Riding Day 30 - Halfway!

OK, we really don't know exactly what the halfway point is, but we know that the whole ride is pretty close to 4,000 miles, and at the end of today we were at 2,002, so that means that today we celebrate the halfway point. It seems about right, since we're about halfway across North Dakota (in Stanton), and ND is about halfway across the US. It's a good psychological boost. I always celebrate in my head when we reach the halfway point each day. This is a much bigger version of that.

Today we were travelling east in a pretty strong and gusty SSE wind all day, so it wasn't easy, but it was so much better than yesterday that we aren't complaining at all!

Stanton celebrates being the home of Sakakawea (formerly spelled Sacajawea), of Lewis and Clark expedition fame, and we are camped in Sakakawea Park on the Knife River. Rich and I arrived before Kathy and Cindy today, and we quickly plunged into the river for a refreshing swim. It felt great, as the weather was approaching 90 degrees.

No photos today. The internet connection is slow, and it's late. Goodnight!

Riding Day 29 -- Headwinds!

The wind was against us from the moment we rode eastward out of Watford City, ND this morning at 6:45. After about 20 miles we turned south, almost directly into the wind. Headwinds are very tough on cyclists, both physically and psychologically. They have pretty much the same physical efect as hills, but hills are a known quantity, and they end at a defined point. Wind is something you can't see, and it can go on seemingly forever. It just doesn't seem fair!

Because of the wind, we decided to end our ride in Killdeer, after "only" 63 miles, rather than riding the full 84 miles to Halliday. By the time we reached Killdeer the headwind was 21 mph, with gusts up to 31. We'll have to make up the distance somewhere in ND, or we'll fall another day behind. That wouldn't be a tragedy, but we'd like to keep as close to our schedule as we can. I was very grateful today for Rich as well as for Kathy and Cindy. Rich and I traded the lead every mile, as we often do, with the second rider following very closely behind in order to take advantage of the draft. The wind was so strong today that the second rider still felt it, but nowhere near as strongly. Kathy and Cindy checked on us periodically, and they secured a campsite in Killdeer so that we have a place to rest our weary bones tonight. As always, they also fed us a delicious and nutritious dinner.

Something else that made the day tough was pretty heavy traffic, a great deal of it being very large trucks. The traffic keeps us on our toes, and it also prevents us from taking the most advantageous drafting position, usually slightly to one side or the other of the lead rider. The traffic is apparently largely due to the booming oil exploration in western ND. Oil wells and drilling derricks are frequently visible. We talked to the leader of a westbound cycling expedition, and he said tht before the oil boom, these were pretty sleepy roads.

The terrain today was pretty typical of the last several days: rolling prairie, some in crops and some in cattle. There was on plunge of a couple of miles down to the Little Missouri River, followed by a very steep climb back out again. Everything contiues very green.

More winds are predicted for tomorrow, but staring to taper off. Wish us luck!

Riding Day 28 - Welcome to North Dakota

We entered North Dakota at 7:30 a.m. today, soon crossed the wide Yellowstone River, and started making our way across the state. So far, it looks a lot like eastern Montana, except the rolling hills are smaller, and almost all of the land is in crops. Also, the traffic is much heavier, but the roads have had good shoulders, so all is well.

We only had about 45 miles to ride today, to Watford City, so we were here by 11:00, even with the repair of my first flat tire of the trip, and with some light headwinds. Tomorrow we ride over 80 miles, and the headwinds are predicted to be much stronger, so we plan to leave earlier than usual in order to take advantage of the lighter winds in the morning. Fortunately, we heard about some road construction on our planned route, with about 8 miles of very rough road. Unfortunately, our planned detour will require that we ride about 9 miles farther!

Blogger refuses to upload photos from my computer today, so you will have to imagine my incredibly artistic shot of Rich standing by the sign welcoming us to North Dakota.

Layover Day in Sidney, MT

From the moment we arrived in Montana over a week ago, it was clear to us that this is a big state for personal fireworks. The stands are everywhere, and lots of people are getting a jump on the Fourth of July. However, the pictured sign here in Sidney is a bit over the top, don't you think? Our country is rightfully worried about Iran, North Korea, and various terrorist organizations developing nuclear weapons. It turns out that all those folks would need to do would be to come to Montana and see Frank, and they can get what they want at bargain prices!

Last night after checking into our too-expensive hotel, we discovered a nice county park on the Yellowstone River just north of town, so we moved out here this morning and have had a very pleasant day, mosquitoes notwithstanding. It is a bit disconcerting to know that we are heading deeper into mosquito country over the next couple of weeks. Thank goodness for Deet.

Speaking of the county park, we are now in Richland County. Yesterday we passed through the small community of Richey, and in Utah we stayed in Rich County. Needless to say, Rich has been feeling very affirmed by all this, and I have been feeling increasingly neglected -- no places named Joe anything. Then I suddenly felt better when I realized that this whole state is named after Joe Montana, right?

Enough rambling. See you tomorrow, in North Dakota.

Riding Day 27 - What else can I say about eastern Montana?

Circle to Sidney, 75 miles. Thunderstorms predicted, but none materialized, except for the big one in the middle of the night in Circle. Some flat riding, but mostly the same continuous series of ups and downs, culminating in a nice downhill run into Sidney, near the banks of the Yellowstone River. The Yellowstone forms the Montana-North Dakota boundary in these parts. Tonight we're paying too much for a hotel room because the 3 RV parks in town are a) full and b) scuzzy. Tomorrow (a rest day) we'll move to a primitive campsite in a county park north of town.

Rich seems to be getting stronger every day on the bike. I'm not, but I hold my own, except on the climbs.

Right now I'm looking forward to being out of the Great Plains, but I know we still have many more days here. I need to get re-inspired!

Riding Day 26 - The Land of Blue-Green Insulators

So we left Jordan, MT, about 6:50 this morning, and one of the first things we noticed was that the high-voltage electric wires were hanging from blue-green glass insulators, rather than the usual ceramic. With the sun behind them, they glowed quite attractively. That was one of the highlights of our ride, which was otherwise a continuously up and down 68 miles to Circle, which we finished before noon. Highway 200 across southeastern Montana could compete with Hwy 50 in Nevada for "Loneliest Road." There were a few oncoming cars and trucks, but we had just a single eastbound vehicle pass us in the first hour of riding, and perhaps a half dozen in the second hour. The ag activity is gradually shifting from grazing to crops. That's somewhat less interesting, because alfalfa and corn don't scare as easily as cattle. Not that we try to scare the cattle, of course -- they just seem to be quite nervous about us.

We're spending the night in the second successive quite bleak but relatively empty RV "park." Last night Kathy and I were up a little after 1:00 a.m., rescuing our awning from a pretty strong thunderstorm. If that happens tonight, it's Rich and Cindy's turn! Thunderstorms are predicted on and off all day tomorrow. Not the greatest weather for biking across the high plains. I hope Rich and I don't spend any time lying in a ditch, waiting for the lightning to pass.

Riding Day 25 - More High Prairie

76 miles today, from Winnett to Jordan, MT. Another day, another tiny county seat with small stores and friendly folk. We're riding through continually rolling high prairie, with long climbs and descents, most of them pretty gentle, and very little traffic. Almost all of the land is pasture for cattle and some horses, but there are occasional fields of crops, mostly hay or wheat. We kept the pace moderate, and my leg was fine, but we still finished the 76 miles by 1:30 p.m., after a 6:40 a.m. start.

One of today's photos is of Rich standi

ng in front of the entirety of Sand Springs, MT, the only community between Winnett and Jordan. Sand Springs consists of a Post Office, gas station, and a small, poorly provisioned general store. The gas pump has a sign that says, "We can no longer take credit cards. Please note the number of gallons you pump, and we will figure the amount." The friendly store keeper has been there since 1956, and I'm pretty sure some of the merchandise has been there longer. If you stop in, be sure to sign the guest book, and look for our names on 6/24/2010. If there's a table set up with a cribbage board and a deck of cards, be assured that the guy who brings the mail is still playing at lunch with the postal clerk.