{"id":1058,"date":"2018-08-21T19:14:23","date_gmt":"2018-08-21T19:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/idoitoutdoors.com\/?p=1058"},"modified":"2018-08-21T19:44:41","modified_gmt":"2018-08-21T19:44:41","slug":"backtracking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/idoitoutdoors.com\/?p=1058","title":{"rendered":"Backtracking"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 3:<\/h2>\n

August 5, 2018<\/h3>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

A good night’s sleep brought me to a gray and misty morning to begin the longest and most uphill portion of my journey. Breakfast options appeared limited to a choice of the Fresh Start Neighborhood Market or go hungry. The early morning clerk at Fresh Start was bright, chipper and quite interested in my cycling garb. He had a relative who was into all sorts of bicycle stuff so we talked while I munched my microwaved egg sandwich and pastry. While the food was not great, the price was right and the guy at the register sent me off with good wishes and a full belly. <\/p>\n

I decided to skip the first few miles of the trail since it was little more than an undulating, rutted, dirt track between a railroad siding and US 18. The nearly non-existent early Sunday morning traffic and the smooth wide shoulders made Highway 18 a fast and easy choice. The railroad siding was occupied by a three mile long collection of autorack style rail cars complete with a gallery of graffiti. Most of these artistic endeavors were the run of the mill, kid with a spray can variety but a couple stood out as having some artistic merit. Unfortunately, such museum works are difficult to display properly and do not get the sponsorship and support of mainstream art.<\/p>\n