Day 24 Cut Bank MT to Conrad MT

July 11, 2023

My girlfriends that I could only say hi as I was going up. Hubs was sweet enough to take the picture for me. 💜

It was a bit cool when we left Cut Bank 54° so we put on our biking jackets. We stayed on route 2 East but it wasn’t long before I had to change to a different jacket as I was cold. We were getting the wind from the north west which at least it wasn’t a full headwind.We continued with the wide shoulder which was nice but it did not last the whole ride. When the shoulder narrowed, it was even more narrow as the rumble strip took up half of it. The traffic wasn’t extremely heavy but there was some. It’s amazing how after you get out of the Rockies, you can see for miles and miles in every direction. At one stop Hubs had to go up the hill to do his business and said the views up there were amazing. When he came down and we were off again we got our first windmill sittings. They went for miles and miles. The first 22 miles went by quickly and we made great time coming into the town of Shelby. This is where things changed drastically. We had a steep climb right away that was a pusher. Part way up we stopped to check out the Veterans Memorial. It was a really nice one. We continued pushing and when we finally got to the top I told Hubs that I felt like I was on top of the world. Boy was I wrong. We continued pedaling and then we came to a downhill but also noticed the next uphill. It reminded me of “Little Italy Hill”in the finger lakes of New York. It was 1.7 miles up with a mix 10% grade.

Route 2 showing now we can see for miles plus how the shoulder got narrower with the rumble strip

Hubs on the top of the hill looking all around

Hubs coming up the first steep hill we had to push. I know it is hard to see the steepness in a picture but when I see this picture again I will remember

These are the clouds we had all day which did keep us cool

Again trying to show the hill we came down and the 1.7 miles back up.

Scenery across from where we were pushing

We were surprised at how many different places had bee colonies

This is Jerry. He owns the motel we are staying at. We had a good conversation with him.

You guessed it, we pushed and pushed and pushed! We finally got back on the bikes hoping this was the last of it but oh no there were more. These were ones we could fight through and as I was going up one hill, I saw more girlfriends. I said hello but told them I am sorry but I couldn’t take their picture as I was in the middle of a climb.when I got to the top I rested and waited for Hubs. Little did I know but he stopped and took their picture for me. 💜 him. Our climbs and pushing were still not done but then came the real wind.it had switched coming from the south west. It was 19 mph with gusts up the 25 mph. It got so bad that we had to take off the da brims from our helmets. Watching Hubs in front of me was like watching someone leaning on a motorcycle to go around a curve and he wasn’t even doing that. We could be pedaling along the shoulder and the next thing you know, you are in the middle of the road. This went on for at least 15 miles. Not fun but we plowed through and got into Conrad. Tomorrow we have over 60 miles to get to Great Falls MT

Today's ride: 47 miles (76 km)
Total: 2,760 miles (4,442 km)

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Debbie ColeYour photos really did capture the steepness of those hills. That’s tough going. So proud of you guys.
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1 year ago

George (Buddy) HallYou have generally been following a lot of the Northern Tier route, but you obviously aren't on the ACA route. Their routing is designed to keep you off the busier roads as much as possible. For example, look at the map from my journal of the day from Conrad to Cut Bank. https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/warriordeath1/day-64-conrad-mt-to-cut-bank-mt/ I know it's too late for you now, but you may want to order their maps when you are researching future routes. Best of luck as you finish this tour.
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1 year ago

Lois AlexanderTo George (Buddy) HallWe do have the maps but we don’t follow the routes lot of times. It’s just an adventure for us and not a strict thing.
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1 year ago