Jordan Montana to Circle Montana. 67 miles. 1316 from the Pacific. I packed up camp happy and hit the road by 5:30 a.m. this morning. thinking once again that I could get some miles on before the heat of the day builds up. The morning sky was beautiful with wispy clouds turning bright pink against the green landscape. it sure looks like Jarsic Park to me. a red fox crossed the road just in front of me. I think he was after the prairie dogs. I stopped and watch him for a while and we had a staring contest. turns out this fox had more patience then me. I gave him the win and peddled onward. I have to admit these last 3 days with these big Montana rollers have been the most difficult terrain I’ve ever riden in. up and down and up and down – never ending climbing and decending. the worst part is you can see them miles away. when you get to the top of what you think is the end of them, there are many many more waiting for you. I told myself just to accept them and make peace. it worked for a while but then about 11 a.m. I bonked. that’s a bikers term used to explain the feeling that comes over you when your body informs you that it has had enough. And if you don’t listen to your body, bad things happen. lucky for me there was a tree nearby up on the fence line just up the road. this was only tree in the last 20 miles. I steered my bike into the ditch. took off my helmet and shoes and laid in the shade and took a nap. I woke up about a half hour later thinking that I should have checked for rattlesnakes before laying down. make note to self for tomorrow. I ate the rest of my food stash and drank a bunch of water. with 30 miles to go I needed to balance conserving water, with the threat of dehydration from this heat. I was feeling better and made it to a rest stop about 10 miles down the road. I restocked my water supply and ate my last energy bar. at the rest stop I ran into two ladies with Wisconsin license plates from Eauclaire. we chatted a while and it turns out her dad (retired) used to work at Cummins. he was the HR guy for Bloomer and Neilsville plants. she will be writing in my blog and showing her dad. another hour down the road and the rollers had taken their toll once again. A rancher was stopped near his mailbox and I asked him if he had any water. he opened up his truck and said “no but I have an ice cold Gatorade with your name on it” my eyes popped out of my head as he brought it to me. his name was Clayton and he told me about his three thousand acre ranch with 250 head of cattle. we talked for a bit as I guzzled the Gatorade. he was on his way into town to pick up his daughter from 4H and happen to be in the right place at the right time for me. more good karma just when I thought it was time to give up. just beyond his ranch the road levelled out as I entered ranch country. it seemed like the last 10 miles into town was like heaven on wheels. even the wind that had been my face all day seemed to calm down. I pulled into Circle at 2 p.m. a little girl was selling lemonade from a cardboard table in front of her house for 25 cents. I stopped and got three glasses full. I chatted with her mom and grandmother and got the scoop on where to eat, the location of the town park and pool. life was looking up. I got to the park and noticed a closed sign at the pool entrance. its sad that a pool would be closed on a hot summer day. it’s just not right. there was no one around, so I let myself in. The cool water replenish my body and lifted my spirits. after the swim I set up camp happy and then went to eat at one of the finest restaurants in eastern Montana. as I was walking back from the restaurant I ran into Trudy and Frank, my biker friends from California. they looked half dead. they had done the same route as I did today. I told them that the dinosaurs didn’t really go extinct by volcano or meteorite like most people believe. what really happened was that they were walking around in Montana in the big rollers and got so depressed that they drank the suicide Kool Aid just like Jonestown. we all laughed and agreed that tomorrow will be better now that we’re out of dinosaur country. pictures are of my breakfast table (a bridge over a creek) and the famous Montana rollers.

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lewistown montana to winnett montana. 54 miles. 1172 miles from the Pacific. I had dinner with my biking friend Jim last night and we filled up on pasta. he will be heading south to Billings today to catch a plane back to california. he has some business to take care of and then he plans to rejoin the route after july fourth. so there’s a chance we will run into each other again as we crossed north america.
It seems like every morning there is a climb to start the day, like a morning wake up call. today was no exception. it started with a 5 mile climb out of Lewistown up and over the Judith mountain divide. lots of pine trees, deer and a couple cows. then a nice downhill until it levelled off at the bottom of the mountain range. it’s haying season in central montana and the smell of fresh cut hay and clover fills the air. all that is spoiled in 1 second when a cattle truck goes by with a load of cows. Cows pooping at 70 miles per hour is dangerous to a biker. luckly they didn’t get any on me. but the road was not so lucky. One of the new skills I learned today is weaving around fresh cow poop. I pulled into Winnett (population 162) about noon and had lunch at the small cafe. after lunch the locals pointed me to the park where camping is free. They did not mention that it also has a nice pool. I unloaded my pockets and jump in with my bike cloths on. then I dried off and took a long nap in the shade. it was heavenly after the hot ride. I planned a short day today as i try to recover some of my energy. the hot sun takes its toll on me in the afternoon. Tomorrow I plan on hitting the road very early and getting some miles in before the heat of the day. it’s been difficult to eat enough food. even though I eat all the time I must be burning more calories then I am taking in. I have to remind myself to take it easy. So that is what I am doing today. Hope you are doing the same. The picture of round bail with my lunch in the shade. It was the only shade in 50 miles.
Take care

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Great Falls Montana to Geraldine Montana. 84 miles. 1043 miles from the Pacific. I had dinner last night with my biking friend Jim and then I went to the mermaid show. it was rated G. something I’ve never seen before are mermaids swimming in a bar. just when you think you’ve seen everything. today was a good day. lots of big roller coaster hills. And that other mountain range i didn’t see on the map. lots of pretty yellow, purple, lavender, and pink wild flowers. I saw several deer along the road and in the hills. I had lunch in Fort Benton and took a quick nap at the town park along the Missouri River. it’s a pretty little town with nice people. I’ve had a chance to see many nice towns. Portland, wala wala, and Missoula were my favorites. But there was nothing great about Great Falls. I am camping at the city park in Geraldine Montana tonight. population 68 ish.
thanks again for the blog comments. Take care – from big sky country

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Ovanda Montana to Agusta Montana. 83 miles. 904 miles from the Pacific. the word for todays travel was survival. I feel like I survived. the day started out cool in the low 50’s. it’s a beautiful 45 mile climb up to Rogers Pass, so I decided early start. again this morning was beautiful scenery and lots of animals. a huge eagle near the Blackfoot River made the Wisconsin Eagles look like a song bird. this thing looked more like a pterodactyl. I passed several beaver lodges and beaver dams hoping to see a moose or elk but no Bullwinkle today. several deer were surprised to see me.
A couple from California (Trudy & Frank) and I rode together most of the day. they are a little older than I am but in excellent shape. we climbed to 4500 feet and then down to four thousand and then back up to 4,500 all morning. The road was like a giant roller coaster. the weather was fair as we approach the summit of Rogers Pass around noon. but there was a looming black clouds in the distance. just as we reach the summit the sky opened up. we quickly put on a rain gear but it was too late. we were wet. the rain came in sheets and then it started to hail as a temperature dropped. I was thinking – well at least it’s not thundering and lightning. A few seconds later a big lightning bolt followed by thunder hit on the nearby summit. I almost crapped my pants. coming down the other side of the mountain in the rain was hair a raising experience. bike brakes to not work well in the rain. I stopped to put on more rain gear and a warm jacket over my wet body. Frank and Trudy went flying by. The sun starting to come out as we reached the base of the mountain. it was like a sauna inside my rain suit so I stopped and took it off. we had good weather for the next couple hours. then that looming black cloud reappeared. this time we put on our rain gear early enough. first a few sprinkles then some thunder and lightning and then the sky opened up. the wind was howling from my left rear quarter. road signs were twisting in the wind . I was thinking – are we in Kansas already. the wind picked up as sheets of rain pelted us. out in the front range prairie there’s nowhere to take shelter. the good news is the wind pushed us faster and faster. this is no s***. I was doing 28 miles per hour without pedaling. it was almost impossible to see Frank and Trudy just a few feet behind me. later they told me they were following my flashing blinkie. Frank yelled at me as he passed “are we having fun yet”.
we rolled into Augusta looking like three cold drowned rats. got a hotel room and a hot shower and then went to dinner across the street. my room is filled with hanging wet clothes. I will sleep well tonight.

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I picked up Cheryl from the Missoula Airport late Thursday night. we spend a long weekend exploring Glacier National Park via a rental car. it felt weird driving a car after eight hundred miles on a bicycle. how do you pedal these things was my first thought. the park was beautiful with lots of new snow on Logan’s pass. Waterfalls were everywhere because the snowpack was just beginning to melt. the Highway to the Sun opened a day before we got here. luck of the Irish timing on that one. we hiked Avalanche Creek and Cedar Ridge. so beautiful. not many tourist here yet so it made exploring the park much easier. we had a great weekend together and it was nice to catch up on some much needed rest. Back on the bicycle tomorrow for me, and the airplane for Cheryl.
the pictures are from Glacier National Park – enjoy

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