Back solo again

I woke up in the morning and tried to get my wheel as straight as I could... Made some big improvements from where it was, but she still had a nice wobble to her. I was riding with Bill and Nick, but they were going really slow, so I said I would catch up with them later. 

I rode 25 miles to Libby, and there was one sports shop and the bike mechanic was out of town...  Fortunately some people in the store said there was a bike shop about 1/2 mile up the road. I rode there and there was a little shop called Bad Medicine Bike Shop. I walked in and the owner, Bryce, came over and introduced himself. I explained what I needed done and he dropped everything just to work on my bike. We had a great conversation about life, fitness, bikes, kids, education... 

After about an hour, he had a new spoke in there and the bike was ready to ride. He allowed me to weigh my bike loaded and it's about 80lbs. I asked how much I owed him and he said "I want to donate to Cycle to Recycle" and that it was free. I thanked him for his service and time and rode to the supermarket to get new toothpaste and some more bread for the PB&Js. I stopped at the post office and posted some extra clothes I haven't used home and then headed out for lake Koocanusa. I met a lady in her late 70s who hasn't driven a car since the 70s and only rides bikes. We got to talking at the bike rack, none the less, and she told me about and old loging road that has hardly any traffic on it. I thanked her for her advice and I took the barren road and loved every 12 miles of it. It ran next to a river and through a forest with hardly any traffic. She also told me about the west side of Lake Koocanusa and how not many people use that side, the east side is a highway and much more populated.

 I took the east side road and was very impressed. It was a 50 mile road to the top of the lake and there were lots of hills. I kept a keen eye for bears and I really wanted to see a grizzly, but I did see a black bear crossing the road about 100 yards in front of me. I stopped where I saw him to see if I could get an up close shot, but he was gone. I rode 75miles that day and found a nice little sleeping spot in a construction hole. Kept thinking about bears getting into my food or tent while I was sleeping....