Completed Tagteam Cycling Routes



WHERE WE HAVE BEEN. The colored lines on this map represent where we have tagteam cycled since 1 Aug 2015. BLUE lines = 2015, YELLOW lines = 2016, RED lines = 2017. We will continue to update this map as we complete additional route segments (we are not done yet!).

Monday, August 31, 2015

Day 30: Hazelton, ND Recreation Area

The forecast yesterday morning when we left Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park said that by midday that the winds would be cranking up from the south.  So we took advantage of mild winds in the morning to cross the Missouri River to a campground on the east side and about 40 miles away.  We're camping at Hazelton Recreation Area ($14, power, no water), which is operated by the Corps of Engineers (it is situated at Lake Oahe, which is quite low right now, since it is nearing the end of irrigation season).


Alea stopping for fuel, with Twin Buttes in the background (along the east side of the Missouri River).
The big attraction here for Lana are the pocket gophers.  You don't want to be in a direct line between her and the tree that she is tethered to, or you risk having a limb amputated by her cord if she decides to bolt after one of them.

I haven't mentioned for a while that there has been fairly heavy smoke from the forest fires in the Rockies and points west, even this far east.  The sun both rises and sets as a dull red ball, due to the large amount of smoke on the horizon.  It should be a bit better by tomorrow, as strong winds are pushing all that smoke up into Canada today.

I also thought I'd point out that bugs haven't been much of a problem after that couple of days back in NW Montana.  There are bugs, and a few that bite, but it hasn't been so bad that we've had to resort to bug spray.  However, we have entered the land of no-see-ums.  They are a bit annoying, but tolerable.  There were about a zillion of them parked on the lee side of our van yesterday, hiding from the strong winds.

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Days 28 & 29: Camp Inn Owners in the Wild!

On Friday we chanced to meet, after owning our Camp Inn for three full years, our first Camp Inn owners in the wild - Kent and Laura (owners of #471 [or so]), as they happened to pass by where we were camped at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park (located south of Mandan, ND).  They just happened to be on their way west from Wisconsin to visit the area around Banff.  

And just a short time later, we met DakotaDave (his Camp Inn forum name), who lives just across the Missouri River in Bismarck, ND.  We were surprised to see him with his 2014 550 Ultra (#?), only to find that he had been following the blog and planned on surprising us in New Salem, where we had posted that we originally intended to camp last night.  Luck was with us that I happened to post early yesterday, and upload our latest GPS track to our map.  When it started getting late and we hadn't showed up, checking the blog showed him that we had pressed on and that we were here at the state park, so he managed to chase us down.

Dave & Steve talking shop.
Dave's Subaru Forester and Camp Inn 550 Ultra.
We spent some time talking about the local area, our Camp Inns, etc,  and as darkness closed in us he decided to move on to his campsite farther along at the campground.  As luck would have it, he ended up with the site right next to Kent and Laura!

Our ride here from Schnell Recreation Area included an 11+ mile stretch of gravel, the only alternative to doing a similar stretch on the interstate where the shoulders are said to have rumble strips the full width of the shoulder.  It wasn't bad on the bike, except in a few places where the gravel was a little to deep for my skinny tires.  But unfortunately Alea decided to take the van and trailer down the same road.  The result was fine red dust managed to infiltrate the galley and the door jambs on the van, which hadn't been cleaned in five weeks, looked pretty disgusting.  So the first order of business at the campsite was to thoroughly wash both the van and camper.
The view from afar of the world's largest Holstein cow at New Salem, ND.
Alea and Lana, waiting at the end of the gravel road.
Ahoy! Paved road ahead!
We decided to take today (Saturday) off, and spent the morning checking out the park - the blockhouses, the rebuilt buildings around the Parade Ground, including the house where General Custer was living before galloping off to the Little Big Horn.


We've got the next several days planned out, with our intention being to arrive in Fargo on Thursday night.  We hope while there that on Friday morning we can have the trailer's wheel bearing and brake adjustment checked, since it seems we might currently have more bearing play than is desirable.

Friday, August 28, 2015

Days 26-28: Out of Montana At Last!

On Tuesday we camped at Beaver Valley Haven in Wibaux, MT ($30, power, water and laundry).  The manager came by and took a picture of Loraine and #531 - they say we'll be on their Facebook page at some point.

The spacing of campgrounds for the next few days is either every 30-35 miles or every 60-70 miles, so we've had to choose whether to do longer or shorter days.  Since we're a bit ahead of schedule right now we are opting for shorter days, thinking it is easier to cover the distance on the warmer days when it seems the wind is often in our faces.  If we get a good tailwind at some point then we'll likely plan on covering greater distances on those days.


North Dakota at last!
On Wednesday we camped at Medora, ND, the gateway to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  The town is definitely geared to tourists, though our main criteria for choosing to camp at Medora Campground was simply to get caught up on laundry one last time before we reach Grand Forks in a little more than a week.

Thursday's ride wasn't too bad, as the wind was never stronger than about 10 mph.  It was generally a headwind until we got to an area where some storms were forming, at which point the wind was all over the map.  But it was a very scenic ride along Old US 10, and the last few miles was a nice, smooth, freshly paved roadway - a very welcome relief from all the chipseal that we've ridden on for weeks now.

On Thursday we camped at Schnell Recreation Area ($5, water available), a BLM campground of 6 sites of about an acre each.  Today (Friday) we're headed toward New Salem.  Both yesterday and today we've opted to split the riding between the two of us, each generally doing 25-35 miles each.  That enables us to cover greater distances more comfortably, and it makes the more monotonous sections of riding less so.

Our campsite at Schnell Recreation Area.
We're thinking of reaching Fargo a day earlier than originally planned, to give us an opportunity to find a place to adjust our trailer bearings and brakes.

The predominant winds lately seem to be coming out of the S and SE, so they are usually sidewinds and quartering tailwinds.  We count any winds less than 10 mph as mild, which they are at present.  So far today the roads have been in great condition.  With a tailwind Alea managed the first 10 miles in about half an hour.  I'm currently waiting halfway between Hebron and Glen Ullin, where we'll switch riders for the remainder of the day.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Days 24 & 25: No Coasting!

Yesterday it was my turn to repay the wind gods on the ride from Circle, MT to Glendive, MT.  I started out with a brisk headwind and throughout the day the best wind I had was a stiff almost side wind, and I'd estimate that it was typically blowing around 15 mph.  So it was basically like a 50 mile slog uphill  - there was no coasting, even the downhills required a lot of work to maintain momentum.  The bad news is that it would seem to be the prevailing wind pattern on fair weather days.

Yep, I love a headwind! 
We had planned on taking a day off in Glendive, MT (where we camped last night), but decided we'd look for a better place to spend a day where both of us will be out of the saddle, or else consider some shorter days if the wind continues to be against us.  We at first thought we'd camp at Makoshika State Park, but they wanted $28 for a primitive site without water.  Instead, we camped at Green Valley RV Park for $23 (power and water).  It has been around since the early 1970s, but it may be nearing the end of it's lifetime, as the owners are rather old and things haven't been updated in quite a while (but everything is spotlessly clean and parts of it are freshly painted).

It used to be that years ago all the traffic in the area went through downtown Glendive along Bell Street.  So there is still some architectural history from the 1930s and 1940s along that old route, which has been bypassed by the closure decades ago of the old truss bridge over the Yellowstone River.  A few of those old places are still booming, including the Gust Hauf, a beer and pizza place that had some of the best small town pizza that we've yet to experience (we had the taco pizza).

The Old Bell Street Bridge, now a bike/ped bridge.
Some interesting rollers, presumably to allow this mysterious piping to expand and contract.
The Makoshika Badlands and Yellowstone River as seen from the Bell Street Bridge.
The Gust Hauf's eye-catching sign.
Since today was planned to be a fairly low mileage riding day, we decided to start out by hiking through Makoshika State Park.  It was a bit too hot to do that yesterday when we arrived, but by heading out early we were able to hike the trails while it was still cool and the natural lighting was better.


Various views along the Cap Rock Trail of Makoshika State Park...
A natural rock bridge.


Before leaving Circle yesterday I had noticed that the tread of my rear tire had worn through to the cord.  I attempted to patch it with some Goop, hoping that it might last another 100 miles or so.  Instead it caused me to get a slow leak in the rear tube.  So after our hike today I replaced the rear tire and replaced the inner tube with the one that I had patched for Alea the day before.  I also took the time to clean much of the gunk out of the freewheel.


The worn out tire after 50 miles of riding on the repair.
Alea was optimistic that her 30 mile ride to Wibaux, MT would be easy enough, even if she ended up with a headwind.  But at the end of the day she acknowledged that it was perhaps the hardest day that she has ridden thus far.  The forecast for me is more of the same for my 35 mile ride tomorrow to Medora, ND.


Alea completes our first segment of riding on the shoulder of I-94.
Pretty wildflowers and a pretty hard slog into the wind.
The bent grass hints at Alea's struggles on the last five miles of the day.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Day 23: Wolf Point, MT to Circle, MT

We've been pretty fortunate for a while now that we've either had free wi-fi or could get a signal via our AT&T MiFi.  So we're optimistic that we may have internet access most of the time from here on out.  So we may be posting almost daily from now on.

Alea had 55 miles of rolling hills from Wolf Point to Circle, as the highway transected ridge after ridge pretty much the whole way.  There was a pretty good sidewind or quartering tailwind for most of the way and very narrow shoulders.  But I doubt if there were more than a few dozen vehicles per hour headed in her direction, so it was a good day for her.  It helped a lot that it was finally sunny again, and in the 60s and 70s during most of her riding.

Alea crosses the Missouri River just south of Wolf Point, MT.
Early in the afternoon I had stopped atop one of the ridges to provide a food stop for Alea.  It turned out that I had stopped at the entrance to a small cemetery, which looked to be an ideal place to let Lana out for a walk.  Wrong.  Just as we got to the cemetery entrance Lana discovered one of the tiny little cacti hidden in the grass.  And in trying to dislodge that first cactus from her paw she managed to find two more.  She did a lot of yelping before we got the last spine (out of a couple dozen) out of three of her four paws.  Her paws are still a little tender.

Cacti lurking in the grass.
I at first used Lana's leash to try to remove the cacti.  Luckily I had
a pair of leather gloves that were much more effective for the job.
A view from one ridgeline, with the next ridgeline in the distance.
Shortly after Lana's "punctures," Alea had the first flat tire of our trip, after more than 1,200 miles.  Fortunately, it started going flat just after our rest stop (and may have been caused by a cactus spine), so she turned around and we fixed it together using the supplies in the bike supplies drawer of our drawer pedestal and she was on the road again in just a few minutes.

Our first flat tire - caused by a thorn or cactus spine.
We're staying at Horse Creek Trailer Court and RV Camping ($10, power) in Circle, MT.  When the owner (John Howell) first saw our setup he chuckled and told us that he would never own a teardrop because they are too claustrophobic.  By the time we had stopped chatting with him he had changed his mind about that.  And he was nice enough to charge us the tent camping rate.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Day 22: Glasgow, MT to Wolf Point, MT

A bit of a cold front is passing through the area.  The official low was 52 degrees and the high is forecast to be 61 degrees.  Along with the low temperatures, there is a strong wind blowing east.  First thing this morning it was blowing at 22 mph with gusts up to 35 mph, and it seems to have stayed that way through early afternoon.

Look what the wind blew in...
(the view wasn't this clear through rain splattered glasses).
Needless to say, it was possible to set a fast pace for the day, but by the time we hit the road it was 48 degrees with mist/light rain.  We decided to leapfrog every 7 miles, which worked out to a stop about every 20 minutes.  That was about the point at which my glasses were getting too beaded up with rain/mist to be able to see very well, and just about the point where I needed to get warmed back up for a bit.

Over the 48 miles or so of riding today I averaged 23.4 mph, an average that probably would have been at least 25 mph if a narrow shoulder and stiff crosswind hadn't slowed my progress for the last ten miles or so.  For one stretch of nearly 3 miles I was maintaining a pace above 30 mph in my highest gear.  Even most of the places where I had a quartering wind I was able to keep it around 23 to 25 mph.

So it took a little more than two hours to do today's riding.  We're camping just west of Wolf Point at Homestead Motel and RV Park ($25, water and power).  I'm hunkered down in the camper with the ceramic heater stoked up and I just now powered up the heated mattress pad.  I suspect with the stiff winds that it'll take both to keep us comfortable here, though with Alea's additional body heat the ceramic heater might be sufficient.

The low tonight is forecast to be just 37 degrees, though it will warm up to 73 degrees tomorrow in Circle, MT.  After that, it looks as though summer weather will be back, with highs in the mid-80s to low 90s.  The winds tomorrow are forecast to be light and mainly out of the west and northwest, which should work well with our mostly southerly route.

We're going to take advantage of the unseasonable cool temperatures to see the 4 pm matinee showing of Trainwreck at the local theater.  It'll be the longest time that we've left Lana alone in the van, but she should do fine.

Friday, August 21, 2015

Day 21: Nelson Reservoir, MT to Glasgow, MT

We seem to have entered mosquito country, which is a bit of a disappointment.  We know that mosquitoes will be bad when we get to eastern North Dakota and Minnesota, but we had been hoping it would be arid enough until then that they wouldn't be much of a problem.  But thus far we are able to keep them at bay with a little Off!

Our campsite on Nelson Reservoir.
Today marks the end of our third week on the road.  We're staying at Glasgow, MT tonight, which is a bit more than 1,100 miles from where we started cycling.  Thus far we've averaged about 375 miles per week, or a bit more than our planned 50 miles per day.

Pit stop in Saco, MT.
The weather had been forecast to give Alea a headwind for much of the 55 miles into Glasgow.  She did have a headwind at times, but most of the day the winds were mild and not a problem.  The rough chip-seal of the road shoulders are more problematic for both of us - causing tingling hands and feet, and sore butts.

Hinsdale, MT: Just passin' thru...
We're camping at Shady Rest RV Park in Glasgow ($31, power and water), seemingly the best choice in town after perusing the other two possibilities.  At least we have a site with shade, and we're close to the toilets and showers and off the main highway and away from the train tracks.  It's been a while since we've had a shower, so we're both looking forward to that this evening after it cools down a bit.  We've drawn a little too much interest from yellow jackets at our campsite, but so far I'm 6 for 6 (make that 7 for 7) with our trusty fly swatter.  The problem seems to be subsiding...

We're finding that the mosquitos aren't bad in the towns that we stop in, but they've been bad at times when we've stopped alongside the road.  So whenever she would stop, Alea would dive into the passenger seat and I'd turn on the AC.  Then after resting she'd bolt out the door and jump on the bike to outrun the little buggers.

Today was our best chance to stock up on perishables for a few days, and it gave us a chance to wash the van and trailer.  On Sunday we start heading south in order to get to I-94.  We'll be riding part of the interstate once we leave Glendive, MT early next week. 

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Day 20: Zurich, MT to Nelson Reservoir, MT

We enjoyed our overnight stay at Zurich Campground, despite having no neighbors.  Lana got to chase a rabbit (she insists it was actually a jackalope, and it was going a little too fast for me to tell for certain), but that rabbit was only in second gear and Lana was going for all she was worth.  Needless to say, it was the highlight of her day.  We fooled around a bit on the playground equipment, and was somewhat amazed by how much I felt it in my muscles after just a few minutes.  That's probably an indication that we'd all be healthier and stronger if we played a bit more often.


Today was my turn to ride the western winds.  I'd guess the wind was blowing about 15-20 mph, mainly out of the WNW.  I tried to keep a fairly modest pace, opting to keep a higher cadence rather than pushing hard on the pedals.  As a result, I covered 50 miles by 11 am, averaging 20.9 mph.  The total distance covered today was 78.4 miles, with the last 18 fighting a stiff crosswind (and a sore butt).


We opted for a long mileage day today because the wind so far has either blown east or west, with very few exceptions.  So we think it is wise to take advantage of the fair west winds and to leave room to slow our pace when the wind is against us.  So we should be back to being about three days ahead of schedule.  In a couple of days we'll be heading south-southeast, so it will be interesting to see what the winds do to us on that stretch.

Who can resist a photo-op with a colorful dinosaur (in Malta, MT).
The scenery changed to prairie grasslands after leaving Malta, MT, which means there will no longer be the harvest traffic that we have been experiencing.  And the road shoulder has been nice and wide most of the day, though the rough chip-seal takes its toll after hours in the saddle.  I think back to the days when I was riding a bike that weighed around 75 pounds and how by this distance I'd already had a 100 mile day.  Of course now my bike weighs less than 20 pounds, so it makes it very clear how much stronger I was 30 years ago. 

Tonight we are camping along the shores of Nelson Reservoir (free, no water or electric), another Bureau of Reclamation campsite.  Alea should have a tailwind to begin the day tomorrow, and we're hopeful that we'll reach Glasgow, which is one of the better grocery shopping opportunities that we might see over the next few days.  It should be possible for her to get there, though at some point tomorrow the wind will start coming out of the east.  We're just hoping that doesn't happen too early in the day.

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Day 19: Havre, MT to Zurich, MT

The weather caught up with us yesterday afternoon in Havre.  The fairgrounds seem to have been bypassed by most of the weather, but all around us were dark, ominous clouds, flashes of lightning and roaring thunder, pretty much from the moment that we pulled in until mid-evening, when things finally started to clear out.  At one we point there was a brief heavy downpour at our campsite, which subsided into intermittent showers the rest of the afternoon.  We just managed to squeeze in our supper between rain showers.

Today was a tough day for Alea.  We awoke to thinning fog as the sun rose, but even then it was clear which direction the wind was coming from.  And the wind only increased in intensity as the day wore on.  Adding to her trials were narrow shoulders and more truck traffic than we've seen in quite a while.  Partly that is due to it being harvest time.  We've seen no end of harvesters and balers and all manner of other farm vehicles being transported from field to field.


Our most dependable travel companion on US 2: the railroad.
On the plus side, the weather has warmed up and our prospects are that the lows will only be in the 50s for tomorrow.   And we should be having clearer weather for a while, but the temperatures look like they will be fluctuating day to day.  We definitely seem to have happened upon a much more verdant part of Montana, as the last two days of rain wouldn't account for the amount of greenery that we've been seeing.


Narrow shoulders, but a more verdant and varied landscape...
We stopped short of our intended destination today (Harlem, MT) and instead opted for Zurich Park, which is located 1.5 miles north of Zurich, MT.  We're the only ones here, but there are a number of campsites ($10 with power), a community hall, picnic area, playground and ballfield.  The area is heavily shaded and there are plenty of trees to block the 10-15 mph wind coming out of the east.


Camping beside the Community Hall at Zurich Park.
We currently have about 710 miles to cover before we reach Fargo, ND, at which point we'll be taking some time off to visit with Alea's brother Joe in Grand Forks.  At a 50 mile-per-day pace it will take us about two weeks (which would be around September 2nd).  But for the next several days, suitable campsites look to be spaced about 40-45 miles apart, so we are slowly getting closer to being back on our original schedule, where our goal was to reach Fargo on September 4th.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Days 17 & 18: Lothair, MT to Havre, MT

The fickle wind gods made Alea pay for her easy ride a couple of days ago.  Luckily the wind was probably only about 10-15 mph.  For most of the day it was a sidewind or a quartering headwind, but for a significant stretch it was head on.  All-in-all, it was a lot like climbing the whole way.


Slogging against the wind.
Fortunately, we had planned a short day (40 miles).  The shoulders of the highway were wide for most of the day, so the occasional stiff side wind wasn't much to be concerned about.

We camped last night at Spencer's Hi-Way Bar & Grill in Hingham ($25, full utilities).  The new owners are in the process of freshening things up, and it is quite pleasant, as is the weather (it finally warmed up late in the afternoon).  The owner was a touring cyclist as well, having ridden from Anacortes, WA to Havre, MT (our destination for tomorrow) in 1988.  It shows in the reader board out front:



We shared a great dinner there of broasted chicken (available only on Mondays and Fridays) for only $8.95 - 4 pieces of chicken, fries and a salad. 

It showered most of last night and by morning it looked a lot like Seattle weather - low clouds, constant rain of varying intensity, but never raining all that hard.  We managed to time things so that we caught the trailing edge of the system and hit the road.

Havre, MT happens to have the last Walmart until we reach Dickinson, ND in another 8 days or so.  The last grocery store we stopped at had wine for exactly twice what we had been paying in Boise, so this is our chance to stock up on supplies and keep our expenses low, at least for those things that aren't perishable.

We adopted an every 5 mile headway for leapfrogging our way to Havre, just in case the rain started back up again and I needed some shelter from the storms.  But it seemed the storm system was moving just a bit faster than I was.  By the first stop at 11 miles I had been averaging 17.7 mph with calm winds.  Since the scenery is a bit monotonous, I decided to see how far I could bump that average up, and by the time I had ridden the 33.5 miles to the west end of Havre the average was up to 19.0 mph.

Look, Ma!  No earmuffs!
So we set up camp at the Great Northern Fairgrounds ($20, power & water) around noon.  We'll be shopping and doing laundry next and then hope to do a little sightseeing.

The view from near the fairgrounds, near where the Natives would
kill bison by herding them over a cliff.
In case anyone was wondering why it is called
the Great Northern Fairgrounds...
According to Rand-McNally, we're now officially in Eastern Montana, so we're about halfway across the state.

Monday, August 17, 2015

Day 16: Cut Bank, MT to Lothair, MT

The wind was reasonable today.  It started out as a light quartering side wind and late in the day became a light tailwind.  The big news was that it was cloudy and cold most of the day, starting out in the mid-40s and barely reaching 60 degrees by 2:30 in the afternoon.  After that it cleared out and warmed up into the 70s.



Still wearing earmuffs at noon!
We spent the night at Willow Creek Campground on Lake Elwell (free, operated the Bureau of Reclamation).  Being Sunday afternoon, there were a number of people water skiing and fishing when we arrived, but by early evening it seemed just about everyone had cleared out and we were left pretty much to ourselves.

Willow Creek Campground, which we had pretty much to ourselves.
Playing ball with Lana in the water, and checking out the unusual stones.
There is ample evidence there of the Ice Age glaciers here - the land is made of layers of glacial till, clay and sand.  There was an amazing array of different stones along the lake shore, most of which went unnoticed until I happened upon a somewhat trilobyte-looking fossil.  After that discovery we spent some time combing the shore, which was when we started to notice the huge variety of rocks and stones.


Our trilobyte find.
A few of the more notable rocks that we found, including a geode, a rock that was mainly iron ore
and another that was mostly made of mica.
A sedimentary rock containing sea shells.
Ditto
I have no idea what this is, but it is very intriguing. 
There were some interesting bright yellow crystals in this rock.
There was a pit toilet at the campground, but it was about a quarter of a mile away, near the entrance.  So we christened our Luggable Loo (five gallon bucket with tiny toilet lid) in the morning.  We were fortunate that there was a three sided picnic shelter next to our campsite, which gave us some privacy and minimized the cold wind blowing on body parts that aren't used to such experiences.  It worked quite well, and the deodorant packets did their job, since we had to pack it out to the nearest town since there was no trash service at the campground.  We also decided that the trilobyte fossil had a purpose - to keep our bag of toilet paper from blowing away!

About the time we turned in it started raining off and on fairly lightly.  By morning the showers were longer and heavier.  That created a bit of a problem for us, as the road to the pit toilet was mainly bentonite clay.  In spite of our traction control, Loraine's front wheel drive got stuck going up a very slight rise.  Fortunately, the rutted track made backing up very easy, as the trailer's wheels would start to go out of the tracks, only to slide back into them.  So we backed up a ways and pondered our situation.  We decided that I'd get out and push on the passenger side of the van and Alea would steer the van and trailer into the prairie grass on the opposite side.  Fortunately, that worked, and we were soon on our way again.


The road we almost got stuck on (taken the day before when it was dry).
Alea would have liked for me to inch along carefully, but I knew that momentum was necessary if we were to get through the slippery sections of mud on the grass and that final stretch of mud before we reached the gravel road back to US 2.  So we went hell bent for leather and in no time we were back on the highway.  Along the way Loraine had slung no small amount of mud onto #531...



#531's mud bath.
As I dropped Alea off and started driving down US 2, the added weight from the mud was very noticeabl(as was the mud caked into the tread of the tires).  I'd estimate it added at least a few hundred pounds of additional weight.  So I stopped a few miles down the road and managed to find a stick to scrape a couple hundred pounds of it off.  That helped, and in Chester I found a car wash and got most of the rest of it off.  Loraine was feeling herself after that.