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Day 16: A tough ride to Cut Bank, MT

To start my day I had to ride 18 miles- including 1,400′ of climbing to get over the continental divide- to get my coffee and breakfast at East Glacier. After breakfast, I left with a full stomach, a wide shoulder on the highway, a nice warm sun, full water bottles and a stinking strong headwind! I rode into a very strong  headwind ALL DAY. I have to tell you, by the end of the day I was completely knackered and a bit demoralized. A high point was in Browning, MT where I got in a conversation with a very nice man from the Blackfeet Nation. Angelo Bullplume was quite intrigued with Warm Showers and thought that he and some other friends could give cyclists a very interesting and unique experience if they started hosting. We talked for quite a while- I hope he starts hosting because I agree it could be the highlight of someones trip. The landscape really changes quickly east of the continental divide- from big mountains to big sky. From the big three of mountains, lakes/rivers and wildlife to the new big three of crops, livestock and wildflowers.. I am riding through wheat and grasses as far as I can see- it reminds me of the country in Dances With Wolves. Beautiful, just different. Daily mileage: 67, trip miles: 858

A pretty photo on my way up to Marias Pass (the continental divide):


Looking west a few miles after going over the divide:


And now, looking east:


The Two Medicine River- the rivers here all cut very deep gorges:


I can now see WAY ahead at times. Note, when you are riding into the wind this is not inspiring…


Some wildflowers alongside the road:


Some interesting information regarding the Blackfeet nation: 


Wheat as far as the eye can see. I saw ripe wheat, unripe wheat and freshly harvested wheat but restrained myself and took just this one photo…

13 thoughts on “Day 16: A tough ride to Cut Bank, MT”

  4. headwinds are bad enough when you are flying and it adds hours onto a flight but biking into headwinds…? ugh! I can not imagine the force and challenge, especially seeing the l o n g road ahead! Keep up the good work. Remember when I grabbed your upper arm here in Russia and said, “wow, this is like steel”
    ? Well, I’m guessing you will be a block of steel by the time you finish! 🙂

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  6. Just catching up to you and your ride…amazing!!
    Such beautiful country and ever changing. Wishing you strong coffee, hot showers, wide shoulders, tail winds and kind people❤️

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  7. I don’t really buy into the “Dave has skinny legs” story; but if I did, I would tell you that those skinny legs are really a blessing when riding into headwinds!

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