I left my motel in Beach, N.D. around 11 a.m. this morning, 5-28, and the Montana border was only a few miles to the west. Once again, my map route took me on I-94, but thankfully, the riding conditions were much easier than yesterday. The wind was quite gentle and possibly even at my back for parts of the route, and the road to my destination, Glendive, Montana (pop. 4,935), also had fewer hills. And for the hills I did experience, my front derailleur continued to work perfectly! As if all that wasn’t perfect enough, the weather was beautiful–sunny and in the seventies once it warmed up late in the morning. I rode today’s 40 miles in less time than I spent covering only 25 miles yesterday.

When you are on a bike, you are a lot closer to signs like this Welcome to Montana sign. I was a bit surprised to see stickers all over the sign and googled this to see if I could determine whether it was phenomenon unique to Montana. It’s not. Apparently, this is becoming an increasingly common form of self-expression nationwide. Now that I know that, maybe I’ll take a closer look at stickers on signs like this in the future to see if I can learn more about what sticker people are trying to express.

The speed limit increases when you enter Montana. I guess I may need to pick up my pace.

Or maybe not, as this warning about traffic fatalities may suggest.

Shortly before entering Montana, I crossed paths with Alex, a cross-country cyclist who began his trip east from Seattle about a month ago. Alex is only going as far as Fargo, N.D. because that is the longest he can be gone from work for his trip. He asked his employer for more vacation time, even as unpaid leave, and was told no. He plans to complete a trip across the country next year, or maybe over the next two years.

It is pretty early in the season for cross-country cyclists taking northern routes, since some roads are still closed in places like Glacier National Park. I told Alex he was the first cross-country cyclist I’ve seen since I began heading west from Bismarck last week, and he mentioned that I would see three guys not too far behind him who he had recently met–two medical students and a guy in his fifties. I did see them about a half hour later, but by then, I was out of the road construction zone that had put an eastbound biker like Alex on the same side of the road I was on.

Alex kindly spent some time talking about the route ahead and some recommendations he had for how best to navigate it. I asked what he did for a living, and he said he is an engineer but does corporate tax filings for a corporation that is required to file hundreds of returns. He also commutes to work by bike.

This shows the divided highway after I was out of the construction zone. When I saw the other cyclists heading east, we waved at each other, but as you can see, there wouldn’t be a good way to have a conversation in a situation like this.

I ended up in Wibaux, MT (pop. 589) around lunch time and ate at the Shamrock Club.

Just before entering Wibaux, I stopped at the visitor center and met Tim and Arnette, who expressed an interest in my trip. Tim told me that his wife Arnette was once the Wibaux Longhorn Homecoming Queen, and he showed me the hand gesture that Wibaux sports fans use when they chant “Go Longhorns” at games. See photo below of me demonstrating this. I tried this out on my waitress at the Shamrock Club and she said I was definitely doing it right. You may wish to make note of this in case you are ever passing through Wibaux and want to blend in with the locals.

Tim asked if he could offer up a prayer for my safety on the road. I said sure, and he and Arnette held hands as he prayed.

Go Longhorns!

Here are a few photos showing some of the scenery on my way to Glendive.

My hotel in Glendive, the Baymont Inn/Wyndham, is connected to Penny’s Diner. How convenient! Tomorrow’s ride will be 50 miles, a bit longer than today’s, and I figured I needed this chocolate banana malt to give me strength for the journey. We’ll see if it does the trick.