Sunday, July 7th: Whitehall, MT or… white clouds are trying to catch up to us

Today should be a fun day – all the way (mostly) slightly downhill. My woman’s legs feel not at all tired… good for me, now I can relax in the bag in front and enjoy the scenery. In the far distance – where we cycled yesterday – the sky is looking kind of nasty: this is definitely a thunderstorm building. Those white clouds seem to have big fingers which are reaching out towards us. There is a different smell – farming and hay. One farmer is already busy hauling hay from his land: with his machine he picks it up, throws it over his head and then the big bunch of hay slides down a sort of ramp. This way he can at least move 6 hay bales. A quarter in the ride she tells me to watch out for the Beaverhead Rock. Alas, my knowledge of animals is totally nihil (except of course I do know what a cat looks like) and I nor my woman see the Beaverhead in the rock formation. 

Well, as long as Sagajawea and other Native American tribes and the first settlers knew where this rock was… The town of Twin Bridges is halfway the route. I remember this cute little place from last year! 

A stop in the grocery store for a nice banana is a must: fuel for the woman! The name of the town comes from two brothers (yes … a twin) who had built two bridges here. Did I mention it yet… we are now cycling along the Jefferson River – downstream. My woman doesn’t actually know the name of the town we are heading to – she just knows it has to do something with the White House! I say – are we in a presidential mood today! As we leave Twin Bridges I tell my boss the fingers of the clouds are really getting very close. Hopefully we’ll reach Silver Star, before the outburst. The Jefferson runs to the left of us and the railway to our right – and for the rest – farmland. At one point we cross the river and have some rolling terrain to cycle on. Silver Star is taking a Sunday break: the one shop – also post office – is closed. 

Nowhere to hide or rest, my boss decides to go on. I do tell her the fingers have caught up with us… but there is no rain falling from the sky. We are lucky so far – actually the rest of the ride. It was rather interesting to see which farm we could go to in case the sky decides to let it rain on us. Just a few drops make us rush some more and one mile before reaching Whitehall my woman breaks so abruptly I almost jump out of the bag. The American Flag is on the ground, ready to be picked up. So far we are still cycling stateless (no license plate), but from today on we can wave the Flag! Our room in the Chief Motel is nice – not very fancy but it will do! My woman shoves the refrigerator in front of the door which connects us to another room. An hour later the rain pours down, but we are dry inside! Good riding, woman!