Head winds = no fun!

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[Guido and the Nashua Porcupine]

[Kevin and some cool topography along the Milk River]

[Guido and Ben going for a swim]

[Ben's new car with Guido riding shotgun]

[Joe's new train]

Yesterday's ride was really tough. After doing 126 miles the day before we were all pretty bushed and to make matters worse we had a reasonably strong head wind, sun, and 85+ degree temps. That meant the 86 miles we put in were as difficult (or perhaps more difficult) than the 126 from the day before. We also got pulled over by the sheriff for riding too far out in the lane of traffic when nobody was in the lane and the shoulder was full of gravel. He was nice enough and just trying to keep us safe, but come on. Despite the trials and tribulations we arrived in Nashua, MT as we had planned, camped for free in the city park, and enjoyed a great dinner at the local diner. The mosquitos weren't bad (they were spraying while we sat there in the park) but the gnats were awful! Later in the evening, just as Dan (a fellow biker from Michigan going east to west) arrived, so did the storms. Not much rain or hail, but boy howdy (sorry, we're in Montana after all) was there wind! I've been camping in storms quite often, but this wind was about the worst I've ever seen. The tent survived, and so did Dan, and thus ended a very difficult day.

Today we awoke bright eyed and eager for the change in wind due to the storm. Low and behold the wind was even stronger and directly in our faces. Luckily we were more recovered than yesterday, and more patient. There was also more scenery in the Milk River valley along which we have been biking to keep our minds distracted from the pain. We put in 94 more miles and reached Culbertson, MT. Barring catasrophe we should be in North Dakota tomorrow. Culbertson is a great little town where we again stayed in the city park for free and had free showers at the city pool. Quick side note - we had the option of the city park or the RV Park. We called the RV Park asked a few questions including "Do you have WiFi?" The response - "What the hell is WiFi? Yep, we're in the sticks. End side note. We could also use the pool, but that was going to cost us... a whole dollar. So we showered (you are required to before entering a pool and we were quite dirty), swam, showered again with soap, and then ate at the local pizza shop. We are supposed to have storms again tonight and hopefully they will bring with them a nice strong west wind and some cooler temperatures.