Team 2 Day 25 (Maura)

 Maura here. Today we woke up in Glendive and got breakfast at the only place open at 8am on a Sunday - Subway. Their egg sandwiches are not the best but they will do the job. After loading up on snacks and cliff bars, we hit the road. Unfortunately, that road was indeed an interstate highway. I felt pretty ridiculous entering an on-ramp on a bike but thankfully we were only on there for 10 miles. Eventually we hopped on a side road which was scenic but super hilly. Hills have definitely gotten easier with practice, but there are still plenty of times I feel so slow that I could walk faster. Today was a bit of that. A few miles later we made it to Wibaux, which we had been debating on how to pronounce this entire time. Turns out it's 'weeee-bow', in case you were wondering as well. Anyways, we rolled up to a miracle otherwise known as Tastee Hut -- the ultimate drive in/burger shack in the middle of nowhere. After some fries, shakes, and a full ice water restock, we sent off again towards Medora, North Dakota. Construction was not our friend (it never is), and we ended up on a dusty gravel road for a while in the 90 degree direct sun. But all you can do is keep going. At the next rest stop we made a friend! He's a fellow cross country cyclist from Korea doing our same route. Meeting people on the road is fun because there is a shared sense of camaraderie. It's like you already know them and you often run into them again down the line. So after that, in a ridiculous turn of events, a moth hit my face as I was climbing a hard uphill and I dramatically slow-motion toppled both myself and Audrey to the ground. Moth, 1, Maura, 0. But we're ok! FINALLY, we made it to Medora which is a really cute western style town right at the entrance of Teddy Roosevelt National Park. First stop was Boots Bar! Our cycling gear probably turned some heads as we walked through the crowd of cowboy hats and leather chaps. We got great food and Claire got a margarita in a big boot shaped glass which she came to soon regret after a 70 mile day of biking. Second stop was ice cream, of course. Lastly we pitched our tents at the campground, but not before a quick dip in the pool :). Although I am slightly traumatized by the sheer number of grasshoppers here, it was overall a great day of cycling, tailwinds, scenery, laughs, and good food. And we are happy to have officially crossed through another state! It's been real Montana, but now we're taking on ND✌️

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