First things first. We had copious amounts of coffee available this morning in the 24 hour cafe downstairs at the Howdy Hotel in Forsyth, Montana. So all was immediately much better than yesterday.
I was a little worried at first, because I was woken up at about 5:30 a.m. by a deep, throbbing bass line of dance music that wouldn't stop -- hopefully not a harbinger of what to expect for the day. It was not entirely clear whether it was coming from a fellow roomer (no, not Bob!) or a building next door or what. But I was getting up at 6:15 anyway, so it wasn't a biggie. Turns out it was the middle-aged ladies morning Zumba class next door!
The weather forecast was somewhat iffy, but it turned out to be a beautiful morning, and the ride was short enough (38 miles) that we were able to reach our destination -- Colstrip, Montana -- by Noonish, so it didn't get too hot. Add to that a road virtually devoid of traffic and a landscape that had some variation and lushness (see photos), and it was a really good biking day!
As for Colstrip, if Forsyth is a town that exists because it is a main depot for all things BNSF, Colstrip is a town that exists for its power plants, from which electricity transmission lines run out across the state. It means that Colstrip is reasonably well-provisioned in terms of services (e.g., a grocery store, a library with wifi, a police station, a golf course, more than one restaurant, etc.), as it gets a lot of business travelers connected to the industry (including, I am told, environmental regulation).
Montana sure is a big state, but I think we're down to our last three days in it! Bob and I are still figuring out our precise "exit strategy," but we expect to be in either Wyoming or South Dakota on Friday. Hurray!
Here are today's route and metrics:
I was a little worried at first, because I was woken up at about 5:30 a.m. by a deep, throbbing bass line of dance music that wouldn't stop -- hopefully not a harbinger of what to expect for the day. It was not entirely clear whether it was coming from a fellow roomer (no, not Bob!) or a building next door or what. But I was getting up at 6:15 anyway, so it wasn't a biggie. Turns out it was the middle-aged ladies morning Zumba class next door!
The weather forecast was somewhat iffy, but it turned out to be a beautiful morning, and the ride was short enough (38 miles) that we were able to reach our destination -- Colstrip, Montana -- by Noonish, so it didn't get too hot. Add to that a road virtually devoid of traffic and a landscape that had some variation and lushness (see photos), and it was a really good biking day!
As for Colstrip, if Forsyth is a town that exists because it is a main depot for all things BNSF, Colstrip is a town that exists for its power plants, from which electricity transmission lines run out across the state. It means that Colstrip is reasonably well-provisioned in terms of services (e.g., a grocery store, a library with wifi, a police station, a golf course, more than one restaurant, etc.), as it gets a lot of business travelers connected to the industry (including, I am told, environmental regulation).
Montana sure is a big state, but I think we're down to our last three days in it! Bob and I are still figuring out our precise "exit strategy," but we expect to be in either Wyoming or South Dakota on Friday. Hurray!
Here are today's route and metrics:
I pulled back on your map to check your progress against your ultimate goal, and it is truly impressive. You've eaten up a huge chunk of territory. And even a relatively uneventful day's post is still interesting.
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