I’m camped in front of the gas station/convenience store in Muddy Gap. The establishment constitutes all there is to Muddy Gap. Traffic rolls by northward or turns westward toward Fort Washakie, about 90 miles away. It cost me $15.90, tax included, to find “anyplace out there” to camp. I’ve been joined by another east-bounder, Dee Wallis, a prison chaplin from Pasco, WA. Although this is his first cross-country ride, he rode extensively through China 8 years ago with one of his sons. Dee speaks Chinese.
The Chinese didn’t know what to make of two white men; some of the Chinese had never seen a Caucasian. However, they were very hospitable, to the point of allowing the strangers to use their bathrooms facilities but only of the homeowners could watch while they used them. He said the Chinese thought the Americans were very strange for using bicycles to travel around, a bicycle in the Chinese mind equates to work, not enjoyment.
We each had a beer as we sat in the grass talking about our life histories and bicycles adventures thus far. A lovely way to end a long slog of miles.
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