Segment 23, about 3 mi from the finish
Someone went by my tent with a headlamp, playing bluegrass around 4:00 a.m. A coyote started howling nearby at 5:00. When I got up there were two other tents nearby, one of them was Pepa. I started packing up. Everything was wet, as usual. Sky was calm and clear, dawn was breaking. When he was up, I suggested the idea that I give him my food. I brought it all over and he laid his out, and after a while he agreed that it would work. I was happy to give him my food because I would be getting more, and I would be going down to Silverton very soon. It was a good solution. We talked some more, finished packing up and then we both headed out. The next rise was not bad at all and the singletrack after was very nice. The single track dumped me out on Stony Point road and then I had a climb of about a half a mile to the summit. I said goodbye to Peppa and John and Lisa, I got happy birthdays in return. And then took the descent to Silverton. While it would be nice to go fast, it's very rocky, and it's a good way to tear a tire, so I took it leisurely and took pictures. Met a British or Scottish bikepacker coming up, he had very little on his bike, looked fit, but how is he going to stay warm? We had a brief chat. I talked about how, once you climb the mountain, you can see the mountain, a realization I came to in 2013, when I first climbed Stony Point road to the CT. Getting closer to town I noticed what seemed like a lot more side by sides and RVs, like a whole camp of Texans off to the left, above town. Also I saw signs prohibiting OHVs in town. And I saw a sign advertising $20 parking for OHVs. Arriving in town, I found the post office, got the resupply box, sat in front of the post office, changed my phone from airplane mode to regular network mode and started texting with friends and family. After a while of that, I called the number Christine gave me and she gave me directions, it was a block from the post office to her house, on Reese. She welcomed me, made me an egg and cheese sandwich, was very friendly, Josh as well. My memory of it is all a blur at this point, but I was able to take a shower and do some laundry and use their Wi-Fi, hang out in their airstream, and it was very nice. Christine showed me pictures of their house remodel. The house is very adorable. I helped Josh move some wood and put some motorcycles on a trailer. I met their friend Bevan, who helped them put the house together, and also bought a house on the same street. He has a dog, Gordo, who is brother to the Fonner's dog Reese. They also have a dog Buddy, a rescue. I kind of over-did it with Instagram and my phone shut down, because it was so hot. I had to charge it and let it sit on their Wi-Fi and upload pictures to Google photos and ignore it, which was hard for me. I studied the Databook. I went for a hike with Christine and her friend, real estate agent Melissa. I met Melissa's partner, Skinny. They're both really nice, and their house felt really nice to be in. The hike took us up the side of the valley, looking down on town, the view was amazing. We talked about cult movies, Georgia O'Keefe, New Mexico, Indian tribes in New Mexico, dogs, careers, self-promotion, branding. A little later we all went to dinner at the Eureka Station, the best restaurant in town, according to Christine and Josh. Bevan joined us. I treated, the food was good. I had a beer. Plenty of water. We got back to the house around 10:00, I started packing up the bike to be ready, I had made an agreement with Josh that he would shuttle me to Molas Pass at 4:00 something, I would get up at 4:00 a.m. I made myself busy getting the bike ready and all my stuff ready, took a CBN gummy and melatonin tablet, read, but could not fall asleep. The bed in their airstream was very comfortable, I think I just had too many thoughts in my head, and the nearness of 4:00 a.m. to the hour of my retirement, something like 11 made me think too much, and I just never fell asleep.
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