Chapter 10: Big Sky Country

 Chapter 10: Big Sky Country

 

May 29, Thursday: 43.4 miles (2811)

It was tempting to stay another day at the Lindvigs', but I moved on.  I stopped in Culbertson, because beyond that is the Fort Peck Reservation, and a lot of people have told me I don't want to camp there. I spent the afternoon writing, napping, and cooking the venison Curt and Debbie gave me. The moon is full, and it looked huge when it rose this evening.

 

 May 30, Friday: 110.6 miles (2921.6)

"Hard day, but got through the reservation without incident. Actually, I didn't see much to be afraid of. I made it to Glasgow, where I met a guy named Marlin Alverson. He said I could stay at his place, and promised me an interesting evening as well. We drove from his house to see a sheep rancher and wagon builder named Roger. An amazing man, Roger. 'Healthy Face,'  someone had once called him, and it was an apt name. Roger and his wife Vi and a helper were administering worm medicine to their flock of sheep. I watched, and helped when I could. Then we went to his carriage shop - a tinker's paradise!"

On the ride home, Marlin started getting into religion - he runs a Christian youth camp. It turned me off completely - questions like 'Which are you preparing for: heaven or hell?' Suddenly he was no longer a friend, but a superior, an elder, a critic. I much preferred the approach of the church group in the Badlands.

 

May 31, Saturday: 72.5 miles (2994.1)

"Marlin gave me some dried fruit and beef jerky. A little way down the road, my shifter stopped working. I limped to a picnic area in 2nd gear, and did a major repair job there. I switched the shift cables and sheaths, since I'm not using the front shifter, tied the two cables together to make them reach the back, oiled everything, and replaced the spoke that broke yesterday."

"I was so tired today, I actually almost fell asleep riding. The only reason I made it to Malta is that this afternoon the mosquitoes got so bad, I couldn't stop. If I even slowed down below 3rd gear, they caught up and just covered me! I could not believe it. I have never seen them so thick. It's because a lot of the land here is irrigated, with open ditches carrying the water, so it's a perfect breeding ground. They spray in town, otherwise no one could live here!"

  June 1, Sunday: 63.1 miles (3057)

"Slow start. I set up my tent last night, for the mosquitoes mostly, but also so I could sleep a little later this morning, maybe get enough sleep for once. Wrote until it got too hot, then had to pack everything up. Got under way at noon."

"This evening I met a couple going from Wisconsin to Glacier Park on a motorcycle. We found a nice campground in Zurich. I called Laura, and it was really nice to talk with her. I'm still savoring the conversation, running it through my mind again and again."  

June 2, Monday: 41.2 miles (3098.4)

I stopped to get a photo of my bike next to this ridiculously large tractor, and they gave me a tour of the factory. It turns out this is one of their *small* models! They once made the biggest farm tractor ever produced, which weighed over 100,000 pounds when its 1000 gallon fuel tank was full. With a 16 cylinder, 1100 horsepower engine, it would pull an 80 foot wide cultivator, and plow 1.3 acres per minute!

Made Havre by noon, got 3 letters. Then I went to the bike shop - oof! $40! But I got handlebar pads, a thick seat pad, more spokes, a new shift cable, and a new back tire. On the way out of town, I stopped at a little park and met an old fellow with a camper parked there. As we were chatting about how many tires I had worn out, I noticed that the front tire was badly worn - much worse than I had realized. Of course, the only place to get a 1-1/8" tire was the bike shop, back down the hill in town, and at an outrageous $14, but a 1-1/4" Western Auto Special didn't appeal to me either." 

*For the mechanically curious, I ran a 1-1/4" wide tire on the rear, to handle the extra weight and the wear from being the drive wheel. I kept the narrower 1-1/8" on the front for whatever slight reduction in rolling resistance it might give me. I'm sure it made absolutely no difference, but that quirk will end up being tremendously important a month from now.

"On the way out of town this time, a tremendous wind suddenly came up, a blast of cold air, threatening a downpour any minute. I ducked into the picnic shelter, changed the front tire, and as it still looked dark and dreadful out, I began installing the other things I bought: the handlebar and seat pads."

"Then an older couple, Ruth and Gus Liotta,  invited me into their camper for soup and salad, and I spent the evening writing letters."

 June 3, Tuesday: 9.1 miles (3107.5

"I didn't sleep well at all, what with drunken whooping neighbors, rain in the night forcing me to move into the shelter, and then a concrete bed the rest of the night. But a pleasant treat awaited me this morning. A fun retired couple, Peter and Elsie Berger invited me into their camper for breakfast. They told funny stories (vacuuming their front lawn to remove windshield glass, their daughter playing violin in the back seat while they drove through towns...) and they fed me well; bacon and eggs and lots of toast!"

 "I went back into town to check for mail again, and someone in the post office who had seen me yesterday took me to the Havre Daily News office, where I got interviewed, and invited to the reporter's house-warming party. I came back up to the campground, took a shower, and wrote for a few hours. I also finally met the biker with a trailer, Charles Lehninger, who I've been hearing about. Interesting guy, older than your average biker - 37. I like him... he has a funky old bike, with a funky old trailer, wheels wrapped with tape, etc... makes me feel a little silly with my brand-new million dollar tires! I'm sure I'll catch up with him in a day or two."

"The dinner/party was a lot of fun. There were 7 of us, and I was so comfortable there, it felt like I had known them for years. That's pretty amazing when I think about it; being invited for dinner seemed so natural, almost commonplace, and I'm 3,000 miles from home."

 June 4, Wednesday: 67.5 (3175.0)

Back down into Havre one last time, to buy food, and let Joan get photos for her article.

 I played tag with Charles and his bike trailer all day, but we didn't end up camping together, because I called the folks in Chester who Marlin had told me about: Mark and Deanna Zerbe, and they invited me to their house. When I arrived, there were two Jehovah's Witnesses there, doing a "bible study" with them - a nice name for a religious hard-sell routine. It was a relief for everyone when they left. Mark took me to the factory where he works, to show me around. Pretty interesting - they make plow points and cultivator sweeps. Went back, had dinner, and slept on the pullout bed in their living room.

 June 5, Thursday: 68.2 miles (3243.2)

"Mark and Deanna gave me breakfast, some cookies, and of all things, another bible! The irony (after their relief at the departure of the Jehovah's Witnesses) escaped them, as did also, apparently, the fact that I was on a bicycle, with limited room to carry stuff! I thanked them and was on my way."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A strong headwind, and much cooler today, with a few scattered raindrops too. "Big Sky Country" lived up to its name; at one point I could count 7 separate rain-squalls around the horizon.

 

 

 

"I caught up with Charles. We hung out a bit, and exchanged addresses in case I get too far ahead of him. I learned a little about his life... a painful divorce had left him reeling for 3 years... I was not surprised, looking at him. Much joy and deep sorrow and years of timeless experience were carved into the features of his face, and his leathery, weather-beaten skin told of much exposure to the harsh elements of life - both his body and his spirit had seen a lot of sun and wind."

 "I was pretty tired when I got to Cut Bank... the wind had taken a toll. I decided to cook a fancy meal, since it's the last chance before I'm in grizzly country. I made vegetables with bacon and cheese.

June 6, Friday: Rest day

"I was surprised to find that Charles had made it to Cut Bank last night after all, arriving at 11:00 P.M. The weather this morning was dark and ominous, and we had pretty much decided not to ride today, and then a cop told us that the road through Glacier is still blocked by snow anyway, so that clinched it. I spent the day writing and doing maintenance, replacing spokes and the worn rear tire."

June 7, Saturday: 72 miles (3300.6 *odometer malfunction)

 I've reached the Rocky Mountains! 

I could see the mountains in the distance all day, but it took forever to get there!

  The sensory overload of Glacier National Park was actually too much for me, and it took a day or two before I could regain my bearings enough to fully appreciate it. I don't want that to happen to you, so I'll just leave you with this one photo from the day's ride.