Medora, Montana, and a strong desire to sink into the ground...

Tuesday, June 24 (Day 39)

Distance: 70 miles (-6 round trip back to town)

Average speed: 11.2 mph

Max: 34.6 mph

Total: 2339 miles

Weather: partly sunny, 7-10 mph tailwind 

I attended morning prayers with the monks, helped to find my seat among them and the proper pages by the monk who gave me ice cream the night before, Odo.

Odo has been in that town his entire life. He grew up there and attended high school at Assumption Abbey (the monastery) and joined when he was 20 years old. He has now been there for 52 years, and he told me still finds it interesting.

Upon saying goodbye (after profuse thank yous), he hugged me and put his hand on my forehead and said a blessing, telling me, "I don't know if it will help, but it can't hurt!"

I had a beautiful ride. I was looking forward to my destination, Medora and the badlands. I had asked Ron and Joyce what the badlands were, and they simply told me "you'll know it when you see it!" And boy did I. They are beautiful and Grand Canyon-esque, formed by water. I didn't manage such a great picture because I was gawking...

I saw a buffalo, who, like the cows, was also interested in me! (Please tell me this is actually a buffalo)

I rode back into town to have dinner (3 miles of a 9% grade hill both ways!) and ran across another touring cyclist, James, who offered to buy me dinner. We ate and he invited me back to his room to clean up. I said no but thank you, and he said I could watch the weather forecast, and again I said no, thinking nothing of it until today, when I suddenly felt very uncomfortable with the situation and decided to put a lot of distance between us.

After returning to my campsite, I successfully built a lasting fire that only died when I stopped feeding it, and then fell right to sleep. 

Wednesday, June 25 (Day 40)

Distance: 119 miles

Average speed: 13.6 mph

Max: 35 mph

Total: 2458 miles

Weather: 10-20 mph headwinds, mostly cloudy with scattered rain storms

I woke up late and got ready slowly, thinking I was only going to ride 70 miles, so I left at about 8:30. 

The ride was breathtaking.

The road was quiet and well paved. Most cars that passed along it had red dust all over them from driving on dirt roads in the area.

Lots of cows :)

And I entered Montana! I'm going to miss North Dakota with its friendly people and nice, flat, beautiful land.

I had to ride on the interstate for about 40 miles, which caused a flat tire. I fixed it (no crying or excess frustration this time!) and continued. This was about when James passed me and I realized I would have to go further than I thought to get past him. 

I made it 70 miles and stopped for an ice cream to mull it over. The next town was 50 miles away. I made my decision and jumped back onto my bike, the only thing in my way was hours of sunlight, as I had a strong tailwind in my favor.

I enjoyed the ride immensely. The hills were gradual and descents fun, and my average in that part of the day was 15 mph! My pictures from this are subpar, but it was mostly farmland and the lighting was bad because I had sun in my face and heavy clouds.

I arrived in town to find a small grocery store with produce! I made my happy purchases and went to the campground. I couldn't find the host so I knocked on the door of a trailer to find three very friendly people, Claire, her visiting son Dwayne, and his wife Jan. Claire explained where cyclists normally camp, and then I called the host, who came over. 

The host's name is Jim. He told me where cyclists normally camp, then showed me the "shower"-- a hose with warm water in the basement of his laundromat. While we were down there, he told me he wanted to sleep with me. I didn't get it at first, I thought he was offering his bed and I was very confused, but then it hit me... Good god, that was the most uncomfortable I've ever felt. I backed up the stairs as he made his requests and couldn't believe this was actually happening. I didn't feel brave for being alone, I felt foolish and naive. I gave him many firm no's and, had it not been for Claire, would've ridden 60 miles to the next campground. 

At that moment I wished desperately to be riding with someone and was happy to have my pepper spray, which I will keep tightly to me at all times from now on. As soon as I managed to escape Jim, I went straight to Claire's door and asked to camp in her lawn, right next to her trailer, and she happily consented and offered me a warm shower. 

She and Jan gave me a variety of wonderful food (cheese, crackers, an apple, homemade baked doughnuts, and ice cream) and washed my clothes! Claire is a very interesting woman. She knits, crochets, bakes, cooks, edited the local newspaper, and is very funny! Jan taught preschool, and was incredibly sweet. Claire told me I could go inside if I felt uncomfortable, and left the back door open for me.

Two creepy (and one very creepy) encounters in two successive days... I really hope this isn't a trend. I'm starting to wish I could ride my bicycle in a burka.