Date:
15.06.2018
Altitude:
1889.8 ft (576 m)
Distance:
66.44 mi (106.92 km)
Total
Altitude: 82536.1 ft (25157 m)
Total
Distance: 3253.61 mi (5236.26 km)
I
left North Dakota today, after almost a week in North Dakota. For the
next days I will be riding in Montana. I didn't have the best start
in Montana. I had to use the interstate for most of my route through
Montana today. Which I didn't enjoy too much. I still got the picture
of the state sign, although I was a bit hesitant to stop at the side
of the interstate just to take a picture. Let's hope that the next
few days in Montana will be better.
After
a couple of days with sunshine, today started out quite cloudy and
stayed like this for the whole day. Even with the clouds, it was
still a nice day to be out in the bike. It stayed dry until the
evening and only started raining when I was already in the hotel in
Glendive,MT. On my route today I had to deal with some headwinds,
after the nice tailwinds yesterday. But it was still not too bad,
dince the wind was not really strong and didn't come directly from
the west. So I could still make good progress on my route. Still I'm
hoping for more tailwinds for the rest of my trip.
This
morning I got a really late start. I didn't hit the road before 9:30
this morning, but since I only had to cover about 65 miles this was
not an issue. Before I got started this morning, I tried to get most
of the mud/dirt off of my panniers and bike. It took me awhile to get
my bike somewhat clean, but it was necessary especially cleaning and
greasing the chain. After I was finished with that I checked out of
the the Motel and went to a local Cafe to get some breakfast. The
Cafe was quite busy, so I had to wait a while to get a table. Since I
didn't wanted to start without breakfast, I waited for a free table.
A guy in line in front of me offered to share a table, since he
didn't need a table all for himself. So I didn't had to wait too long
for a table. It was actually quite nice to have some company for
breakfast and to talk a bit over breakfast. We talked a bit about my
trip and his trip. He just graduated from university and was now on
his way from Minneapolis to Portland, where he will start his new
job. After breakfast we said our goodbyes and I was just about to hit
the road when a group of people on there way into the Cafe started
asking me about my trip and Germany. I was hold up for while talking
to them, with the conversation shifting from cycling to Germany to
baseball. So after all this delay, I finally started to head out on
my route for today.
I
could separate the route today in two completely different parts. In
the morning I stayed on a small county roads with almost no traffic
at all, except for a 2 mile stretch of interstate leaving Medora. In
the afternoon I mainly went on the interstate, with traffic soaring
by. After I was able to avoid riding on the interstate the last two
days, by going on gravel roads and taking some minor detours, today I
could not avoid the interstate. If I would have wanted to stay off the
interstate, that would have meant at least a 20-30 mile detour and I
was not willing to do that. All in all I stayed for about 25 miles of
today's route on the interstate. The conditions on the interstate
were good, but it was still not a great feeling when the cars past me
with 80 or more mph and I always felt like I was not supposed to be
on the interstate. The terrain wasn't as hilly as the last few days,
but there was still a steady increase in altitude until about
halfway. But the in the second half of the route, I lost most of the
altitude I gained in the morning, again. I really enjoyed the scenery
along the route. I started the day still in the North Dakota Badlands
and after I left the Badlands I went through grassland/farmland. I
could see a lot of cattle along away as well as quite a few deer's on
the side of the road. At the end of the route, just east of Glendive,
I again entered the Badlands before I arrived in Glendive. Although I
didn't enjoy the stretches on the interstate too much, I still
enjoyed the scenery along the way.
Conclusion
for the day:
Although
I enjoy doing the trip from Boston to Seattle on my own, it is always
great to get to talk to other people along the way.
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