Day 24 - Billings, MT to Forsyth, MT - 112 miles - 1,170 feet of elevation gain

When the temperature threatens to pass 100 degrees and you have to travel 112 miles, you leave early. Our hotel had a great breakfast to start our day. We pulled out just before 7am (breakfast only started at 6am and it takes a while to get a group moving) and the heat was already in the mid 70s. Our route took us to a trail for the first several miles, which followed the Yellowstone River.

Once we left the trail we were on barren back roads. I think we had less than 10 cars pass us all day. It was nice to not have to worry about cars or RVs.

In light of the century plus, the need for some entertainment, and in honor of the Tour de France, I came up with some jersey awards. Micah C. helped me make up the jersey designations and later this evening we will give out the awards. These will be fake jersey awards, of course, because I don’t think I’ll have the time or resources to sew up four jerseys by 8pm. Here are the awards:

White Jersey - For riding in a straight line

Green Jersey - Out in front setting the pace/draft line

Polka Dot Jersey - Best “Calf-Tat” from their chain

Yellow Jersey - Finished the ride without complaining

I’m not sure the jerseys were a huge hit, but it was something to keep us occupied for a little while on today’s ride.

The roads were mostly straight and flat for the entire day. There were two climbs over hills with a plateau at the top, which added some variety. Some of the boys like to ride with no hands. This is not a skill I possess, so I tried practicing on the long and straight roads. I’m still not very good, but maybe by Delaware I’ll be better. We also biked through a free range cattle ranch. Thankfully none of the cattle charged or bothered with us. That section gets the award for the worst roads of our over 1200 miles of riding. Potholes, rough patch work, loose stones, and a base coat that was not smooth. Our lunch was under a tree in this section, which was the only shade for miles.

The temperature by lunch was about 105. There was a tailwind for most of the day, which helped to keep us moving. The heat off of the road was intense. At one point I thought of the verse from Luke 16:

24So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.

We had water stops every 20 miles and in the afternoon we would arrive with empty water bottles. It’s just a reminder that heat is consuming and will dry you out! Several of us mentioned how grateful we are that Beartooth Pass was not this hot, because it would have made it so much harder.

With about 40ish miles to go, Al came riding up and said “The river is up here and I think there is access!” I didn’t even need to give it a second thought, of course we were visiting the river for a cool down. It didn’t take most of us long to jump in, it felt amazing! After about 10 mins we were back on the bikes and I think within 5 miles I was completely dry. My hair bun may have been the only thing with a hint of dampness.

As soon as we rolled into town, I saw a sign for a DQ. Before I could text the team about going for a cold snack, one of the boys texted that they wanted to walk the 12 blocks down to DQ. I sent out a text about a DQ run in the van and within minutes I had a van filled with boys. It was a much needed cool-down snack.

There was only one restaurant open in town, outside of DQ. Turns out she was also offering a 50% off dinner deal to clear her kitchen. Had we known of the discount the boys would have ordered double! Many of the boys were glassy eyed at dinner and one or two may have napped at the table. I think everyone was in bed super early tonight (well except for me).