Day 21 – Best. Fracking. Biking. Day. Ever!!!!

Date: Tuesday, 2 August 2016

Time on Bike: 4:58:11

Total Travel Time: 7:47:03

Miles Covered Today: 67.43

Total Trip Miles: 1,337.3

Average Speed: 13.5!!!!!, Maximum Speed: 35.1!!!!!

From: Medora, ND

To: Glendive, MT

(Uploaded from Cut Bank, MT on 6 Aug 2016)

Best. Fracking. Biking. Morning. Ever!!!! Let me repeat that. Best. Fracking. Biking. Morning. Ever!!!! Or at least that I can remember…

A quick ~30 minute drive from our grand hotel in Dickinson to Medora. Woz is becoming a frequent flyer at McDonald's!!

A ton of road construction being done on Interstate 94. I guess the only time they can do any is in summer!

I offloaded the bike next to a park we found yesterday. Bunny & Woz will hang here for a while. It was a beautiful morning!

Somebody is headed the wrong way!! The steers are going east and I'm going west!

A nice bike trail takes me out of town and I cross the muddy Little Missouri River for the last time.

Any thoughts I had this morning on staying on Interstate 94 to make up time were dashed when I saw it was under construction and it was one lane in each direction. As I was getting off, an RV almost hit me, so that sealed the deal!

The problem is that most RV drivers only drive their rigs on vacation, or on weekends. So they have no fracking idea how wide their vehicle is. And they don’t know how to drive!

Old HW 10 went along railroad tracks, so knew again it was going to be a flat ride. In 1984, I actually used good ol’ AAA maps. I tended to follow anything that paralleled rivers and railroad tracks that was going in the direction I wanted to go as I knew it was going to be an easy ride!

It was just an idyllic morning. Hardly any cars, I had the road all to my self. Spectacular scenery.

Best pee break ever! Even my pee break under that Cottonwood tree was the best ever! You gotta take shade whenever you can find it!

I soon rolled into Sentinel Butte. You could see the cross some fanatic placed on top for miles.

I went by my hundredth grain silo by the railroad tracks… I made a movie.

Went by the town’s park to use the facility and lo and behold… a cyclist! I saw all this gear spread out. I yelled hello so as not to startle anyone. A young guy walks out of the bathroom still with some shaving cream under his ears. We strike up a conversation. To my great surprise, George is going west… just like me! The first Northern Tier cyclist I have found riding west!! I suggest we travel together today. He is happy to have the company too.

George is a 26-year old Brit who is from down south (Hampshire) but lives and works in York. And get this, he has already cycled thru France, Spain, and Portugal and so far done 6,500 km (~4,039 miles) of his 28,000 km (~17,398 miles) trip!! He is on an around the world bike trip. He will be traveling until October 2017! Next after the US is New Zealand & then Australia. His plans for Asia are undecided so far. His first bike trip I might add. What a brave sole!

In the US, he landed and started his cycling in Boston. Up to Vermont, into Canada, Michigan, a ferry to Milwaukee and since then roughly following the Northern Tier route.

Other than the 20 miles or so he rode one day with a local cyclist, he has been solo through it all. I am happy to have the biking company as is he. We happily head out together!

A fantastic day just got better!

George packs up his crap and we ride out together.

It hasn’t been since 1984 that I have had a cycling partner on a trip like this. The miles roll by so much quicker when you are riding with someone.

You also find yourself riding quicker. George is a real speed demon!!! No tickets for us.

We met up with Bunny & Woz in Beach at a gazebo. Bunny loves British accents, so she is almost as happy as I am to have a cycling buddy!

We have a decent wind over our left shoulder, but are making good progress. My map takes us back on Interstate 94.

And before ya know it… 30 miles into my ride, Montana!! Yeah! Another state!

Our first break in Montana is at Wibaux and the Welcome Center. Lunchtime!

I suggested to George that he get rid of some of his gear (that he estimates tops out at 100+ pounds!!!) and throw it in our Prius. He liked that idea! He unhitched his rear bags and I threw them in the back of our car.

We get off 94 and are really on a roll! Again, fantastic scenery.

The winds are kind and I could swear we are going downhill…

We need to get back on Interstate 94 and I need a break. The only shade we can find is the Interstate overpass.

We are really tearing up the miles. Stop for some photos of great rock formations not too far outside Glendive, MT.

We had a lot of time to yak today. George worked for what I guess would be the equivalent to our EPA in England. He modeled the flow of pesticides through systems. I talked about my aquatic work and aquaculture. We essentailly talked the same language as we are both scientists. What are the odds? That was way too cool!

Before we knew it we arrived at our meeting place in Glendive. The library. George needs Wi-Fi as he doesn’t have a cell plan. Libraries are great choices.

Now I see why we have been flying. A very nice tailwind! And a new App- 13 MPH out of the east! (Later that evening, I use Google Maps… yes, we were in fact going downhill!!)

We left George at the Glendive Library. He said he was inspired to work on his blog. We will see him in the morning, although I have come to the realization that I have other plans tomorrow.

The trifecta. A tailwind. Downhill. And a cycling buddy. One hell of a day!

On our way out of town, we pass a train carrying dozens of wind turbine blades.

I had no idea those suckers were sooooo big!

Time to kick back, put my feet up, ice my knees, and drink my chocolate milk! Life is great!

The ~100 mile drive back to Dickinson is uneventful, albeit long. Especially with all the road work being done.

Still a lot of oil apparently being pumped out of the ground , although I understand with the cheap price of oil, the economy sucks around here.

A quick WalMart stop to load up on supplies and get some things that George needed.

Back to the best Motel6 in the chain (IMHO!!). It will be our last night. Huge room. Clean hotel. And a hot tub. Bubbled one last time that evening. The hot tub was helping Bunny and her back pains as well! Just the jacuzzi has made the price of the room worth it! What more could you ask for?!

Tomorrow morning we load up and hit the road for a long trip…

Other photos.