Sunday, June 18, 2000

We traveled 59 miles from Chester MT to Havre MT. The trip was through Montana wheat country. All the fields run lengthwise north and south. Every other strip of land is fallow, waiting to absorb enough moisture to grow the next year’s crop. The strips of land are laid out north and south because the wind is generally from the west and alternating the growing and fallow land reduces wind caused soil erosion.

We made great time while we were traveling (average speed was 14.8 miles per hour). However, we rode on one stretch of highway for at least 10 miles that had been seal coated a couple of weeks earlier. They use very small rock to seal coat roads in Montana and one of the little pointed rocks caused a flat in the front tire. Then, we came upon a 4-mile section of Highway 2 that was being rebuilt just as we entered Havre. We avoided most of the construction but had a flat tire on the rear wheel when glue less path did not hold. Two flat tires in one day is one too many. I plan to obtain regular patches from a bike shop tomorrow.

We are staying in a motel with very large rooms. It also has the use of a building that used to be a Midas Muffler shop. They gave us a key to that building so we could put our bike inside where it would be locked up. This was a very pleasant surprise.

For the last three days, since Cut Bank, we have been riding the same route as Don Cockman, a gentleman from England. Each night we see him at the motel even though he starts to ride at 6:00 AM and we start to ride at 8:00 or 9:00 AM. Tonight, we treated him to supper and talked to him for over two hours and tomorrow we are going to go on the Havre Underground Tour with him. Then we will take a rest day and he is riding on to Malta MT.