Day 12: All Dressed Up…

 

…And not quite sure where to go

Laurel to Hardin, 69 miles, 1100 feet of climbing - which seemed a lot more than the raw number suggests.

We spent almost the entire morning pouring over maps, working out routes using internet apps and making phone calls concerning lodging. The question: go north leading us to North Dakota or head south leading to South Dakota. We found that it’s pretty difficult to string together a winning combination of miles and lodging in eastern Montana. The answer: We came up with a plan for the next few days that has us swinging down into Wyoming for a day or two before making our way into South Dakota.  It’s all based on finding the right combinations of miles and lodging.  All is somewhat precarious as one extraneous event (a storm or mechanical failure) could throw the entire plan into a tailspin. Nonetheless, we’re pretty optimistic that it will work.

We left Laurel (late) this morning expecting to have a pretty easy day - just about 70 miles of riding.  We were very wrong about that. After riding through a commercial/ industrial stretch of Laurel to Billings, we struck out onto an incredibly scenic backroad. It exceeded all of our expectations as to beauty - not snow covered peaks but spectacular mesas and buttes, farm and ranch land extending as far as we could see, and the Yellowstone River. We were serenaded by all sorts of birds and the chirping (barking?) of prairie dogs that lasted for miles and miles.    

On the other hand, the route was reputed to be relatively flat (and reported as such on Google maps) but it was anything but. We started out with a 5 mile climb (and rewarded with one of the best downhills that we have ever experienced). From there, it was hill and dale, up and down, for about 50 miles. We think it is fair to say that there was not a flat portion of this road - “relatively” or otherwise - from start to finish.   

Also, the temperatures had crept up into the low 90s today, which made pedaling more than a bit enervating.  Fortunately, we had a breeze that cooled us off a little, which turned out to be (you guessed it) our friend the headwind. And there is not a shady spot to be bought in this part of Montana - so it sure felt hot.

It turned out to be scenic and fun, but it was definitely a tougher ride than we expected.  But, once again, it was really exceptionally pretty, the likes of which we easterners have never seen before.

The temperatures are expected to rise still a little higher in the next few days in these parts, close to 100 degrees - which we hope does not last for long.  We have some miles and climbing planned for tomorrow, and the geography here does not allow for many (or, really, any) bail-out options. We’ll have to make sure we take breaks and hopefully find some shade.  It should be fun, or at least interesting - and certainly hot.