The 4 of us left the CountrySide Inn a bit after 6am, as soon as Nick had kindly picked up our bags. Such great service! We coasted over to Wade's Drive In and Cafe for a fine breakfast. Other Riders were already there, and many more joined us. I guess that there had been a last-minute decision in camp to not make breakfast at the truck and to go instead directly to Wade's.
I had finished off some fridge treats upon rising, so didn't need much - just coffee and a cinnamon roll. The "coffee" had a peculiar taste. Starbucks Moment: one of the 4 Fundamentals of making good coffee is the water. Harlowton water tasted a bit sulphery, and/or salty. It reminded me of well water from the beach. Tastes good when it's served cold - but never really quenches your thirst. The local water made the coffee taste almost soapy. Thimbles of creme and packets of sugar were available. But I chose to just drink it... brown.
I headed out of town on my own after breakfast and glided right into a tailwind. It enabled me to cruise right along at 20+ miles per hour. The scenery was a mix of grazing land, rock formations on one side of the road, and wetlands on the other. It was fun to see red-winged blackbirds - familiar to me from the beach. The terrain became more arid and rocky as the day progressed.
Stopped at the first water stop in Ryegate - home of the Testical Festival - thankfully not in progress. Then on to Lavina, the streets of which were deserted in the hot mid-day sun. Made a sandwich at Nick's truck and got some more water. Then headed down the road. It was getting increasing hot and was a drain on my energy. Pulled over at a dusty gas station in Broadview (very appropriate name) for an ice cold apple juice from the cooler. What a good choice - fueled me in all the way to Billings. Found the dorm at Montana State and was all too happy to settle in for another rest day. After unpacking a bit, Rosie showed up and settled in as well.
Our room - way up on the 7th floor - offered a nice view of the Rimrock (a local landmark). Laundry facilities were just down the hall, as were showers. And there was even a sink in our room. Does it get any better than this? I guess it doesn't take much to excite a camping cyclist.
We enjoyed a delicious picnic dinner in the park, catered by Beyond Basil. Afterwards I took a long walk to orient myself to our section of town. I soon discovered that Billings is definitely a Car town. In both Spokane and Missoula, pedestrians seemed to rule the roost. If you so much as approached a curb, let along crosswalk, all vehicles in the immediate vicinity would come to a halt allowing you to saunter to the other side. However, in Billings, the streets were very broad - to better accommodate many, and often over-sized, vehicles. Another clue, was that I couldn't find trash recepticles on the sidewalks. No trash to throw away I guess 'cause you're always in your car or truck.
I had been told that the MSU pool was not available to us during the holiday weekend so I was compelled to scout out the Y, which had been my back-up in Spokane. Though the building was locked up, there was lots of promotional signage for Summer Camps for Kids. Will have to check back tomorrow when I have a whole day to squander.
I had finished off some fridge treats upon rising, so didn't need much - just coffee and a cinnamon roll. The "coffee" had a peculiar taste. Starbucks Moment: one of the 4 Fundamentals of making good coffee is the water. Harlowton water tasted a bit sulphery, and/or salty. It reminded me of well water from the beach. Tastes good when it's served cold - but never really quenches your thirst. The local water made the coffee taste almost soapy. Thimbles of creme and packets of sugar were available. But I chose to just drink it... brown.
I headed out of town on my own after breakfast and glided right into a tailwind. It enabled me to cruise right along at 20+ miles per hour. The scenery was a mix of grazing land, rock formations on one side of the road, and wetlands on the other. It was fun to see red-winged blackbirds - familiar to me from the beach. The terrain became more arid and rocky as the day progressed.
Stopped at the first water stop in Ryegate - home of the Testical Festival - thankfully not in progress. Then on to Lavina, the streets of which were deserted in the hot mid-day sun. Made a sandwich at Nick's truck and got some more water. Then headed down the road. It was getting increasing hot and was a drain on my energy. Pulled over at a dusty gas station in Broadview (very appropriate name) for an ice cold apple juice from the cooler. What a good choice - fueled me in all the way to Billings. Found the dorm at Montana State and was all too happy to settle in for another rest day. After unpacking a bit, Rosie showed up and settled in as well.
Our room - way up on the 7th floor - offered a nice view of the Rimrock (a local landmark). Laundry facilities were just down the hall, as were showers. And there was even a sink in our room. Does it get any better than this? I guess it doesn't take much to excite a camping cyclist.
We enjoyed a delicious picnic dinner in the park, catered by Beyond Basil. Afterwards I took a long walk to orient myself to our section of town. I soon discovered that Billings is definitely a Car town. In both Spokane and Missoula, pedestrians seemed to rule the roost. If you so much as approached a curb, let along crosswalk, all vehicles in the immediate vicinity would come to a halt allowing you to saunter to the other side. However, in Billings, the streets were very broad - to better accommodate many, and often over-sized, vehicles. Another clue, was that I couldn't find trash recepticles on the sidewalks. No trash to throw away I guess 'cause you're always in your car or truck.
I had been told that the MSU pool was not available to us during the holiday weekend so I was compelled to scout out the Y, which had been my back-up in Spokane. Though the building was locked up, there was lots of promotional signage for Summer Camps for Kids. Will have to check back tomorrow when I have a whole day to squander.
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