Miles City to Glendive, MT
July 23, 2026
80 miles
Tour total: 1450 miles; Personal miles achieved: 1238 miles

Another early start — 5:15am in order to beat the heat. The day’s ride was almost exclusively on frontage roads (parallel to the highway) or on the highway itself. Arrived at the hotel a little before 2pm. Had time to take a little nap in the lobby before my room was ready.

The highway wasn’t that bad because there was a wide shoulder. From the beginning until the third SAG I rode by myself. Then one of the other riders and I teamed up and kept each other company and encouraged for the last 20+ miles.

At around mile 30 there was a roadside outdoor display with metal cutout sculptures and a lot of historical narrative markers. I would have missed it if I hadn’t noticed a few other riders ahead of me pulling over to the left and getting off their bikes.

Homemade wrist bands that hold ice worked great! At the third SAG stop it was hot enough for me to try them out. It was a bit fiddly to get the ice in the various pockets, but they worked great! The ice lasted about 6 miles or so before completely melting, and then after that it was easy to keep the wristbands wet and still cooling my wrists.

Glendive, MT to Medora, ND
July 24, 2026
63 miles
Tour total: 1513 miles; Personal miles achieved: 1301 miles

Started the day’s ride early at 6:00am to beat as much of the heat as possible. The wind was at our backs most of the way, which made the ride most enjoyable. My fastest downhill speed topped out at 37 mph! Wow! What a pleasure to be on quiet, well-paved back roads most of the day with gentle, rolling hills. Even the 20 miles or so of Interstate 94 wasn’t that bad because of that glorious tailwind.

Crossed the border into North Dakota. A couple of other riders were there to share that fun moment. To top it off there was a very large, wide harvester across the highway that had just finished its first row and was turning around to start the next. One of those wonderful, chance moments.

Lunch with a few riders at the Farmhouse Cafe, then it was off to the new Teddy Roosevelt Library (just opened on July 4th) with the aid of a free shuttle from our hotel. Spent about an hour there, but could have stayed much longer. Very well done with lots of interactive activities for all generations and ages to enjoy.

Simple dinner of hamburgers and grilled chicken that Lauren contracted from a local vendor and yummy sides from her travelling kitchen. Then the vans took anyone who wished for a ride around the Teddy Roosevelt National Park loop road to see the wildlife (bison, horses and prairie dogs), the gorgeous scenery of the Badlands and a beautiful sunset.

The scenery from both outside the library and from the national park loop road reminded me of the view at Ben Gurion’s gravesite at Sde Boker in the Negev desert of Israel. Not an exact match, of course, but a similarly stunning vibe.

Medora to Dickinson, ND
July 25, 2026
39 miles
Tour total: 1552 miles; Personal miles achieved: 1340 miles

Got to sleep in because of the short mileage today — 7:15am. If it weren’t going to be so hot, 100+ degrees F, we might have left later.

Long, rolling hills and a little more time on Interstate 94. Sounds daunting, but fortunately for all of us, there is an ample shoulder to ride on and not too much traffic — we’re in western North Dakota after all. It was mostly semi-tractor trailers, vacationers with motor homes, pickup trucks and a few regular cars. Off the highway was much quieter, which made the hills, which were a bit steeper than yesterday’s, a bit more bearable.

Cindi, our lead guide, set up the first SAG around mile 19. While getting through my routine of getting water, gatorade, a few snacks and a bio break, the temperature seemed to jump up quickly. Got back on my bike with less than 20 miles to go.

A few miles into the city of Dickenson there were 3 young people with a lemonade stand under a shady tent canopy. By that time the temperature had risen to 90 and was still climbing. A refreshing cup of lemonade was just what I needed to get me through the last few miles to the hotel.

Got to the hotel in plenty of time to go out to lunch with a few of the riders. By the time we finished and were walking back to hotel, the temperature had climbed to 100 and was expected to keep going.

Dickenson to Glen Ullin, ND
July 26, 2026
50 miles
Tour total: 1602 miles; Personal miles achieved: 1390 miles

It’s amazing what a nice tailwind and a quiet, smoothly paved road will do to lift one’s spirits.

Today’s ride is a bit unusual in that we rode to Glen Ullin, but didn’t stay in Glen Ullin. Rather, we loaded our bikes on and ourselves in the vans and drove to Bismarck, where we will spend three nights. Early tomorrow morning we will get up early and head back to the little park in Glen Ullin where we finished today and then ride our bikes back to Bismarck. I guess WomanTours didn’t want to schedule a 110-mile ride and skip the shuttling back and forth part. I, for one, am somewhat relieved that they chose this unusual approach because today’s temperature topped out at over 100 degrees F!!!

So tomorrow morning we’ll ride to the hotel where we are already checked in and then have a day off after that. Hence, three nights in Bismarck.

Glen Ullin to Bismarck, ND
July 27, 2026
61 miles
Tour total: 1663 miles; Personal miles achieved: 1451 miles

Left the hotel in Bismarck at 5am in the van to be shuttled back to where we ended yesterday in Glen Ullin, so we could ride our bikes back to our hotel in Bismarck, starting around 6:15/6:30 or so. Why? Not sure. But that’s how the tour was set up by the tour company. Why couldn’t we have two days off in Bismarck? Good question! I considered not riding and staying at the hotel, but in the end felt the pull of doing what the rest of the group was doing. The only ones who stayed in Bismarck were the ones who wanted to avoid the poor air quality due to the wildfires in Canada, and one rider who forgot to bring her helmet in the van to Glen Ullin.

The day was not as hot as yesterday. Only topped out at 90 degrees F or so.

The bike ride itself was pleasant enough, except for an interesting and unique rumble strip pattern on the shoulder of Interstate 94. It was so challenging to ride that I resorted to riding on the edge of the slow lane (it was a two-lane highway) closest to the shoulder. There was light traffic at that time of day, and each vehicle moved over to the fast lane on my left to pass me. The road quality was considerably smoother than what little was available in the shoulder area, so I made decent progress until the GPS route finally took me off of the highway.

Mostly rode by myself for the entire ride. The terrain presented long, gentle climbs and descents. One big climb as we got closer to the hotel, but fortunately the road had just been paved there, so it wasn’t too bad.

Lunch at a local burger place a block away from the hotel and then hopped on the van with my bike to visit the bike store for a new chain and to have my brakes adjusted.

The bike mechanic entertained me while he worked on my bike by telling me about the history of Bismarck. He’s in the process of creating a bike tour around Bismarck and working on his storytelling skills. Many cities around the country have bike tours and it looks like Bismarck will have one, too, in the not-too-distant future.

Lily, one of our guides, was driving the van with the rider, who had forgotten her helmet, in the passenger seat when a large bird jumped up from the road and collided with the rear tire of the rider’s bike that was in the front rack on the van. A picture is included in this day’s montage. Truly bizarre, but it gave us all a good laugh at dinner. Fortunately, the van was not damaged, but the rider’s rear tire did need to be trued. Definitely one for the books!

Bismarck, ND - layover day
July 28, 2026
6+ miles walking

North Dakota Heritage Center - lots of dinosaurs and wildlife exhibits

North Dakota Capitol Building - self-guided tour of the first two floors and the observation area on the 18th floor.

Lunch at an Indian restaurant.

Capital Gallery on North Fourth St. was showing a series of photographs taken during the construction of the Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Library. It was a fantastic tribute to the construction workers who built it.