Day 26 - Miles City to Baker, MT - 80 miles - 2746 ft of elevation gain

Lee has been starting our mornings with a text of encouragement, a quote, or verse. This morning he sent this:

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength or a lack of knowledge but a lack of will."

Vince Lombardi

On these hot days with unchanging scenery, you are showing that you have the WILL to succeed.

Our goal again this morning was to leave early and enjoy the 70s for as long as possible. We pulled out around 7am and headed out of town. It was flat for about 4 miles and then we had our first climb. Today was another day of long hill climbs, not super steep, just long. Somehow I managed to get another QOM, but there were only five other women that rode that section on Strava. Tonight in devotions Mike talked about pride and ego, it can be easy to get prideful over these accomplishments, but really it’s God blessing us with abilities and creating opportunities for us to use these skills. It’s fun to see how you stack up against others on Strava, but I certainly don’t want to derive my worth from a cycling app. These accomplishments are really a result of being part of a team and getting stronger together. I’m not here without the group working together to draft, encourage, and spur one another on.

The quote of the day was from Zach, “this cloud cover is the only thing keeping me going!” It was another hot and arid day. I saw 2 dead snakes, some deer (alive), a smashed turtle shell, and a field of random equipment that may or may not have worked. We went miles upon miles without seeing much, a few cattle, lots of dry fields with brown grasses, and some arid hills. I think I’ll be the most tan I’ve ever been in my life after this trip. We apply sunscreen at every stop, and I’m still getting really nice and defined lines.

It wasn’t until the last 10 miles or so that we saw some semblance of a town. A few more miles and we arrived in the small town of Baker. Apparently a few years ago they had a tornado pass through and did a lot of damage. The town got a grant and used some of the money to build a splash park, bike and skate board park, and a beach area at the lake. I asked the boys if they wanted to go to the lake, but I didn’t have any takers. So the van needed a wash, and this town actually had a self-wash bay (I’ve been on the hunt for the last few towns). Jaerrid volunteered to help, as did Mike and Al. After the van was clean, I asked if any of them wanted to check out the splash pad. We picked up DeNise and dropped off Mike and headed to the lake and splash pad. The splash pad had cold water, and was probably only meant for little kids, but we were hot and won’t be back in town ever! We ate dinner in the only restaurant in town that was open (of the maybe 4 options). Oh and it rained tonight (cause we washed the van of course 😉).

Tomorrow we cross into North Dakota!