Today we cranked out another 92 miles despite facing 10-15 mph headwinds for about 87 miles, then some rather stout hills for the last 5 miles into Culbertson. We began the day by having coffee with Francis, whom we met last night, and then going right for the monster cakes at Bergie's. I originally ordered 2 and Laura 1, but then quickly came to my senses and realized that one would be more than enough. We each managed to eat maybe half of our pancake, and were then told that the cook today wasn't the owner and the cakes were about 2" smaller in diameter.

Kinda took the wind out of our sails. Today was probably our toughest day, even harder than the 6000' of climbing on Day 3. Headwinds are our new chief enemy and we're heading into the portion of our trip when we can expect them most every day. Not a lot of highlights today, but we did catch our first glimpse of the Missouri River. Upon arriving in Culbertson, we headed straight for the casino/bar for dinner and a couple Moose Drool to celebrate Jason's birthday. We also called Jackie from SW North Dakota to arrange to meet her and a couple of her children who have Crohn's Disease when we get to Williston tomorrow.

Finally, today I bestowed the nickname of "The Badger" on Laura and it seems to be taking quite well. The name was chosen for a variety of reasons, all of which seemed quite appropriate in my semi-dehydrated state: 1) she loves the Badger State (sorry, Patrick) 2) she was very tenacious and badger-like on today's torturous ride, even though she hates headwinds and 3) she loves France and Bernard "the Badger" Hinault is French. Oh, and the answer to the math question from August 1st is: 100%!

Never fails that almost every oncoming car, no matter how desolate the highway, is timed perfectly to coincide with the car overtaking us, usually when there's glass on the shoulder or no shoulder at all! Tomorrow is a short day into Williston before a full day of rest on Saturday.

Today's Prius count = 0.

Total Prius Count: 43