Blog # 4: June 13-18; Great Falls, MT to Dickinson, ND

Stats

• Days since last blog – 5

• Miles since last blog – 456 miles

• Cumulative mileage – 1,350

• Days spent in Montana – 10

• Fastest tailwind – 45 MPH

• Fastest headwind – 25 MPH

• Number of windows in our Moore, MT motel room – 0

Happy Juneteenth and Father’s Day!

Blowing in the Wind

With the mountain ranges cleared, this week was all about the wind. Over the first 3-4 days of the week, the wisdom of our decision to go west to east was validated, with stiff winds from the west turning our touring bikes into e-bikes on steroids. For long stretches (30-40 miles) we averaged 20+ miles/hour. Those kind of speeds are ho-hum for Josh but they are unfamiliar – and exhilarating – territory for his 61 year old riding companion! On Tuesday, we rode 116 miles, the most I’ve ever done in a day while weighted down with touring “luggage.”

That evening we stopped at a tiny private campground in Sand Springs, MT and looked for a spot to pitch our tent that offered some protection from the cold (50 degree) and howling winds. Josh spotted a church next door. As we went around the back side of it we found that our fellow travelers, Christian and Mason (last seen at the Marias Pass and in my last blog), had the same idea! This cross-country touring experience is a small world indeed! We joined their tent city (see photo below) and hunkered down for the blustery night. That next morning, the tent nearly blew away – literally! – as Josh and I ventured on foot to a nearby store.

What followed was maybe the fastest and most harrowing bike rides of my life. Gusts of up to 50 MPH – mostly at our back but with unpredictable crosswinds – made it feel more like windsurfing than bike riding. And it was accompanied by a cold-ish and pretty steady rain for most of the day. During the day we consulted “Windy”, an app that shows wind directions and speeds around the world, which indicated that we were in the windiest place on earth! Patagonia came in second! (BTW, that’s the second time in my blog that I’ve mentioned Patagonia. Weird.) When the winds from the west were done with us, we were 96 miles down the road in Circle, MT, a cowboy town, according to the clerk at the convenient store near our motel.

We got partial payback yesterday when 25 MPH winds shifted into our face. We were only able to ride 38 miles here to Dickinson, North Dakota – 38 of the toughest miles I can remember! Today’s rest day is well timed and much needed.

The theme songs for the week, which I found myself singing from time to time, were Blowing in the Wind (Bob Dylan) and Catch the Wind (Donovan). I think next week it will be Heatwave (Martha and the Vandellas)

Places

One of the reasons I studied urban planning and have devoted my career to community development is that I’ve always been drawn to and interested in cities, towns, communities and any places that people call home. As indicated in my first blog, biking – particularly long distance touring – takes us through the world at a pace that allows us to take the pulse of these places. This has been one of the most interesting parts of this trip. It’s turned “fly over country” into “ride through country.” Not that I can claim to understand a community, a town or a region just by looking around as I ride through or by buying provisions at the market in town, but it does begin to turn caricatures of small towns and red states, and those who live there, into something more 3 dimensional.

In the category of “for what it’s worth”, here are some takeaways so far:

• Pretty much without exception, the people we’ve met on the ride have been extremely friendly and helpful. They’re interested in what we’re doing and why we’re doing it (we mention whenever appropriate that we’re raising money to end homelessness) and they wish us safe travels. Traveling as we are through deep red country, I’m struck that people seem to be a lot kinder than the people they probably vote for. I’ll leave it there.

• Josh and I have been fascinated by the many tiny towns we’ve been through – Dutton, Circle, Jordan, Brady, Moccasin. What’s life like in a town of a few hundred people? We learned in Sand Springs that the 2 daughters of the proprietor of the general store and campground – who like the character Sam Drucker from Green Acres and other sit-coms from my youth was also the postmaster – are the only children in the “elementary school” that serves the teeny-tiny town. For high school, they will go to Jordan, population 412, to attend a regional high school serving a 90 mile radius, with a graduating class of about 15. Wow! Early one morning in East Glacier, MT, I asked the clerk at the general store when the nearby Post Office opened. She responded that “She usually opens at about 9:30, but she may be there now.” That’s kind of charming.

• The small towns in Montana sit in vast, awesome and inspiring settings. The Big Sky thing is no joke. It’s quite amazing. Josh and I have marveled at the space, the scenery, and the geographic and geological diversity. On the other hand – and I’m projecting here based on very limited “ride through” impressions – these places might feel very oppressive and limited, even as their surroundings are so vast and seemingly limitless. On the other hand, residents of those towns may feel hemmed in by the density of city life to which we’re accustomed.

• I’ve been struck by the apparent poverty in the places we’ve traveled through. The Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Browning Montana was depressingly impoverished, but so too are many mostly-white towns we’ve passed through.

• Related to the above, in many towns I’ve noticed anti-poverty organizations, food banks and community redevelopment organizations. I’m glad that that infrastructure exists and that there are people doing that work. We were extremely excited to come across and visit the Snowy Mountain Development Corporation in Lewistown, MT (which, with its population of 5,952, is a regional hub) which we just happened to pass on our way through the town. They invited us in and we spoke with most of their 7 employees about their work and the work of Just A Start (see photo below). They serve an area larger than Massachusetts, but probably with the population of Cambridge. They had an annual meeting to prepare for the following day and we had ground to cover, so our conversation was broad brush, but I found it heartening that this kind of work is happening in all parts of the country.

Endorsements

Not that anyone has asked, but I would happily endorse the following products and organizations, which have been so instrumental to the success of our trip and to our overall wellbeing.

• Adventure Cycling Association: As we planned this trip, we depended heavily on ACA, a Missoula, MT-based cycling organization for their technical assistance and know-how. In particular, their recommended routes, backed up with both old fashioned maps (think laminated AAA Trip-tiks) and electronic GPS versions have been essential. They haven’t steered us wrong yet.

• Trek 520: After briefly considering using one of the bikes we already owned for this trip, we instead decided to spring for bikes specifically made for touring. Our $1800 Trek 520s have been more than up to the task. We have had to make only 1 minor repair – Josh had to tighten his handlebars at Glacier National Park. We’ve had no flat tires, no broken spokes, no nothing after riding 2700 miles between us.

• Our paneers: Our Ortlieb ultra water proof saddlebags/paneers (we’re each carrying a set on the front and back) were very good investments, as was the handlebar bag that carries most of the odds and ends we need during the day.

• Tent: While we’ve stayed in motels more than we’ve camped, we have been well-served by our 3-person (the extra space is well worth the extra 10 ounces, or whatever) MSR tent on the 5-6 nights we’ve camped. We’ve been rained on, pelted by a sprinkler system, and attacked by 40 MPH winds with no ill effects. It also sets up in about 10 minutes.

Not that he needs an endorsement, but Josh has been a terrific riding companion. I already knew he was a strong rider, but what we’re doing is more about endurance, determination and emotional resilience. I’ve been so impressed with how he’s held up to all we’ve experienced, and I’m grateful for how he’s looked after me when I’ve needed it and kept me going. We’ve also had great conversations, including disagreements. I expect that I will have won him over to my positions and world view by the time we cross into Minnesota. Actually, make that Wisconsin!

A gusty day in Montana.

Hunkered down in windy Sand Springs Montana.

Moccasin, Montana seems to have seen better days.

Browing, Montana on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation was depresingly poor.

Community development nonprofit counterparts in Lewistown, Montana.

Near Moore, Montana.