Billings, MT → Garyowen, MT → Broadus, MT

It was only after finishing our ride and sitting down in a local bar that Kate and I learned of the tragedy in Orlando that took place Saturday evening. Our hearts go out to all of those affected. I also hope some sensible legislation comes out of this that will at least attempt to prevent these cowardly and sick people from accessing weapons of war.

Admin note: a few of you recently gave us great feedback that the donation link is difficult to find. As soon as I find a PC I will remedy that! In the meantime, go to the "Our Cause" page, scroll down, and click the donate (or pledge) links. Sorry about that!

The last two days have been challenging but two of our favorite thus far. After saying goodbye to our wonderful WarmShowers hosts, Wanda and Lenny, we climbed up the bluff that follows the Yellowstone River and overlooks Billings. We are quickly learning that even though we are beyond the mountains, our uphill battles are far from over.

We soon entered the Crow Reservation. The terrain there was unlike anything we've ridden thus far. With lots of speed from the backside of the bluff, we whipped around countless twists and turns through gulleys and ravines, rocks and cliff ledges. We also reached the 1,000 mile mark within an hour of crossing into the reservation! It was such a good feeling, gave us a big confidence boost having made it this far in relatively good shape. :-)

Several hours later we rolled into Crow Agency, the main town on the reservation. Despite the apparent poverty, we were greeted with warm hospitality and curiosity about our ride. One gentleman flagged us down to ask about our trip and remarked that travelling strangers are taken in as honored guests in their culture. He had so much respect for what we were doing and said he would pray for us.

We set up camp near Garyowen (namesake of the traditional Irish marching song of the 7th Cavalry), a few miles from Sitting Bull's camp on the eve of the Battle of Little Bighorn. The area had a calm tranquility about it. Knowing the fate that George Custer and his 7th Cav battalion met on the hilltop over us also added a solemn reflective feeling.

Sunday proved to be the most significant day of biking thus far. We woke up at 5:45 and were on the road within an hour--a record for us on both counts. The forecasts told us that the early morning wind would be at our back, while the afternoon winds would shift against us. After our tough headwind ride into Billings, we wanted to get as many miles in before noon as possible.

We were on a roll (no pun intended) until around noon when I noticed a once per revolution metallic click coming from Kate's bike. She simultaneously noticed a rear flat. We quickly discovered giant raptor talon-shaped piece of metal deeply wedged in the sidewall of her tire. My first thought was that I was so happy to have picked up a Park Tool “tire boot” from REI back in Boston. My second thought was that if it doesn't work, we are officially stranded in the middle of the sparsely populated Northern Cheyenne Reservation.

While Kate googled how to use said tire boot, I worked on pulling the metal eagle claw out of the tire and attempting to patch things up. Within about 15 minutes we were back on the road, nervously watching Kate's tire and hoping the cycling gods don't throw a game-ending sidewall blowout our way.

The tire held up. After a rather serious climb and descent we rolled into Ashland, MT just after 3pm. After downing two milk shakes, we decided to take advantage of the cooler weather and rare calm wind and push on 44 more miles to Broadus, MT.

We climbed the whole way, or at least that was how it felt. We also shared a small shoulderless road through Custer National Forest with lots of semi-trucks. Several times we had to pull off the road to make room for oncoming and passing traffic. The ride was challenging but spectacular. Maybe we had lots of adrenaline, maybe a tailwind, or perhaps we are finally getting the hang of this, but the 115 mile day with over 6,000 feet of climbing felt great.

Broadus was waiting for us. We pulled into Big Sky Bar at around 8pm and promptly preferred beers and burgers to celebrate.