Thursday, July 11, 2013

Day 11 Daunted Courage, July 10, 2013


Day 11 Route: Lambert to Circle, Montana

Solid day of cycling.  We rode 52 hot and hilly miles through beautiful Montana countryside and arrived in the town of Circle at 7:30 p.m.  That gave us time to check into the Traveler’s Inn Motel and grab dinner at “The Wooden Nickel.”  The oil boom is behind us, which made for pleasant riding on an empty highway.  Sho even rejoiced when he saw a car saying, “Finally!  It’s nice not to feel so alone out here.”  We continued to collect roadkill data, and Saya observed, “There’s not much people roadkill out here.  But that’s a good thing.” 

We took a break in the town of Richey – the only town between Lambert and Circle – and met Tyke Colbert and Brian Carr in the local bar.  They are neighbors who work the land and (I learned from the bartender) are also renowned basketball coaches, winning the high school state championship.  I mentioned that we might sleep in our tent along the road, and they warned me to avoid the prairie towns (large collections of mounds along the highway inhabited by thousands of prairie dogs).  Rattlesnakes prey on the prairie dogs and become active at night.  Good tip.  It’s always important to talk with the locals…  Tyke and Brian offered to let us sleep on either of their properties and gave me their phone numbers in case I needed help.  It’s remarkable how many kind people we’ve met in just three days of riding.

Here are some pics:
Sho and the Montana countryside

Saya taking a break

Sho the photographer

We called this "Bird Cliff" because birds built nests in holes in the soft rock


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