A hard rain fell for a half hour last night. This should cheer the locals who mentioned the recent lack of rain. When we awoke at 6 am, yesterday evening’s swarm of mosquitoes was sleeping. We packed, ate breakfast, and headed south on Hwy 200. The terrain included numerous ups and downs, similar to yesterday’s route south of Wolf Point. Dryland wheat fields covered the land. The narrow shoulder and rumble strip continued. There was little traffic, though.
In 29 miles, we rode into Circle. We happily refueled and rested at the Lunchbox with tasty breakfast burritos and coffee. We returned to Hwy 200 for a mile, then veered southeast on Hwy 200 South. Thankfully, the dreaded rumble strip disappeared and the shoulder widened. The terrain softened with fewer and shorter climbs. Rangeland replaced wheat fields. At the top of the biggest climb, we had a fine view of eroded slopes, known as breaks (see photo). Onward we traveled to Lindsay (pop. 11) where we got cold drinks and water. We ate a lunch of English muffins and peanut butter in the shade of a large fuel tank. We greatly appreciate stops such as this.
We continued southeast toward Glendive, passing by grassy rangeland and a few wheat fields. This was easy biking with little climbing and no wind. We crossed under Interstate 94 and rode into Glendive (pop. 4,935). First we went grocery shopping and then we made our way to the Comfort Inn at I-94. We spread our wet tent and damp sleeping bags in our room to dry and washed our clothes in the sink. I bought a fuel canister to replace the current one that’s almost dead. I called my grad school friend Scott in Bismarck to arrange a visit three day’s hence. This is living! We biked 80.0 miles today.
