Day 32 – July 14, 2015

Day 32 – July 14, 2015
Billings MT to Custer MT – 57.5 miles

It is the end of a long day. Days seem longer when we start later. We did not get out of Billings before 10:30 am. Online banking, paying bills, breakfast, and packing, took up all the time.

We had a good portion of road to cover but, we are doing it in a leisurely fashion. The roads are relatively flat, not a lot of wind, either headwind or tailwinds. So we averaged about 12-14 mph.

Half way down the road we encountered a sponsored and supporter “tour for cancer cure” group of young adults. There were about 30 in all. We stopped and chatted with some of them. They were going from Baltimore to Portland and average between 65 to 100 miles per day. Yep, I said to myself, we could easily do that without all this weight we are carrying. They were nice enough, offered us food and water, but we were fine and continued on down the road.

We stopped at Pompey’s Pillar National Monument which was dedicated to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. We had been following their path almost the entire trip so far. Every 50 miles there was a historic marker designating some sort of significant Lewis and Clark point of interest. As Gregg has said, “oh here is another Historic Landmark where Lewis sneezed or something!”
But after visiting this beautifully set up National Monument it made me want to read a good book about the expedition. Why didn’t I start one in Astoria? Could have been informative and inspiring. Yet we were so preoccupied with our own expeditions that we just peddled by all of this history. In a way, we are kind of like these guys. Now there are roads, but yet, we did this on our own power. Very exciting and rewarding. Today I am feeling a little better about our journey.

The last stretch before our destination Custer MT was a bit tough. We both had the “hot feet” syndrome and we were peddling fast to avoid being dumped upon by an imminent thunder storm at our backs. Push hard, some heat, and a few little hills, made the last 10 miles tougher than it should have been.

But we had a treat at the end of the day. We reserved a little room attached to the Junction City Saloon. The little town of Custer had a gas station and this Saloon, and the owners of the Saloon decided to add 3 rooms to their tavern. It was great to get somewhere and have a hot shower, a room with AC and a friendly bar next door. Sherri was great. She was immediately helpful and friendly. She told us many stories of other bicyclist that have passed thru town. This is a destination, and totally worth a stop. Must stop at the Junction City Saloon in Custer MT.