Short ride, not so short post

We left Medora this morning by car, driving to a point about 45 miles south of Wibaux, MT (Baker), where the ride had been recommended as "beautiful." The nearest place to stay from Baker appeared to be about 80 miles away in Miles City, so I knew I wouldn't get all the way there, but I thought it would be enjoyable with a SSW wind and gorgeous prairie all around.

While in Baker, we stopped at Lawler's for coffee. Everyone in the town and in the coffee shop was extremely friendly. One woman stopped to talk to us and found out our story. I'm sorry now that I didn't get her name.

As I rode out of Baker, I became aware of a couple of things. While the paved shoulder was fairly wide (about 30 inches), it had a significant rumble strip, so in order to keep all of our tires (bike and cart) from riding on the rumble strip I had to stay waaayyy to the right. The wind made this a bit challenging, but overall it was such a beautiful day that I figured I could handle it. The next thing I noticed was that the person who recommended this ride to me probably did it on a weekend because the number of enormous trucks passing in both directions was pretty off-putting.

Nevertheless, Remy and I rode on, westward, singing (well, I was singing) Home on the Range. The first time I stopped (to adjust something, I think), I pulled off onto a small paved area next to the road. As I stood with my legs straddling the bike, each time a truck passed I had to ground myself (horse stance) to keep from being blown over along with the bike and cart. I began to think, "This is probably pretty stupid." But we kept going.

(As I rode, I became aware of a car slowing next to me. There in the passenger seat was the woman we'd been talking to at the coffee shop. She cheered for me and gave me a thumbs up. Made me smile for quite a while.)

Same thing happened at the next stop. Same thought. Looked up how far we had to go to get to a town. Not far. Then I looked at the map more thoroughly. Once I'd arrived at the next town, there was only one way to keep going and that was along the same road (12). There didn't seem to be an obvious place where the trucks were coming from and going to that would take them off the route anytime soon. 9.0 miles. We called Tayler.

As we sat beside the road, before calling Tayler, I took this bit of video (hope it works). It will give you some idea what we were dealing with most of the time.

I got to thinking, "What would I do if I couldn't call Tayler?" One thing is likely -- I wouldn't have been where I was. I would be sticking to the known Adventure Cycling routes. So, back to square one, so to speak. 

We are now in Glendive. It is too late for me to acquire the Lewis and Clark map from Dickinson, ND, to Missoula, MT. My choices are to strike out on my own (perhaps with some advice from a local bike shop) to find an acceptable route that's more direct, or follow the Northern Tier maps that I have as far as Havre, MT, then drive (due to the fact that the road between Havre and Great Falls looks to be a main artery) to Great Falls, and pick up the Lewis and Clark maps I have from there. The Adventure Cycling person I spoke to this morning was apologetic that they don't currently have PDFs of their maps that people can order. I hope that's something that comes along fairly soon.

Tayler and I talked a lot about how I could make this journey work better for me. One thing I think I need to do is ride every day (unless I do a tremendous amount and need a rest day - something that hasn't happened so far), even if it's just 10 miles, like today. I've thought about sending her on ahead and forging on alone, but I doubt my ability to do it at this point. If she went on with the car, I would have to figure things out for myself, which would be good for me, I think. It would also mean that I could stop after 15 or 20 miles if I needed to, and I wouldn't be holding anyone else up. 

Another possibility would be for me to send her on to Seattle by some other means of transport. Then I would drive 20 miles, ride out and back and stop. Drive 20 (or 30) miles, ride out and back and stop. At least I would still have the car option.

Tayler has observed that perhaps the sense of homelessness is getting to me. She has (occasionally) thought about "going home," but realizes that that's different for me since the house is sold. She recommended that I think more about the idea of buying a Class B motorhome, so that I have a home that I can take with me. 

For the time being, tomorrow at least, we'll keep on as we have been. 

One thing we did today that really made my day was to buy groceries and make lunch at a picnic table on the edge of a lake (and a bank parking lot) in Baker. It felt so good to have healthy food in its raw state and to just munch on things that I like. We have lots left for supper, as well. Yep. Definitely going to do more of this. 

Remy is adjusting to the trailer riding. He squeals when we start, but as soon as I start singing he knows we're on our way, and I'm not going to stop for a while. Then he settles down. I can see him in the rearview mirror. He's not lying down or sleeping. He's keeping an eye on things. But as I got sandblasted by the wind and trucks today, I was happy that he was inside, protected, behind the screen of the cart.

We're at a Comfort Inn. I think I'll go sit in the hot tub and read.