Friday, June 28, 2013

Day 12: From Townsend, MT to Harlowton, MT: 99.6 miles




                                                           Green, hilly, Montana

I like most sports but one thing I dislike about many of them is the element of luck. In bowling, usually luck is on my side and a crappy shot will turn into a strike. In golf, many times what felt like a good swing ends up off the green. In cycling, if you happen to be at the wrong place in the road at the wrong time, you may be like me and get your 5th flat tire in the past 3 days (2 on this ride) accompanied with 4 bee stings from the little booger that got trapped in my jersey. Aside from the bad luck, the ride was great, just frustrating. The scenery was perfect and I loved watching the prairie dogs scurry away as I passed. The weather was hot but 88 degrees was less intense than I thought. I managed to stay well hydrated and well fed so the ride was not that physically exhausting. We also got a godsent tailwind that pushed me to average over 20 mph in the last 30 miles.




Tonight for dinner, we were hosted by a family (Liberty and Todd) who had met some Big Riders a few years back coming through their cafe (Cafe Chinook). When their restaurant closed, they decided to invite the Big Riders to their own home to cook them food and have been doing so for 3 years. We feasted on delicious burgers, romaine salad, bean salad, fruit salad, and the most delicious dessert of berry crisp with vanilla ice cream (better than the pie). Liberty's grandmother serenaded us with her sweet melodies on the piano and played each note with such passion. When we told her we adored how much she put into her music, she responded "Well if I didn't give it my everything to give it to you, then I might as well go home." What a sweetheart.


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