Good-bye Montana

Our Route Montana to North Dakota
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On Saturday, June 30, we bid farewell to Big Sky country. Before we left Atlanta, Jay was “spooked” by Montana. It’s big, and as a lone rider on vast stretches of open road, Jay was filled with the doubting thought, “Can this be done?” Well, it’s now done. As he pedaled, he grew comfortable with being on long, open roads.

Most of our Montana crossing was a straight line with only a few unexpected twists.  One twist was the failure of Jay’s rear pannier bracket that broke at the mount point on the day of his 70-mile ride from Malta to Glasgow, MT. The silver lining was that the bracket broke just as he arrived at our campsite at the Comfort Inn and RV Park.

Machine Shop that fixed
Jay's bracket

A Google search found a “nearby machine shop.” An hour later a welding solution looked viable, but to be safe, Jay rigged a support system of nylon cord to relieve pressure on the mount point. We have learned that there will always be a solution.

Another twist was the radical change of weather.  The morning sky on Jay’s Wolf Point to Circle, MT ride was clear, but weather reports gave dire warnings of late evening thunderstorms and possible tornados. During stops on his ride Jay spoke with local farmers who shook their heads saying, “You’ll be facing some pretty bad stuff later today.” Yikes!

Helen’s attempts to find shelter at a motel in Circle were thwarted by road gangs from the Montana Department of Transportation who had booked all the rooms. Helen successfully redirected her hotel search 45 miles to the east in Glendive. Later she retrieved Jay in Circle and we drove to our hotel.  That evening the sky turned black, winds roared and a terrible rain fell. “Pretty bad stuff.” The next morning we returned to Circle so Jay could complete that section of his ride.

I-94 Wide Shoulders

Glendive was our last stop in Montana. The morning after the stormy evening was clear. Jay woke early to get a jump on his ride to Dickinson, ND, 98 miles away. His Adventure Cycling maps put him on I-94 (allowed in Montana and North Dakota). Egad! He envisioned an I-85 nightmare. However, his cycling on I-94 could not have been more pleasant. There was little traffic, a wide shoulder allowing trucks to pass with many feet of clearance and the hills were all gradual inclines. Jay ignored the non-interstate elements of the Adventure Cycling route and stayed on I-94 all day.  He got his first flat tire on this route, but otherwise it was a pleasant ride.

In the meantime, Helen stopped in Medora, ND just outside the west entrance to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Medora is a cute little town well maintained for the huge tourist trade. It’s a perfect place to spend several hours walking around, taking in the sights and have a snack or a meal.

2018 Miss Rodeo North Dakota

Helen visited the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, a lovely facility with photos and keepsakes, including many saddles, from cowboys going back to the early 1800’s. There were also many Indian sculptures and paintings, since they lived in the same areas where horses were an integral part of all their lives.

We are now in the North Park Campground in Dickinson, ND. We will spend two nights here letting Jay take a rest day before heading east again.

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North Park Campground, Dickinson, ND. One of the nicest we've stayed at.

Laundry Day

Helen keeps an eye on Jay through the app Life 360.
She frequently finds him to refill his water bottles.

Entrance to Park

A famous group of young rodeo standouts

In addition to bronc riding, bull riding is a dangerous, popular sport.
"Rodeo" is a sport at the local colleges (in addition to basketball and fast-pitch softball).