-         Winds that were 12-15 mph instead of 20-22 mph

·         A road that leveled out to long gentle downhills & uphills instead of shorter, steeper inclines

·         Temperatures that rose from 56 to 66

·         Post offices that are open on Sundays for people to get their mail

·         Cuts in the shallow hills next to the road that offer some protection from the wind

(Pictures to follow)


As you can tell, it was an interesting day! We got up and had a leisurely breakfast – we've found that that’s the time when we often do the most chatting with Chuck & Laura . In the evenings we’re sometimes just too tired. We’d decided last night that they would break camp and go on to Mandan, 2 days’ ride ahead, as we really didn’t know how far we’d feel like riding today, and driving extra into camp would be easier than not knowing what facilities we’d have at the end of the day. So we packed lunch with us on the bikes, and set off about 9:15.

                The temperature was only 50 degrees, and the wind was about 10 mph out of the SE – a shoulder wind again. (Think horses – headwind, shoulder wind, flank wind, tailwind!) Dave led for the next 20 miles as the wind chill dropped and our feet and hands grew colder. At 15 miles, we took a break in the lee of a cut, then pushed on to Taylor, population 148. I was optimistically hoping for a small café, and a cup of hot chocolate. But there was no café, and even the bar was closed. The Lutheran Church was open, but we weren’t sure it would be good to walk in mid-service in our cycling clothes! So the only other option was the post office . We went in by the PO boxes, sat on the floor, and shared a Coke and some granola bars. Slightly thawed out, we headed back out.

                Ten miles further on, we came to Roberton, and stopped for lunch. Clara’s Café was open, and pretty busy. When we entered, we found it was the last day the café would be open. The building was being sold, and Clara didn’t want to buy it, and no one was willing to take over the restaurant end under those conditions. Some people had come from 60 miles away to eat there one last time and say good-bye to Clara. Heck, that’s nothing – we’d come 1200 miles! We had a good lunch, chatted with a few people there, and wrote in Clara’s Northern Tier Bicycling Route guest book, then started off again.

                It was warmer now, a real blessing. And the countryside was beautiful – great green open pastures and fields, with the wind moving like waves in the wind. That’s been the worst about the head winds – we don’t get to really enjoy what should have been a really beautiful ride . In about 16 miles we came to Hebron, where we’d thought about ending the day’s ride. But we’d actually had a couple miles where the road turned and gave us a flank wind (think horses again), and a short section of tailwind into Hebron. We stopped for our 3^rd Coke of the day – you know it’s a hard ride when you drink 3! (I still need to contact Coke about using us for an ad campaign – across the country fueled by Coke!)

                We called Laura and arranged for them to pick us up in Glen Ullin, another 15 miles ahead. Much of this route was due SE, so right into the wind, which had picked up to often over 15 mph, I think. But we made it without feeling dead, and enjoyed the drive to Mandan. We’re camped at the Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, where Gen. Custer rode out from to attack the Sioux at Little Big Horn. A lovely campground on the Missouri River, with marvelously hot showers! Another blessing, but a big one this time!