Sorry, this is a Long post with too many pictures, today!

A beautiful, sunny 64° this morning with no wind.  It was a wonderful start to the day as we biked away from our little town and out into the country.  The flat frontage road this morning was elevated from the railroad, so views abound.  After seven miles, we crossed the interstate to pick up our course on the other side. Though scenic, it was much hillier than our other frontage road and turned to dirt two miles out.  We had to decide to continue on dirt or turn back and ride the interstate.  Not knowing if the flat packed road would deteriorate, we backtracked.  The six mile stretch on the highway was quieter than some of the roads we’d already traveled and the wide shoulder made it comfortable (safe).

We pedaled through the historic town of Sheridan; with plenty places for the tourist to shop and the cowboy to wet his whistle.  We spent far too much time in this cute town, but did manage to gather food supplies for the next day’s ride and grab an early lunch.  When we finally pulled out of town it was really beginning to warm up and there was a breeze coming out of the southeast.  This is when the climbing began, too!  We snaked and climbed, climbed and snaked our way around the hills in the stupendously beautiful valley.With all the climbing, it didn’t “seem” like a valley to us, but that is what the locals call it.  Wildlife abound, can you spot the two deer?Here’s a hint.The snow capped Big Horn Mountains were majestic on the western horizon.   By 1:00 it was 100° in the full sun; we relished the breeze in our face, just for it’s cooling effect and tried to distract ourselves with the lush landscape.  We could have used some of this horse power as we slowly climbed to 4800 feet.  After 18 miles, we were blessed with a cooling albeit short downhill then a flat ride along the Tongue River to our stop – the only place to stay in a over 100 miles.  And what a treat after our hard fought 50 mile day.  The Ranch at Ucross is a beautiful cowboy oasis with the purr-fect hostess! Meet Evil or as LynnBug would say, E-Val.

We tied up our steeds up to our cabin for the night and relaxed like cowboys after a hard day’s work.  When the dinner bell rang (literally), we were ready.  Well fed(Trout Almondine and London Broil) and with proper nightcap, we retired for a long night’s sleep….tomorrow will be a day off!

We know, only ten days riding and a day off…..Slackers.  But between the hills, heat and elevation our bodies need the rest….that is our story and we are sticking to it!

Interesting fact: The entire state of Wyoming has less people (500,000) than the City of Virginia Beach!

Perfect day to take off and enjoy the scenery with the breeze rustling the leaves of the tall trees.  Now if we were on the bike, we would note it as a 20 mph wind in our face, Perfect day to take off.  Being in the middle of nowhere with no T.V. has it’s advantages, when your goal is to rest.  The ranch does offer a lot of outdoor activities; fishing, hiking, swimming, horseback riding, etc.  As much as the idea of a horseback ride across a river and through the hills was Very appealing, it would do the legs no good.  We did manage a close game of horseshoes, though.  After happy hour (dinner bell doesn’t ring until 7:00), we watched the horses enjoying the sprinkling system while Jerry worked on his, “So a horse walks into a bar…..” joke.  It went over pretty well with the audience…….falling down laughing!

Dinner was Ribeye or Salmon Steak finished with Key Lime Torte.  But the best part was our genuine cowboy, Pete, who told us (a wink in his eye) as he served, “I just finished installing a toilet, but I did wash my hands.”  I want to take him and Evil home with me!  Tomorrow, we ride.

Tough to pull away from the beautiful ranch this morning, but we had a long day ahead and needed to get underway.  Our pedal through “town” was dreadful, considering the rush hour of this populous.

We enjoyed the clear, crisp morning as we pedaled past beautiful ranches.  It took only an hour for the temperatures to rise 20 degrees from our 54° start, but the air remained cool.  We followed Clear Creek for a few miles,past large farms; crossed the Powder River and the lush green from our first day in Wyoming was gone; stark barren hills was all we could see.  The deer and antelope (photo hams) still remained and almost outnumbered the cattle.  We did startle one family that took off running; it was amazing to watch their graceful speed as they put distance between us.  The first 20 miles was a delightful ride, flat to almost downhill and still cool.  Then the rolling hills began, almost in stair-step fashion, never really a downhill, just more climbing.  Ran across (not over) our first Live Rattlesnake; we hoped it was not an omen for the day.  We crept along, trying to find the beauty in our surroundings as the thermometer climbed quickly.  At the halfway mark, we stopped for lunch at the Only place available between here and there.  These two were friendlier and more accommodating than the proprietors; guess that’s what happens when you know you are the only game in town.  As much as we were enjoying the air conditioning, we could not linger.

By 1:00, the temperature gauge was in triple digits, an hour later it was 116°.  The temperature was climbing faster than we were.  We longed for cloud cover or shade.  In the distance, we saw a grouping of trees and pedaled for the shade we could rest in, this is what it was once we got there……pretty much the way we felt, too.  Stopping to rest was useless in the searing heat of the sun, any breeze was created by our movement.  We were struggling; the heat was intense and it was sucking out every bit of energy we had.  Our feet screamed to be released from the shoes that keep them locked to the bike.  Our last six miles was dreadful.  Industry filled the landscape and trucks roared by tweaking our frayed nerves.  Ten and a half hours after leaving, we turned into our hotel, happy to have survived, albeit barely.  We were beyond exhausted and not the least bit hungry, but knew we needed the energy that food would (hopefully) provide.  Stumbled across the street to the nearest restaurant, food and drink (a margarita is hydrating, right?) slowly bringing us back to life.  It was the Best Mexican food we’d ever had.  Just under 82 miles, we were done!

Wish we had this three wheeler yesterday; thinking maybe this will be our next touring vehicle.

Ten minutes earlier and ten degrees warmer, when we pulled away from the wonderfully comfortable bed of our hotel.  We felt remarkably refreshed considering the beating we took yesterday.  Gillette, Energy Capital of the Nation, is a quirky town.  Where else would you find a “Rock Pile Museum” and rock/paper/scissors sculpture!  Within two miles, we hit road construction that once again had us on a dirt road.  But most traffic had avoided this stretch because of it, so we had the road almost to ourselves.  It was certainly not a particularly pretty ride, muddy fields a huge electrical plant, an oil field and large rail switching station, but infinitely more enjoyable on the flat road with a nice southwest wind.

Shortly before ten a.m. with 30 miles complete, we ran out of our flat road and climbed a steep hill into Moorcroft.  Though still satisfied from breakfast, we stopped for a rest and a bit of sugar; once again, our one and only available stop for the day.  We knew the second half was filled with climbing, with the worst two climbs at the end; so we left the hillier country road behind and opted for the interstate.  We knew it would be less scenic, but we had not seen much on our earlier stretch, so did not think we would miss much.  The landscape was surprisingly pretty and we were fortunate to find shade in several spots and took advantage of each one.  Though the temperatures had climbed to over 100° by noon, the shade felt like air conditioning.  The rolling hills started off mild,the Black Hills coming into view on the horizon and Devils Tower/Bear Lodge in the distance.  Around a bend in the road, trees and stunning green returned; a refreshing and instant contrast from the past 100 miles.   The scenic distraction helped with our two tough climbs in the last ten miles; the last one to 5089 feet.  A four mile no pedaling downhill into the town of Sundance of Sundance Kid fame,  Arriving before check-in time and with a restaurant across the street, we enjoyed a late lunch.

The sky on our walk to dinner, was very bizarre; thankfully after our leisurely dining, the sky had cleared completely.  We strolled past a very sobering War Memorial to the veterans of Crook County.  This area contributed many souls to every war in recent history.

Sorry for the sober finish to a beautiful day, but we should never forget the scarifies our soldiers made for us, All of us!

It was a beautiful 70° morning as we pedaled through the countryside on very gently rolling hills; for once, more down than up.  By the time we pedaled into the one block town of Beulah, we had dropped 1500 feet; our complacency ended abruptly with a steep, albeit short, climb.  We had pedaled 19 miles by 9:00 a.m., a nice pace we would not maintain.  The up/down rolling became more consistent as the beautiful scenery continued.Jerry adopted a friend, Butch Cassidy (BC for short), who enjoyed a couple mile free ride.  Two hours later we rolled through the quiet end of Spearfish, home to Black Hills State University.  Trees lined the road and homes were neatly kept.  Stopped for an early and leisurely lunch before heading into the hills!  The other side of town was much busier being close to the interstate.  We thought for a good laugh, about jumping on the highway and biking into Strugis (only 17 miles away) for the “biker” rally next week, but decided to continue on our course.   Though our road looked flat and sometimes downhill, it was far from it; just getting out of town was a climb that would not stop.  It was slow progress on a busy road, but the scenery was lush and the sky beautiful.  With many stops to catch our breath, it took us two hours to go 13 miles and climb to 4870 feet.  We were ready to fly down and had just gotten up speed when around the corner traffic had come to a stop.  Turns out the town was throwing a parade for our arrival and we were late;  check out Butch Cassidy.It was perfect, the roads were closed to vehicles, so we slid past everyone and enjoyed the parade.Our drop from the top had been so quick, it not until our walk around town before dinner, that we realized how immensely high Every hill around us was……note the steps.  And then, look at the homes on the hills behind the town; we were doomed, tomorrow.  But in the meantime, we were going to enjoy the town.  First stop was a classic cowboy bar, that we ducked into just before the rain came down (“it never rains in July”).   A little further down the road, the sherif was doing his best to prevent the gunfight that was sure to happen.  But the best part of the evening was an amazing pheasant pasta with sundried tomatoes.  It was worth the arduous 49 mile bike to get here; but next time, we will have it delivered.

Billings, Montana to Deadwood, South Dakota

371 Miles (one day off)

Crisp, cool (57) mountain air filled the quiet morning; the town still sleeping from it’s Friday night revelry. It did not take us long to get to the trail we would be on for the next couple of days. The Mickelson Trail is on the “bucket list” and the reason we came in this direction. This 108 mile trail is a re-use of an old railroad; the tracks still visible in areas.

Instantly, we were surrounded by magnificent mountains, rustling creek, the fresh smell of spruce and…..bunny tail! Just as quickly, we began our climbing; the cool morning, occasional waterfall and incredible scenery kept us (almost) distracted.  It took us an hour and a half and seven miles to climb 1000 feet. In places the hard packed road was soft and rutted with rain from last night, making it impossible to pedal. Pushing was not much easier, but the only option. It was a shortcut we had chosen; signed at the end of what we had already discovered – 20% grades. Once our lungs regained oxygen, we continued the beautiful climb for another seven miles reaching our first summit of 6238 feet (our continental divide crossing was 6131 feet) shortly after ten o’clock. We pedaled downhill to maintain good speed, as we had more climbing ahead, but not too fast to miss the view. The photos don’t show and words fall short to describe the beauty of this trail; ranks just below the “Ride to the Sun” in Glacier.
Jumped off course to grab a bite to eat, but the saloon was not open yet.  Rockford is a small town with a Big sense of humor.The sign on the building is University of Rochford.  As we enjoyed the shade and cold water, the wind started to swirl and the clouds build. We’d been promised an afternoon storm and we did not want to be on the trail when it hit. With less than a thirty minute rest, we got back on course, once again submersed in the beauty and quiet. Gone was the scream of trucks and the rubble of motorcycles from yesterday’s ride, only the sound of the creek we followed, remained. We crossed through a short tunnel and all of a sudden had to start gearing down.  We checked the water flow of the creek and confirmed, we had started our second climb. Having dropped 1400 feet from our first climb, we had a lot to regain. Thankfully, by 1:00, the trees once again cast shadow on our trail, offering wonderful shade for our frequent breaks.
Nine miles later, we reached the top (5649 feet) of our second climb. The scenery remained stellar, but the clouds were building fast. We hastened our pace for the downhill stretch into town.  Around a corner and for a brief moment we caught a glimpse of a spectacular mountain. We reached the edge of town at three o’clock.  With a scheduled tire change, we decided to take care of it now and allow the storm to pass. The hour + rest was great, with new tires we pedaled out of town to find where we are staying.  Past neighbors from the Brac had a wonderfully quiet place in the hills; it was a tough five mile stretch with a couple 20% grades but then we were done.  A quick run into town for supplies and dinner at the oldest hand-hewn log (commercial) building in South Dakota, built in 1885.

We’d spent just under seven hours on the bike seat to go only 54 miles, so we were ready to take our legs to bed.