we stayed with cara and alex's aunt jean anne in dunning, but if we hadn't, our tent would have been located somewhere on the high school football field in close proximity to many others. one night cara and i had a quiet conversation in our tent with regular commentary from the man in the tent behind us. it quickly became hilarious as we tried to stifle our laughter.
the ladies at the sandhills community church in dunning put on an incredible potluck. i was so busy eating that i didn't take any photos of my overloaded plate. one of my main motivations for doing the bran ride was to eat all the home cooked meals prepared by the church ladies of the small towns we stayed in. the food in dunning was exactly what i was hoping for, and came in a very close second to the potluck in butte!
after the meal, several old ladies played the accordian on the porch of the house next door to the church.
on day two i was comfortable enough on my bike to attempt some big c style picture taking. my old junky helmet that i never wear broke on the first day of the ride. the plastic piece that holds it in place on the back of my head completely fell off and the wind kept blowing the helmet back. it wasn't doing me any good, but bran riders are required to wear a helmet. the unisex helmet that the cycle works guys tried to sell me didn't fit my tiny head, but crazy kelly at the bike rack found me a girly helmet that fit. these photos were taken pre-girly helmet.
brewster was the lone town we passed through on the 59 mile trek to ainsworth. we stopped at the goat lady's place to try her goat ice cream. i think it may have been the best ice cream i have ever eaten. she has a freezer on her front porch full of styrofoam cups of ice cream that she sells for a dollar each on the honor system. alex, cara and i bought a cup of vanilla to share and sat in her drive to eat it. goat lady came out to talk to us and told us all about her fifty goats and how she's tended goats for something like 20 years. she said her husband was not at all fond of her goats until she started making ice cream with their milk. now he thinks they're great. she makes vanilla, chocolate, mocha and when her cherry trees are bearing fruit - cherry vanilla, which she says is the best of all. i loved goat lady and her goat ice cream. i hope to visit her again during cherry season.
after the meal, several old ladies played the accordian on the porch of the house next door to the church.
i voted for dunning as the best host community on this year's ride, in part because of the potluck, in part because of the accordians, but mostly because a town with less than 90 people and no operating businesses other than the gas station on the highway somehow pulled together to support 600 people for a night. and they did it well! all the riders received a welcome package as we rode into town - it was full of useful stuff like toothbrushes, floss, sunscreen, chap stick and fly swatters! little girls walked around all day handing out candy. the showers were supplied with shampoo and conditioner. riders could go on tours of the national forest for $3 and free tubing rides were offered on the dismal river (i've always wanted to tube on the dismal, but it was very cool and cloudy on sunday which was great for riding but not so great for being on the river). i was hungry when i pulled in, so after we located our duffels (we loaded our bags onto a semi every morning before the ride and when we arrived at camp in the afternoon we'd sort through hundreds of bags spread out across the lawn - i'm glad mine was bright green) i had a steak kabob and zucchini bread on the football field - that was my favorite post ride meal of the week.
on day two i was comfortable enough on my bike to attempt some big c style picture taking. my old junky helmet that i never wear broke on the first day of the ride. the plastic piece that holds it in place on the back of my head completely fell off and the wind kept blowing the helmet back. it wasn't doing me any good, but bran riders are required to wear a helmet. the unisex helmet that the cycle works guys tried to sell me didn't fit my tiny head, but crazy kelly at the bike rack found me a girly helmet that fit. these photos were taken pre-girly helmet.
brewster was the lone town we passed through on the 59 mile trek to ainsworth. we stopped at the goat lady's place to try her goat ice cream. i think it may have been the best ice cream i have ever eaten. she has a freezer on her front porch full of styrofoam cups of ice cream that she sells for a dollar each on the honor system. alex, cara and i bought a cup of vanilla to share and sat in her drive to eat it. goat lady came out to talk to us and told us all about her fifty goats and how she's tended goats for something like 20 years. she said her husband was not at all fond of her goats until she started making ice cream with their milk. now he thinks they're great. she makes vanilla, chocolate, mocha and when her cherry trees are bearing fruit - cherry vanilla, which she says is the best of all. i loved goat lady and her goat ice cream. i hope to visit her again during cherry season.
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