Craig's Big RIde

I started in Stanford this morning and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. But a decent crosswind had kicked up by the time I reached Windham, just a few miles into the day's planned ride. The long stretches of snow fence should have clued me in that it was a particularly windy area: After I turned a bit more south at Moccasin, I was riding into a headwind. Luckily that was a fairly short section of road and I sooned turned a little more north just past Moore. And then the wind backed off as quickly as it came up.  I met Lailla, Sherri, and Carrie at a nice rest area just outside Lewistown where they spent a few hours. Lailla even took a nap as I was heading back out after a little lunch break. After Lewistown, the scenery was beautiful through the Judith Mountains: I also encountered some more headwinds for the last few miles of the day, but I was close enough to my planned stopping spot that I didn't let it bother me. I finished the day with another 75.7 miles ...

I've been pushing pretty hard so far and today was a very welcome rest day. I've completed 1022 miles in 15 days of riding. In reality, that first day of 27.9 miles and the seventh day of 36.5 miles to finish out Washington are dragging down my average. I started out doing some computer work in the morning that I needed to catch up on. Late morning, we decided to go to the First People's Buffalo Jump State Park just west of Great Falls. This is a historic site where the First Peoples used to run bison off a cliff to their doom. It was a decent state park with good exhibits. Next, we were off to a more plebeian pursuits: beer. During out 2021 Montana road trip, we stumbled across a wonderful tasting room at the Harvest Moon Brewing Company in Belt. So back we went and it was maybe an even better experience than four years ago. We met some wonderful folks and had a pleasant afternoon chatting and drinking some locally-brewed beers. Rod was our barman in 2021 and he was again ...

Today's ride was a little easier than the last couple of days despite having a bit of a cough and a little sinus congestion. I attribute the easier ride to cooler daytime temperatures, more interesting geography, and the fact that tomorrow is a scheduled rest day! I started out from the town of Vaughn, which is just a few miles west of Great Falls, Montana. It was cool enough that I needed my windbreaker for a bit. There was also a nice tail wind until I got into Great Falls. Through Great Falls, the route followed the River's Edge Trail along the Missouri River. The second half of the day I was riding within sight of the Little Belt Mountains. So I had small mountains to look at and there were some trees throughout the day. And the temps only climbed to about 80F this afternoon, which is much more tolerable. It was my eighth consecutive day of riding and I logged another 76.5 miles. All in all, it was a good day. The Western Livestock Auction grounds near Vaughn. The Rainbow T...

I didn’t take a lot of pictures today during the ride. And that reminded me that there's more to this adventure than just the miles ridden during the day. As I mentioned in passing in a previous entry, we stayed with a friend in Kalispell. (Thank you, Smith.) We also experienced a car show in Libby. Lailla and I visited the cable bridge over the Kootenai River near Libby. And tonight, we went to the Sip & Dip Lounge where there was a real mermaid in a giant tank! The vibe was Tiki Bar kitsch...and they did have very good cocktails. So here are a few pictures from today's ride and a few more from other parts of the adventure. Holy Spirit Radio. Dutton American Legion. Dutton from a distance. Most towns look similar from a distance: an oasis of trees, a water tower, and a good chance of silos. A lone tree near Dutton. It looked very lonely. A Swainson's Hawk in a dead tree near Dutton. Lailla, Carrie, and Sherri brought me a peach mango smoothie today for a nice midday br...