We set off at about 9.30am which is good enough, but almost immediately came to a halt outside a outdoor shop where we debated the question of bear spray. We don't want to hurt a bear but in the very unlikely case that a bear ventures into the local roads as we pass, we don't want to be defenceless. Art (Zarko), a few days back had said you could loan or hire bear spray but this doesn't seem an option here in Cut Bank and the salesman told me some scary stories where if the victim had possessed bear spray it would have made all the difference very likely. Well we now have bear spray. But it cannot go in a plane and has no use in a country that has no bears... so we will have to give it away at some point - Seattle sports and outdoor shop probably. It has added a dollop to our weight. Then we headed off towards Browning - pretty flat - caught the tail-end of a thunderstorm at Browning with some hail and rain and then bashed on along the 89 towards Saint Mary. Guy nearly had a puncture just before Browning - he noticed a clunking noise from his front tyre - and removed a piece of metal strands and rubber from a tyre. In fact the road through the Blackfeet reservation was the most littered with broken bottles that we have yet seen in 3500 miles ofvthe USA. Drink and chuck the bottle out of the window....The 31 miles of road on the 89, after Browning, was a replacement for the official route (Northern Tier) which goes into Canada before getting to St Mary's and which is not viable for us with our 90 day visa waivers. The 89 was flattish until we reached Kiowa and turned north, after that we had a small col followed by a bigger col - over the 6000' contour. Nicely graded roads though. After the second col it was downhill for 1500' at least to St Mary with not much of a hard shoulder to cycle in - but the road was quiet and long periods were spent on the main carriageway. We are now camping at Johnson's RV and camping, replete with salad and red wine (a glass each from a small carton). It was amazing how quickly we finished with the prairie which we've been crossing for over a 1000 miles - and started on mountain passes. There must be some sort of geological change... We are here.