Day 20 – June 23 – Browning, MT to Shelby, MT 64 Miles

We got the earliest start of our trip this morning leaving Browning at little after 8:00 AM.  It was fairly calm in the morning, but as the day grew, so did the headwinds.  We made it 36 miles to Cut Bank, MT before noon and had lunch at the local Subway.  Our afternoon ride was more of a challenge as we headed directly into a 20+ mph headwind.  The remaining miles went slowly as we slogged our way toward Shelby.    We arrived at the Shel-oole Recreation area campground north of town around 3:00 PM.

At the campground we met up with the riders from our starting group.  They had taken a rest day in Shelby to wait out the headwinds.  We joined them at the local bowling alley to take in a couple games before dinner.

David O’Neil, our riding partner during the last few days had been craving a “big American steak” and baked potato since he arrived in the US.  It seemed that everywhere we had stopped for dinner, to this point, could not meet that order.  In Shelby we found the Dixie Lounge, Steakhouse and Casino (just about every business in Montana seems to be a Casino, from the local gas station to a steak house).   The Dixie fit the bill and we all had an excellent dinner.

Just as we were getting ready to leave, a weather front move thru the area and deluged Shelby in a couple inches of rain.  Flooding many streets as well as the kitchen at the Dixie.  We waited out the storm in the Dixie before returning to camp through the flooded streets.  As I am blogging I am hearing thunder of another approaching storm.  Should be an interesting night.

The local forecast, has indicated favorable riding weather over the next few days.  On Sunday, the winds out of the east are supposed to shift to the west.  The speed of these westerly winds is supposed to increase into the 20-30 mph range.  If the forecast hold true, this could mean some high mileage days.