36 miles

We got started around 9:00 am today, riding with our three new amigos on and off for a while. 

I saw some cacti and what looked like yucca today, and a few snakes. I didn’t realize eastern Montana was so desert-like. The landscape between Jordan and Circle so far has reminded me strongly of New Mexico, or Nevada.

We got rained on for a little stretch today. It rained hard, but only on the left, because the wind was blowing at around 20 mph from the north. It was a weird experience. 

We stopped at a construction site to use a porta-potty—it was the only toilet we saw between Jordan and Circle, about a 67 mile stretch. I had anxious visions of the wind blowing it over as I went in—it was perched somewhat precariously on a trailer with wheels, right on the edge of a big hole in the ground. What a thrill.

Our goal was to make it to the town of Circle tonight, but the wind and my body were putting up a fight. We stopped and ate lunch at a rest stop, and decided to spend the night there, rather than huff and puff for another 32 miles through the brutal crosswinds. I feel like I had some great thoughts and moments today, but even writing stuff down right now feels like toil. 

The phrase “this, too, shall pass” has been coming up in my thoughts more and more lately. It’s a phrase I’ve heard often throughout my life, but almost always in the context of some difficulty. It’s obviously a good reminder during the bad times because it reminds you that relief is just around the corner, but I find that it’s just as useful for appreciating the good stuff while it’s happening, because that shit isn’t permanent either. Good, bad, boring, whatever is happening, it is all transient, and it is tremendously useful to remember that. 

We are planning to get up before dawn tomorrow to try to outrun the wind.