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My campsite last night was really nice. Shaded and no bugs (that surprised me). Didn’t see Mr. Bloom this AM and didn’t want to ring doorbell at 7AM so didn’t get a chance to thank him once again for his hospitality.

As we progress east, there are more crop lands and less range land.

I discovered the downside to riding on Interstate yesterday. The exit/entrance ramps could be a tad bit dangerous…especially in a metro area. I didn’t have any problems but not many people exiting or entering from these country roads.

Crop duster coming in hot! I thought he was going to tailhook the wires in 2nd pic. Before I got close enough to take pics, he went under on a pass.

Stopped for breakfast at small cafe in Hebron. I believe there may be some folks of German heritage in the area.

Corn is not looking good. This is probably worst I saw. Guessing they will chop this up for feed because they won’t get much of a yield.

Stopped in New Salem (33 miles from Bismarck) about 3. I was pretty beat. I had lunch at a small cafe. It was 24 miles to next potential stop and storms forecast for tonight. I needed to be indoors tonight.

I was doubting whether I could make another 24 miles. It’s easy in the morning, a bit more difficult midday, and really difficult late in the afternoon.

There was a small motel next to cafe. I decided I’d stay there. It would make getting to Bristol on Thursday extremely difficult, if not impossible, but I was really tired.

There was 1 car in parking lot so I assumed it would be no problem getting a room. NOT! Fully booked with roadies setting up for a 3 day country music fest down the road. Bummer for me.

No choice but to suck it up and pedal the 24 miles to Mandan. I knew it would not be a fun couple of hours.

I could see the storm clouds gaining on me as I rode. Got rained on a couple different times but didn’t really bother me. In fact, it was a bit refreshing

These cows were making all kinds of noise and coming from all over the pasture to congregate. As I was stopping to take pic, I wondered if they were doing this because of approaching storm. Loud crack of lightening as soon as I got stopped. Guess they knew something.

I had about 8 miles to go. Got a second wind and pedaled as fast as I could for the next half hour.

Got to a motel 10 minutes before it started pouring…along with thunder and lightning.

Glad I got those miles in now that I’m here. About 245 miles to Bristol. Way better than 270.

3 more days of 80+ miles. That’s a lot and I’ve been going pretty hard the last several days but it’s possible. If I don’t make it, I’ll be really close.

Ride on.

Just Pete

Got my phone fixed early this AM. All those that speculated charger cord was the issue, you were correct!! Thank goodness. I don’t use my phone much except for communication, navigation, photos, blog post, and telling time. Pretty much everything except pedaling Gerty.

Peace out, MT. You were real. Just not real fun. 12 days and 800 miles. 5 off those days in the 100’s. Never been so happy to enter ND. Love the Be Legendary!

Stopped right across the border in Beach, ND (10 miles from Wibaux). Had a Subway sandwich for breakfast. Very happy they were open that early. It was in a truck stop or they probably would have been closed for 4th.

As we approached Medora, the land started getting bad.

Bet you thought ND was flat, didn’t you? Not so fast!

Medora is at the entrance to Teddy Roosevelt National Park. Teddy is one of my favorite Presidents so, today, I was a Rough Rider and Gerty was my trusty steed.

I stopped at a rest area at the east end of the park. They had a vending machine with Coke. I wanted one but only had $20’s. Luckily there was an info center/souvenir shop. Went in to get change. Young girl told me she didn’t have enough small bills to change 20. I was a bit frustrated as I saw her cash register. Was going to start asking people for change until I saw these little $1 medallions. I bought one, she had to give me change and then I told her to keep the medallion. She was so confused, I almost felt sorry for her!

There were some great views of Painted Canyon and The (real) Badlands. So glad I stopped. Smelling the roses, Kris!!!

I got to Dickenson about 4. Figured I could make Taylor (pop 100) and pitch my tent somewhere in town.

I am in a 30 mile swath of land that has, according to a few farmers, gotten moisture this year. Things are greener than anything since Glacier.

When I “got to” Taylor I found out it was 2 miles off Interstate. Understand that if my mind has been thinking of stopping at a certain point for the past hour, 2 miles may as well be 200.

I saw a nice treed area that I assumed was in a farmer’s yard. Pedaled up driveway and rang doorbell bell. Mr Bloom answered. Probably early 70’s.

I asked if I could pitch my tent in his yard. He looked at me like I was totally nuts. “There’s a public park with water 2 miles up the road in Taylor.” I gave him my poor, poor, pitiful me look and he eventually said OK. Even told me I could get water from his hose. We had a good conversation after he realized I was only semi-nuts. Thanks to the Blooms!!

Had a pretty good day. It was “only” 93. Lots of miles so will see how tomorrow goes. Hope to get to Bismarck tomorrow and into SD Tuesday.

Hope each of you had a great 4th.

Ride on.

Just Pete

Some sights along my journey.

Happy 4th of July.

Ride on.

Just Pete

I didn’t sleep well last night thinking about the miles I missed with Denzel’s ride. Went over to the local Cenex and got a ride back about 3 miles. Wasn’t sure where exact spot Denzel picked me up but close enough to make me feel good. Slack packed that and then had breakfast.

Gerty crushed the 47 miles to Glendive. 3 hrs 20 minutes. That’s booking. Was in Glendive, where I had expected to spend the night shortly after 11!

Along the way I saw these wooden things with green stuff on them. Hadn’t seen them since East Glacier. I think they called them trees.

I have met or passed quite a few cyclists. They are all carrying lots of stuff. Almost all have bags on front wheel as well. I can’t figure out what they could be carrying. If there’s one thing I learned from hiking it’s that…if you’re not using it, get rid of it. The weight on a bike doesn’t make as much difference as when you’re carrying it on your back but holy crap. I carry half as much as most people.

I left Glendive about 12:30 by then the heat was cooking.

Leaving Glendive, we got on I-94. LOVE riding on interstate. Wide shoulders, hills are more gradual. Plus I’d rather have traffic moving at 80 mph 15 feet away than at 60 5 feet away.

The last 25 miles to Wibaux was really hot. Somebody told me 107. All I know is that I left Glendive with ice water and in a half hour it was very warm.

Another benefit of interstate…shade.

Made it to Wibaux shortly after 3. Had a tailwind for most of PM so that helped. Very tired so that was enough for today.

Wibaux is having their All School reunion this weekend so there was lots happening in town. Wibaux’s wobble but they don’t fall down!

Started having problems with my phone today. Not charging well. Usually can get a full charge inside an hour. Now 10% in 6 hours. Big problem. Any suggestions? Pretty sure it’s phone and not charger. Hoping there’s a Verizon store in Bismarck. Should be there Monday. If you don’t hear from me for a couple days, that’s why.

8 more miles of MT. Whoohoo!

Ride on.

Just Pete

Heat. Headwind. Hills. Just another great day on a bike in Montana.

Saw this deer leaving Jordan this AM. Should have been counting how many I’ve seen in 20 days. Guessing 40-50.

The first stretch of the day was 35 miles to a rest stop. I carry 2 liters of water and, in the heat, that’s stretching as far as I can go so I picked up an extra liter. Had frozen my 2 water bottles the night before so hoping they would stay cold.

Am I getting close to the Badlands? That would be great but this was just a small, isolated Kinda’ Badlands.

The ride to the rest stop was into the wind part of the time crosswinds the rest. Is it to much to ask for 1 day of tailwind? Oh yeah, a couple days in the 80’s vs 100’s would be nice too.

It took me nearly 4 hours to reach the rest stop. Headwinds really slow progress.

I was expecting to see a vending machine where I could get some cold water for the last 32 miles. No such luck. They did have a water fountain with warm water though…and air conditioning.

I must really look like a mess after I’ve been riding a while. As I sat on a bench inside, nearly everyone who came in asked how I was doing. People gave me ice cold water, Powerade, apple sauce, and someone even left trail mix on my bike parked outside. Females were really concerned. It was like I had a half dozen mothers there. Quite amazing. That really boosted my morale.

More of the same on the final 32 miles. Hills. Directly into a 10-15 mile wind. And the heat was really cooking now.

I was pretty much drained as I got close to Circle. Not as bad as the other day but I was starting to not feel good. That’s when I was saved by a Trail Angel, Denzel.

Circle was the opposite direction from where he was headed but he saw me alongside the road. Again, I must have looked pitiful because he offered me a ride the final few miles into town. I quickly accepted.

I felt a little guilty about that for about 10 seconds. Better to accept the ride than get heat exhaustion.

Denzel is a Navy vet who drives vehicles to different drop points across country. He is driving a large van to Kalispell, MT now. Real nice guy who saved me from lots of misery.

Tomorrow is still hot but rumor has it that the wind will be behind me…for once. I’ll believe it when I see it.

Ride on.

Just Pete

Today was kind of semi-OK. Definitely better than yesterday…minus 50 miles.

I was probably on the verge of heat exhaustion yesterday. Hopefully I remember the lessons learned. Thanks to all for your concern and advice. Pickle juice was a big winner!

My legs were still a bit tired today. I was not anxious to start peddling this AM.

Didn’t take many pictures because everything kind of looks the same and I was totally grinding to make Jordan. Head down and follow the white line.

On the East coast “farms” are measured in acres. Midwest by quarters (160 acres). In MT it’s by sections (640 acres). BIG ranches. 10 sections or more. They’ve been struggling with lack of moisture even before this ridiculous heat. Causing many ranchers to have to sell their cattle because they can’t feed them.

I’ve noticed “Save the Cowboy” signs since Lewistown. Finally asked what that was about. Out of state billionaires buying up ranches to turn back the clock and free range buffalo. Sounds nice, until you hear how it affects the locals. Buffalo spread disease to cattle plus rich people glamping (glamorous camping) don’t spend money in the small towns.

I made it to Jordan about 3PM and rented a room at these fancy digs! Living large. Definitely not glamping!!

After a short nap and an interview with the Aberdeen American News, I headed up to the local saloon. Jordan’s population is about 250 so it wasn’t hard to figure out where to go. Place with the most pick-up trucks.

At Rancher’s bar I met Steve (and a few other interesting characters). Within 5 minutes Steve asked me if I was on a bike. He had seen me stopped along the road. Said I looked like crap and wasn’t sure if I needed help. He was running late so didn’t stop to check on me but did think about it for a minute.

Of course, I made him feel a little guilty. Had a great steak and several free Buds from the locals. Really good time and fun conversations.

I’m hoping that a rather short day serves me well tomorrow. Temps will still be close to, or above, 100 again. Always thought I could handle heat…until yesterday.

I’ll do what I can.

Ride on.

Just Pete

Don’t get too excited about the miles. It’s a lot but at a price. I’m OK. Details later.

Got rolling out of Hobson at 6:30AM. Made quick work of 24 miles to Lewistown. Didn’t have breakfast until then (Mistake #1). Didn’t have option in Hobson.

I felt pretty good while I had breakfast. So good that I made a reservation at a B&B in Mosby. 81 miles from Lewistown. (Mistake #2)

It is so dry in this area that the grasshoppers are thick. I try to help control the population by running over as many as I can.

Grass Range was the next town. 33 miles away. Little further than I’d like but…The heat really kicked in on that stretch. I made it but extremely hot and tired. Sat in an air conditioned restaurant for an hour and had some lunch. Much better after the hour.

If you think I’m nuts, the guy below makes me look totally sane. He’s walking from Anacortes to Washington, DC. He started early April and thinks he’ll get there sometime in November. I think his walk is called March for Freedom. Not sure because my brain went dead a bit later.

The next possible stopping point was Winnett. 24 miles. After my lunch break that seemed reasonable. Only problem was that it was into the wind and the temperature was 103.

So that was really hard. I was totally exhausted when I got there at 5PM. Had something to eat and sat for an hour. During that time I wiped my hand across my forehead. Felt dirty. Weird.

I then noticed my arms, jersey, and shorts were white with salt. Houston we may have a problem. No Gatorade where I was and I was too brain dead to walk over to grocery store to see if they had some (Mistake #3).

Things got bad on my last 24 miles. What would normally take 2 hours took 3.5.

I did OK the first 8 miles but then my legs started cramping. First happened to right calf as I was getting off bike for a rest. You can’t imagine how solidly that muscle cramped. Hurt so bad that I screamed and had to sit and massage it for 10 minutes

It was still pretty sore when I went to get back on and then the left calf cramped. Not nearly as bad but it hurt. Now I’m pedaling with 2 sore calfs. You use your thighs more biking so suck it up. No choice but to make 16 more miles.

Those 16 miles were horrendous. Now my thighs were getting weird pains. Not really cramping but random shooting pains. Total and complete misery. Had to walk my bike up a couple hills that there is no way I should have to. Pedaling was no fun and neither was pushing a bike up hill.

I made it. Not sure exactly how. Kind of a blur.

I’m staying tonight at Hill Ranch Oasis. Terry and Donna are the proprietors. Super nice people and great accommodations. Even got to do laundry.

One of the other guests got me a giant glass of vitamin water as soon he heard my saga. That must have helped because I feel much better now.

Lessons learned: (1) Don’t go more than 70 miles in this heat (hotter next 2 days). (2) Have breakfast as early as possible in the day. Start carrying peanut butter. Eat some bananas. (3) Drink more Gatorade or be adding electrolytes to water.

With this heat, there is little chance I can make Bristol on the 8th. I think I can make South Dakota. How far? I haven’t a clue and I’m not going to guess.

I’m a bit disappointed but I know Gerty and I can make some big miles. I can’t control the weather and to ride far in this heat is really stupid.

Tomorrow I’m planning on taking it fairly easy. 50 some miles to Jordan. Then we’ll go from there.

Ride on.

Just Pete

I started pedaling at 7AM and stopped at 7PM. Long day but lots of stops along the way.

Left Great Falls on a nice bike path along the Missouri River.

Pretty serene ride to start the day.

Went through Belt where I had hoped to get to last night. Real nice town down in a valley. One of the more “booming” small MT towns I’ve been through.

Lots more grain crops and hay than the corn/soybeans you typically see around Bristol, SD.

Stopped in Geyser (population 100) and Stanford (pop 250). Both still have K-12 schools. Stanford will have 1 senior this fall. He should put on his resume…graduated Stanford #1 in class.

Struggled to make last 22 miles to Hobson but am super happy that I did. Population of about 500 with one of the best bar/restaurants I have been to…and, trust me, I’ve been to a few.

Hope you can read that. Great steakhouse. I didn’t have one because I had already had breakfast and 3 lunches. I did have a few Buds and some Rocky Mountain Oysters. If you’re not familiar with them, Google it. Probably been 40 years since I’ve had ‘em. Didn’t disappoint.

If you’re ever near Hobson, make sure to check out Tall Boys. Place is large and was packed.

I pitched my tent by the Little League baseball field. Hoping the sprinklers don’t come on during night.

It will be a few degrees warmer tomorrow. Upper 90’s. I’ll try to do what I did today. Stop in a town every 25 miles or so and soak in some AC. I also stop quite frequently alongside the road but just long enough to stretch my legs and drink some water. There are no trees so no shade.

All in all a pretty good day. If I can have 9 more days like this, I’ll make Bristol on time. That’s pretty optimistic but Gerty and I are both pretty optimistic.

Ride on.

Just Pete

You know you’re in the right breakfast spot when there are a dozen farmers in there discussing moisture (or lack there of), the heat, and commodity prices. Home Cafe. Jackpot!!

The terrain is really taxing my limited photography skills. It’s kind of the same view for miles and miles and more miles.

I met my first west-bound rider. Rick left Bar Harbor, Maine on 4/30 heading to Anacortes, WA. We had a 10 minute chat alongside the road about what’s ahead for each of us. Since we’re heading in opposite directions, what was easy for him won’t be for me and vice versa.

The major heat wave has officially caught up with me. Mid-90’s in the afternoon.

Here is a sample of road today. I-15 north and south to the left and I-Just Pete on the right. Very little traffic on our road.

I had hoped to make it about 20 miles further than I did today. The heat really drained me in the afternoon. Sun beating down at 95 degrees and then radiating up from pavement. Not good. It’s a plus that everywhere I stop has let me fill water bottles with ice.

The heat is going to get more intense for the next 3-4 days. Really not good.

To make Bristol on 7/8, I’m going to have to average about 80 miles per day. Questioning the possibility of that tonight.

Worst case scenario, I get picked up somewhere short of Bristol and deposited back wherever that is after Reunion. I’ll be trying my hardest but, with this heat wave, it will be difficult.

I’ll keep pedaling and you keep the positive vibes coming. Deal?

Ride on.

Just Pete

I needed a little bit of rest today. 53 miles might sound like a lot but, after the past 2 weeks, it really wasn’t.

A short day was decided upon last night. I didn’t start pedaling until 10:30. Basically a lazy morning watching ESPN.

If you, like I, thought the plains would be relatively flat…wrong!

Those rumble strips along the shoulder suck. There’s not much traffic on the roads I’m traveling so most of the time I’m on the left side of the white stripe. Especially when going fast. When I hear traffic coming, I get over and am radically vibrated by those strips.

If the rumble strip is in the middle of the road, it’s awesome. I can hear vehicles behind me move over for me which is quite comforting.

I don’t think I’m paranoid but those mountains seem to be stalking me. I can’t get away from them.

Gerty likes to hum. The faster we go, the louder she hums. She hummed a lot today.

We finished the 53 miles in 4.5 hours with an hour stop for lunch. That’s basically 15mph for a long time. In my FL training rides, I couldn’t go that fast for an hour. I may actually be becoming a cyclist. Who’d a thunk it?!!

Conrad, MT is a typical small farming community. Population of 2500. High School classes of 30. Lots of retirees and struggling to have jobs for young people. Agriculture just takes far fewer people/acre than it used to. Kind of sad.

I’m considering this a “Nero” day. Somewhere in between a zero day and a “real” day. Expecting to be well rested tomorrow.

Just a friendly reminder, we are riding for charity. If you’ve already pledged or donated, thanks so much. If you’re a procrastinator like me, get on it. If you can’t donate, that’s cool too. I just appreciate the support each of you give me every day.

Couldn’t do this without each of you. Thanks so much.

Ride on.

Just Pete