Day 097 - Chester to Cut Bank - Two Far 2023 - Oranges to Apples

July 21, 2023

Day 097 - Chester to Cut Bank

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The weather this morning was once again perfect for riding - warm and clear with a gentle tailwind. The road and terrain between Chester and Shelby also made for a good ride. The road was in good shape and had very little traffic and there were no climbs of any significance. I didn't take many photos of this segment because the scenery was pretty much the same as yesterday - wheat fields stretching to the horizon.

A very large siding full of grain hoppers. The string of cars circled clear around to the elevator where they were being loaded.

My first stop of the day was a Galata, where I met Sue, the owner of the Galata Motel and General Store. I was the only customer, so once again, I got to have a very nice (and long) conversation with a local. Besides owning the motel and store, she owns a 10,000-acre ranch, which her son-in-law runs. Sue said that the area is having a drought and that they are having to haul water and buy hay for their cattle this year, because the creeks have dried up and they had a poor hay harvest.

About 10 miles outside Shelby, I met Kael who is headed back to his home in Connecticut. Kael started his trip 13 months ago today.

I met Jeanna in Shelby for lunch. After lunch Jeanna headed off to our motel in Cut Bank, while I visited the Marias Museum of History & Art (I don't know what the "& Art" refers to, because I did not see any art exhibits.)

Shelby is very proud of a prize fight that occurred in 1923. There was an entire room dedicated to the event.

A fuzzy photo of a poster advertising the fight.

75 years after the event, they were still celebrating it.

Beside local history, there were exhibits of various collections that local residents had donated to the museum. There were collections of cigarette lighters, spoons, bullets, and model cars among others.

Someone's collection of cigarette lighters.

One room of the museum was dedicated to large-scale models built by local residents. I am always impressed at the skill, ingenuity and dedication that it takes to build things like these.

A working model of a crane. The grey box under the boom was the controller.

This looks more like a torture device than a hair curler.

Just because 1953 holds special significance to Jeanna & me.

West of Shelby I started seeing large hills. Soon after this picture was taken, my first view of the Rockies came into sight, but they were too shrouded by the smoke for a photo.

After leaving the museum, I discovered that the riding conditions had changed considerably. The gentle tailwind of the morning turned into a moderately strong headwind, the temperature had risen to the mid-90's, and the easy 1-2% grades were now 4-6% climbs.

I had a bit of an adventure during one of those climbs as I was riding through a gap in the hill. I just happened to look off to my left and noticed the wind flattening the wheat. Just a second later, a strong crosswind blew me off the shoulder and into the grass. I'm sure glad I saw it had time to brace myself.

I made it to the motel without further ado and am really looking forward to tomorrows ride to East Glacier - I can't wait to get up close and personal with the Rockies!

Today's ride: 68 miles (109 km)
Total: 4,609 miles (7,417 km)

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