Day 49

70 miles
Packing was easy. It was mostly done since I hadn't used the tent. I ate some canned fruit which tasted especially good.
As Matt, Paul, Lily and I set out the wind was extremely strong. It was a WNW wind, blowing in our faces from the right. After our first stop, we tried drafting. Paul was really the only one of us who had done it. We did it for 15 or miles. When it worked it was great. But our lack of experience, or maybe it was just because we each kept such a different pace, proved that drafting wasn't really going to work very well for us.
There were quite a few historical sites along the way. I stopped at most of them. There was some that described some very sad and dark history of our countries treatment towards the Plains Indians. I am glad I learned about them. So much over our history is just glazed over. I, personally, don't want to forget.
We ran into a couple cyclists along the way. There was a really great hill that descended into Shelby, MT. This proved rather fun and refreshing after fighting the wind all morning. We spent a good amount of the afternoon in Shelby. We hung out outside a coffee shop for a bit. I was beginning to really connect with my traveling companions. I really liked having people to talk to between the miles.
The problem with going down a really big hill riding in the plains was that it meant you had an equally challenging hill to climb a short bit later. We all rode out of town climbing hills along the way. I, of course, being the slowest of the group fell behind. I passed through some beautiful landscapes. I encountered another wind farm. This one was set against the background of brewing storm. The corner of my lips curved up. It was beautiful.
My smile continued as I felt the rain begin to fall on my skin. There seemed to be nothing that pushed me more than a good rain storm. I pedaled upward and onward. I passed Lily who had stopped for the storm.
I met up with Matt and Paul at the nearest convenience store. We rested there for awhile. I chatted with a handsome cowboy looking fellow for awhile. He asked about my bike and where I was coming from. He was well impressed and made me blush when he said "Well, damn your legs sure look amazing."
Paul wasn't feeling well so we relaxed for a bit. We looked for a place to camp. We tried a rest stop but were told we couldn't stay there. Paul scored some fruit and beer while talking to a Canadian couple ready to cross back into Canada.
Eventually, we found a campground. It cost more than we really wanted to pay, but with another storm coming in and the promise of a shower and a lounge at the campground was too good to pass up.

  The campground was situated overlooking somewhere Lewis and Clark had camped. It was on top of a large hill. There was a ravine cutting through the earth. This provided some amazing views including some beautiful cliffs. The railroad ran across plains on the other side of a very large hill. It was very much the what my idea of how the "West" looks. This was only intensified when I through the steam rising off the freshly rained on cliffs I spotted several horses in the fields above. I chuckled. Lily and I agreed it was very "Brokeback".

The lounge at the campground had a microwave and Lily and I set off to see what treats we could find in town. We walked to the store. It was almost weird to be walking. Forget the almost, it was weird. But I enjoyed talking with Lily. We scored so veggie burgers and I got some Easy Mac and more fruit. Its funny how microwaved veggie burgers become a hot meal.

From Lily's Blog

We did some map planning. I would be separating from the gang the next day. They would all be riding to Glacier National Park. I would be riding alone on to Whitefish and hopefully be meeting up again with them a day or so later. They kept trying to convince me to join them. I was tempted. But I was scared of the Going-To-The-Sun Road. It was some 6000 feet which meant hours of climbing. The idea of the mountains was already terrifying me. I wasn't sure of my capability. But I was also really worried about my headaches. The riding in Glacier was limited to very specific hours. And if I was struck with another headache, it could be potentially disastrous. I was pretty set on splitting off and doing the easier path around the park.

After showering we all got matching tattoos. Our gang was official. We were the Flaming Wheels High-Line Bicycle Gang.
I finally had cell service for the first time in what seemed like days. I charged my phone and made some phone calls. The voice of loved ones cheered me. I went to bed happy. My belly was full with a hot meal. I was surrounded by friends and I had talked to loved ones.
I slept beautifully.