Up, Over, and Through

An Ode to Montana

We made our break from Missoula, though it was hard to leave our once upon a time home. Believe it or not, there is a picnic table underneath and behind all our stuff! We have a tendency to sprawl...

Flynn helps me bundle up on one of our coldest mornings. I like my coat sleeves over my mittens, thank you!

Cycling through a frozen world.



We knew it would get cold, but we weren't expecting it to happen literally overnight. Is it really going to be winter from here on out?



The frost wouldn't melt off my handlebars... actually, it seemed to be creeping up my mittens and arms as we rode.



Finally, the sun broke through and we caught a glimpse of the Blackfoot River- we knew it was out there! We felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz as colors started to emerge from underneath the frost.





Flynn's first flat ever! She fixed it like she'd been doing it all her life.





Potential stow-away? Darth Vader was very hard to leave beind.



Montana, we love you! The western half, at least...

Crossing the Continental Divide- YES!



Big smiles for a big day. Another huge hurdle behind us!




Showing off those rock hard thighs. Vanna White, you have some competition!



Enjoying a wonderfully relaxing evening with the Waniata's in Helena, Montana. Tea, ice cream, Shelby the dog and great performances by Dale and Nathaniel topped off our stay in the capitol.

Thank you SO much, Dale, Carol and Shelby! Your kindness, hospitality, and wam conversation was a blessing to some road weary travelers. Also, your lawn was incredibly comfortable!

Lovely ladies strike a pose while poor Nathaniel attacks his broken rack with duct tape, glue and zip ties. Good thing we had no idea that this was only the beginning of our mechanial problems in Eastern Montana.

Flynn models the "I-just-rode-over-a-huge-mountain-pass-in-freezing-rain-and-crazy-hail-and-hurdled-downhill-for-miles-in-frigid-temperatures" look. So hot!



We experienced one of the most beautiful sunsets we'd ever seen while approaching White Sulfur Springs in some vicious crosswinds.





Lesson here? Don't lean over the back of my bike during strong crosswinds or else you'll get a flag whipping to the face




Not a whole lot of help to be found at Visitor Information.




Another one of our beautiful lunch spots. Many thanks to this hay bale for being our wind block.



Post-lunch attack mode. Little did we know that this would be a 90 mile day, and the day we crossed the 1,000 mile mark in our trip. Tailwinds- we love you! This day is still recalled as one of the best days yet.



 

The only thing that could have made the day any better? Rolling into the small town of Ryegate, Montana looking for a place to stay and deciding on the somewhat abandoned looking sports field next to the road. We decided to stay undercover and wait for dark to really set up for the night. We thought we were done for when a truck pulled up. We were sure they wer coming to tell us to leave and we gave the "just stopping to warm up" story. Little did we know that David and Patti wished to welcome us into their beautiful log home for homemade stew, showers, the most comfortable beds in the world and great company. We were speechless!



Puppy love!



Cheers to Patti and David- we will never forgot these wonderful people in Ryegate, Montana! We were overwhelmed by their generosity and can never thank them enough.

And the flat tire total continues to rise. We're getting really good at patching our tubes at this point.

Apple pie? A la mode? AND coffee? Words can't describe the joy.

Who says stopping for groceries can't be fun? Or that these quarter rides are just for kids?

Eastern Montana/West Dakota. The love-hate relationship has already begun. Its gray, its windy, the water is hardly drinkable, we have a twice broken rack, a broken spoke, and twelve flat tires before we make it out.

Experimenting with food combinations. Peanut butter and canned oysters, anyone?

Dirty? The word has taken on a whole new meaning, which says a lot considering three of us just spent the summer working in the woods. The five second rule has been modified to be more like the five minute rule, and good hygiene has been redefined to include baby wipe showers and some occasional hand sanitizer.

Bunk N Biscuit? What does that even mean? Not that it matters, because all we cared about is the whole "Only place to sleep in 100 miles".

I think we blend in perfectly.

Another Montana sunset, this one happening to be at our lodgings in the Ingomar City Park across the street from the saloon where we sampled the local fare and beverages while crocheting the evening away.

"Miles City: We rock, no matter how you roll."

Nathaniel, aka Sisqo. He earned his nickname with this get-up, which brings to mind the infamous "Thong Song" by Sisqo. Its even better when he's in the saddle.

Ice cream lovers? I finally found my place in the world!

I think you can guess where we stopped. Double chocolate malt? Espresso Heath shake? Mhmmm.

The agony of another flat tire. A picture is worth a thousand words. And, yes, those are Daisey Dukes. 

Another reason why three is a great number- good backrests!

Our fine accomodations in the Post Office. Hey, it was heated! What more is there to say?

How could anyone find us threatening?

We love to be appreciated, especially with food!

At long last we found ourselves at the border. The border of much more than Wyoming and Montana, mind you! It was the border with our sanity, our tolerance for nasty headwinds, time and patience consuming bike issues, feeling like we weren't making any progress, unbearable water, canned and packaged food and the endless questioning of our ability to do this trip both by others and ourselves. But we made it. It might not have been pretty, or graceful, or easy to bear at times, but we made it out alive and kicking and still pedaling together!

When we stayed with Patti and David in Ryegate, I came across a collection of The Farside comics by Gary Larson. There was one that seemed especially relevent. Imagine a drawing of a couple driving in their car. Outside is a barren, dry, cracked desert landscape with a few scraggly shrubs that are barely surviving. They are passing a sign, the only evidence of human presence besides the rough road ahead, that states "Entering the Middle". You then notice that the woman is holding a map titled "Nowhere" that depicts a confusing and nonsensical network of winding roads. The comic bears the caption, "Well this is just going from bad to worse".

Its easy to replace the couple and the car with four riders on bikes inching their way across the plains. However, I like to imagine that the caption reads "This is going from good to great", despite the fact that we were unquestionably just entering the middle of Nowhere.

-Carolyn