Date: 2007-06-26
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Miles today: 0.0

6-23-07Chester, MT116 miles today859 Northern Tier miles4946 miles totalI had an in-room coffee maker, so Starbuck's it was to start the day. :-))We walked to the diner and shortly after we ordered, Sly walked in and joined us.This has really been a nice town stop because of all the hiker friends I ran into.We were walking back to the room and ran into Nitro and her dad. Then a bike rider by the name of Jack who was heading east stopped by and talked.We got packed up, took a few more pictures, said goodbye to Sly and we headed east...with tailwinds!! :-))Today was going to be my planned short day to catch up on some rest, but the wind was moving me along so nicely, that when we got to Cut Bank, we rolled right on through it.I also tied my fastest downhill speed today at 49mph...what a blast to move so fast on the bike. :-))Chief would have been proud of me in my aerodynamic position I assumed. Ha!!We were averaging just over 20mph when we left Cut Bank and headed for Shelby. We had thoughts of staying there, but we were there for lunch and we had already gone 72 miles...and we didn't leave this morning until 8am.We had a couple personal pizzas at Pizza Hut, then decided to go another 44 miles to Chester. The wind had been dying down some and it was even changing directions.We were in high plains country now. It was amazing how quickly we went from the forest to the plains.We could see some mountains way to the north of us and we thought they were in Alberta, but we later found out they were the Sweet Grass Hills and were right along the border of Canada and the US, but were actually on the US side of the border.The changing winds slowed our pace down to about 12mph for the last 30 miles or so. That made it a little harder ride, but the first 80 miles were unbelievably easy to ride. It was so much fun having the wind at our backs and going over 20mph without even having to padal very much.I was riding along and noticed in my mirror that Mrs Gorp had pulled off to the side of the road. I waited to see if she was going to start riding again, but after about 5 minutes, I turned around and pedaled the half mile back to where she was.I saw her bike upside down with the rear wheel off. She was fixing a flat.It was hilarious the first time she got a flat. It was funny the second time she got a flat. I was sympathetic this time because she wasn't smiling. 8-oI helped her fix the flat and pump up the tire.A young guy stopped to see if we needed any help. He said he's also a bike rider and knows what it's like to have trouble on the road. We thanked him for stopping and the offer of help, but we had everything we needed.We turned the bike over and loaded the panniers on it again and was off riding.It turned out that she had a broken piece of a brown beer bottle stuck in her tire. I still have a hard time believing someone would throw crap like that out a window.We got into Chester just before some rain, checked into the MX Motel. This room is much nicer than most we stay in and it was only $47.00...and it even has a coffee maker. :-))We rode 2 blocks to a cafe and I had broasted chicken and 2 Cokes and a pitcher of water. I guess I didn't drink enough on the ride today because I was really thirsty.Mrs Gorp is happy because there's a laundry next door. :-))We saw a weasel and some buffalo this morning and about a dozen antelope this afternoon.Another great day on the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail. :-))6-24-07Havre, MT62 miles today922 Northern Tier miles5008 total milesYay!!! We crossed over the 5,000 mile mark today!! :-))It was not an easy ride today though. We had 18mph headwinds all day that gusted to the upper 20's.We got packed up this morning and rode around the small town of Chester looking for a cafe that was open. There weren't any open on this Sunday morning, so we headed east out of town.We came to a grocery store that was open on the far side of town, so we went in to get something to hold us over.They had a bakery and had some fresh donuts, so that was my breakfast today. :-))The clerk was very friendly and was talking about all the bicyclists that she sees. She also told us about a bar that would be open in another 25 miles and that they had breakfast sandwiches there.We headed off into the winds. What a difference over yesterday when we were coasting along at over 20mph. We were pedaling hard to do 8 to 10mph today. :-((I saw a doe antelope cross the road in front of me. She must have been baby sitting today because there were four baby antelope with her.We pedaled through the very small towns of Joplin, Inverness, then Rudyard. I saw a sign near Rudyard that was boasting about being the 6 man state football champs.I guess these towns are so small that they don't have enough kids for a regular football team.We got to Hingham after 3 hours of riding and only went 25 miles. That's where that bar was that the clerk told us about.We went in and had a couple sodas and breakfast sandwiches. I played a quarter in the slot machine...and lost my quarter. :-))We rode on and started seeing some mountains to the southeast. They were the Bear's Paw Mountains...a small group of mountains that I've never heard of before.We ran into Chris, a westbound rider who started in VT. We talked to him a while. He was enjoying the winds at his back.The high winds never died down all day. We finally got to Havre. All I wanted to do was get a room and get out of the wind. I even passed by the first Wal-Mart that I've seen in a while...without stopping!! :-))We got a room at a casino, then called Roger at the Havre Bicycle Shop. He had given us his home phone number because we figured it would be Sunday when we got here. Mrs Gorp needed a new rear tire and he was closed on Sundays, but said he'd open up for that.He met us at the bike shop and took care of the tire. Mrs Gorp also bought 2 spare tubes to carry along.Thanks a lot Roger for helping out on a Sunday!! :-))We stopped at a grocery on the way back to the room and got a rotisseri chicken.I was so tired from riding in the wind all day, that after eating dinner, I fell asleep and didn't wake up until about 10pm mountain time. :-))I watched the weather for tomorrow, then fell asleep again.That wind really takes a lot of energy to ride into all day.Another great day on the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail. :-))6-25-07Malta, MT90 miles today1012 Northern Tier miles5098 total milesI slept great last night. Riding into all that wind yesterday really tired me out.I woke up to rain, so I wasn't in any hurry to get moving. I made a pot of Starbuck's and caught up on my journal, then went to the continental breakfast at the motel here in Havre, MT.We watched the Weather Channel and saw more severe weather coming into the area.That passed by 10am and we decided to head out.We rode around the road construction near the motel, then saw there was lots more on the east side of Havre.It lasted a couple miles and it was a muddy mess. I couldn't see any other way around it, so we rode right through the mud.I saw another set of bicycle tracks in the construction area, but didn't think anything about it.When we got through that area, I could see an eastbound rider ahead of us. I started pedaling fast and caught up to Matt in about a mile.He already knew about Mrs Gorp and me because he rode some with Ethan the other day.We talked a while, then Mrs Gorp caught up, so I left them to talk and I rode on ahead.I was having fun because we had tailwinds again!! We worked hard yesterday, but had tailwinds the day before that, so I'm feeling pretty good about that...2 days of tailwinds out of the last 3!! :-))I saw more weather coming in. It wasn't long before it started raining. I put my rain coat on just as it turned to hail. The hail was only pea size, so I just rode on. I knew I was only about 4 miles from Chinook and I figured there would be somewhere to get out of the weather.I did find a small cafe when I got there. I walked in and watched for Mrs Gorp to show up. She came in a little later. She said she got under a bridge to get out of the hail.I had a hamburger and fries.Matt showed up and joined us. He spent 5 years in the Marines and is now riding to Maine.Mrs Gorp and I left when the rain stopped. It was still windy.The road was still wet, so the trucks sprayed us when they went by, but with the wind, it wasn't long before the roads dried.I was moving in the highest gear I had and I was having a blast. I was keeping up about a 24mph pace...about 3 times as fast as when the winds are in our faces. :-))I waited on Mrs Gorp at Harlem. We had a couple sodas, then headed on. I got to Dodson and waited on Mrs Gorp. We had a couple sodas and talked to the lady that owned the store.It was another 17 miles to Malta. We made that in about 45 minutes. Have I said just how much I like tailwinds??...and riding ahead of Mrs Gorp!! :-))We got a room, then washed our bikes off out by a hose. That construction area in Havre really muddied them up.When they were dry, I oiled the chains and all the moving parts.We then went to the Sportsman Bar and Grill and had a very good meal. I liked the chopped steak I had. I thought about having dessert, but decided to wait.I was glad I did because we bought a pint of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia on the way back. :-))Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Kid Curry robbed a train right outside this town and hid the $40,000.00 they stole.According to the locals, the money is still in the mountains somewhere.Mrs Gorp wanted to go look for it, but I convinced her that it was probably long gone by now. :-))A group of riders from the Jimmy Fund rode in late. They are van supported. It looks like it would be fun to ride a bike with no extra weight on it. They aren't even carrying a small bag on their bikes because the van stays with them all day.I talked to Chief and he told me that he's started posting more pictures on my journal. He's doing the best he can with the limited time he has in his retirement years. Thanks Chief!! :-))Another great day on the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail. :-))