Saint Mary, MT

Day 53 (19 July 2014)
Cut Bank, MT to Saint Mary, MT
Day:  70.76 miles, Trip: 3447.10 miles

So much for waking up early. I am pretty sure I was the last one to wake up this morning (take that Kenny and Bethany). By the time I was ready to roll out there was only myself, Kristen, Bethany and Kenny left at camp. Kristen and I stopped at Mcdonalds for some breakfast. I wanted to have something in my stomach (even if it was crappy food) if it was going to be a long day.

The first hill wasn't as bad as I was expecting.  The wind though was brutal. Kristen and I took turns pulling and after hours of struggling we made it to the first rest stop. They said the 4 of us were 45 minutes behind the last group to leave. We kept going and rolled through Browning, MT and stopped for a restroom break. We saw Andy and Justin stopped at the Taco Johns but kept on riding. When we turned onto Hwy 89 the wind really picked up. About 5 miles later we both start talking about how we could really go for some tacos right now. Oops too late. At this point we are finally in the mountains and the views are nice even with the smokey air. At some point on Hwy 89 a cop stopped us and gave Kristen an ear full complaining about the cyclists. But hey, we have a right to the road too so they can't really say much.

The second rest stop was at the intersection of 89 and 49. There is a little shop/cafe so we got some food. It wasn't the greatest but that that moment it was wonderful and surprising we caught up to everybody who had been hanging out at this stop. Of course shortly after we got there they all headed out.

From here the hills blocked some of the wind so it wasn't as bad and it was only about 20 miles left to ride. The views were good, but smokey so a little limited. There were some good climbs and descents. I took some the of downhills easy when the wind started gusting. The last hill into Saint Mary was a different story. I bombed down it hitting 45 mph. There were several dips and bumps in the road and I am sure that on one of them I had both tires off the road after hitting it.

We stopped on the way in at the Lodge and the larger group was finishing up with drinks and appetizers. I split a bison quesadilla with Kristen. We picked up a few things from the store for dinner since the lodge is spendy. We cooked with the usual dinner crew and it was early to bed. It is great being in the Rockies and tomorrow we are going over the famous Going to the Sun Road.

Cut Bank, MT

Day 52 (18 July 2014)
Chester, MT to Cut Bank, MT
Day:  69.04 miles, Trip:  3376.34 miles

We had breakfast at Spuds in town. Another traditional American breakfast. My order was slow coming out but when it did my pancakes were larger than the plate. I struggled to eat it all. The ride is uneventful and I rolled into the first rest stop in Devon, MT. There was nothing here but what appeared to be an abandoned building. Skylar cut up some melons for us and a local stopped and made a donation. He said he tried to catch us every year on our way through. Things continued uneventfully to Shelby, MT where we stopped for lunch.

I continued on by myself the rest of the day and made my way to Cut Bank, MT (pop 2900) where we are camping at the Riverview Campground. The campground has nice showers, a cool lounge where we watched mindless tv. I joined Michelle, Richard and Kristen for dinner, the usual dinner crew. The view from the campground is actually really nice. We should be able to see more but the sky is really hazy/smokey from the west coast fires. You can see the road we will be on tomorrow and it looks like we will be starting with a large climb. Add winds and it looks to be a long day, time for bed.

Chester, MT

Day 51 (17 July 2014)
Havre, MT to Chester, MT
Day:  59.76 miles, Trip:  3307.30 miles

Today we skipped breakfast and rode to walmart to pick up some supplies and grabbed something small for breakfast while we were there. It turns out to be the first mistake of the day. The tailwind this morning was amazing and Kristen and I are flying. We eventually get passed by the fast group but they are doing around 25 mph. We stop into Gildford, MT at a really cool mercantile store. It had  a 90° pool table and board games to play. We have a small lunch and stay here too long (mistakes 2 and 3).

When we rode on the wind had shifted from a tailwind to a crosswind. This made it much harder to ride to the second stop in Inverness, MT. I was getting tired and then Kristen got a flat tire a little before the stop. This gave us a extra rest break while we patched her tube but by the time we got going again I had nothing left. I tried some snacks and caffeine at the rest stop but it didn't work.

We managed to push the rest of the way to Chester, MT (pop 850). We are staying the night at the Lutheran Church. Again we luck out and can use the showers at the local pool. We attempted the farmers market but there is nothing there so head over to the local bar for dinner. Due to limited space in the church, Kristen and I decided to set out tents up outside. The grass was actually extremely comfortable. Besides a bright light I think we had the best beds at the place.

Havre, MT

Day 50 (16 July 2014)
Malta, MT to Havre, MT
Day:  91.57 miles, Trip:  3247.54 miles

On the way into Malta yesterday we saw a sign advertising "Best Breakfast Around" at The Hitching Post. We had to put this to the test. The group headed to the cafe in numbers and they managed us just fine. In fact it was an wonderful breakfast both the food and the staff. The waitress joined in for some entertaining banter and Eric even got a second breakfast.

The day itself was uneventful. The wind isn't bad so I decided to just ride by myself and listen to my book. The first rest stop was at a gas station in Harlem, MT. It was a quick in and out and back to the book. The second stop was in Chinook, MT for another quick in and out and back on the road.

Tonight we are staying at the First Presbyterian Church in Havre, MT (pop 9300). After arriving we headed to the town pool for showers and once clean to Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant for dinner and margaritas. 

Malta, MT

Day 49 (15 July 2014)
Glasgow, MT to Malta, MT
Day:  68.13 miles, Trip:  3155.97 miles

We received a recommendation to go to the Oasis for breakfast so that is where we went. I guess Kristen and/or myself smelled because nobody else wanted to sit with us. The waitress at the restaurant was not thrilled to see a large group and took her time with everything. The food itself though was actually pretty good. After the meal people were starting to pay and leave. She wouldn't do individual tickets so the table was trying to figure out their bill behind us and we were wondering why they were having a hard time with it at the same time we were waiting a while and still not getting our bill. I eventually went up to pay but she told me it was already paid for. Either it was on the bill of the table behind us or she lost it. I asked a few people from that table and they claimed not to have gotten it so it looks like a free breakfast.

I rode the whole day with Kristen. The riding isn't bad and the first rest stop was wonderful. There was this little sweetshop in Hinsdale, MT. It seemed too small a town to support it, but it was wonderful and we were grateful that it was there. The rest of the ride proved to be uneventful as well. The second rest stop was on the side of the road and there were a bunch of bees so I didn't want to stick around.

Tonight we are camping in Trafton Park in the town of Malta, MT (pop 2000). For a late lunch we headed over to the Great Northern Cafe. I wasn't really expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. Dessert later was back to a Dairy Queen for ice cream. A few of the group headed over to watch barrel racing in town the rest of us headed back to the park to relax and get ready for bed.

Glasgow, MT

Day 48 (14 July 2014)
Wolf Point, MT to Glasgow, MT
Day:  58.69 miles, Trip:  3087.84 miles

A small group of us had breakfast at the Wolf Point Cafe. It wasn't bad, a basic breakfast. Everybody else went somewhere else it seems. Today is going to be another hot day but not nearly as windy. I rode out of town with Richard. It is a much shorter day which is really nice and the ride proved very uneventful. We rolled into Glasgow, MT (pop 3250) early in the day and stopped at McDonalds for some lunch and wifi.

Tonight we are staying at the Calvary Baptist Church in Glasgow, MT. A small church but with a friendly pastor who allowed us to stay. Since Germany won he world cup yesterday, Caroline bought several pizzas for the group. The church itself is small, as I just said so I ended up camping outside. It proved the better option since people inside said it got quite loud last night with people snoring.

Wolf Point, MT

Day 47 (13 July 2014)
Glendive, MT to Wolf Point, MT
Day:  107.97 miles, Trip:  3029.15 miles

Skipped breakfast this morning, planning on getting some miles in before I stop. Almost made it out of the park and Kristen had to go back, forgot something. There was something I had wanted to do while waiting, but completely forgot. Instead just read the information boards for the park.

We rode anticipating getting passed by the fast group pretty early but they never came. We reached Lindsay, MT and the trailer arrived a few minutes after us. There is nothing open so we just got a quick water fill and snacks and headed back out. From here the ride to circle wasn't bad at all we were making a good pace (probably because it was a slight downhill) I am going to say it was because we were feeling good and just going fast. Again we were waiting for the fast group to pass us but we didn't see them behind us until we were about 1 mile from Circle so we picked up the pace and made it to town right before them. Since skipping breakfast the cheap quality gas station food actually tasted good. I could really use a sheetz or wawa out here. At the gas station some people decided to ride further into town for a bar but Eric stayed with us and rode out with us.

We realized immediately after turning towards Vida, MT that the rest of the day was going to suck. The wind is strong. We lost Eric early as he powered up the hills leaving Kristen and I to struggle. Even rotating lead we were fighting just to keep moving. A little before Vida, MT we caught and passed Eric (he burned himself out) and picked up Mike. A few miles later Kristen and Mike dropped me next. I managed to pull them back some in the last climb but it didn't really matter. There really is nothing in Vida we all just crashed outside of the post office. Every single person arriving just starts cursing as they pull in.

Eventually Kristen and I pulled on to Wolf Point, MT (pop 2,600). The wind remained tough and it was a hard fought slog into town. Once in town we spread out in the grass. I waited for the trailer to arrive and then got to visit with my old friend Kelly and her husband Mike who lives in Wolf Point. She let me have a shower, do laundry and made me a delicious steak dinner. It was great to have a quick catch up over dinner. Then it was back to the town park for bed. It has been a very long day.