{"id":16048,"date":"2015-07-17T21:58:05","date_gmt":"2015-07-18T01:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=16048"},"modified":"2015-07-18T09:28:31","modified_gmt":"2015-07-18T13:28:31","slug":"day-7-friday-july-17-roundup-to-billings-montana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=16048","title":{"rendered":"Day 7. Friday, July 17 – Roundup to Billings, Montana"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another overcast, yet refreshing 55\u00b0 after yesterday’s draining heat. \u00a0Unfortunately, the weatherman’s last minute wind direction change, was not in our favor; guess we were due. \u00a0We had to backtrack two miles to get back on course, which allowed us to read the historic marker\"IMG_0169\"<\/a> and catch a few of the road signs; Arrowhead Rd, Horsethief Road and even Ponderosa Drive….this is Cowboy Country, still. \"IMG_0175\"<\/a>\u00a0We crossed\u00a0the Musselshell River\"IMG_0173\"<\/a> and began our long slow Bull Mountain climb into the wind. \u00a0The morning was almost hypnotic, as if we’d travel back in time;\"IMG_0192\"<\/a> wild open spaces\"IMG_0186\"<\/a> and horses roaming free.\"IMG_0181\"<\/a> \u00a0Inevitably,\u00a0a car would break the trance and bring us back to the slow crawl up and into the wind. \u00a0\"IMG_0191\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We were delighted to see a few of the Highland Cattle \"IMG_0187\"<\/a>we had first fallen in love with\u00a0in Scotland. \u00a0It took us well over two hours to\u00a0climb the\u00a017 miles to 4010 feet, we could not wait for the downhill. \u00a0Unfortunately, we were lucky to break 20 mph pedaling hard against the wind; a far cry from the 40 mph we enjoyed a couple of days ago on a downhill.<\/p>\n

The other side of this mountain was barren of most trees\"IMG_0199\"<\/a>and we could see forever.\"IMG_0200\"<\/a>You could almost here the music from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly<\/em> movie playing in the background.\"IMG_0207\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As we crested one of our many climbs, a chirping sound was everywhere. \u00a0The sky was void of birds and there were no trees in sight\u00a0for birds to hide. \u00a0We soon realized the prairie dogs were calling back and forth to each other from across the road. \u00a0This long road into the wind\"IMG_0221\"<\/a> was as difficult as it was beautiful.\"IMG_0224\"<\/a>The sky even screamed, “This is Montana!”\"IMG_0230\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But the wind was working on us, hard. \u00a0Around every bend and atop every hill we searched for some glimpse of this city of 100,000, though we could see for ever, all we saw were the\u00a0plains\"IMG_0244\"<\/a>and antelope (sorry MaryEllen).\"IMG_0242\"<\/a>At mile 40, we finally saw a speckling of civilization that breathed necessary life into our tired legs. \u00a0It was another five miles before we found a place to eat lunch and rest. \u00a0It took us another hour for a couple necessary stops (camera) before we checked into the luxury of a Real hotel. \u00a0By design, dinner was across the street and delicious. \"DSCN3779\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"DSCN3778\"<\/a>\u00a0The hard fought 50 miles and almost six hours in the saddle was going to feel good against the pillow tonight.<\/p>\n\n\t\t