Day 1: West by rail

Bike Distance	Avg Speed	Total Ascent	Saddle Time	Calories
0 miles	0 mph	0 ft	00:00:00	0 cal

Freezer burned:

Last night's "sleep" was anything but sound. I thought I was prepared. SmartWool pull over. Check. Zip on pant legs. Check. Eye patch. Check. I even managed to get into a "comfortable" position. Nothing prepared me for the frigid temperatures to come. I woke up around 2am shivering cold. I usually prefer colder temperatures come bed time but this was ridiculous. I thought about breaking out my sleeping bag but decided that would create too much of a disturbance. I instead opted to drape some of my cycling clothes over top of me like a make shift blanket. This provided enough of an insulating barrier to allow me to fall back asleep.

Dawn:

The train made several stops throughout the night. One stop was at dawn so I decided to stay up and catch the sunrise. I grabbed a few slices of banana bread that Swatz made for me and headed to the observation car. I pretty much had the car to myself which is nice as it is usually crowded. I settled into a cozy corner facing the rising sun which was somewhat behind us but still visible to east southeast. While not the most spectacular sunrise the warmth from the rays was welcoming. The wonderful smell of the banana bread combined with the aroma of fresh coffee complimented the sunrise perfectly. Yummmmm. I then quietly dozed off in the observation car while reading my book.

Observation Car:

I pretty much spent the entire day chatting with Jamieson in the observation car. Turns out he played ice hockey in his younger years and now plays in an adult league. What a coincidence. Being from Indianapolis he has become a Chicago Blackhawks fan which is actually how he met his fiance. Apparently they black out the Hawks games in Indy so he decided to go to a local pub which was broadcasting it. He sat at the bar next to a girl and I guess they just started talking and the rest is history. Blackhawks are bringing families together. Even in other cities! :) He and his fiance plan on having a small ceremony at the Grand Canyon. Sounds like an awesome venue to me.

Free Dinner:

The nice young lady operating the snack car on the train announced that chicken dinners would be delivered to the train at the Shelby stop. It totally sounded delicious and I really wanted some. Jamieson is a vegetarian so he had to find another dinner option. The train made its stop and I decided to get off and stretch my feet. Jamieson stayed in the observation car. I came back a short while layer and a huge line was already forming for the chicken dinners! Ugh! I stood in line waiting for what seemed like an eternity and decided to give up and go to the upper level observation section where I see Jamieson eating pizza and a large pizza hut pizza box on the table. A family phoned ahead and had the pizza delivered to the station and gave the remaining slices to Jamieson! I never thought of ordering ahead like that. Brilliant idea if you have mobile coverage that is.

East Glacier Park:

The words "Next stop East Glacier Park" nearly brought tears of joy to my eyes as the train was over two hours later than scheduled. It was scheduled for 6:45PM but rolled in at 9:20PM. We quickly de-boarded and collected our bike boxes. I unboxed my bike and immediately noticed one of my handlebar attachment bolts was missing! How could this be? When I removed the handlebar from the bike I re inserted the bolts back into the stem. I looked inside the box and was relieved to see it on the floor of the box. Crisis averted. I assembled in record time, said goodbye by Jamieson and went the quarter mile to my hotel.

Serrano's Mexican Grill:

After a quick check in I headed to a small Mexican restaurant behind the hotel for a "second dinner". The place was bustling with people and the wait for a table was 15 minutes. I ordered a local brew "Moose Drool", grabbed a menu and sat outside to wait. While sitting an older gentleman approached and we struck up a conversation. He took was waiting for a table. After a few minutes his name was called and he invited me to sit with him as he too was dining alone. Gerry was a mechanical engineer and Vietnam veteran. Super nice guy and easy to talk too. He has 3 children and wife whom is in the medical field. They used to live in Montana but now reside in Idaho but find they keep coming back to visit friends. Tonight was Gerry's last night before heading back and he had to have his ritual dinner from Serrano's. We placed our orders and had an enjoyable dinner. I really enjoyed my Mexican stew and Wheatfish beer. We said our goodbyes and it was off to bed. Tomorrow will be a big day in the saddle so I need my shut eye.

Nighty night!