It was a one mile climb out of the valley that nestled our little cowboy town.  And so it goes for our ride today, non-stop rolling hills.  Clouds remained from the overnight thunder/rain storm, the dampness and overcast keeping it cool at 58°.  We had a mild wind in our face that we hoped would not become a problem.  In less than an hour, the sun started to clear the sky and light the land. Still amazed with the contrast in the Bad Lands; hills that look like every ounce of liquid has been drained out of them, topped with lush pines. Oh, how we miss the pine filled forest and smells of the mountains.  But the Painted Canyon below our road and these hills were fascinating.  Almost immediately as we dropped from the crest of our 2800 foot hill, the fields flattened outnot our roads, however.

Half way through our ride we stopped for breakfast, pancakes bursting with blueberries and thick sliced bacon (Montana and North Dakota do good bacon).  As we walked out of the restaurant a cold wind almost knocked us over.  Our nice break over cakes and coffee gave the wind time to build to the forecasted 20 mph in our face.

Rolling hills and a stiff headwind were a tough combination.  Just as the topography changed, so did our sky.  To our south and in front of us, the sky was a beautiful blue, but to the north, the storm that had kept it’s distance, started moving in.A beautiful combination but we were in no condition to try to outrun a storm.  We tried to not worry about the dark clouds and take in the sights.Fortunately, the front of the storm appeared to move ahead and pass us, thankfully unscathed.

As we reached the edge of town, stopping to check what direction to go for our hotel, we met Dave (originally from Wisconsin, but now in Dickinson). We chatted for a long time about our common interests, biking and volleyball; shame we didn’t meet him over a beer, it would have been a longer conversation.  Another quick stop at the grocery store and Jerry discusses farming and politics with another local.He informed us we had just missed a gully washer; guess we really lucked out on that storm.  By the time we checked into our hotel around two, the temperature had not reached seventy.  Heading in for a hot shower and a rest from our long, hard, uphill, wind-your-face 40 mile day.