Today would be a big day for miles AND headwind which was predicted to be 15 to 20 mph and that’s ALL day . . .

. . . as we rolled out of Glendive it was nice to see we were getting back into the Midwest flavor of things. Up until this point DaiyGold brand had been the chocolate milk of choice but now we were getting back into Land O’ Lakes country  . . . being delivered to the Gust Hauf!!!

. . .  met the Glendive walking club as they were finishing their morning walk. Here they are standing next to a bronze sculpture a local artist presented to the town with the idea of creating more sculptures up and down Main St. Nice idea!!!

On the way out of town we pass ANOTHER dinosaur museum that had a T Rex head coming cut the side of the building. Their claim to fame is their displays are done in a biblical context!!!

Today we would ride on I-94. Riding on an interstate is OK when there is no other alternative and this is evidently one of those stretches. Away we go!!!

Gitty up and go . . . these speeds should not be a problem . . .

, , , with a nice wide 8 foot shoulder . . .

. . . unfortunately, as soon as we got on our first 11 mile stretch  of Interstate, IT WAS CONSTRUCTION  the whole way to our next exit. Back down to a VERY narrow shoulder. It was a construction zone though, so things did slow done some but unnerving all the same . . .

Denise and Anne moved over to the gravel lanes that were being replace and faced some big truck traffic . . . they were soon order back onto the double lane detour!!!

It was the last mile of this detour when I met my old nemesis, the dreaded truck tire delaminated steel belted radial tire when I had my first flat of the trip. A quarter inch long long piece of wire was the culprit.. Once I had the tube replace, I was down the road and off the interstate in 1 more mile.

The MT DOT weather station shows us biking directly into the wind!!!

Up ahead, I saw Hugh talking to two west bound riders . . .

. . . ends up it was Rich and Rob, two of Allen’s friends . . .

They are riding east to west, have been in contact with Allen, and here they are tying up for a nice roadside reunion. Rich and Rob had a HUGE tailwind of course and Allen had a HUGE headwind, so I am not sure how long the conversation lasted.

Definitely starting to look different as we near North Dakota . . .

We saw no trains today . . .why? . . .BSNF was conducting a HUGE rail and tie placement project. They must have had 50 specialized machines spread out over several miles. They work on the track until 1:30pm each day, then get off the track and the backed up trains come rolling through!!!

Back on the Interstate we went for another 19 miles stretch. Nine mile into it we exited at the halfway point of Wibaux, for water. As we rode off onto the exit ramp, Mark got a flat and walked the rest of the way down the ramp into town. He thought he had it fixed but ended up having four more flats along the way. He ended up walking a fair mount of the distance to Beach, where he and several others over nighted.!!!!!

. . . we FINALLY exited the interstate highway at Beach, ND . . . as we neared the crossing, Montana said goodbye and North Dakota welcomed us!!!

Connie was the first of the herd to cross into North Dakota. We were all happy to say goodbye to Montana. It took 16 days to cross the state. It is huge!!! and the Eastern part was a lot of nothing!!!

Looks like ‘Midwest nice’ must start in ND. Be Polite!!!!

Once we entered ND we still had 22 miles to go to Medora, our home for the night. Is ND flat . . . not here!!!

Rod, David and I stopped in Sentinel Butte for a little lunch at . . .

Rick’s gas station, where Rick the Mayor of Sentinel Butte, was discussing the drought situation with Jim one of the water commissioners. We had a nice chat and solved many of the worlds problems!!!

. . . but soon we mozied on towards Medora. The landscape is changing . . . nice, a lot more to look at  . . . including this cross on the top of this butte!!! You can see Rod and David rolling down the road.

The herd in ND must have been in communication with the MT herd and heard, I like to talk to cows. This gang was all lined up at the fence waiting to have a discussion!!!!!

. . . we had noticed all the trees along this stretch of Old Hwy 10 were being knocked down. As I neared a work crew, we had a discussion and evidently the local road commissioner feels the trees are a hazard should someone drive of the road. Yeah . . .BUT THE IDEA IS TO STAY ON THE ROAD. To bad because there is not much green on the landscape.

Looking for Cowboy Bob . . . .

After 65 miles, 2,000 feet of elevation gain and a strong headwind, TR Park and Medora were in view. It was a tough day. Three riders ended up staying in Beach and will make the final ride over to Medora on Friday morning. Most did not get into Medora until late afternoon. We didn’t head down to ‘Boots Bar and Grill’ for dinner until 7:30pmm. Rest day in Medora tomorrow  . . . but it is supposed to be 103 degree’s!!!