Thanks to Steve, I just arrived one mile from Yellowstone in Gardiner MT. My brother arrived in Missoula around 10 am at the Red Lion hotel where I was staying.. Man was I excited. It was so great to see him. After 6 weeks and somewhere around 2800 biked miles, my ride home had arrived.
As I have mentioned, my trip is coming to an end. This is bittersweet as they say. Due to the virus, this trip did not go as planned and can’t deliver what I envisioned during the planning stages.
Last night I told Jane during our nightly chat that she so looks forward to that I planned to stay in Whitefish another day. Just chill, visit bike shop, and eat ice cream.
After a day off, I launched west on the last push to Glacier. Glad I left early, as the wind and rain increased through the day. The first 30 miles went at a normal pace. I stopped at a small bar/restaurant in Rudyard where the owner treated me great and set me up with some vegetable soup.
Once I left, the wind was waiting. The road had a narrow shoulder with a rumble strip right down the middle. The wind pushed me from the north while I rode west meaning the wind kept pushing me into the rumble strip. Eventually I choosers to ride in the road and dash onto the shoulder whenever traffic approached. It was hard to keep bike from moving 2-3 ft at times from gusts.
As I left Chinook and headed west towards Havre, MT, I immediately found a construction zone 1 mile west of town.
I often seen hell depicted as fire and brimstone, but I now know better. It is a Montana construction zone.
I left Circle, MT, with the intent to ride 55 miles to Wolf Point. I was excited about Wolf Point as it appeared to be a bigger town and might be a good place to hang out for a night.
The ride from Circle to WP is on Hwy 13 going straight north. The wind had changed and was blowing from the east and blowing haphazardly at 25 to 30 mph. Those that bike know a crosswind is no treat. Also Hwy 13 is very hilly – including a climb to 3,300 ft.
I knew it would be a struggle. Maybe I mentally sabotaged today. Weather report said it would be a long day when showed 30mph winds from west. The distance to be biked from Medora to Glenview was 65 miles. Not much in between either as far as services or other places to stop.
I also took yesterday off which should help, but I find it hard to get going again after a day off.