Eastern Montana

Eastern Montana turned out to be a lot like Eastern North Dakota. Small spaced out towns, windy, flat. One difference is MTis mainly cattle ranches and hay fields, where ND had more crops--corn, soy, and wheat mainly. Also, in MT the wind can change directions! We had a few days in a row that the weather reports were calling for storms. This actually turned out in our favor. We never got wet for one. And we had one day where the winds came from the east. That was the day that we realized how easy it would be to ride West to East. Wade and I got going and took only one 30 second pee break stop for 50 miles. We made it in 2 hours and 2 minutes--average speed 23.9mph! East to West is definitly more rewarding--fighting the wind to make to West, through the Rockies, to Vancouver. But if I were on my own fully loaded, the other direction would be no big deal. From there to Glacier we stumbled on something exciting every day. Had 7 flat tires as a small group in 70 miles one day, but stopped at an indoor hot spring along the way and enjoyed a soak. Three young girls waved us over day and let us ride their horses. Having no experience, they tell me to jump on the horse with no saddle, just a small pad, and give her a kick. I go galloping across the field not knowing how to stop or turn or hold on but enjoyed every second. One of the girls caught me and showed me how to ride a horse in Montana. Wade, Jason and I found an Rod's Drive In--an old-school drive in some cyclists told us about--and the woman who took our order paid for our meal after talking for a while. Delicious burger and fries. Fought constant 25mph crosswinds with 45+mph gusts for 35 miles. A huge wind farm mocked us as we rode into the coldest city in the country, including Alaska--Cut Bank, MT. Once there, enjoyed another free meal from a nice manager--Tammy--at Taco John's. Just keeps getting better.