Day 84 - Glendive to Wibaux - Two Far 2021 - Sooo... Far

July 1, 2021

Day 84 - Glendive to Wibaux

It's windy in the plains

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We had another strong headwind today. We decided to believe that it was not as bad the former bad headwind day, because this one was 20 miles into the big wind and the last one was 25 miles. Also, the last time it seems like we had some stronger gusts. That is our positive spin, anyway.

We had a very short route today - only 29 miles. The fact that a steady 20 miles of it was uphill kept us from feeling guilty about scheduling such a short ride! Once the wind came into play, we were very grateful to have fewer miles to pedal.

We left Glendive about 7:45 - later than we should have. Our first nine miles were on I-94.

We saw this ranch off the highway. There were several cars parked there in front of what appeared to be cabins. There were some people outside chatting, dressed for hiking perhaps, with backpacks. We guessed maybe it was a small guest ranch/facility.

After our first interstate miles, we got off on a quiet frontage road which kept some distance from the highway.

We took a rest break in the shade of the overpass. This symbol was painted on all of of concrete support pillars. I wonder what it means.

We had twelve miles on this frontage road. This is where the headwinds started to really get us.

There were nice views of the Montana hills. Things are continuing to get greener, though this area is suffering from severe drought.

Not long before we were going to get back on I-94 for the final six miles, we met this westbound touring couple. Skip and Gunda started in Washington, DC and are going to end in Seattle. They have been following the Northern Tier, diverting onto rail trails whenever they can. There are the first touring cyclists we've encountered in our twelve weeks and 3000 miles on the road this summer. We actually had read about them on Buddy Hall's blog when we met them in Minnesota.

Skip and Gunda - having a wonderful time on their trip!

There are three other cycling teams from CycleBlaze on the road who have passed very near us in the last couple of days, but, unfortunately, our paths did not cross. Happy Trails to Seeking a Warrior's Death, Part I: The Northern Tier; Racpat Northern Tier and The Metal Hip Club attempt the Northern Tier.

When we finally reached Wibaux, it was after 12:00. At an average speed of 7.5 mph, that is a record low for a touring day!

This is Wibaux. We had a decent lunch at a Mexican restaurant on the old building on the left. The Stockman's Bar was an institution in Wibaux, now closed.

A view of the front of that building. I liked the decorative brickwork.

After we ate, we paid a visit to the Wibaux museum just around the corner. Wibaux was named for Pierre Wibaux, a wealthy cattle baron who immigrated from France in the late 1880's and established what became one of the largest cattle ranches in the country. He basically paid to have the town named for him. He also paid to have a larger than life statue of himself erected. I didn't get any museum pictures.

The most interesting thing we saw was on the back of the building above. There was an old exterior elevator. The young girl who was giving us the museum tour could not tell us what had been in the building before, other than the Stockman's Bar, and could only say that the elevator was used to lift "heavy things".

Today's ride: 29 miles (47 km)
Total: 3,211 miles (5,168 km)

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Keith A. SpanglerGreat narrative again....I feel like I'm there....with the pictures! Thanks for the ride.
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2 years ago

Rachel and Patrick HugensGreat shout out to those of us on Cycleblaze, thanks. Love the networking on this site. Happy travels, and give a toast to the wind.
Racpat
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2 years ago

Rachel and Patrick HugensTo Rachel and Patrick HugensKeep an eye out for Robert Ferrari, he cycled with us for about 2 weeks and yesterday was in Glendive
Racpat
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2 years ago

Jeanna & Kerry SmithTo Rachel and Patrick HugensRacpat,

Kerry here -
I can think of something other than a toast I'd like to give to the wind.
For for the last 2 days the wind has made toast of us!!
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2 years ago

Rachel and Patrick HugensTo Jeanna & Kerry SmithWe hear you!
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2 years ago