The cows are always interested in me.

I think this photo might make for an interesting puzzle. I find the herds in North Dakota stay closer together than the ones further west, which spread out more. I suppose it’s because the grazing is better here and the cows don’t have to scrounge so much to find good grass. By the way Llamas also watch me, but sheep seem indifferent.

Favorable roads and weather today, but I think the last three days might have worn me down a bit. Anyway todays ride was quite a bit easier than the last three. There was a detour where the road was closed where it crossed under I-94 as the bridge was being rebuilt. I tried to sneak through the closed road, but the construction gang was working on Sunday and they turned me back.

The official detour would have had me going west on I-94, so I pulled up some maps on my phone and found a couple of dirt roads that got me past the roadblock.

The dirt roads worked out OK. I’ve used this bike for gravel riding the past, but not when it’s loaded down and on road tires. I only hit one soft spot that nearly sent me tumbling, but I managed to stay upright.

I have noticed very early on in this adventure, when on almost any quiet road that birds seem to be unusually vocal. Except for man, mammals mostly are very quiet. Most reptiles make little to no sound. True frogs are heard croaking, but the vast majority of reptiles and amphibians are silent. Except for cicadas and crickets, the same can be said about insects. Why is it then that vast majority of bird species can be found and identified by their call alone?

I’m camped at Glen Ullin City Park after 52 miles of riding today. Total is 1446. About 60 left to reach Bismarck. The weather forecast looks decent, so I should be able to see my cousin tomorrow evening. I’m looking forward to that as we haven’t seen each other in a lot of years.

The forecast was for rain in the morning, then a cloudy afternoon. The weather was coming from the east so I figured I’d put on my foul weather gear and start east while it was still raining, thinking I’d get through it faster than if I just waited around all morning for the rain to stop. Probably not the best choice that I’ve made, as it was a pretty miserable ride with the same strong headwind, plus the rain.

After a bit I stopped to check progress on my phone under the eaves of a little country store. A man invited me in and there was a small group of locals sitting around a table. On it was some left over cake from the BBQ they have every Friday night. I was offered some and it hit the spot. The group mostly ignored me and talked about the challenges of hearing aids, close captioned TV and understanding a couple of TV people broadcasting out of Bismarck. When I got up to leave, they did ask me about my adventure. They also mentioned that the bike shop owner in the nearby town of Medora, was the best bike mechanic between Billings and the Twin Cities and lived in their town, in case I needed anything done on my bike.

Riding again, I kept an eye on the sky, hoping for a break in the clouds. Well the sky really didn’t clear, but the rain did stop a little earlier than forecast.

Soon after the rain stopped, I arrived at the little tourist town of Medora, at the gates of Theadore Roosevelt National Park, a park I didn’t even know existed until yesterday. I had a burger and fries from a small stall type shop. That hit the spot, too, though I think it was on the salty side. I rode over to see the parks visitor center, which was pretty small, and I took in the movie, as well. I saw Theadore Roosevelt’s ranch cabin and decided it was time to move on. Before leaving town, I did stick my nose in the bike shop and told the nice lady about what I had heard about them. I also inquired about handlebar tape, since mine is need of replacement. They didn’t have red, so I left without buying anything.

Up the road, off I-94, there was a rest area and overlook. I talked to a number of people there about my adventure. It’s interesting how when fewer people
are around, you get more engagement with them.

The afternoon ride was dry, and the wind shifted to the North, so it turned out to be a bit easier than yesterday. I ended up in a private campground just outside of Dickinson, 64 miles from where I started. Total mileage is now 1394.

No exciting or unusual people today, just me against Montana. My plan today was to get into North Dakota today. First thing was to pack up and ride over to Albertsons to pick up a few provisions. After stowing the stuff in bags and eating a glazed donut, I realized one of my cycling gloves wasn’t hanging from the handlebar, where it was supposed to be.

On cooler mornings I wear some cool weather gloves and hang my cycling gloves from the handlebars where they can air out. I immediately presumed that one had fallen off on the ride to the grocery store. Now the question is, do I retrace my steps and hopefully find the missing glove, or press onward with just one cycling glove?

Since I was less than 2 miles from the campsite, I decided to retrace my steps, including going down the wrong street, as I did on the way to the grocery store.

Well I did find the glove, just outside the entrance to the state park. Now it was almost 8:30 and I could get on my way for real.

Here’s where Montana decided that she really didn’t want me to leave. With gray skies all around, along with threats of rain, I found the wind was blowing from the east, right into my face. This slowed my pace to a crawl. I’ve always said that I’d rather climb mountains than deal with headwinds, which is why I’m doing this ride from west to east, as the prevailing winds blow from west to east. However today was a different story, and as much as I hoped, the winds never shifted or abated.

The other thing that is unusual about today’s ride, is that this part of the route took me onto interstate highway 90 for part of the ride.

Compounding the difficulty of this ride is the number of miles I had put on the past couple of days. I think my body was feeling tired from those previous efforts.

Getting to Wibaux, the last town in Montana, the “official” route has the cyclist get off I-94 tour through the town, then resume riding on the interstate on the other side of town. The skies were getting darker, but I figured a diversion through town, might reduce the amount of wind I’ve been battling on the wide open interstate highway, so I took the exit.

Well wouldn’t you know it, but the road between the exit and on-ramp was all torn up and closed to traffic. The detour ended up being about a mile, half of which was on a dirt road.

Finally through the detour, I merge back onto I-94 and just then, it starts to rain. I had my rain shell top on, as I use it as a general purpose jacket and wind-breaker. However, I decided to stop and put my rain pants on, just in case the rain stuck around.

I never deviated from my goal of reaching North Dakota, but figured I would find a room at the motel in Beach, right over the border, instead of going to a campground another 20 miles on. As I crossed the border, I found the highway was under construction and restricted to one travel lane, each direction. Thank goodness there was a wide shoulder on the east bound side. This shoulder was wide enough that I was worried that a vehicle might use it for a travel lane, so it wasn’t perfect. Anyway I was quite happy to exit when I finally reached exit one and get a room at the Buckboard Inn.

After checking in, I reached out to my cousin, Scott, who lives in Bismarck. We should be able to get together in a few days.

I’m also taking advantage of a little free time and doing my laundry again. I’ll be really fresh for the rainy day that is forecast for tomorrow.

42 torturous miles today for a total of 1330.

Last night, it rained from the time I started setting up my tent to about midnight. I put my panniers under the tent fly, so everything stayed relatively dry or just slightly damp, except my bike, which would not fit.

The first stop today was the museum at Circle, which had a lot of western and Montana memorabilia. The cost was only 2$ and it was worth it. Some people were setting up a quilt show in a tiny church on the grounds, so I stuck my nose in there, as well.

The biggest thing about today is the mileage, 81. This is primarily due to the lack of services between Circle and Glendive, Montana. The distance is 46 miles and in between there are no services, so I had the choice between stopping at 10:30 in Circle or continuing to Glendive.

The BNSF railroad had hundreds, if not thousands of grain cars parked between these two cities. They stretched for 10 or 15 miles. It was an impressive display, but did block the view to one side of the road.

Here’s looking the other way. After an hour or so, I just stopped looking for the end of it, but eventually, a few miles before Glendive, the endless stream of grain cars ended. They must use these tracks for storage because of the level grade, proximity to vast tracts of farmland and lack of customers along that section. There was one grain elevator along there. I suppose that customer is not going to get his grain shipped until a lot of cars are put into service hauling this years crop.

I’m staying at the Makoshika State Park, which encompasses some of the area known as the badlands of Montana. I’m impressed, it’s a very nice park.

Regarding Edwin being ousted from Jeff’s group, it’s really pretty simple. Jeff’s group were staying at a lot of hotels, two to a room. One of the fellas decided he had enough and decided to rent a car and go home. This left one too many people. Edwin’s issue was that he really didn’t gel with that group. He was always doing his own thing, not eating or riding with the rest of the people, etc. Note that he isn’t at that breakfast, when I had the picture of the group and me. At dinner, the night before, he didn’t eat and left early. In my experience of self supported bicycle touring, groups of more than three or four rarely stay together, it’s just that different people have differing expectations and it’s awful easy to just split up, cause you are self supported, anyway.

Oh, total mileage is up to 1288.

The dome was filled with noisy grasshoppers and crickets, but warm and dry, so it made a decent home for one night.

I got going a little before Edwin, but he eventually passed me when I stopped to take off my rain pants as the weather rapidly warmed. It was a beautiful day for cycling, cool, crisp and light breezes.

Edwin and his 42 pound trailer on the road. He was faster downhill than I, but with my lighter rig, I was able to climb better than Edwin. We passed each other several times during the morning, depending upon terrain.

We met again in the little town of Jordan, which has the only grocery store in the area. The grocery store is associated with a butcher shop and I asked if they made summer sausage. The nice man showed me about a 1 pound piece, and I said it was too much. He had 1/3 cut off for me. A customer saw what was going on and said it was really good. Indeed I made several simple sandwiches with it, some Colby cheese and artisan sourdough bread. It really hit the spot.

After lunch, I decided I would stop at the Flowing Wells rest area for the night. The only question was where exactly was the 10 miles of road construction and how would I get through it. Eventually I came to the start of the construction and got a lift through the first 1 1/2 miles on the pilot vehicle that was guiding groups of cars through the most active work zone. After that I got on my bike and started picking my way down the dirt road for about a 1/2 mile until a construction guy with a trailer offered to give me a lift for the last 8 miles. I accepted and we tied the bike onto his trailer with the line I carried for raising up food in bear country. As we proceeded, we passed Edwin and asked him if he wanted a lift. He was already about halfway through, so decided to continue pedaling.

After getting through the construction zone, we unloaded my bike and Brian, who noticed that one of my water bottles has leaked some, gave me some additional water. What a nice guy.

In about an hour I reached Flowing Wells and confirmed that I could camp here. After a bit Edwin peddled in, but said he wanted to go another twenty miles today. I probably will not see him again.

1139 miles plus 68 (ten being taxied by a construction vehicle) equals 1207 for the first three weeks. According to Google maps, I’m over halfway from Seaside, OR to Madison, WI. I figure about two more days, maybe a bit more in Montana.

Edwin, just ousted from Jeff’s group (a story for a future day) showed up and we shared the camping area. Last night’s storm didn’t amount to very much, though Edwin got caught in some rain on the ride in. I slept well, actually much better than in the motel, the night before.

It was looking like this was going to amount to an uneventful day, until I tried to cycle away from the rest area I was eating lunch at. It was then when I noticed my front tire was going flat. I took the tube out and was looking for the source of the leak, when a man and his wife walked up. He said he had a floor pump in his vehicle and would I like to borrow it, since it is easier to inflate a tire with a floor pump as compared to a hand pump. I said sure.

As we were talking he said he was from Michigan, part of which I am going to pass through. At this point Mark, that is the man’s name, started giving all kinds of suggestions for getting from Muskego, MI, to New England. He mentioned bicycle highway 35 several times, so I’m going to have to look into that. Finally, we shared contact information, I may well ask Mark and Sue for more ideas when I get closer to crossing Lake Michigan. I have not yet found cause of the leaky tube. I hope that doesn’t come back to haunt me. Mark and Sue also mentioned that 10 miles of route 200 ahead were nothing but dirt, as all the pavement was tore up.

View from the rest area.

With a reinflated front tire and 20 more miles to ride till Sand Springs, today’s destination, I set off. After about 10 miles it began to sprinkle. I stopped to put on my rain pants and decided I should use my booties again. My rain jacket was already on. It’s a good thing I did put the wet weather gear on because it rained for the rest of the ride.

Sand Springs is basically a connivence store and gas station, with nothing else for 20 miles in either direction. Edwin was already there and told me camping was free and that we could stay in the dome.

I bought a frozen pizza from Kimberly, who was running the place. She put it in the pizza I’m the oven for me. When it was done, I ate the whole thing. I also bought a snickers bar and paid for a shower. Altogether a very homey environment. Edwin and I split the cost of a gallon of water, as the water here is not fit to drink. Kimberly also warned us that it wasn’t a good idea to stay in Mosby, a place just before the rest area because the man that ran the place was bonkers. I texted the info back to Jeff, who had not gone by there. I asked Kimberly about the road construction and she said we could easily hitch a ride over that section of road, either with one of the escort vehicles or with someone just going that way.

I suspect I’ve already had some bad water on this trip as my stool has been consistently very soft, almost from day one. So much for my bad theory that you could trust the water almost anywhere in the USA.

Inside the dome.

68 more miles today plus the existing 1071 equals 1139. Under 200 miles left of Montana, though there is that 10 miles of road construction to deal with.

Turns out the six riders I encountered yesterday, are the bigger part of the group that Richard and Scott started with. Jeff, who organized the group by placing an ad in the ACA newsletter, is familiar with cycling in parts of Wisconsin and gave me some tips for when I have to leave the ACA maps in Minneapolis, as the ACA maps don’t cover central or southern Wisconsin. They do have a route that just skirts Hayward, though. I had dinner with Jeff’s group at a tavern just down the road. They were a nice bunch of fellows, but I’m glad I’m traveling alone, I can set my own pace and schedule. I stopped by as they were having breakfast in the morning and got this picture to remember them by. I should take more pictures with the people I meet.

There is a lot of “sameness” to the scenery around here. Here is a pretty typical view from earlier today.

These flowers lined the road. In some places there were whole fields of them. It’s interesting to me how the scenery flows by when you are traveling by bike. It’s a bit like watching the scenery go by when you are at 35000 feet and looking out the window of a jetliner. The difference is the amount of detail you see, tiny shards of glass, bugs scurrying across the pavement, the flowers and weeds poking through cracks in the pavement. I watch the cows follow me with their heads as I slowly pedal past.

Jeff’s group rode to Lewistown today, about a distance of 45 miles. The riding weather was good so I pushed on after lunch. A crosswind picked up in the afternoon, which combined with the distance I had already covered made the last 15 miles hard. I made it to Grass Range, which has a convenience store/truck stop, with a place for camping in back. It appears like it’s going to be breezy night here out on the prairie and there is a storm brewing.

Distance today was 77 miles, for a grand total of 1071. Lewistown is considered at the center of Montana, so now I am over half way across this state.

It rained a bit starting at 3:00 AM, but by the time I packed up everything was dry and I had a nice start to the day. After a while things started changing with wind and rain slowly increasing. By the time I reached the little town of Bolt, I was cold and my feet were wet. I looked for the town park, as most small towns have a shelter for picnicking in their park. I found the park, and I also found a rodeo going on. There were a ton of horses making more horse vocalizations than I ever heard before.

Since I was cold, I added layers, including putting on those booties I was not sure I’d I need. After the weather radar showed that the rain was soon passing, I left the cowboys behind and resumed my journey. I reached the Sundown Motel after 57 miles, and had to decide whether to continue the 26 miles to the campground or see if I could get a room there.

When I encountered another cycle tourist who was going to stay there, I decided since it was Father’s Day and I could treat myself, and hopefully get somewhat dried off.

Though I have been rained on several times over the last week, this rain soaked me more than the other ones. With the other rains, I dried out after the storm by continuing to cycle, but this storm is taking more time to get dry.

Turns out there there were a group of six headed more or less the same route that I was traveling, though they started a couple of days before me. Seems like I had caught up to this group.

Today, despite the rotten weather, I made it 57 miles to the tiny town of Stamford, Montana. Total calculated mileage is now 994.

I FaceTimed with my sister who was at the hospital with my dad. He was pretty out of it, but at least I could try to say hi. Also my boys each called to wish me the best. It’s always great talking to them.

My dad who is 94, isn’t doing well. He had a fall the other day. They checked him out and sent him home, but this morning he couldn’t get up so they sent him back. The doctors are thinking hospice or a nursing home are the likely next stops for him. My brothers and sister are doing what they can for him. I feel like I should be contributing more to help, but I guess there is enough help at hand.

I was invited by two different campers for dinner last night, but was feeling anti-social and declined. I made chile from a can and it was very good.

Last night, it started raining about 3AM. Showers continued intermittently until 10 or 11. I really didn’t want to get out of the warm dry tent, but nature called and I got moving about 7:30 AM.

This mornings first stop was a convenience store just a couple of miles down the road for a hot coco. I talked with a man there that had a black lab that could find a Grizzly from miles away. The dog would help this guy find Grizzly Bears for photographers. He said they paid him $500 for an outing. He also mentioned that the campground I stayed at was loaded with grizzlies.

I was thinking chicken would make a great lunch so kept a lookout for a good chicken place as I passed through Great Falls. First stop was a bike shop where I picked two spare tubes. The man at the bike shop suggested I visit the Lewis and Clark interpretive Center, so I rode my bike over there. On the way I encountered this chicken place.

Five ounces of chicken per skewer, so I ordered two and a side of veggies.

I really liked the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and think it is a very fitting end for my journey on the Lewis and Clark trail. I’m thinking of finding some additional books to read about their journey.

42 flat wind aided miles today to the KOA in Great Falls Montana. I haven’t stayed in a KOA in years and I think it hardly qualifies as camping. My spot has walls, a shelter and electricity. Almost better than a hotel, but I don’t think I’ll meet the neighbors like I always do in primitive campgrounds.

I picked up a bag of prepopped popcorn and ate it all in one shot. It was stale like premade popcorn always is. Maybe next time I’ll try the Jiffy Pop.

Total mileage is 937. I’m averaging 55 miles a day. It will be interesting to see if the mileage changes in the plains states, though some of the days mileage is dependent upon how spaced apart camping or inns are. Tomorrow promises to be interesting, 86 miles to the next campground, though there is a motel about half distance.

When I arrived at Mark and Joe’s trailer, Mark asked me how many burgers did I want.  I said one, but he made two for me and I ate both.  Despite eating constantly, I’ve been hungrier than I think I am.  

We talked about a lot of things, but where we connected best, was when Mark and Joe talked about the economic and social troubles that Montana faces.  Mining has been a key industry in the past, but environmental concerns have really hurt the industry.  Copper mining in particular has been horrible for the environment.  Mining companies have broken promises and left behind environmental disasters.  Joe told me about a place that is so toxic that if a swan lands on the water, it will die.  It is apparent the economy out here is not great, many run down ranches and structures along the roadside.

Mark and Joe said they invited me for diner because they have two friends that  have gone on similar bicycling adventures.    Those two friends tried a similar trans America ride, one made it and the other quit in Minneapolis due to boredom.

In the morning, after no encounters with any bears, I returned John’s unused bear spray.

 I finally crossed the continental divide and got clear of the Rocky Mountains.  I’m sure I’ll hit some big hills over the coming weeks, but I hope I’m done with mountain passes for a little while. The climb up to this pass was moderate in difficulty. 

Once over the pass, the terrain slowly leveled out and I had a very nice tailwind. It’s funny how cows watch me go by, sometimes the entire herd will be looking my way.

I’m camped in a Fishing Access Area a couple of miles west of Simms, MT.  This camping area is free.  The people here have been real friendly.  One fellow who is headed to Alaska, offered to charge the battery I am using to keep my phone charged. Keeping the phone charged is a constant challenge, I’m keeping it in airplane mode as much as I can.

828 prior plus 67 more miles today = 895 total miles.