Day 18: Bicycling Across America – Dickinson, ND

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North Dakota! I never realized how dopey this helmet looks.

Yay, made it to North Dakota! I didn’t realize that Montana was almost as big as California, but now that I’ve peddled across it, I definitely do. Today was beautiful rolling countryside with about 20 miles of that on interstate 94. Travel on the interstate is actually much safer than riding on the side roads. The shoulders are a full lane wide and there’s a rumble strip separating you from the traffic. Although the speed limit is 80 miles an hour, the speed limit on the side roads is typically 70 in Montana and frequently there’s almost no shoulder.

Crossing the Yellowstone River in Glendive, MT
Sadly, the Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum was closed all weekend and didn’t open until 10AM today so I missed it.
Cruising in the breakdown lane on Interstate 94.
One of the last towns in Montana before the border
There’s a surprising amount of groundwater here. but don’t drink it because everyone says that it will cause “digestive issues“ from the dissolved minerals. From the air, the Badlands look so brown. It’s unusual for them to get this much rain.

So far North Dakota has been good roads and easy paddling, but it did rain the entire afternoon and I think it finally killed my Garmin bike computer. If I can’t get it going, I’ll see if I can replace it in Bismarck, which is 107 miles away.

Oil derricks are randomly spread across the countryside in North Dakota
Rainbow just before entering Dickinson, ND

Overall, despite the rain, it was a good day and another 106 miles closer to home.

Current location after 2 1/2 weeks on the road.