Friday. I never thought I’d ever say that a 75 mile mostly uphill ride was delightful, but today proved to be one of those days. weather was beautiful, winds calm, terrain ever changing. About a quarter of the way into the ride a kid named steve caught up to me and rode the rest of the day with me. I didn’t get to finish the nelson demille novel I’m listening to but good conversation made the miles fly by. Steve is a may graduate of a small college in Missouri who has the summer off until he starts a job in September. This cross country trip has been planned for a few years. Steve has been riding the same daily schedule as we have for the last several days and we’ve bumped into each other and made small talk at various campgrounds. He’s riding alone but share that he enjoys hooking up with others occasionally to break up the aloneness of being on the road for a few months. He’s engaged to be married on December 5, 2009. I explained that the date was a good omen. Tonight we’re in Dubois which is a very authentic looking old western town. There was even a horse tied up to a hitching post on main street. We’re in a very nice koa campground. The koa’s have been the most consistently nice campgrounds throughout the trip.