Day 56 – Cut Bank,MT to Cardston,AB

Date: 23.06.2018

Altitude: 2073.5 ft (632 m)

Distance: 72.61 mi (116.86 km)

Total Altitude: 93668.0 ft (28550 m)

Total Distance: 3774.04 mi (6073.81 km)

Today I left Montana, but I didn't enter another US state, I left the USA and entered Alberta,Canada. I will only spend one night in Canada and I will head back to Montana, tomorrow. Getting across the boarder into Canada was no problem and took only a few minutes. Lets hope it will go just as smoothly when I return to the USA tomorrow.

Another day of headwinds. Just as yesterday I had to deal again with headwinds throughout the day but today it was even tougher than yesterday. The wind got stronger as the day progressed and that made it even harder. The wind got stronger as I got more exhausted. It was blowing so strong that even on the downhill, I didn't get the chance to rest and had to keep pedaling in order to keep moving. Today was really not a good day to be out on the bike, especially going west. This morning there were already thick clouds hanging in the sky and after I reached Canada it started to rain. The rain made the ride even less enjoyable. But I was already quit uncomfortable on the bike before the rain. Without the sun and with the wind blowing so strong, it was getting quit cold on the bike.

I started early this morning, because I already knew that it was going to be a tough day. I got started right after breakfast, which was a bit underwhelming. The worst part was, that I had to get through the day with the motel breakfast, since there was no place to get lunch along the way. I only had a few granola bars along the way, but I could tell that was not enough. This made the second half of today's route even harder. Since I didn't get too much to eat during the day I decided to go for the first time on my trip to an all-you-can-eat buffet, after I arrived in Cardston. I probably could have found a place to eat lunch a bit off route, but since I didn't have any cell service, I could not check while on the road. Actually so far I didn't had any cell service anywhere in Montana. I guess AT&T is not the best if your traveling through Montana.

After a few days on US2 I left this highway this morning in Cut Bank. My route took me a bit further north on less traveled roads, all the way into Canada. I was still riding through farmland/grassland, but the terrain got a bit more hilly. Also throughout the day I could already see the Rocky Mountains in the distance, although the view was not great due to the bad weather. Even from a distance, the Rocky Mountains looked quite impressive but also a little intimidating. I'm getting closer to the mountains and tomorrow I should reach them. I'm looking forward to finally reaching the Rocky Mountains and Glacier National Park, but I'm also not sure how well I will get over the mountains with my fully loaded bike. So far everyone I met on my trip was telling me that Glacier National Park is so beautiful, I can't wait to see it for my self.

After not seeing a single other cyclist yesterday, I met so many touring cyclist today. Again all the cyclist I met were going east on the Northern Tier route. Since I didn't wanted to stop all the time, especially with the headwind, I just greeted most of the other cyclist while I kept going. I still talked to a few of them when I was already stopped or wanted to stop anyway. I met a group of guys on recumbent bicycles, pedaling with their hands/arms. I wouldn't be able to do that. Later I met Richard another interesting touring cyclist. He is doing his trip on the Northern Tier on a bicycle with a wooden frame. But he also has a big advantage his wife is accompanying him in the car, so he doesn't have to carry almost anything on his bike. It is interesting to see in how many different ways, people are taking on a cross country trip on their bikes.

Conclusion for the day:

I really need to make sure, that I get enough to eat while on the bike.