The dome was filled with noisy grasshoppers and crickets, but warm and dry, so it made a decent home for one night.

I got going a little before Edwin, but he eventually passed me when I stopped to take off my rain pants as the weather rapidly warmed. It was a beautiful day for cycling, cool, crisp and light breezes.

Edwin and his 42 pound trailer on the road. He was faster downhill than I, but with my lighter rig, I was able to climb better than Edwin. We passed each other several times during the morning, depending upon terrain.

We met again in the little town of Jordan, which has the only grocery store in the area. The grocery store is associated with a butcher shop and I asked if they made summer sausage. The nice man showed me about a 1 pound piece, and I said it was too much. He had 1/3 cut off for me. A customer saw what was going on and said it was really good. Indeed I made several simple sandwiches with it, some Colby cheese and artisan sourdough bread. It really hit the spot.

After lunch, I decided I would stop at the Flowing Wells rest area for the night. The only question was where exactly was the 10 miles of road construction and how would I get through it. Eventually I came to the start of the construction and got a lift through the first 1 1/2 miles on the pilot vehicle that was guiding groups of cars through the most active work zone. After that I got on my bike and started picking my way down the dirt road for about a 1/2 mile until a construction guy with a trailer offered to give me a lift for the last 8 miles. I accepted and we tied the bike onto his trailer with the line I carried for raising up food in bear country. As we proceeded, we passed Edwin and asked him if he wanted a lift. He was already about halfway through, so decided to continue pedaling.

After getting through the construction zone, we unloaded my bike and Brian, who noticed that one of my water bottles has leaked some, gave me some additional water. What a nice guy.

In about an hour I reached Flowing Wells and confirmed that I could camp here. After a bit Edwin peddled in, but said he wanted to go another twenty miles today. I probably will not see him again.

1139 miles plus 68 (ten being taxied by a construction vehicle) equals 1207 for the first three weeks. According to Google maps, I’m over halfway from Seaside, OR to Madison, WI. I figure about two more days, maybe a bit more in Montana.