Montana and North Dakota

On we rolled to Circle, MT, more of the same as far as the scenery went, long low hills over and over. We crossed the Missouri River early in the day and picked up a dog for several miles. When we were going uphill and slow he would run ahead and hide, jumping out when we got near. When we went fast he would run all out to keep up with us. He stayed with us for several miles before turning back for home.


At the Corner Bar in Circle where we had both lunch and dinner, I came across this odd site again, I wondered if it was a Montana thing.


The next day we were on to Glendive. Again the same rolling hills, but did have a short (2 mile) stretch with some white sandstone outcroppings, it was nice to have something a bit different to look at. We finally stopped at Lindsey for a snack. Our maps said there should be a convenience store there. When we finally found a tire store which had drinks and candy bars, so I guess that was it. There's not a lot out there sometimes. The last 20 miles were fairly flat so we motored in at a good pace. The campground we expected to stay at was closed, so back in a hotel and out of the heat again.



We finally made it out of Montana and into North Dakota --- yea! Another big plus for the day was that we had something new to look at; more sandstone rock formations! I find them really interesting shapes and there was also a bit of orange coloring in some of them, kind of like the southwest US with less color. We had entered what was called the National Grassland on our maps and also Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We ended the day in Medora, ND and happily bedded down in a campground.


The next day we really wanted to get to Richardton, but didn't know if there were any acceptable accomodations there. The plan was to get to Dickenson and then call ahead. The first motel I called wasn't open yet (there was only a sign so far saying it was coming) and told me the other place was probably full, they only had 6 rooms, but I called anyway and were able to get in. Now we had 20 more miles to go, but it would also set us up to get to Bismark the next day. We were still riding on I-94 like the last couple days and most of the time it wasn't bad riding, a big shoulder, not to much junk littering our riding space. There aren't a lot of roads to pick from, but leaving Dickenson they were doing road construction so all the traffic was down to 2 lanes, still ok riding, but very loud!

I'm finally caught up to yesterday. We made it into Bismark, it was a very long day. More of the repeating hills all day, more freeway except for the last 10 miles and more heat - 93 degrees. About halfway we stopped for lunch and met Bill and Carol. They had started at the Mexico border, cycled north up the Pacific Coast and turned east at Annacortes heading to Maine. I am still amazed at how many cyclist we are meeting, I was thinking I might and was hoping, but I'm still always surprised.



Also at lunch just outside New Salem we saw "Salem Sue" the largest cow in America! Sue is 38 feet high and 50 feet long and looks out what is dairy country in North Dakota. It takes so little to amuse when you're on a bicycle.

Rest day in Bismark. Tomorrow we get off I-94 and continue on to Minnesota.

More Montana

Since I last left you...

We flew to Malta on a tailwind, a 90 mile day without too much effort. It was fun to put in a long day for once. The terrain tends to be the same with long rolling hills and big views. The temps get hot in the afternoon so even when there is not a lot of effort on the pedals, you're still out there for a long time. I try to put my head in a 'happy place" and let my brain float to wherever it wants to.



We ended up at the same campground as Nick and David again, we found out that they were planning to Amtrak across North Dakota. They had arranged a ride back to Havre (the nearest place they let you put bikes on) with an RV and then will take the train to Fargo -- 10 hours vs. a week(?) of riding for us. We gave them a bad time since they are young lads (both of their ages added together is less than one of us), but they are convinced they won't be able to handle the boredom of North Dakota. We'll probably regret not going with them.

On to Glasgow, 70 miles. We hoped to get an early start, but my bike foiled those plans. On the way to Malta I heard a pinky, plink sound coming from my bike, but couldn't figure out the cause until this morning -- broken spoke. Well Crap! I was told I could probably ride on it and make it, but that didn't sit well with me -- "probably?" out in the middle of nowhere?

The guys I have been riding with said they had a temporary spoke they could try to install -- try, because they had never done it before. I said ok to that and in an hour I was ready to roll. I also decided to get rid of a bunch of stuff and move as much as I could to the bags over the front wheels, to lighten the load on the back. So I gave all the food I had to Nick and David and left the little stove, pan and fuel bottle on the picnic table at camp -- Merry Christmas to whoever finds it.



On the way to Glasgow we came upon a supported bike tour going our way. I talked to the leader and made arrangements with him to fix my wheel that night, since our next bike shop was 4 days away. Problem solved -- yea!

Today we slowly made it to Wolf Point, 50 miles. The lovely tailwind we had for the
last 2 days was now a 35 mph headwind. It didn't start out so bad when we left at 6:45, but it gradually increased all day until we were going 7 mph. There also were no services along the way, so we just trudged along coming into Wolf Point on fumes collapsing at the McDonalds. It's hard to even look around on days like this, your total focus is on moving forward.



Yes, dinosaurs still roam the earth in Montana.

Haver, MT

Since we left Glacier National Park our riding has been easier, we're now in the part of Montana that has long rolling roads. Generally the grades are fairly shallow, but once in awhile a harder one just so we can remember what it was like.

Our challenges for Montana and North Dakota will be the heat and wind rather than the terrain.

We have had pleasant cycling the last few days, which is a welcome relief, there is time to look around and think. I am wondering what kind of images are sinking into my brain.



Happily there has also been time to work on the stitching project I have with me. It's nice to have something familiar to relax with at the end of the day.

I have been riding with a group of 3 for over a week, it's nice to have the company, but there have been other cyclists which have come and gone as we cycle down the road. In Shelby we got a campsite and pretty soon, David from Boulder who I met on the Going to the Sun Road showed up, then an hour later Nick from Bellingham showed up and finally Dennis from New Hampshire. Last night in Chester it was Jim and Mary, Nick again and finally non-stop talker Roy the carpenter from Tennessee. Roy is one of the first west bound cyclists I had been able to talk to, although I had seen a few on the road. I think he was so grateful to have someone to talk to the words just flooded out, but it wasn't like those people who only like to hear the sound of their own voice. He was excited about everything! He also listened too, I wish he was going eastbound so there would be the possibility of talking with him again. He had heard from 2 people that there would be a bunch of cyclists staying in Chester that night, so he went as fast as he could to get to us. It's weird, I know he heard about it from Dennis, but have no idea who the second person could have been. There seems to be a cyclist communication system up and down the highway. We know of people who are up the road or behind that we never meet just by everyone talking to each other. It is a community.