July 3rd – Harve to Malta, MT
July 3rd Statistics –Havre to Malta, MT:
- Today’s Biking Distance – 90.5 miles
- Today’s Average Speed – 14.5 mph
- Today Ascent – 695 feet
- Today Descent – 940 feet
- Today’s Ending Elevation – 2,473 feet
- Total Trip Biking Days – 14
- Total Trip Biking Distance – 1,055.7 miles
- Total Trip Average Biking Distance/Day – 75.4 miles
- Total Trip Ascent – 42,726 feet
If you remember the Broadway show “Paint Your Wagon”, you may recall the song “They Call The Wind Maria”. Today Maria showed me her good and bad sides. We started today with the bad side – a 15 mph headwind for the first 3 hours of the ride. My speed was kept below 10 mph even though it was flat and I had been riding at 18 mph two days ago. At about 11 am Maria decided to change her generosity. Over 60 minutes Maria changed from a 15 mph headwind to a 15-25 mph tailwind with gusts even higher. My speed increased to the 20-28 mph on the same flat roads. On occasion the wind came from the side and I was riding at a slant to compensate. I arrived at Malta at 2:45 pm, well before I expected for today’s 90 mile ride.
The weather cooperated as well with the thunderstorms not making an appearance as had been forecasted as a 30% possibility. The other benefit of Maria in both directions was the cooling effect – a benefit since it was sunny and hot most of the day.
The scenery today was much the same as the rides since East Glacier – rolling hills, farms and fields. New today – trees (see photos).
Mile 20: Long, straight roads paralleling railroad tracks with 12″ to 24″ shoulders and trees beginning to appear on the landscape – Just about describes the entire ride today.
Mile 42: More long and straight roads paralleling railroad tracks with 12″ to 24″ shoulders and trees in the landscape. This particular train (not moving) was 1.2 miles long.
Mile 55: Biking on a country road in the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation – didn’t see a car for 15 miles.
Mile 58: Robert biking on Route 6 in the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.
Mile 85: Historical Marker – Montana’s most famous train robbery (Butch Cassidy, Sundance Kid, Kid Curry, and Deaf Charlie).
Maltana Motel – Tonight’s lodging.
Interior of Maltana Motel – Typical of our lodging at small motels/inn.
Steve Prichard's 2012 Cross Country Bike Tour 