A GRUNT DAY! I DID NOT EXPECT THIS ONE TO BE SO HARD.
Left Big Timber around 8:30 and rode “alongside” the Yellowstone River all day. Beautiful ride in the morning, ending with lunch in Columbus.
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| Yellowstone River |
While at lunch my old friend, the tailwind, turned into a dreaded headwind. Speed dropped about 5 mph and we just had to slug it out for the afternoon.
The other adventure of the day - riding on I-90. Other than faster vehicle speed, it actually felt safer than some of state routes we have been on. The shoulder was about 8 feet wide and had rumble strips separating it from travel lanes.
Sam, Hank’s friend had recommended this route and not go via Rapeljae. Thank you Sam, much better than 40 miles of not great dirt road.
We finished the day with a long slug into Billings, arriving around 6:00 at our friend’s house (Mark & Laura Nicholson). Their daughter Margie is a friend of Alee’s and played on the Piranha soccer team that I coached for years. At that time Mark and Laura, both doctors, were getting additional training in Seattle.
By the numbers:
Dist 87.4 miles
Elev Gain 1,323 feet
Elev Loss 2,080 ft
Moving Time 7:05
The picture of Jeff at day’s end is too funny. And says it all about your day’s exertions. Good job boys!
ReplyDeleteLooks like Jeff had a couple of beers to set up his nap -- although he would hardly need the help.
ReplyDeleteYou are right about the freeway being safer. We had very few miles on them on our Trans Am, but I have ridden often on a major four-lane highway in MN, near Nancy's home, and it was safer than some of the back roads with no shoulder. It too had a wide shoulder and rumble strips.
We also had a favorable wind turn into a horrible head wind in Wyoming, heading to Dobois. It took forever and was really hot. So we did five miles riding, then five minutes rest. The asphalt was softening under our feet. When we got to Dubois, first thing we got a cold beer, looked at each other, and said, "screw it, we are staying here an extra day." After that it was the Tetons and cooler riding.
Driving to MN, we seemed always to be following the Yellowstone River. I think when they saw a river, they just named it Yellowstone instead of thinking up another name.
Have a safe day tomorrow and may the winds blow you in ... OH, and the GF Food Bank credited our donation to your ride. .eg