I remember where I came from yesterday.

Just to ease the minds of all of you who thought I was losing it. I know exactly where I came from yesterday.....Hell, MT. Now on to today's ride.
Woke up to cloudy skies but a favorable NW wind about 20 miles an hour with gust. Skies continued to clear all day. Nice riding with some hills. Went through Williston and on to a real campground. Showers and everything. We were later informed by Camp Ranger Greg that we had only paid the tent fee and needed to pony up for showers and flushers. Will pay on way out in am as gate is far away.
Lots of oil drilling in this part of the country. Who knew?????
Tomorrow riding to Stanley. Hoping for favorable winds and sun.

Addendums to yesterday.
It was so bad that after we got to the seedy hotel there was an ice-cream shop less than 100 yards away and we could not get out of the bed to get some.
The mom wanted a soda so bad. The machine was 5 feet outside the door but could not get herself to move and get one. Girly did not make a motion to get one for the mom either.
On the ride we ended up on the wrong side of the tracks with a train sitting there blocking our very slow forward movement. Sitting there in the driving cold rain we wondered what to do as we could have sat there for hours. We decided to drag our bikes through a nearby drainage culvert. Amazingly there was just a trickle of water in it. But very muddy on the other side.
Left Poplar with 7 stray mangy mutts following.
Must I go on.
Here was the bright spot in the mom's day. While stopping at the city park in Culbertson she discovered hand blow driers in the bathroom. Glorious.

Into North Dakota!

We are happy to be pedaling in a state other than Montana. 65 miles today to the Lewis and Clark State Park which is about 20 miles east of Williston. The camp host informed us that the road we were riding on, HWY 1804 is named that because that is the year that Lewis and Clark walked over this land (or pulled their canoes up the Missouri!). Tomorrow we hope to make it to Stanley.

Worst day ever.

Last night it rained all night. Fortunately the tent held up and we were dry in the morning. Being dry did not last long!

We left and rode in the pouring rain and thirty mile per hour headwind. We struggled to average 8 miles per hour on a completely flat day. We both want to keep the blog upbeat and fun, but today that is just not possible. It was awful. No pictures. We did not make it to Williston or out of Montana for that matter. Tonight we are drying out in a seedy motel in Culbertson and tomorrow we will try (again) to make it to North Dakota. Hoping that the winds shift and the skies clear (I don't think we have experienced any prolonged sunshine since Missoula... sigh).

Better luck tomorrow!

Where are we again?

We made it to Poplar. 68 miles into a headwind the entire way. Ughh. In order to break up the frustration, the mom decided to "study". Along the trip, she has been having difficulty remembering where we came from and where we are going. For example, this is a conversation she had yesterday upon arrival into Circle:

Gas station employee: "where are you coming from?"

The mom: "uhhhhh"

Employee: waits patiently

The mom: (after several seconds responds blankly) "from 68 miles that way?"

Employee: "Jordan?"

The mom: "Yeah! Jordan, that is where we came from"

Anyways along the ride today I would quiz her periodically.

"mom, where are we coming from?"

Response: "Circle!"

"and where are we going?"

Response: "Poplar!"

She did very well on her quizzes and overall I must administer a 90%. She did lose 10% when randomly during the middle of the ride she couldn't remember where we were going (Poplar!) for a couple of seconds.

Tomorrow we are going to Williston to stay at a hotel/motel. Running water and a bathroom! Yippee!

Climb descend climb descend climb descend

Left jordan to cheerfully rainy skies. Did not last long though. Also had good tailwind all day. Got through the one lane disintegrating road without difficulty. We rode 68 rolling very hilly miles, but made good time. Once into Circle we had some trouble locating the city park. Once found there was a sign stating no overnight camping. So we called up the local sheriff and he gave the OK. Went into town to find food and Laundromat. Everywhere we go in these little towns everyone knows who we are. Guess not much going on in these towns. We met 7 old-timers in a cafe and they were quite a hoot. Everywhere we go people are so nice and friendly. Except when we walk in
a bar. Then we just get crazy stares.
today we saw lots of naked cold sheep.
Girly herded them with her bike bell, brrrrrring brrrrrrring brrrrrrring.
Well we just got done relocating the tent to a cement slab so we don't get soaked tonight. Sooooooooo much rain. We are also getting serenaded by
the cows next-door. Tomorrow off to Poplar. Good night.

Day 21 in pictures

It is weird to think that we are three weeks in!

Tailwind Riding

We woke up this morning in the Winnett city park. The sun was out and the wind was whipping.... in the direction that we were riding. Yippee! We quickly packed up camp and hit the road. When riding with panniers, a strong tailwind feels like you are being pulled along by parachutes attached to the bicycle (alternatively, a headwind feels like a cruel form of resistance training). We made excellent time on our ride and made it the 78 hilly miles to Jordan before 3:30. Just as we were arriving, a looming black cloud approached town. We ditched our bikes, removed the tent from the panniers, and pitched it in under 5 minutes. Just as we were ducking under the rainfly with the last of our belongings, the rain began. We were very pleased with our tent pitching prowess!

Along the ride today we encountered a stretch of road that was littered with cows and calves. We nervously rode through all of them hoping they wouldn't attack or stampede us. After winding in an out of all of the cows and cow pies (in the picture they are mostly off of the road because a car had recently gone through) we saw that there were a bunch of cowboys and cowgirls (cowchildren?) with their horses saddled up. They must have been taking a lunch break.

Tomorrow we are riding 68 miles to Circle. The road we will be taking is down to one lane about 30 miles east of Jordan due to water erosion. We are crossing our fingers (and toes) and hoping the road remains open for at least one more day.

On a funny note - the mom pointed out to me today that we are developing helmet strap tanlines!

Addendum number one: Also, clearly she still isn't getting enough one on one mother-daughter time because we are laying here face to face in the tent as I get ready to read and she says "can't we just talk for a while?" What have we been doing all day?

Addendum number two: just as I wrote addendum number one a dog appeared under the fly of our tent! We are in the middle of a tear inspiring laugh session.

Staying one pedalstroke ahead of the road closures

Today the mom and I left Lewistown and started pedaling up the Judith Mountains into a horrendous headwind. For eight miles up it was a battle for every inch! Many of the roads out of Lewistown were closed due to flooding but fortunately the one we were on was still open.

Once we reached the other side of the Judith Mountains, the headwind stopped. We had a quick 25 mile gradual downhill pedal into Grass Range. The descent chilled us (it was gloomy, cold, and cloudy but not raining at that point) so we decided to stop in the cafe to warm up an have a bite to eat. Brunch for lunch - yum! While we were at the cafe a motorcyclist who had passed us going the other way stopped in. He had been turned around a couple of miles after passing us because a large portion of the road collapsed due to erosion from the flooding just after we had passed it. Good thing we got an early start this morning.

Soon after leaving the cafe, the trip odometer rolled over to 1000 miles. I figure that is probably about as much as I rode all of last year! While taking the picture of the odometer we also got a shot of the surrounding flooding. Water was everywhere. In the fields. In the towns. Everywhere. At one point on the ride we began a stampede of cattle. Cool. We arrived after 59 miles of pedaling into the small town of Winnett. Our tent is pitched on the side of a small hill in the city park. The flat grassy areas are totally waterlogged and if we set up camp there, I would be afraid of floating away if it rains tonight! Tomorrow we will be riding 77 miles to Jordan. Still trying to get out of Montana. We figure we have four more days.

Ouch

Awoke in the lovely guest room of bonnie's and we were not afloat. The river outside the window was quite close and the cows trapped between the house and the river were quite upset. Some cow crying during the night. They sounded anxious. Said our thanks and goodbyes. She was great even offering us gorillas for breakfast.
Left in a slight drizzle but that was all we got for the day. The ride was all uphill to lewistown. 40 miles. Unfortunately for the mom there were some areas of road construction. Very wet and muddy and uphill. into this mess she decided to fall off of beauty. Mud baths are good for you aren't they. Not too much damage, just a scraped up knee. Wanted to cry but kept going. Last 6 miles into town were into a strong crosswind. Very hard and slow. Today we saw many mule deer, pheasants and of course cattle. Mooooo Need to also mention that we saw an antelope a couple days ago. Anyway pulled into lewistown and everywhere you look there are sandbags. I feel we need to sandbag the tent. Tomorrow a long climb the first seven miles. The wind is to continue. If you look at a map you will see we are halfway through MT. This state does not stop. Off to winnet tomorrow.

Montana is flooding... We need a boat, not bikes!

Started the day with two fresh warm donuts. The mom got her gorillas. Happiness. Unfortunately it quickly went downhill from there.

About the ride: 46 degrees, driving rain, 65 miles. Enough said.

Arrived completely waterlogged into Denton looking for a place to camp. We stopped by the grocery store and the woman working there gave us directions to the park across the street. We ventured over and saw that the bathrooms were closed. The mom decided to go back into the grocery store to ask if there was a place in town to stay. The woman working there (Bonnie) insisted that we stay in an extra bedroom of hers. She overwhelmed us with kindness and even gave us an extra key to the house since she was going to 8th grade graduation. We ran (literally, it was still pouring) over to the cafe in town for warm drinks and food. During the time spent in the cafe we overheard numerous conversations about houses flooding, bridges washed out, and septic systems backed up. I am now happily snuggled in Bonnie's guest room in the "pea pod" (our nickname for my sleeping satchel). We are hoping we can make it to Lewistown tomorrow without a paddle!

Donuts and Gorillas

The mom woke me up this morning right when I was in the middle of the most amazing dream. This did not bode well for a good start to the day as all I wanted to do was go back to sleep and resume the dream. Then I really wanted a donut this morning but did not have the opportunity to get one. Donutless, I grumpily took off for Fort Benton (57 miles) with the mom. We had a good ride through the plains with three major climbs and descents through the plateaus and coulees in between. Just before our last climb of the day we were riding by a large lake where a swarm of bugs had hatched. It was gross and creepy as they were EVERYWHERE. They got in out helmets, shirts, and sunglasses. The buzzing sound of them flying could be heard over the noise of our bicycles. They were so thick we couldn't stop. The one good thing about the bug infestation was that it gave us ample incentive to get up the last climb and away from the bugs as quickly as possible so that we could shed our clothing and helmets in a frantic search for any that might remain on our bodies.

We are camping in a beautiful campground on the Missouri River. We asked the man who works here where the best food in town was. He did not lead us astray. We followed his advice and both had the best juicy burgers on homemade rolls with homemade french fries. So satisfying. It almost made up for the lack of donut in the morning!

We restocked on our food supplies and noted that the grocery store has both fresh donuts and gorillas. That will be our breakfast plan for tomorrow before heading to Denton!

Girly has been contemplating Simms all day

Woke up to scattered clouds this morning. Amazingly we slept well nestled between the gas station, the crazy bar, the semi's idling for hours and the cows mooooooing. I guess we were pretty tired. Anyway off to great falls today an easy 32 mile ride fairly flat. Crazy, psychotic prairie dogs everywhere. Learned they are cannibals. One runs out on the road gets smooshed by car another runs out to take a nibble off him. Gets hit by car. Another runs out to take a nibble. Gets hit by car You get the point. A pile of prairie dog guts. Hotel, laundry and pizza tonight and most importantly DQ blizzards Girly needs a stable environment tonight as Simms is still front and center in her conversation. Will be riding to fort Benton tomorrow.
Map 2 is in the trash.

This was by far the hardest and craziest day

I have to preface this blog by saying I am very tired right now and may start to ramble.
Started the day cloudy and dreary in Lincoln hoping to get to Simms, about 55 miles. Started on a continued climb to roger's pass and the continental divide. Just moving along and got to the pass, not too bad we thought. Silly us. We then had a great 7 mile decent which was beautiful and insane. So we thought we were going to have a nice glide into Simms. Oh no. Big downhills followed by huge uphills. Repeat this by 10 times. It was EPIC!!!! so anyway we get to Simms. One gas station/rv park and one sketchy tavern/restaurant, which we ate at. I was so hungry I could have eaten shoe leather. In fact I think I did.
So I thought I was doing pretty good so far on this trip. But now I have my doubts. We were sitting in the restaurant and this old lady walks up to me and asks me if I am getting chemo.
I must look like shit. Just had my warm hat on. Pretty funny, girly and I
had a good laugh after she left. Still laughing now.
We pitched our tent behind the one and only gas station in Simms and are being kept company by a nice black lab called sam.
Tomorrow off to great falls, 30 miles.
Then restock food and candy for the rest of the trek across Montana. There is nothing out here but cattle and horses.
Girly will be posting the pics.

Continental Divide and Simms Montana

We had a beautiful and hard ride today and were rewarded by arrival in Simms Montana. The following conversation should illustrate it all:

The mom: "We will have one slice of apple pie and one slice of blueberry pie. Both with vanilla ice cream"

The waitress: "Would you like that heated up?"

The mom: "Yeahhhh! That is the best way to eat pie."

The waitress: "Yeah!"

10 minutes later the pie comes out with the ice cream on it. Stone cold. We just looked at each other and started laughing. Moral of the story: don't do drugs.

A word about candy

You would not believe the amount of candy we are consuming/carrying with us. A list:

Bag of Good and Plentys
Bag of Reeses Mini Cups
Bag of Licorice Snaps
Bag of Gummy Bears
Lindt Chocolate

It's a good thing we have been spending a lot of time riding our bikes (and brushing our teeth).

We rode 83 miles today and made it to Lincoln. Lincoln is very cute. It contains: one hardware store, one museum, one senior center, one recycling center, one library, one school, a couple bars, a couple motels, and a park. Each building is on the main road (I believe it is called Main Street) and is the size of a small cabin.

On our ride today we stopped and ate lunch in Ovando. Population: about 70. Dog Population: 103. Those were the statistics on the sign coming into town. We found a great cafe and had some of the best food of our trip so far.

Tomorrow we cross the Continental Divide over Roger's Pass and will be camping in either Augusta or Simms.

Moooooossoula

Made it to Missoula. Had Mexican food, beer, and ice cream with Ryan. Tomorrow we are going to try and make it to Lincoln, about 80 miles.

Girly and the mom are over the pass

Pictures from the day

Lolo bound

Today we rode 40 slightly uphill miles to Powell Junction. Upon arrival we discovered that all 4 of the USFS campgrounds here are still closed. Bummer. There is a private lodge here that told us we could camp in their plush lawn. Lovely! The lodge is beautiful with showers, a nice restaurant, and exceptionally friendly staff. We ate lunch and dinner at the restaurant and played cribbage in the lodge (the mom is up 2-1...dang). Tomorrow we ride over the Lolo Pass (a mere 12 miles) and are going to relax at the hot springs before descending the next day into Missoula.

Closing in on the snow... Brrrrr

Woke up dry and snuggly at hotel. The mom was raring to go and wanted to leave at 5:30.... I rolled over and went back to sleep. So did she. A little anxious about the pass, the road, the weather??? I think maybe. Our ride today turned out to be lovely. Cloudy and cool with a little drizzle. No beating hailstorm. There was nearly no traffic on the road and the Clearwater River was amazingly flooded. Blue nitrile gloves kept our hands warm and dry (thanks!). I had to take the picture of the gloves with my nose because I didn't want to take my own gloves off and the iPhone touchscreen doesn't work if you are wearing gloves. It was awkward and funny. Notice the snow in the first picture. It is sure to get a lot closer in the next two days. Yikes! We arrived at our campsite after 55 miles of great riding. Took a nap, went for a walk, and started a fire with really wet wood. We finally got it going but it started getting even colder outside so we have retired to our sleeping satchels. Tomorrow we hope to make it to Powell, 36 miles away.

Headwind and hail

The first two pictures are from the climb yesterday. We made it from Winchester to Kamiah. The day started great but after 2 hours the storm brewing in the distance caught up to us. We were caught in a fierce headwind, rain, and hail. Epic. There was a 10 mile descent into Kamiah where we froze despite wearing our raingear. We arrived into Kamiah shivering and found a local cafe to get hot beverages, soup, and sandwiches. Our hope was that the rain would stop and we would pitch out tent; however, when we finally left the cafe it was raining harder than ever. After a quick stop at the grocery store, we decided to find a campground to pitch our tent even though it was still only 2:00. Our first two attempts were failures, but on the third try we found a great campground with a motel too. With very little convincing, we decided today was one of those motel kind of days (it is still pouring outside). Instead of shivering in the tent, we took warm showers, have wifi, and are doing laundry. Today's milage was 45, with about 2000 feet of descending. Tomorrow we are shooting for the USFS Wilderness Gateway Campground which is 25 miles NE of Lowell and about 55 miles from Kamiah.

The Climb

Day 7 Lewiston to Winchester all up hill. Left bright and early as the weather was good and we knew there was elevation to gain. No pain no gain.
We were cruising along when about 3 miles in we encountered DOG. DOG was cute and friendly, no blue collar. Anyway DOG and us became BFFs, well at least for the next 14 miles. Stopped and told him to "go home" many times, but no follow us he did. We stopped and talked to an old farmer who said he was probably a stray. Anyway I think that's what he said. Couldn't really tell as his dentures were flopping all over his mouth. Picture that. We eventually lost dog on a long decline and we hope he finds a home cuz he was really cute.
Then the real climb began. 8 miles 2500+ feet, big head and cross winds.
Epic but amazingly beautiful. Everytime we turned to look back we could see the road snaking back behind us far in the distance. And the great thing was there was no traffic, we saw 4 cars in 2 hours. Fabulous!!!! Our critter sightings for the day, DOG, deer, bunny, quail?????, snake(yikes) ankle biters, coyote. Very cool. Got to the campground, set up camp. Walked to town and finally found ice cream. Yummy. Big storm was brewing but it blew through with little rain. But got cool. Thought we were going to go showerless but found this awesome shower house and bathroom tucked away. I don't think people knew it was there. Happy happy. Dinner cards sleeping.

Some much needed R&R

We enjoyed our rest day by sleeping in, grocery shopping for food to take over the pass (easy mac, instant mashed potatos, tuna, soup mix, candy...), lounging in the sun, napping, and playing cards. I won two out of three at rummy! Our campsite is great and we have seen pheasants, ground squirrels, an rabbits. Tomorrow we head into the Rockies. We hope to make it to Winchester. It is 39 miles away and about 4000 total feet of elevation gain. Yikes!

We probably won't have service in the mountains but will post when we can.

Clarkston and rest day

Something appears to be weird with the blogger site we are using. First it went down all last night and now our posts from the day before (the gorilla day) are absent from the site. We are going to wait and see if they reappear and if they don't we will repose those entries.

Yesterday we made it the 77 miles into Clarkston. It was our hilliest day so far and we made it to our first summit of the trip (with many more to come). Both my mom and I want to give a huge thank you to Syd and her mom for letting us stay at their amazing house. The first picture is of my mom taking one last look at the house.

We finished our first map and have now entered Idaho. Today is a rest day and we are camping at Hells Gate State Park. We figured that was an appropriate name seeing as we are about to begin the Rockies tomorrow. It looks like we have some hard low milage days ahead of us. We will try to update the blog but are unsure what kind of reception we will get (or blogger might fail again too). Wish us luck!