Awoke to the sound of rain on the window, rolled over when we heard thunder.  Ten minutes later the sun was streaming through the window; we got up.

Sixty degrees felt cool this morning morning with the slight breeze out of the north.  We watched as the storm made it’s way east and we, thankfully, turned south, leaving the rain and railroad behind.

We rode a quite country road that we occasionally shared with a semi or double-wide.  The non-stop rolling hills were a gradual grade, the climbs long, but so were the drops.  It was the first time in days we could actually coast down a hill.Finally saw the Missouri Riverthat once dominated this part of the country.  Climbing up from the river, we looked back and noticed the storm had not quite gone away. To our west the ridge that looked like mountains was growing rapidly and heading our way.  We’ve decided Montana’s slogan needs to be “Big Stormy Sky Country”. For the third day in a row, the forecast was for a 10% chance of rain and it was the third time we were about to get rained on.  Would not want to be here for 50% chance of precipitation; it might snow!  But this storm was getting ugly fast.  Thoughts of yesterday’s tornado was very fresh in our minds (look at the top clouds).We wanted out of here, but all we had was our bikes, tired legs and now a decent wind at our backs.  Praise the Lord and that’s no joke, Amen.  The hills became a blur as we raced to try to put distance between behind us and the growing and thundering storm.We pedaled hard and focused on the clear sky ahead.And then it passed….. for good.Finally, we could sit back and enjoy the countryside that continued to yield miles and miles of farmland.Saw our fourth live Diamond Back Rattlesnake, this one by far the smallest.

We stopped for a refreshment break and possible dance, but they were closed.

The sun and clouds danced on the unplowed fields, changing every second; fabulous show, but tough to record with pictures.  With less than five hours of pedaling, we had completed our 55 mile ride; pedaled too hard.  Nothing like a good shot of whiskey, to ease the pain (we did wait until dinner).

Tomorrow we have 20 mph winds in our face (yes, they said in your face).  Time to rest.