Day 8: Highlight of the day was meeting and talking to Chuck Nerud, a third-generation rancher from Circle, MT who not only had some sharp words for TransCanada, but issued a powerful appeal to President Obama. Look for his interview to be posted soon.
The day started with an interview with the Ranger Review in Glendive, followed by a phone interview with the Circle Banner. We’re doing our level best to get the facts out about how this pipeline would impact the communities we’re traveling through. Before leaving town, rolled across the Yellowstone River on a beautiful old steel bridge preserved for pedestrians and bicyclists. Had a chance to reflect on the Exxon-Mobil oil spill earlier this summer and what could be in store for this and so many other of our beautiful rivers and streams if TransCanada gets its way. Then did a friendly phone interview with Wallace Snowden from Mix 103.7, a radio station out of Fort McMurray, Alberta. On the way out of town, rolled up to the drive-up window at Crazy Woman Expresso, where Darlene Cornelia was kind enough to treat me to a mocha for the road.
The ride day was a relatively short one (32 miles), but not without some intrigue. The first 12 miles east out of Glendive required riding on the shoulder of Interstate 94, which I try to avoid at all costs. In this instance, there was no other way from point A to point B. So Ron trailed me with hazard lights blinking and I knocked out the 12 miles as fast as I could (Ron said he clocked me at 20 mph most of the way). A highway patrol officer slowed down as he was passing us on the other side of the highway, but didn’t pull us over. Was relieved when the frontage road finally appeared. This eventually led to a dirt road, which Ron (an endurance athlete) scouted on foot (running), to assess the conditions. Deciding it was better to risk a flat on the gravel than push out luck with the Highway Patrol, made it into the town of Wibaux with some careful riding, where we found a friendly campground and a gem of a microbrewery called the Beaver Creek Brewery. Love that I’m able to post this blog from the cozy comfort of my tent.