Denton, MT June 29

Denton, MT -- Tuesday, June 29
Today was supposed to be a relatively easy day. It was anything but.
Despite being an average mileage day (62 miles) we battled headwinds, a very challenging 2 mile climb complete with 2 sections of gravel where we were dusted by two large trucks passing in our direction of travel and three semis in close succession in the opposite direction of travel, and warm temperatures, especially when the sun was not blocked by clouds.
The day was also made challenging by a gradual 15 mile climb to start the ride as well as my 2nd flat, this one at the starting gate. In addition, our overnight camping area was infested with mosquitos. It was difficult to pack up and have breakfast with involuntarily donating a pint of blood to the insect world.
With that stated there were some very good moments. We stopped in Geraldine, 26 miles from Fort Benton, to eat and found the cheapest cafe around. Despite it being 11:00 AM we all choose to have a 'biker's sized' breakfast. Total cost - $18.50. What a bargain, what a meal. The other surprise is our campsite this evening. We are camped in the town's City Park, next to the pool. Total camping cost including showers - $2.00 and the site is nearly mosquito free. What a deal, especially when compared to Fort Benton.
Our day today was likely saved by the mostly overcast skies. If we would have had cloudless skies, like yesterday, today's ride would have been tortuous. Fortunately, the skies were generally overcast and at times threatening rain in the distance.
We are once again camped near Randy, the WV school teacher. Although we don't ride together we generally have good companionship during the evening. We will likely camp together during the next 4-5 days until our paths diverge (The Northern Tier trail vs. The Lewis and Clark Trail) in Williston. He plans to be back in WV in early August and has offered to pick up Andrea and Alex wherever they may be in their transcontinental journey to get them the Raleigh, NC by August 15. This would be great if it works out.
The other nice thing about today is that we made it to the overnight town near 4:00 PM (our general arrival time is closer to 6:00 PM). This allowed us to shower and eat dinner earlier and then casually drink a bottle of wine while watching the sun go down. This is something that we have seldomed experienced.
Today we also surpassed the 1000 mile marker for this adventure. We are averaging 61 miles per day. I consider this exceptional given the slow start that with injuries and all that we had in the first five days. With that said, our legs are feeling a little tired and our butts overly sore.
As sort of a semi-rest day we will only be going as far as Lewistown (42 miles). Hopefully this will provide some brief respite as well as set us up for the rest of the sojourn across MT. We have some long, dusty, hot days ahead.