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    while executing
"ns_db gethandle subquery"
    invoked from within
"set db [ns_db gethandle subquery]..."
    (procedure "gt_category_id_list_inner_swcm" line 3)
    invoked from within
"gt_category_id_list_inner_swcm "236748" "static_pages" "Content Type" "1" "0" """
    ("eval" body line 1)
    invoked from within
"eval $tcl_statement"
    invoked from within
"set statement_value [eval $tcl_statement]..."
    invoked from within
"if { ![info exists generic_cache_awhile_value($tcl_statement)] || ( [expr $generic_cache_awhile_timestamp($tcl_statement) + $oldest_acceptable_value_i ..."
    (procedure "Memoize_for_Awhile" line 11)
    invoked from within
"Memoize_for_Awhile "gt_category_id_list_inner_swcm \"$id\" \"$table\" \"$category_umbrella\" \"$limit\" \"$min_weight\" \"$department_id\"" 90000"
    invoked from within
"set list [Memoize_for_Awhile "gt_category_id_list_inner_swcm \"$id\" \"$table\" \"$category_umbrella\" \"$limit\" \"$min_weight\" \"$department_id\""  ..."
    invoked from within
"if {[regexp {article-view|article-upload} $url_stub1]} {
	    set list [gt_category_id_list_inner_swcm $id $table $category_umbrella $limit $min_weigh ..."
    invoked from within
"if {[info exists id] && [info exists table]} {
	if {[regexp {article-view|article-upload} $url_stub1]} {
	    set list [gt_category_id_list_inner_swcm ..."
    (procedure "gt_category_id_list" line 181)
    invoked from within
"gt_category_id_list 1 "Content Type" $page_id"
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"gt_category_name [gt_category_id_list 1 "Content Type" $page_id]..."
    invoked from within
"set content_type [gt_category_name [gt_category_id_list 1 "Content Type" $page_id]]..."
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ACTIVITIES
GORP Rides Across America
Day 13: July 1, 2000, Update
Townsend, MT, to Harlowton, MT
Today's Miles: 100.6 Miles since Seattle: 853.2


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Big Ride Logo

O, Canada

A day that began with an expression of national pride that brought smiles to Big Riders ended with an expression of Montana hospitality that brought tears to many of the same faces. And in between a sudden, savage thunderstorm sent riders and crewmembers scurrying for shelter.

An evening storm in Harlowton
An evening storm in Harlowton

At 5:15 a.m., riders woke to the scratchy strains of "O, Canada" being played over the mobile P.A. system. Emerging from their tents, they found Canadian flag stickers on their tents and Canadian flags on the entire fleet of Big Ride vehicles. The occasion, of course, was Canada Day, and the perpetrator-patriots were crewmembers Barbara Stroud of Burn, British Columbia (BC), and Xopher Bryant, a Canadian who lives in Puyallup, Washington. Xopher (pronounced Christopher), a motorcycle rider, had found the Canadiana in Helena the day before.

The Canadian theme continued with the four Canadian riders, Ursula Botz of West Vancouver, BC, Catherine White of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Tim Pollock of Coquitlam, BC and Cindy Bouvet of Vancouver, BC, teaming up to pull the Dream Machine containing the Chain of Hope with the names of lung disease victims, living and deceased. And at the midday checkpoint, Canadian pins and temporary flag tattoos were doled out.

Asked at a water stop along the way what came to mind when Canada, that mysterious land to the north, was mentioned, American riders came up with: maple syrup, crazy people who only speak French, the pathetic exchange rate, Hudson Bay blankets, "Kids in the Hall," cleanliness, friendly Mounties, Bare Naked Ladies, Niagara Falls, "we stole Gretsky," Celine Dion, hockey, lobster rolls, Banff and Jasper National Parks, geese, Labatt's Blue Ale, maple cream candy, learning to ski, South Park's "Blame Canada" song, "Canadian Bacon" (that high watermark of Western cinema), clubbing baby seals, "eh?", Molson Ice, socialism, and national healthcare. Canadians will soon get their chance to make their comments about the United States.

Cattle Country

An exhilarating ride up Deep Creek Canyon east of Townsend — a gentle grade, cool, fresh smells, and a sparkling creek — got many riders off to a good start. An 8-year-old boy, named Blaze by his firefighting father, proudly showed off his first brook trout as his grandfather beamed.

On the grassland prairies above the canyon, black-tailed prairie dogs poked their heads out of the grass on the side road, curious about the brightly-colored people with their whirring wheels and flashing spokes, then scrambled for their burrows. More than a few had sacrificed themselves to the car gods; by tomorrow the crows cruising the highway will have disposed of them.

As riders passed between the Big Belt and the Castle Mountains, then on to the Little Belts and a view of the snow-capped Crazy Mountains to the southwest, it was clear this was cattle country. Black Angus freckled the bottomlands. Mixtures of Angus and Hereford roamed the sparser scrubland. A sign announced the Need More Land and Cattle Co. A small herd of buff and cream pronghorn antelope grazing on a slope turned and ran for cover in a draw.

Thar She Blows Again

Unlike the 1999 Big Ride, where riders were treated to 30 mph tail winds that had them rolling into Harlowton well ahead of schedule, today head winds began to increase in strength as the afternoon wore on, and dark storm clouds rolled in low over the hills. At least there was far less rumble strip on the road than the day before and the cloud cover cooled things down a bit.

Dinner was being ladled out from the camp kitchen, and most riders had their tents up when the storm hit, with 50 mph winds and the rain that ride director Peter King had been predicting. Crew members scrambled to make sure riders still on the road were safe. Met with five sweep vans, they were offered two choices: ride out the storm and bail in a ditch if the lightning caught them, or take a van into camp. Many elected to continue on their way and headed off into the darkening, increasingly windy late afternoon. Others hurried to load their bikes on top of the vans and get themselves inside before the approaching lightning made it too dangerous for the crew to be up on ladders.

Crew vans moved down the road, yelling safety instructions to the riders still on the road, as the pelting rain soaked the parched ground. The caravan moved up the remainder of the route, picking up cyclists and struggling to communicate with each other. At one point all five vans were stopped by the side of the road attempting to load two bikes onto jam-packed racks. Crew members clung to ladders and walked precariously on the roofs of vehicles, securing bikes to the racks.

Ride leaders decided to take the last 10-15 riders still out on the road into vans and to leave the bikes by the side of the road until the storm passed.

Hanging with the DeBuff Crowd

A young member of the DeBuff reunion shares a smile with riders
A DeBuff family smile for the Big Riders
Meanwhile, at camp, a different kind of drama was unfolding. Members of the extended DeBuff family were holding a 200-person reunion in the Youth Hall on the street level above the field where riders were camped. With the sudden storm hitting, family members opened their arms to 150 or so Big Riders, who gladly ran for cover, many with their dinner plates. Inside, riders rubbed shoulders with family members and heard the story of Gerard and Annalee DeBuff, who were married in June, 1940, and started farming near Harlowton. The couple raised 16 children, eight boys and eight girls. Fifteen of their children, as well as 60 grandchildren and dozens of great-grandchildren and other relatives, stood to honor Gerard and Annalee, the latter resplendent in a sparkly blue dress. They were joined by scores of riders who felt that they had suddenly become a part of a huge Montana family. More than a few misted up at this wonderful example of Western hospitality. For those who were not too tired, the DeBuff family invited one and all to a dance at the Moose Hall.

In a fitting coda to a memorable day, Canadian rider Cindy Bouvet, determined to pull the Dream Machine after her turn had been washed out by the storm, pulled the little blue and yellow wagon through the soggy grass, weaving between tents. O Canada!

By Clem Work, riding reporter, with Katie Schlieper.

For more information about today's ride, check out the GORP Big Ride Log.



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