April 21, Browning, Montana
Hello folks
It has been an interesting few days. The internet has been almost non-existent, and I have been over a day without cell phone coverage. I will try to catch things up a bit.
I got an early start on Wednesday morning, heading towards Browning, Montana; unfortunately, I was immediately hit with strong head winds out of the North. I had nearly 70 miles to bike, over steep roads with no shoulder. It was so bad that I would have to get off my bike and move onto the side of the road, whenever a car came by, because I would be blown off the road by the added wind. At one point, I struggled even to push my bike up a steep hill, against the wind.
Needless to say, the roads were not bikeable that day. I had an early morning talk the next day to give to a group of high school students. So, I found a sheltered area and tried to wait out the wind.
After a few hours, it was still blowing strong, so I called Dee, my contact in Browning for a ride into town for the balance of the distance. I sure hated doing that, but it was take a ride for a while or miss the lectures the next day.
The community of browning is amazing! I almost didn’t come this way, but I am very glad I did. I grew up on the Wind River Indian Reservation; the Blackfeet Reservation is very different.
There is an intense sense of community; everyone knows everyone else. These are some of the friendliest people I have ever encountered. The hospitality was non-stop and all coordinated by Dee Hoyt, shown in the picture below
The Blackfeet Community College is a very modern facility that boasts a new science building:
I gave two lectures–one to a group of high school astronomy students (yep–the browning high school has an astronomy class!) and another to a group of adults. Among the 60 or so people present, only one (a local news reporter) had ever heard of JWST.
I met an interesting professor who is new to the college. This man is somewhat of a chess genius and has taken to teaching chess to the college students. He has shown a significant increase in math scores, and a quantifiable increase in self esteem, among the students who have learned to play chess. Very interesting!
The day of the lectures, the wind died down, so I decided to try to get another 35 miles that afternoon. But I will write about that in the next post. Until next time…..
Next Post
Living the dream…!
Ride Sally Ride! You are almost in Canada, EH!
Keep cranking, my friend. Savor every mile…you’ll likely never see it the same way again.
Excellant presentation on the new telescope being build. Good luck Scott.
Hi, Scott:
I imagine that the mental part of your journey is a challenge on par with the physical one. At some point, I’d love to hear more about what you’re doing to occupy your mind while you pedal. Do you listen to music? Delve into audio books? Think about philosophical issues? Might be fodder for a post sometime in the future.
Cheers,
Greg
Hi Greg, yes it is mostly mental, strange as it seems. I look forward to talking with you about this.
Greetings from Los Angeles. I tickled pink someone is out there raising awareness for this human endeavor. Thank you.
Thanks! I am glad that you see the value in what I am doing.
Great stories, Scott! Keep them coming!