted to speed things up, we just dumped all of the luggage on the ground in the parking lot, and then hurried back to pick our people up. It's disappointing to not finish, but a lot of people still rode over 90 or even 100 miles at least. Two groups of people finished at around 133 miles. I'm a bit disappointed I didn't get to a chance to go on such a long ride, but I'm glad I was able to help my team. I can always go on a 134 mile ride later (or at least attempt it I suppose)...
We're being hosted by the Trinity Methodist Church. We had a great dinner, including our first Idaho potatoes! After dinner, I dropped off Joanna and Chris off at the airport so they could rent a car. They are heading back to Jackson, WY for Joanna's surgery on her ankle (she broke it hiking in the Tetons, in case you didn't read a previous post). But of course seeing that this is Joanna, we had to stop for ice cream. They'll be leaving us tonight but coming back sooner than we think.
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