Bicycling the Lewis & Clark Trail
Wolf Point to Culbertson, MT

Friday, August 06, 2004
Distance Cycled: 60 miles
Vertically Climbed: 860 feet
Average Speed: 13.6 mph

We ate breakfast at the motel, checked out and headed east on highway 2. At first it was easy going but it seemed to get harder the farther we went. We stopped for a break, both the Absher's and us, and when we started we climbed a small hill that seemed to be really hard to climb. It was as if we had already ridden 50 miles and not 15 miles. Just after we reached the top of the hill, Mary Kay said it was very difficult to keep the bicycle going in a straight line. A ½ mile further on she asked that we stop the bicycle and when she looked at the front tire it was very low. We had our third flat tire. This flat tire was not as bad as the one we had going from Winnett to Jordan, MT. That time we had a flat back tire and we were continuously going up and down 6 and 7 % grades. By the time we discovered the flat tire, both Mary Kay and I were very tired and we still had 30 miles to go that day. Maybe we need to spend more time checking our tires.

Due to our flat tire all three couples rode alone today. George and Jane started late and we were held up with the flat tire. Along the road strangers would tell us where the rest of the group it is easy to keep track of each other in such a friendly area.

We stopped in Brockton for lunch and stopped for ice-cream as soon as we arrived in Culbertson. We also dropped our panniers off at the motel and rode an extra mile to the local museum. It was an excellent museum; everything was clean and interesting displays. Tonight we ate supper at a restaurant/casino next to the motel.