As has happened before, a difficult day is followed by an easy one. We only planned a 53 mile day because Dickinson, the next town of any size, was that far away. We really enjoyed the B&B in Glen Ullin- it felt so homey and comfortable. Our host Margaret Swift:
We had a wonderful tailwind all day so we only ride for 3 hours and 40 minutes. Our moving average speed was 14.5 mph.
There, now you can see some hills and cows grazing. Very different from the pool table of Ohio.
We were in Old Highway 10 which is marked as a scenic road. Traffic was so sparse that we rode 2 abreast all day. Conversation was easy because when you have a tailwind that is the same speed as you are moving, the air is completely calm.
This train is loaded with coal. We waved to the engineer and we think one of his short whistle blasts was for us. I mean, who else could it possibly have been for?
We stopped for a coffee/comfort break at 10 in the town of Hebron (pronounced with a long e), population 747. The coffee shop is named "The Dark Side of the Brew" and it's a proper artisan coffee shop. Our barista grew up in California and moved here with her husband after the housing meltdown ended his construction company. She goes back "home" for a couple of months to escape the ND winter.
The best thing about today is that we are now seeing quite a few other transcontinental cyclists, and making friends with some of them. Here's our new Bavarian friend and his NY traveling companion, with whom we had coffee:
Here is his loaded bike- compare to ours:
We also briefly met a dad and his grown daughter in the coffee shop, but they didn't dawdle. However, we caught them about 10 miles down the road at lunchtime so we had lunch together at the only place in Richardton that served food. They were also headed to Dickinson, so we rode together all afternoon. Fascinating conversation that made the miles just fly by. Don is an artist and historian who teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; his daughter Julia is a librarian at a college in NY. Their ride is a combination art, history and social justice project that is so multifaceted that you should read about it for yourself at www.CrossingTheGreatDivide.net.
We ended up having dinner and sharing a bottle of wine at dinner, with the most interesting conversation you can imagine. We didn't even think to have our picture taken but Julia promised to come visit us in DC.
Another wonderful thing also happened while I was writing this post: my college friend from St. Paul who we visited a couple of weeks ago called. He said that our trip had inspired him to get one of his many bikes out of mothballs, and go for a ride. This is the guy who mentored me into becoming a bike nut, so I feel that I owe my last 40 years of good health and fitness to his influence. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to return that gift?
This has been the best day of the trip.