Kicked by the Wind

This is the last whining I'll do about the wind. Because tonight the rain starts. When I left Rapid City this morning it was practically still. I was feeling pretty good about things for the first 45 minutes. Then the wind kicked up again.  I rode up into western North Dakota, my first visit to the Peace Garden State.  (That leaves only four more: Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and the big one, Alaska.)

There's not a lot to stop the wind in western ND. 

I've seen a couple of bicycle tourists out on these windy roads. That certainly puts things in perspective. Imagine riding a fully loaded touring bicycle down this road with a 25 mph head or side wind. 

One good thing about the rain, or at least this is what I tell myself, it will wash off 2000 miles of smashed insects and road grime. Maybe. That stuff is pretty baked-on. 

Back to North Dakota, I always pictured to look like those exterior scenes from Fargo. In the western part of the state, there are the Badlands. 

You won't have to try very hard to guess which Springsteen song ran through my head for a good part of the day. 

I'm staying at the Yellowstone River Inn in Glendive, MT.  At $54.50, it's less than half of what I paid at the Sleep Inn in Rapid. It looks scary on the outside but the room is nice enough.   Thank you, TripAdvisor. 

I'm concerned about my rear tire. Though the tires had 7000 miles on them when I left, the tread was good and the wear bars were still fairly deep. After another 2000 miles, not any more. I've got new tires waiting for me in Spokane, but that's another 700+ miles. 

For you non-motorcyclists, getting 10,000 miles on a set of motorcycle tires is almost unheard of. 

Tomorrow, to Havre, MT.