SAG Wagon through Montana

Just after I ended my last post, a storm had just moved through and I managed to stay dry while posting on here. When I got outside, I found a moderate and consistent tail wind. It was great. It helped me knock out the final 40 miles of my day in about 2 hours 20 minutes. For a loaded touring bike that's gaining in elevation, that's pretty good. I got to Bowman, ND, in good time to bum around a little, grab a bite to eat, and find a hotel room. I had gotten into a rhythm with the whole camping thing, but my parents were on their way and I don't think they came prepared to stay in a tent.

While I was waiting for the parents to arrive, I chatted with my neighbors, Gary and Norma, who were outside of their room enjoying the cool evening air. I told them about the trip, and when I said I was going through Cody, WY, they told me that they lived there. They invited me to stay with them if it worked into my plans and gave me their number. Unfortunately, it is looking like it would be too far to get to their house in one day and too short to break up into two days.

When the parents arrived, it was getting kind of late, so we hit the sack. The next morning we woke up to a very dense fog, which had me dragging my feet about getting on the road. We took our time with breakfast and the fog got a little lighter, but it was still thicker than I prefer to ride in. I saddled up and headed out anyway. It was nice to ride without all the bags on again, as my parents toted them for me. I made pretty good time to Baker, MT, where we stopped for lunch and discussed the road ahead.

Lunch is worth mentioning. This little bar and grill place we stopped at had an interesting special that day. It was a burger topped with bacon, colby cheese, and peanut butter. Dad and I were both curious enough to order it. Mom just wanted to try a bite and ordered off the menu. As odd as that burger sounds, it was delicious.

As we discussed the road ahead, the next stretch of road was a 70ish mile stretch of road with nothing on it. Shortly after Baker, MT, was the small town of Plevna, followed by a long stretch of nothing. The scenery was nice, but the point is that there were no services. Since I had the benefit of a SAG Wagon (general term for "support and gear" vehicle) for this stretch of the trip, we decided that I'd bike half of it. At that point, we would load up my bike, drive ahead to the next town for the night, and in the morning they'd drive me back to where I left off.

At about the half way point there was a rest area (no running water) where we met. There was a very helpful woman there that gave us tips about the roads ahead and also some suggestions about getting through Yellowstone without getting killed by the bison. Bears? She said good luck, and that she'd never sleep there without walls around her.

After loading up the bike, we drove ahead to Miles City, MT. It sort of felt like cheating to see the terrain that was to come before I actually biked it. The next morning was another late start, this time due to my own desire to sleep in coupled with the 40 minute drive to take me back out to the rest area where I had stopped the day before.

As I believe I will always claim, the scenery was better from the bike seat than it had been from the car. I snapped a few pictures, but tried to keep moving, since it had been a late start that morning. When I reached the junction of hwy 12 and I-94, I started riding on the interstate. In Montana it's legal. It's also a lot less scenic. That night we stayed in a little place in Forsyth, MT.

From Forsyth, I got back on the interstate for a long and hot day in the sun to head towards Billings, MT. This time the parents and I made sure we got out the door early to get on the road. I had covered more than 50 miles by 10:30am. Things had gone quite well during the morning when it was cool. At about this time the temperature started to climb. By the time I stopped for lunch, it was almost 100F outside. I only had 24 miles to go for the day, so after finishing the sandwich my parents had brought me, I hit the road. The temperature ended up hitting 104F I think, and I ended up going through more water than I had planned on, so I had to stop to refill with less than 10 miles to go. About 4 miles from the hotel for the evening, I ended up with a flat tire. About 1.5 miles from the hotel my chain slipped off the front chainring (very rare occurrence).

When I got back to the hotel, my mother had been pacing, imagining the worst. Flat tires happen. I wheeled my bike to the elevator and brought it up to the room to work on the bike a little and check out the condition of the tires.

In a few days I should be arriving in Yellowstone National Park. For those familiar with the area, I intend to go down to Cody, WY, and enter the park from the east, not the northeast through Beartooth Pass. I'm not entirely sure how long I'll spend in the park, or what direction I will head out of the park. I'm still unsettled on which route through Idaho I will take.

When I was checking out the forecast for Yellowstone, it looks like they have a chance of snow tonight. When I'm in the park, the low is somewhere in the mid 30's each night. It's a darn good thing my parents brought me my other sleeping bag. I should also have a package waiting at the post office in Cody, WY, with some more cold weather gear I left at my sister's place in DC when I passed through.