Day 14 – It's a sign.

Billings, Montana

Our rest day today in Billings is at Montana State University, in an un-air-conditioned building which was cozy nonetheless. A bunch of us walked to Perkins this morning and had a great big yummy breakfast at Perkins, with an impressive display of food on the table. We searched for some postcards, but nothing really was open on Sunday in Billings. I guess it’s good to know that there are still some places in the U.S. who observe some day of rest. Ane and I biked down to the Albertson’s grocery store to get some granola bars, etc. I was locking up my bike, and when I didn’t have a back jersey pocket on my tank top, I set my sunglasses down on the ground. Apparently I left them there, and after shopping I spent a good stretch of time frantically searching the grocery store for my shades. I knew that they had been stolen, and I just kept thinking about how these shades had been to the arctic with me held so many memories. As Ane was watching our stuff outside, she asked a man who walked up if he had seen a pair of shades. All he said was, “Yes,” and as he pulled them out of his pocket he proclaimed, “I’m sick of stealing.” If that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is.

A good chunk of the afternoon I spent at a local cafe sipping iced tea, downloading pictures, and talking to Andy and Iron Mike. It was relaxing and super comfortable because it was not too different than an afternoon I would have spent in Michigan with my brother. We rode from there to a downtown restaurant where we met a large group of Big Riders and I drank some home-brewed root beer.