Day 47 Forsyth, MT to Billings, MT

July 13, 2014

107.7 miles
7:31 ST
14.5 avg

We left Forsyth at 5:51 this morning while it was still cool. The sun was just coming up behind us and the moon was waning before us.

We had planned to take the two lane to Hysham because it is flat and has very little traffic. We rode this road coming in on our first trip six years ago.

It was gorgeous and quiet along the Yellowstone.

We even startled some deer.

As we were riding, my thoughts were beginning to be a bit on the gloating side as I thought about the interstate in the hills above us. Then...uh oh. Big flashing sign : "Road closed 16 miles ahead".  Thankfully, it was right by an access road to the interstate. And that thing went straight up the hill. Climb #1.  Proverbs 16:18 says "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." (In this case, a steep hill.)

So, we spent the day on the interstate -  up and down, up and down. We started playing a game of counting the climbs and the hills, hoping the hills would win at the end of the day. The difference between them: a hill is less steep than a climb, but a climb can be be less steep if it's long. It's all subject to how we're feeling at the moment. ;o) The hills barely beat out the climbs today. Hills- 15, Climbs- 14. There were plenty of "rises" that we didn't count in either category.

We also came to some construction which caused us to ride against traffic.

Believe it or not, this was safer than staying on our side. Traffic was reduced to one lane each way and our side had the very narrow shoulder which was filled with rumble strip. There was literally no room for us to ride. Now, the reason this worked for us is that it was very early and traffic was minimal.

We also had several miles of newly finished road which was nice because it was smooth and the shoulder was super clean. Not much fear of flats.

We pedaled on as the day wore on, and it got hotter and hotter. And hotter. Finally....

The road that will take us home!

We had to stop at a Town Pump just east of town to get some water and get our body temps down. We still had about eight miles to our exit and that was too far to go without a break.

Over nine hours after leaving, we got to our hotel, both very tired and hot. After a shower and a little rest, I did laundry then we went to dinner to celebrate making it through such a long day.

So, did you notice there are no pictures of Gerry fixing a flat tire? Hallelujah! 

But....... as we were coming into our room we realized something wasn't right with the back wheel. Sigh. Broken spoke. So, we have to go to the bike shop tomorrow to get that fixed before leaving. Now, what we are grateful for is that both broken spokes have happened in towns with bike shops, rather than out in the sticks somewhere.

Tomorrow will be a shorter day again as we'll aim for Columbus. By the time we finish at the bike shop and get going, we won't have time to make it to Big Timber. Plus, I don't think we'll have the energy, after today. So we'll break the remaining miles into three segments, hoping to arrive home sometime mid to late afternoon on Wednesday.

There may not be a post tomorrow evening as the hotel we'll be at doesn't have WiFi. If there's no other hotspot nearby, I'll have to do two again on Tuesday.

My shin started the day at about a two on the pain scale, rose to a six by our lunch break, and finished at a four. Gerry's has been down around a one or two for about a week now. So, thank you again for your prayer.

We're trying to not get too excited too soon about getting home. There are still three days, plenty of hills and wind to overcome. But, we ARE feeling a bit like horses heading home to the stable. 

We humbly ask you to continue in prayer and pray us all the way home.

Zzzzzzzzzzz,

Pat