Got the bike serviced by a bike shop (Spoke Shop) and mailed unused stuff back home (newbies always bring more than they need). The hotel didn’t have guest laundry and there was no laundromat nearby. Hand washed my cycling clothes. I have been asking people about the bear presence in MT. They all said bears were either to the north near Canada or south in the Yellowstone National Park, but not where I rode. The bike shop people confirmed that I didn’t need a bear spray. One fewer thing to carry.
Chatted with Rachel, a flight attendant, at lunch. She confirmed the unfair treatment of flight attendants by the airlines: Flight attendants are paid by hours they work in the air. If a flight is delayed and the plane sits on the tarmac, they don’t get paid for their work on the plane until the plane takes off. This got to change. She told me that they have self-defense martial art training. She never uses that even on violent passengers. She tries to understand why some passengers behave that way. Too much alcohol is the number one reason. Some just had a bad day, she said. She also told me that before they fly to glamours cities such as Paris and Tokyo, they have to fly to many small cities, such as Billings. I was not surprised.
Had grilled ribs for dinner, which I have been craving for days.
Billings’s economy partially depended on the fracking industry in North Dakoda. Migrant oil workers passed through here on their way home or stayed here for vacation. Railroad passing through was active. It got big cities’ perks (restaurants, bars, and hotels) as well as their deprivations (crimes, neglected neighborhoods). I saw homeless people here.
Chidong Zhang's WA2MA Bike Trip 