Tilted Sideways

Reed Point to Billings – 60 miles
Average Speed – 14.2 mph to Park City dropping to 12.2mph by the time we reach Billings.

The intense rain from last night gave way to blue skies with non-threatening wisps of gray tossed in for good measure. Perhaps those showers forecasted for the day happened during the night. We dressed in warm clothing as the temperature still isn’t warm enough for us to leave without bundling up.

Along the Yellowstone
We spent many pleasant miles on frontage roads and decided that the threat of rain was nil, so hooked up the helmet cam. What a drag that we ran out of tape on the downhill of a Lolo-like climb.

Yellowstone River

We stopped for breakfast in tiny Park City and things changed when we left.

My Idea of a butte
It’s good that we had the extra carbs because the wind would force us to use every single bit of energy that we could muster. We had been cruising along up until Park City, even with the hill climbing that we had to do. This untimely wind made us consider when we have experienced an ideal cycling day on this trip. We didn’t really have to think too hard or long. We had a great wind from the west when we were heading south. Now we have a strong crosswind that became a headwind as we changed direction. I was ready for Robert to take the lead for awhile as pedaling into the heavy winds fatigued me. We tilted the bikes in the opposite direction from what we did yesterday. At least the tires will wear evenly.

Fortunately, I stopped at a junction to look at the map. Janet had told us that we might think that heading north seemed odd. It seemed painful considering that the wind was coming from the northeast. Turns out that we could make a right turn here and head toward Billings. The crosswind seemed a blessing compared to the headwind that had plagued us for the last 15 miles. Besides the increasingly forceful wind that we faced, we also had to deal with the plummeting temperature. Those threatening clouds returned and the thought of riding in the rain in 48 degrees thrilled me to no end. Somebody early on told us that the wind moves from cold areas to warmer ones. Perhaps this explains the wind direction that seems contrary to what we had expected.

We have an 80+ mile day in a few days from Miles City to Baker. Easterly winds would make for a long and grueling day. At least, there are plenty of hours of daylight.

Tomorrow, we should hit the 1000 mile mark.
It looks as if we may be incommunicado for the next few days as the internet possibilities look really slim.