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Day 27: July 10: Cut Bank, MT to Browning, MT: 35 miles

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July 10, 2011 - 8:12pm — Laura Heffel

The word of the day today was Mountains! We are beginning to see them grow and loom over the horizon in front of us lying in our path to the ocean. The massiveness in front of us seems to dare us to continue while causing us to question ourselves and our ability to overcome. The mountains are also astounding us with their beauty, even from this many miles away. This beauty urges us to continue.

Here is a few pictures showing the growth of the mountains as we saw them today.

We decided to set an alarm this morning because we needed to make some miles today. The wind was supposed to be lighter and possible to ride through. We were up at 6:00 and were riding by about 8:00. It was a very good thing we left earlier than normal. The wind started out light for our first 9 miles or so but picked up quickly and was blowing more like 15 to 20 mph. As you can see in this picture, the windsock is blowing straight out and most of the time was blowing right in our face.

As we struggled and pulled into Browning, we saw a confusing yet interesting road construction sign. It turned out to be in our favor. They did not seem to be doing any work on the road, but it was closed off with cones, so we just road inside the cones into the downtown. Then we stopped for lunch. It was a great burger joint called Nation's Burger Station. The service was a little slow, but the food was worth the weight.

After we ate our lunch we decided to call it a day. We were exhausted from the wind and my knees are starting to hurt. We also have no reason to hurry because we are waiting for Chris's bike parts that will be arriving on Monday and Wednesday. We found a room close to the road we will be turning on. The city is having a Native American festival, so we walked across town to check it out for a little while. We were able to watch some dancers competing in dance wearing native dress. It was nice to see, but none of us really understood what it was all about. The town is mostly Native Americans of the Blackfeet Tribe, so they all know what is going on. They also erected 96 teepees throughout the fest grounds.

We are hoping that tomorrow will bring us more favorable winds and better news on the opening of the Going to the Sun Road.

35 miles (1244 total)

Comments

July 11, 2011 - 7:44am — Donna B

Hello everyone

You are all so amazing. Even through wind, heat, rain, and not feeling well - I see smiling faces. I so enjoy reading everyone blogs. Hope you feel better soon Rog.
Keep on Pedaling!!! :):):)

July 10, 2011 - 10:59pm — Delores Meyers

Package Wednesday?

Are you referring to the one I sent out 2 Day?

July 10, 2011 - 8:33pm — Chris Heffel

Rim repairs

The rim made it the 35 miles! The abrasion layer we added using soda bottle plastic didn't hold. After 13 miles, and replacing it twice, we cut up a tire tube and used that instead. The plastic is durable, but it keeps shattering and cracking on the chip seal surface and gravelish we are riding on. On a smoother surface I think it would work fine. Also, it was cold when we left, which seemed to make the bottle plastic inflexible, and it would crack as the wheel changed shape contacting the road. The rubber works much better, but is heavier, slower, and it cost us a very valuable tube.