Day 24 - Bismarck to Medina 78.1 miles

We had a late night last night chatting to Kathryn and her friend Tiffany, so with the time zone change as well we had a late start leaving at 0730 and heading to Perkins for a cooked breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs and hash browns with a rolling supply of coffee. We were out on the road by 0930.

A slight headwind resisted us all day, and the difference was marked from yesterday and the day before. We were around 4mph slower on the flat today. We set our sights on Medina where google informed us there was camping in the city park. We have decided to move away from the ACA route we have been following as it drops South 50 miles from the interstate and follows an arrow straight road all the way to Fargo. The shallow gradients of the interstate are far more appealing and letting the knees recover.

On route we encountered a large section of roadworks where the right lane and shoulder were being resurfaced. Initially we got to ride a few miles along brand new tarmac that was coned off from traffic, making it a dream to ride on. But as we caught up the the works the surface had been ripped up and we had to hug the side of the traffic lane, with lorries rolling past close enough to touch, inches from our panniers. We made it through in one piece though although not without a few close encounters. We took the next exit and bypassed the rest of the roadworks on a parallel road to Steele, where we had lunch at the service station. We aso picked up a Minnesota map here. 47 miles down, 30 to go.

The road was mostly flat for the last 30 miles but the headwind slowed us. There were some spectacular moments where we could see from our point on the road up to three miles of straight road extending to the distance, looking deceptively short. There would be an exit in the distance with a bridge, preceded by signs at one mile intervals so we could judge the distance.

We made it the 77 miles to Medina by 6pm and are now enjoying a dinner of spam and beans courtesy of Owen, who has been in charge of dinners.

Day 23 - Dickinson to Bismarck 106 miles

Dan was off to work early this morning so we were out and cycling by 0720. Not before being treated to fried eggs and toast courtesy of our host!

Back on Interstate 94 we had a quick start but soon ran into a number of steeper hills than yesterday, rolling 100ft up, 100ft down. This continued all day. Given the continuing mild tailwind we set our sights on Bismarck. We knew it was 1000ft below us but we didn't drop over 300ft below our starting point until around 95 miles in and the final descent into the city.

Despite the hills, the going was steady although not particularly interesting with wheat fields abundant broken by the occasional field of sunflowers or sandstone tower. Sunflowers grew between the cracks in the road like weeds but nicer to look at.

We unexpectedly passed into the Central Time Zone and were dismayed to lose an hour, although it did give us a sense of progress. We had a late lunch at 2pm after 70 miles in New Salem, where "Salem Sue" towered over the landscape, a giant statue of a dairy cow perched on the hill overlooking the town and interstate.

After lunch we reluctantly set out on the rolling hills once more, 100ft up, 100ft down, and repeat until you die a little inside. We contacted another host in Bismarck at lunch, confident we would make the final 30 or so miles. We received a reply just as we were approaching the exits for the city, which is the biggest population centre we have encountered since Seattle. It read "Sorry no can do, but there is camping in the national park" (or words to that effect). We readied ourselves for a night in the tent, but then another message came through "Just kidding!"

We had dinner in town watching a local team play softball in the park while we waited for Kathryn to finish work. We then followed her back to her apartment, an apartment complex where the garage buildings take up more space than the apartment buildings (which is not unusual as far as we can tell - some houses are half garage over here).

Kathryn is from South Carolina which gives her a different accent to what we have been used to hearing, which is novel. She works in retail, but spends a lot of her time as an anti-fracking activist. We have seen many fracking sites alongside the interstate with large derricks pumping away. Kathryn has done work with locals who believe they have been impacted by fracking in Pennsylvania and now here in North Dakota.

It was very nice of her to offer her floor at such short notice. An easier day we feel tomorrow as muscles and joints are beginning to feel the strain of the last 4 days of hills. The long flat sections we were expecting definitely did not materialise!

Day 22 - Glendive to Dickinson 108 miles

A comfortable night on the floor at Joan's house had us well rested for the day today. We saved our gas and she kindly let us use her hob for breakfast. She donated us some vegetables and cherries for the road and we were off.

We were apprehensive about the prospect of cycling on the interstate today which the Adventure Cycling maps go along. It turned out to be excellent though. It was more of a quiet dual carriageway than a motorway which we imagined, and the shoulder was a full lanes width. We felt quite safe. The gradients were shallow mostly and progress was fast and steady all day. Combined with interesting scenery and a steady supply of cherries in the morning, we had our first truly pleasant day of riding since coming out of the Rockies.

The headwind of the last two days was initially still there but weaker, but soon it changed to a tailwind and strengthened considerably. Hills which would have been 7mph hills yesterday were a casual 12-14mph today! Our initial destination aim of Midora was reached by 1230, 65 miles in.

At Midora we stopped at the Dacota Cyclery shop to buy more Chamois Cream, learn how to properly calibrate the brakes and to check my bikes fit to try and alleviate the knee issues I have been having of late. It seems I rode the first 1000 miles with my seat an inch too low which is the source of a lot of my problems. With it raised, cycling became somewhat more comfortable.

We found an all-you-can-eat buffet in town, and as it was 5 minutes before closing we were told we could only have one go through. Seeing this as more of a challenge than a problem, we each stocked trays high with plates of food and dessert. We suffered for it after though and couldn't move for the next hour!

Once we felt functional again we set out, though not before contacting a host in Dickinson on the off chance of a place to stay. Soon after leaving it was a long and steep hill over a broken sandstone plateau. We found an excellent viewpoint overlooking Painted Canyon; a vast landscape of sandstone towers and deep valleys between them. We imagined what it must look like at sunset in awe.

It was rolling hills from hereon to Dickinson but the tailwind made light work of them. We made Dickinson for 6pm, and resupplied at the supermarket. Having not heard from our potential host we made for the nearest campsite on the Heart River. After descending to the river we found the office shut with a large "No Tent Camping" sign outside. A little dismayed I set about finding another site, but saw an email notification. Dan had replied and we had a place to stay! It was trickier than we anticipated to find his apartment block, and by the time we found him after he came out on his bike to meet us we had accumulated 8 bonus miles for the day!

A light dinner of cake and tea (we are still feeling a bit too full from the buffet) and a chat about his cycling experience and work and we are off to bed. Fingers crossed for similar winds tomorrow.

Day 21 - Vida to Glendive 78.2 miles

We decided to get out early again today, as the extra hour on the road meant we could get a good distance covered before lunch despite the headwind. The wind was still in our faces, although it was a little less intense than yesterday.

This morning a thick fog blanketed the plains with visibility initially around 20 metres. Lights on, we progressed steadily and cautiously. It was actually nice without the view of the straight road and the ocean of wheat through which we were cycling. Hills, creeks and side roads appeared only as we approached them, making our progress seem quicker in our minds. It was not to be though, and the sun soon burned the fog off; The undulating road stretched away from us South to the horizon.

Last night Jake timed how long it took for a cars rear lights to disappear over the horizon along this road, and it was close to four minutes.

We stopped in Circle to refuel on snacks and check the internet to see if our probing messages to hosts in Glendive had bore fruit. Success! Two out of three hosts offered us a place to stay, and we sent a message to one to accept the offer before setting back out on the road. 49 miles to go.

We began heading East again from Circle, the next town being Lindsay 25 miles away. It was uphill for the first 20 miles or so and the headwind stayed with us. A quick icecream and lunch in Lindsay and we were off down hill to Glendive.

In town we met with Joan, who calls herself 'Mutt'. She lives in a quiet neighbourhood with her dog Cinder and the air-conditioning in the living room was a great relief from the 36 degree heat outside. She works as a physician in the town which provided a good opportunity to discuss the healthcare system here. She kindly took us out to Makoshika State Park, where many dinosaur fossils are excavated each year. We visited some stunning viewpoints overlooking the eroded Sandstone landscape with the great plains extending away into the distance. We also visited an amphitheatre where Shakespearean plays are performed against the dramatic backdrop of the park. We then drove back to the town, discussing her time in the Peace Corps and the weather as us Brits are known to do, except here that includes tornadoes! One struck last week, and we were off on a tour of the local damage, with great trees ripped out of the ground and windows smashed. It was sad to see the local cemetery badly damaged by the storm.

We have just been back and cooked dinner, again she showed her generosity by lending us her fresh vegetables and dressing for a salad. A night indoors tonight will be a welcome change.

Day 20 - Glasgow to Vida 73 miles

"How far did we go today Jake?"
"72...73 miles or so?"
"Not bad."
"Yes, a good days cycling... I didn't enjoy any of it."
"No."

We were up and ready to leave in record time this morning, as we took advantage of the hotel restaurant which opened at 6am. We were on the road for 0720 and saw nothing for 45 miles. A 20mph headwind fought us all the way. It conveniently changed direction as we took the few turns in the route so it remained in our faces all day. The going was slow but steady, and the joints didn't give too much trouble thankfully.

We left Milk River behind and started following the Missouri River to Wolf Point. At lunch we took advantage of the McDonalds WiFi to research the next town to camp, which looked pretty basic with no official camping and a declining population of 70 at the 2001 census. I also contacted a few potential WarmShowers hosts for tomorrow evening in Glendive.

After lunch we turned off Route 2 for the last time (with a long sigh of relief after being on it since Columbia Falls before West Glacier!) We headed South and the trusted headwind turned from Easterly to Southerly at the same time.

Crossing the Missouri River Jake and Owen paused on the bridge to look at an old disused bridge adjacent to us. Distracted by the map I braked too late and went into the back of Owen, almost losing my balance backwards. It was only when I looked behind did I see the foot high token crash barrier and how I nearly went for a swim in the Missouri!

A minor accident earlier in the day also saw Owens rear mudguard get snapped and that is a future project to repair on a rest day.

The road was arrow straight from here on with no settlements until Vida. We did get some excitement out of watching a thunderstorm develop to our Right which crept towards us as we rode on. Plenty of lightning and thick sheets of rain. This spurred us on to bypass the main body of the storm to save us a period of lying on the tick-strewn grass to avoid the lightning (we are the tallest things for miles). We got to Vida just in time, were happy to see a small bar which served food and offered us a patch of grass to pitch up. We are now sheltering inside away from the rain.

Fingers crossed for a let up in the headwind tomorrow. Around 79 miles to Glendive.

Day 19 - REST DAY Glasgow

Today was spent mostly relaxing in the pool/ jacuzzi for myself, being mindful to rest my knee, while Jake and Owen went into town to see the museum and get haircuts. A fairly uneventful morning and afternoon. The Rodeo was still on so we decided to head down and see what they were doing today.

Before leaving we got chatting to a Canadian man with the strongest Canadian accent we have heard yet (with Canada only 50 miles away we have run into a few on our travels). He was touring the US on his motorcycle and seemed to think we were mad doing it on our bikes. We had an interesting conversation and he kindly offered to watch our things as we went to see the fair as he was not too interested in the Rodeo. We exchanged some details and he gave me a t-shirt from his hometown as a memento.

The Rodeo was the same as last night, except the contenders appeared less skilled. We quickly grew bored and it seems once you have seen one Rodeo you have seen them all. We stayed for the Barrel Racing which seemed the most sporting competition then left for an early night, anticipating an early start tomorrow. We all felt ready to get out of Glasgow.

Day 18 - REST DAY Glasgow

We decided to have a couple of full rest days here in Glasgow, MT, to let the knees recover and watch the Rodeo. We started with a large breakfast of pancakes or biscuits and gravy to break from the usual porridge. Jake and Owen went down to the fair grounds out of curiosity to watch the "Cowboy Church Service" while I cracked on with some admin back at the campsite/ hotel. They returned with quotes such as "A gun and kind words are better than kind words alone. Amen."

A buffet lunch at the restaurant meant we all suffered from eyes bigger than our stomachs and we were summarily defeated by the large American plates. It was nice then to use the rare internet access to get back in touch with family and friends back home. Meanwhile Jake and Owen had another interesting encounter with a couple in the hotel lobby who proposed that due to Americas recent legalisation of gay marriage the US was going to go into economic collapse before getting invaded by a coalition between Russia, the Middle East (they failed to specify who in the Middle East), China and Japan (who therefore must have reconciled their differences with China and broken down its strong relationship with the US in the last 3 days - we miss out on all the news over here...). Interested to see how far this conversation would go they took on a Louis Theroux style approach to questioning them, asking innocent questions to open them up further. The US would be occupied by the coalition for 7 years. Their source? A Romanian man they met earlier in the week.

Back to reality, we went down to watch the main Rodeo that evening. There was a large line up of events beginning with mostly events where the men had to subdue a cow or steer from horseback using either lassos, their bare hands or both. It then moved on to Barrel Racing where women tested their riding skill and the agility of their horses to circle three barrels in the arena in the quickest time possible. Bareback and saddle bronc riding saw plenty of men getting thrown around, and then the bull riding saw them getting thrown off faster. Unlike the bull running and ring events I have seen in Spain, the bulls here appeared to have their horns clipped to blunt them, making it relatively safer. They rounded off with a Wild Horse Race, where a team of three had to catch a wild horse, saddle it, one would then ride it around a pole (he would cling on for dear life long enough for the horse to run around the pole by its own accord) then jump off with the saddle (less graceful than you might imagine) then race the saddle back to the judges. This was entertaining as it mostly consisted of two or three men in cowboy rig getting dragged around the arena on their fronts by a rather disgruntled horse!

Tomorrow we are having another full day off to rest and checking out the local museum and the town.