Posting comments

Several folks have commented that they are having trouble with posting comments on the blog.  I definitely want to hear from you as your comments keep my spirits up on hot, windy, long bicycle rides.  The work around that we have devised (we think it is because some submitters don't have active Google accounts) is to send your comments to the email:  sspeer2@comcast.net  and Andrea will post them. 

Shelby, MT

We are invariably on the road by 4:30 AM each morning so all we have to do is look over our shoulder to see a beautiful sunrise.

Through better than 2500 miles, I have been healthy the entire way.  Unfortunately that came to an end on the ride from Chester to Shelby, Montana. Waking up not feeling well, I thought at least getting to Cut Bank would be a reasonable goal. The winds, for the most part, were not in our favor and the bicycling was tough and the weather very cool...approaching cold.

From Chester to Shelby, Monte and I passed through four little towns that have seen better days.  Lothair was small with no amenities but we expected to find something in Galata. Galata appeared to have been a going concern at one time but it basically looked like a ghost town. We hoped to eat breakfast there but we could find nothing to accommodate our needs.  It was here that I started feeling pretty low but the good news was they had a three-hole outhouse that I was able to avail. From here it was on to Devon and then Dunkirk, both of which offered little if any amenities. By the time we arrived in Shelby I had to confess to Monte that I was done for the day and traveling on to Cut Bank was not really an option for me. By the time we found a hotel I was completely undone and really remember not much of our visit the first day.

Merle Head, our very fine Chef at the Shelby Grill, and Ron Jensen, another of the original core group that, through persistence and tenacity, made the Memorial Flag and Memorial Site a reality and a point of pride and recognition for the city of Shelby, Montana, and a tribute to all veterans.

 Ron was with the 506th of 101st Airborne/Airmobile Division in Vietnam and his area of operation overlapped that of my unit's.  Ron farms in Shelby, Montana, has been married for 44 years, came home and made a good life for himself. Ron, it was a pleasure talking with you and thank you for breakfast. May all that is good go your way.

One spectacular achievement by the city of Shelby was a grassroots movement by a group of local veterans to erect a flag and a memorial site to veterans. As a tribute to Montana veterans as well as all other service members, a core group of six veterans set about the task of erecting a 30 x 50' American flag at the intersection of I-15 (First Special Services Memorial Highway) and US Hwy 2 (163rd Regimental Memorial Highway).  As with all tasks of this nature, it turned out to be a much bigger project than they had anticipated. With original protect projections at $10,000 to $20,000 to complete the task, the project grew to exceed more than $150,000. Thanks to many volunteers generous with both their finances and their time, the project came to fruition through a group effort that seems to have instilled pride and brought the community together. It is really a tribute to those in the community who took this idea from the "idea stage" to completion!

Bob Longcake, an Air Force veteran, played a pivotal role in seeing that the Montana Veterans Memorial Flag and Memorial Site was carried through to completion.  Mike and Beth Overly joined us in learning about the memorial site. Mike was in the US Marine Corps from 1966 to 1969 and also served in Vietnam.

Shelby Street Fair, Montana




Barbie says it all with the sign!

July 10 - Havre to Chester, MT

Sunrise

Mountains in the distance

Bicycled 60 miles from Havre to Chester, Montana today in less than favorable conditions. Monte Cherry and I were on the road by 4:30 this morning. We immediately were confronted with a steep hill and a strong wind blowing directly in our face. We took turns taking the lead so the other might draft and have some relief from the wind. We struggled through this for the first 25 miles until we got some relief. The winds abated and we had perhaps another 20 miles with pretty good conditions. Shortly thereafter the wind picked up again and we struggled until we reached Chester, Montana. We passed through Kremlin, then Guilford, Hingham, Rudyard, Inverness, Joplin, until we reached Chester at about three in the afternoon. Along the way we met and conversed with a number of really charming people. Most were farmers and a few were ranchers. Wheat and barley are the main crops and raising cattle is a significant enterprise as well. The terrain we found to be generally flat along with rolling hills. Highway 20, our main route, followed the railroad and each little town we passed through was coupled closely to railroad history. All in all it was a good but exhausting day.