Day 8, June 2 Tonasket

A day of rest and repair - of body and chain. Dave caught a ride with bike back to Okanogan where Soren replaced his chain and brought him off his high horse about the bike he chose to make the trip with. I have suffered some serious discounts from Dave relative to my choice that I have endured good-naturedly, knowing the truth would be had eventually about which was actually the best bike, and it was this day that it has come to light. I have not and will not throw this up to him unless it is timely and necessary. We both underwent some body repair, we hope, from the day of rest and spent the time talking with people here and there. I met a man from southwestern Australia who had a junk shop. Said he had followed a woman here and was stuck. Said he was wondering about the sanity of doing such a thing but couldn’t see himself without her. Said he liked selling junk - said people buying new things was destroying the world. Said this with his new SUV parked under his portico. Said, “I knew I shouldn’t, but I got a great deal.” I met a woman who goes from town to town taking pictures of people’s eyes - with their permission and for a fee. Believes she can see the past and current medical history perfectly displayed in the iris of a person. She was sincere and cared and had had a six-week course to learn how to do this. She was busy and had to go but not before telling me shredded carrots will pull the pus from a wound. She had had a busy day seeing clients.

We also met Shannon who owns Shannon’s Restaurant - not Alice’s Restaurant. She hosts bicyclers and lets them camp in the shady yard of her restaurant. Has had “four or five thousand” over the last 20 years. Leaves her bathroom open for them. Shannon was a large and friendly person who had never sat astride a bike and yet opened her life to them - not atypical for people we’ve met on this bike route called the Northern Tier. Says something about the natives and the bicyclist. And John Mark, riding for Lupus, because the daughter of his friend became seriously ill and disabled in short order by the disease. Just graduated and riding home to Boston from Vancouver. Ate six eggs in a.m., six eggs and a quart of milk for supper. Had solar charger, “can charge anything” and loves literature. Thought religion the source of more bad than good. Was fast on the mountain and had many hard and fast opinions at age 22. Had a lot of downhill ahead of him.

We had meals at Shannon’s Place and the Maverick Bar and Grill - below are two poems written after the occasions called “Customer Service” collectively. They tell us something if we can read the tea leaves properly.

Pat Sewell