Pedaling Pilgrim Blog Home

Miles to date: 1,453.2

80.7 miles today put us in Glendive MT (emphasis on DIVE). Seems a fitting place for our last night in the state of Eastern Montana. Thankfully, there’s a Cenex with slushies right next to our Spark by Hilton hotel which is next to the Yellowstone Tavern. So, we won’t be seeing much more of Glendive (and I don’t think we’ll be missing much).

Today was a little more hilly, the little more humid, 92 degrees, and generally less interesting. We had a few good views and some historic sights, but I feel we’ve exhausted ourselves with Eastern Montana… North Dakota is within sniffing distance and I’m sure we’ll celebrate tomorrow’s border crossing.

I forgot to mention, yesterday we saw three pronghorns (American antelope). No moose, no elk, no bison… but the pronghorns were fun as they bounded away from our mysterious cycles. Yesterday we also had two deer that we scared out of an alfalfa field – they bounded away until the hopped the fence next to us and ran across the road rightly in front of us. Today we had one cow chase us, and a flock of sheep were very interested in our passing.

So another “interesting” thing about Eastern Montana… I can’t recall a bar or restaurant we’ve visited where we weren’t harassed by flies (with the one exception of the Olive Cafe where we had a lovely breakfast this morning). Maybe our particular road funk draws them to us in bar & grill establishments, but I’m sure those pests were inside of the establishments before we entered. I find myself swatting them away from me and my food, but the locals don’t seem to mind them. Though at the bar last night, they had an aerosol can with 40% DEET behind the bar. I did manage to swat one dead last night, and this seemed to keep his friends away as they knew I meant business.

Tomorrow, though it’s Saturday, after doing almost 280 miles in 3 days (93 miles per day average) it should be easy like Sunday morning. 62 miles to Medora where we hope to visit the Theodore Roosevelt museum, have a pitchfork fondue dinner, and take in the Medora musical. Something more than just biking and meeting strangers at the tavern seems unrealistic. Our riding plan: Day 21: GlenDIVE to Medora

For the Pedaling Pilgrims! Playlist on Spotify today, I again have two songs for you… Christin and I saw the Heavy Heavy at Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn a few months ago with her sister Esther and husband Neal Armstrong (not the astronaut). We had an excellent time, they were excellent, and after nearly 300 miles in 3 days, this song seems to fit: Miles and Miles.

And… just after lunch today, Geeto felt the spray of liquid on his leg to warn he had a flat. For the uninitiated, Geeto and Lecy are again riding “tubeless” with their new tires. This means the partially fill the tire with an adhesive that seems like Elmer’s Glue. This seals the tires to the rim, and it should fill any holes caused by running over things like staples, nails or screws. We’ve yet to seen this work. But today, we stopped after Geeto’s concern and the spray and leak had stopped. An hour later, Lecy and I were talking scout flat tires when suddenly he was being sprayed as well, Thankfully in both instances, the tire sealer did its thing. Quick Fix

Thanks for everyone reading, subscribing, sending us prayers, or expressing doubt (which fuels our fires). And if for some unexpected reason we do have to throw in the towel, my friend Tim Suter just reminded me, it doesn’t really matter whether we finish; what matters is that we had the courage to start. Now, we just need to muster up 37 miles of courage to get us to North Dakota!