Day 25 - Golden Ticket?

Day 25 - Forsyth to Miles City, MT - 47 miles - 1493 ft of elevation gain

Did you know that a golden ticket was found in a chocolate bar in Miles City in the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory story? We are hoping to find another one.

It was another earlier start as the weather was escalating into the 90s in the afternoon. The boys are not fans of the early start, but I’m guessing they would not particularly enjoy heat stroke either. The town of Forsyth was like one street (maybe two) and once we left the town we had a little climb.

When I say there was nothing between Forsyth and Miles City, I’m not really exaggerating. We saw a pronghorn along the road, a suburban on blocks with no house in sight, and some tractors. Today was a lot more hilly than I anticipated and also more windy, as in a headwind. It was like a day of plagues for cyclists: wind, heat, hills, grasshopper attacks, and an interstate.

Yes, we had to go (legally) on the interstate. The alternative was a gravel road with big gravel stones, otherwise no paved road connected the two towns without traveling miles upon miles. We jumped on the interstate for about 16 miles. That road also had some good long hill climbs. There was a wide shoulder which helped with a buffer from the cars, and all but one moved over to the passing lane to go by us (it was a camper driver too 🤦🏻‍♀️). One thing about an interstate road that isn’t helpful is the debris that accumulates in the shoulder. As we were riding, I was thinking “we’ll be doing good if no one gets a flat!” Well, we had one on the interstate and one as we were getting off the interstate. So 2/11 which isn’t as bad as it could have been.

Once we were off the interstate we had about 4 miles weaving through town to the hotel, which really makes a ride more interesting than the long “I can see for miles” roads. We arrived at the hotel around 11:45am and they were gracious and gave us one room early. Their pool was being cleaned, but there was a pond in town with diving boards that we could use. We loaded all of our bags in the one room, ate our picnic lunch outside, and then jumped in the van for the pond. This pond allowed us in for free because we were from out of town. It was a welcome relief from the heat and fun for the boys. They had jumping competitions, chicken fights, and wrestling matches. We are learning that these small town events and places do not draw the crowds like they do in Lancaster. There were maybe 20 people there when we left at 2:40pm.

After dinner and devotions, I think this is going to be an early night. We have an 80 mile day tomorrow so it’ll be another early start.