Membership Revoked
Miles City to Terry (still in Montana) - 39 miles
Average Speed - 12.2 mph
We had been discussing having a new tire sent out for Robert’s bike as the tread on his rear wheel is disappearing. The tires that we had ordered before the trip were backordered, so didn’t arrive before our departure. While discussing tires, Robert commented that my tires were of a much better quality than his. In fact, they have triple puncture protection. Well, I guess that I needed quadruple puncture protection because the triple was just not enough. We really shouldn’t have been talking about tire failure in the first place.
Quick change
Coming down from one of yet another interesting climb in this flat part of Montana, I felt my rear wheel rolling unnaturally. I asked Robert if he noticed anything and he said that the tire looked low.
I am careful about what I ride over, but this needle-like piece of metal would never have caught my eye. As any cyclist knows, front tires never get flats because they are so much easier to get off. The real reason that front tires don’t get flats as often is that the front wheel usually kicks up something that the rear wheel runs over and the rear wheel has more weight on it than the front wheel.
The students that we toured with in the Yucatan came up with the concept of the no-flat club. Too many people fulfilled the requirements, so to keep this an exclusive club, it became the no-flat, no-crash and no-illness club. We aren’t being clubby on this trip, so it doesn’t matter that I got a flat. Considering all the debris in the shoulders, it is rather amazing that we traveled over 1100 miles with no flat or other mechanical problems.
The Wonderful Scenery of Eastern Montana
Pronghorn Antelope
We missed the rain today, but noticed that the most menacing clouds appeared to be to the south of us, which is the direct route to Baker. Besides getting a glimpse of the Montana Badlands by going via Terry, we also got to enjoy the local Terrestrial culture. Are residents Terryists, Terriers(the school mascot), Terrians, Terryites or Terryanders? We left it to our imaginations and you should too.
We first visited Prairie Unique and if you are even remotely interested (pun intended) in radio controlled craft, you need to head to Terry this weekend for a radio controlled fly-in. Dale, whose business includes upholstering, all things remote-controlled and a made in Montana Shop has overseen this event for the past 13 years.
After a quick visit of Prairie Unique, we walked across the street to the Evelyn Cameron Gallery. Evelyn chronicled life in Terry as the resident photographer, self-taught no less. She did weddings and social events, but also captured everyday life in Terry. Her photos of the residents show no trace of dainty, delicate or privileged folks. Her subjects, farmers, homesteaders, sheep herders and their families reflect the hardships of living on the prairie of Eastern Montana.
After leaving the gallery, we went next door to the Prairie County Museum where we were given a personal tour by the very enthusiastic Walter, who grew up in the area. His explanation of some of the objects in the museum helped us connect the history of the area with the photos that we had seen in the gallery.