Upon waking up in what seemed like a random shop in Dupuyer this morning, I was reminded of the great people that we met last night. I have been so inspired and amazed at the extreme and unexpected generosity that we have encountered while on this trip. The sun was shining this morning and I was so thankful that we were able to stay out of the storm for the night to wake up to a beautiful day. Maybe the education that we are receiving on this trip will help us weather the storm that we, as a civilization, are about to face.

We cycled from Dupuyer and stopped in Browning for some water refills and to patch a flat tire. While sitting in the parking lot of the local gas station we encountered some local residents in the Blackfeet reservation. These were two guys who were interested in what we were doing with nine loaded down bikes in their town. We chatted with these two men for a while before they came out and asked if we could spare a dollar. After we informed them that, no, we barely had enough money to keep eating PB and J for the rest of the trip they said that was alright and wished us luck and walked away. We never would have had the chance to talk with these two men if we had simply been driving through town. Being on bikes allowed us the opportunity to chat with them and see that they really are nice people who have simply been through some hard times. Talking with them made me think of one of my favorite quotes said by Plato, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.” I like to apply this quote to everyone that I meet who I think is unnecessarily rude, or people who surprise me by their generosity.

We left Browning and continued our cycle to East Glacier. We pulled into a beautiful campsite looking over a river on one side, and views of the mountains when you look the other direction. After doing readings for our class this evening on the economics of climate change and the cost of inaction, I picked up the newspaper, which someone had bought from town. The front page had articles from a murder in the holocaust memorial, to cutting carbon emissions, to another murder of a little girl in the woods. It is so hard for me to hear about all of these terrible things being done by people after spending my whole day thinking about how great people really are. Being on a bike tour forces us to stop in towns we probably wouldn't have otherwise stopped in, and to meet people who we otherwise wouldn't have met. I have been surprised by how great all of these people have been to us throughout the whole trip. Reading about these things in the paper makes me wonder if these people were never given a chance, like I learned from Plato, to give to everyone. I believe that deep down people are really good, and if you give them enough chances, they can really surprise to with their generosity. Bike touring gives us the chance to give other people a chance, which is why we have met so many great people.

Maybe if people are educated enough about the effects of climate change, their inner good will make them want to help. As we talked about in class about economics today, climate change will affect everyone in ways that maybe they didn't realize. The costs are likely to be billions of dollars due to disrupted agricultural patterns, water supply costs, and the expense of relocating and rebuilding houses and infrastructure in areas damaged by hurricanes and seal level rise. We can all start making changes in our lifestyles which could convince others to begin making changes, even if they are little ones. By choosing to ride bikes instead of drive cars, and buy products that were produced locally, you are supporting the local economy and making a small change in the amount of carbon being reduced. These are things that I always try to do and if people notice, then maybe they would choose to do their small part as well. If people know what they can do to help and are given a chance to do it, then I think we will really make some progress.

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