Velo Vol 

???

indyfabz

In some areas in Spain (mostly non-touristy ones) restaurants may not open for dinner until 9 PM. It was very hard to get used to when I was touring there and ate out as opposed to cooking. Even cooking my own dinner had its quirks. If I was staying in a small town and didn't get my groceries by 2 PM I had to wait until 6 PM, when siesta was over.

Velo Vol 

wut

Trsnrtr

I was going to say something similar. My wife and I have done tours in Spain twice and the siesta period is rough when bike touring. Also, the late evening meal was also hard to adjust to our Midwestern standard.

MoAlpha

I bet it was hard to get them to serve you a cup of weak coffee with that first course too. :Þ

Actually, those late dinners drive me crazy too. Half the time we just had tapas and called it a day.

LAJ

Because people have lost their mind. Don't contradict them either.

LAJ

That's also perfectly normal in today's world.

indyfabz

Yeah. After riding a lot you want a meal when you want a meal. I remember standing outside a market in a small town ready to chew my fingers off when it was 5 min. late opening.

BillyD

The other thing I couldn't get used to in Paris was continental breakfast . . . "Where's the bacon and eggs around here?" That was a bad way to start my day off.

LesterOfPuppets

I had a feeling it might have been MT tour time for you. Dodged that bullet, unless you were going to be on a fatbike you haven't told us about

southbound Tour Divide peeps are thinking about what might have been as well.

BillyD

Meh, 8 inches, that's child's play for Indyfabz.

BillyD

However, 15 might become a little bothersome.

big john

4 of us were touring across the US in 1990. We stopped for the day in a small town in Kansas. There was a Mexican restaurant on the main street (the whole town was beautiful) and when we tried to go in the young guy said they were closed between 2 and 5. We started down the street hoping to find something when the kid came after us, "my Mom said we can make you something". We were the only ones there and she just started bringing out plates of food. She wanted to hear our story and she told us how the people had resurrected the town after the oil bust. I don't remember how much she charged us but it wasn't much.
Lifetime memories

Velo Vol 

MoAlpha add a sail and you have the best of both worlds

indyfabz

Damn! Forgot about them. I have twice seen numerous participants in the race in the Pioneer Mountains area around this time (well behind the lead.) That's square in the pink, a bit SW of Butte. The 26 mile climb starts in Wise River, and the summit is nearly 8,000' above sea level. North to Wise River from Bannack would have been tomorrow's agenda.

Velo Vol 

Hoo boy

big john

What happens when a big wave comes? The part near the GG bridge might be fake.

MoAlpha

I'd rather add pedals to this.

You'd have to be nuts to go through there in something like that.

Velo Vol 

Seems limited to salt flats and huge parking lots. I don't see those rolling very well across Trsnrtr's pumpkin fields.

indyfabz

Current conditions 16 mile south of where I was supposed to wake up this morning at around 5,900'. Can only imagine what it's like at nearly 7,800'.




I've ridden in snow, but not when it's sticking to the roadway. Today was supposed to be mostly on dirt.

Got snowed on crossing the North Cascades Highway back in '99.

WhyFi

Same thing happened to me when I was 9 or 10. Went on a summer road trip to the SW. My brother and I laughed at my uncle when he suggested that we take some warm layers. We weren't laughing in the Rockies.

I have a road trip playlist that we listen to most days that we're on the road - Holiday Road is the song with the honor of closing it out.

Jadesfire 

Hot sauce is something that is only supposed to be used as a garnish to bring a little bit of heat to a dish. I've never used it more in my life than I did on that trip to add something resembling any kind of flavor. Maybe we just had a succession of bad cooks, but Wyoming is not remembered fondly for the food.

That looks disgusting.

These reminded me of visiting Italy- late dinners and real espresso in the mornings took some adjusting (not at all complaining, it's just the quirks of new experiences). My favorite, though, were the different breakfasts in Costa Rica when my brother got married: early risers got the more traditional rice and beans and fruit. They started rolling out the American breakfasts around 9:30am- waffles, pancakes, sausage, etc. That was the best part about the insomnia that hit me on that trip- I really liked the early breakfasts, a quiet patio, and a view of the Pacific.

MoAlpha

True for racing, at least. Airports too.

WhyFi

Got in a nice morning ride. After a little online legwork, I pieced together a reasonable (63 miles) route around Lake Minnetonka (my usual pass-through route, which is about a 45 miles, is closed for the rest of the summer). Despite pre-hydrating, I did run out of water at Mile 57. I HTFUed in a manner of which Velo Vol would approve.

MoAlpha

You made a solar still and distilled pee?