Richland County

67.10 miles, 3620 feet. The mileage and the climb are what we were supposed to have, but today was a Murphy’s Law kind of day. We once again left at 5:00 am. Our first 10 miles was pretty nice and we watched rain storms in the distance.

At mile 10, we turned onto a road that said Dead End. It was a gravel road that went from gravel to dirt, to single track through weeds and then back to gravel. There were numerous cattle guards and we had to open and close two barb wire fence gates. It reminded me of our bike ride through England in 2019. According to several local farmers, we crossed back and forth between Montana and North Dakota several times.

While we saw some incredible scenery, the road was difficult especially for those on road bikes. Thirty miles and several hours later, we finally returned to some nice pavement. By noon it was nearing 100 degrees and everyone was miserable. When the route turned back into a gravel route, everyone threw in the towel and sagged to the end.

Our hotel was supposed to be at a Roadway Inn in the town of Wibaux. However, the condition of the motel was pretty bad. There were missing shower heads, broken air conditioners, and rooms that had recently been bug bombed. Our Sag crew moved us to a motel 10 miles away in Beach, ND. We have a rest day here tomorrow and our only plan for the day is to do laundry. Hoping for a break in the heat!Les mer