Distance: 71.8 miles
Got up and cleaned the bikes before heading off past Glacier National Park.
The climb up to Marias Pass was long but the gradient was pleasant. At the top we met a Korean family who had their pictures taken with us and Pete and his wife who gave us some mosquito spray for use once we were out of the mountains.
Great feeling getting to the top of Marias, the last big ascent until Maine. Even better as it was mostly downhill on average for the next several hundred miles to the Mississippi.
It started raining as we began the descent, lightly at first, before becoming torrential. The wind picked up into a harsh crosswind that drove the rain almost horizontally into our faces and bodies. The downhills were fast and dangerous given the driving the rain and small streams that began to form on the road surface.
To add to the misery of the rain Dave was chased a hundred or so metres down the road by an angry black dog.
By the time we reached Browning we were drenched and Dave was almost hypothermic. He had chosen not to don his waterproof gear for the descent and had taken a beating from the cold rain and relentless crosswinds. As a result, we booked ourselves into an overpriced motel ($123 a night!) and cashed in on some free hot cocoa. It was nice to be out of the cold and rain.We wondered into Browning for food - probably one of the most run down areas we had experienced so far. A number of people had recommended we didn't stay there. It wasn't as bad as they made out but it wasn't particularly inspiring. (Browning is on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation - people's prejudice towards Native Americans had been clearly evident so far in Montana - sadly we experienced a lot of the stereotypes they had talked about that night).
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