the west

Today was an amazing day to follow a string of amazing days. We left Wolf Point this morning followed by a tailwind (finally!) and a grinning pup who ran beside us for half a mile. We entered into Glasgow around 11 30am, with an average speed of 20mph for the day. This is surly a huge change from last week where we were faced with headwinds of around 23mph and gusts up to 40mph. North Dakota is rated #1 for the windiest state in the country. A local shared with me that in the winter the winds get so strong they have been known to flip trucks. Often I felt as though I was going to be blown over myself. It was rough, but we made it. Stopping in nearby towns for pie and singing silly songs at the top of our lungs to distract us. Its hard to believe that we rode our longest day in these conditions, 117 miles.
The landscape is very surprising and interesting. I have never been in such open spaces and its a strange feeling to ride along flat prairies with a never ending sky, I felt very exposed. Western ND brought rolling hills which we rode happily into Theodor Roosevelt National Park. I could not believe my eyes as I turned a corner and saw this place. Probably the most beautiful area we've seen on the trip so far. We had a fast steep descent to the entrance of the park and I felt as if I was being engulfed by natural beauty. We climbed and camped in the park but had to be on our way the next morning. We awoke at 5am and biked out of the park toward the sunrise..well biked most of the day. Kelsey and I were sweep this day and were stopped in our tracks by a herd of bison. After being told the night before that bison are extremely dangerous and hate bicycles we were terrified to be only a few feet from a herd. One of the males made eye contact with me and I thought for sure that any moment now he would charge and that would be the end of the trip. "O this?" I thought, " Its nothing, really, just this thing I sit on that gets me from point A to point B. No no, I don't want to take your children, they're very cute but there is no need for you to worry. Please continue on with your breakfast. Its just little ol me and I will be right on my way."