Day 13 Billings (still in) Montana

BEST: BBQ ribeye steak for dinner catered by Beyond Basil.

WORST: Setting up for breakfast and cleaning up resulting in my being the last out on the road (I am on team 4 which was the team on duty today)

MOST UNEXPECTED: Seeing cows underneath a collapsed bridge designed by an ex-civil engineer. Don't the cows know it is bad luck to stand under a broken bridge.

Last night we had dinner at Tod and Liberty's house who are starting up a restaurant in Harlowton. It was a gourmet meal including flatbread pizza with grass fed beef (the beef wasn't green). It would normally have made my best list, but it got beat out by tonights dinner.

I had to get up at 4:40 today for breakfast setup and I was on the road by 6:30 getting to Billings by 12:30. We had a rough 9 miles of riding at the beginning due to road construction and the road was washboard and gravel. They also watered it which made the bike a mess. After losing all of my fillings and my manhood, we reached good pavement and flew down the road to the lunch stop at mile 46 after making a right turn off Hwy 12 which we have been on for several days. As a result of a 90 degree bend, the wind somehow shifted 180 degrees and became a headwind. I was fortunate to get picked up by 'Team Pink' and rode with them for 35 miles to the end with all of us very tired by the end. The picture below shows 'Team Pink' with one oddball member wearing bright yellow.

I really like the irony of one of the pictures below showing a cafe with the sign reading world famous burgers next to a for sale sign.

Pictures also include views down to Billings before the final descent.

You will notice a lack of scenery pictures below. That is because someone stole the trees and green grass and replace them with power poles and dead weeds. Visualize Hwy 5 in California heading to Bakersfield and you will get some idea of what we saw. This made the ride even longer. I think we went around 10 miles before the road actually had a curve in it which made it pretty mindless, something which normally suits me well.

My photo assignment today was to photograph something more comfortable than a bike seat, and I assume you can figure out from the picture below what I think of my bike seat. Tomorrow on my rest day I will be going into town and buying a new saddle.

We are staying in the Montana State dorms without any kind of air so I will be plugging in my fan tonight. Last night we stayed in the basement of a church where it was cool. Temperature today is again in the 90's, but the good news is that when we start the ride it is in the 60's, so go early and go fast and try to beat the heat.

Tonights catered dinner included salmon as well as the beef and had various salads, apple pie, and a scrumptious beer which included huckleberry flavoring. It states on the label that is the bears favorite beer. (picture below)