{"id":16110,"date":"2015-07-18T22:04:43","date_gmt":"2015-07-19T02:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=16110"},"modified":"2015-07-19T09:30:03","modified_gmt":"2015-07-19T13:30:03","slug":"day-8-saturday-july-18-billings-to-hardin-montana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=16110","title":{"rendered":"Day 8. Saturday, July 18 – Billings to Hardin, Montana"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was 62\u00b0 with a cool northwest wind, when we finally left the comforts of our hotel. \u00a0A quick\u00a0navigation through town,\"DSCN3782\"<\/a>over the Yellowstone River \"DSCN3785\"<\/a>and we were in the middle of the country.\"DSCN3791\"<\/a>Small farms were scattered about.\"DSCN3795\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Even with the nice tailwind, we slowly crawled up the mountain.\"DSCN3807\"<\/a> \u00a0Wide switchbacks and our 1,000 foot higher vantage point offered gorgeous views\"DSCN3805\"<\/a> and a shot back to town.\"DSCN3801\"<\/a> \u00a0Many more rocks \"DSCN3826\"<\/a>and a lot less trees\"DSCN3819\"<\/a>\u00a0on our long downhill run. \u00a0Around a bend,\"DSCN3820\"<\/a> stark trees told the story of a bad fire years ago, though brush had began to bring green back to the hills.\"DSCN3815\"<\/a>We had another smaller climb\u00a0that dropped\u00a0us by a thriving farm\"DSCN3828\"<\/a> and only our second cornfield since our start (Marck, this one’s for you).\"IMG_0269\"<\/a>On our first straight stretch, we met Don and his kids, Anders and Julia from Chicago\"DSCN3832\"<\/a> and their friends Mark and Pat from Glendive,\u00a0Montana\"DSCN3833\"<\/a>heading to Portland, Oregon.<\/p>\n

This straight stretch of road went on forever, again revealing a beautiful soft palette of field grass\"DSCN3838\"<\/a>and beautiful sky.\"IMG_0271\"<\/a> \u00a0Prairie dogs\"IMG_0273\"<\/a> greeted us for miles, as we biked along our long road. \u00a0We saw no people, one ranch\"IMG_0274\"<\/a>lots of wide open space\"DSCN3849\"<\/a> and ample wild life.\"IMG_0279\"<\/a>It was an absolutely\"DSCN3866\"<\/a> beautiful\"DSCN3873\"<\/a> ride\"IMG_0291\"<\/a>in the middle of nowhere,\"DSCN3880\"<\/a> made that much more enjoyable with our cool northwest tailwind; but still lots and lots of nothing out here!<\/p>\n

Twelve miles from town\u00a0our flat ride became a little more rolling\"DSCN3892\"<\/a> and signs of civilization once again returned.\"DSCN3893\"<\/a>Our stop for the night\u00a0was a straight shot into town.\"DSCN3897\"<\/a>A few hours rest and then a bike into town for dinner. \u00a0Oddly enough, it took us a while to find a place in this two block town, but what a find. \u00a0Yes, the Greek salad is Really this big\"DSCN3903\"<\/a> and the pizza\"DSCN3907\"<\/a> can easily compete with Reginos. \u00a0It was a wonderful find!<\/p>\n

Though this is the lowest altitude (2900 feet) we have been in since arriving in Montana, think we’ve finally adjusted to the thinner air; not so much to the climbing, however.<\/p>\n

Fifty three miles done….Good Night! \u00a0One last thought(s) for the night….\"DSCN3900\"<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\t