Today we rode 80 miles. I averaged 18.2 mph and was “in the saddle” 4 hours and 23 minutes. We have ridden 1330 miles total since we left Anacortes, WA on June 17, having ridden 17 out of 19 days.
We rode from Poplar, Montana to Williston, North Dakota. Yes, we said goodbye to another state today, after riding 773 miles in Montana. We did, however, go out riding strong. Since Cut Bank, Montana near The Rockies, we have battled a headwind all the way. I will not suffer myself (or you) to calculate the miles for you, and I do mean suffer! It has been challenging in every sense of the word.
As I said, the wind has been our constant companion for most of this week. Today our companion became our friend. We had a tailwind out of the northwest ALL DAY today.
It was glorious!
We talked and rode side by side on a lightly traveled road during the morning. Then a few of us formed a paceline after a break and booked it into lunch for about 12 miles at 23 mph. During the afternoon everybody kind of did their own thing. A few put the pedal to the metal and got into Williston in record time. Some of us laid back and just lazily pedaled through the ups and downs mile after mile. Others went for several miles at a time without pedaling at all! It was really like beginning our day of rest a bit early. I think I could have ridden like that for at least a couple hours more today. The scenery was, of course, unique and beautiful; very relaxing.
I mentioned yesterday we were headed for a tribal Pow Wow in a nearby town last night and we made it there. The costumes were incredible as the Native Americans danced around in an oval dirt floor area under a pavilion. Paul Bayfield & I stayed late that night and I had the chance to talk for an hour or so with Robert Stone.
Robert works freelance for the local paper, covering these Pow Wow events and taking pictures for the dancers. We had a great conversation about Native American religion and how he has found a home and peace there as a white man. I learned a lot from him about how Christian missionaries are perceived on the reservation. One big misconception that he cleared up for me was that all Native American religion is the same. I discovered that, with few exceptions, those who worship by going "down into the sweats" do not worship by the use of Payote and vice versa. I did not know that Native American Religion had denominations too!
Thanks for sharing your story with me Robert, I hope we can keep in touch.
Dan
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