To Drummond, MT

June 8, 2024

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We were considering today an easy day - even though it was 57 miles, there wasn't as much climbing. I looked at the wind. It was not favorable. It seems Mariah has given us enough help and we need to suffer a little. I left town pedaling into a light headwind. I was going 7-8 mph. What the heck? I have fresh legs - I shouldn't be this slow. I looked at the elevation profile. Ah, ha. I had forgotten it was 1,000 feet of climbing in the first 12 miles. There is a big difference between a helping tailwind and a hindering headwind. On the Broken Arrow day, I was happy at the end of a 10 mile/1,000 foot tailwind assisted climb. Today should have been easier, with 12 miles to ride the same distance. Instead, the headwind really slowed me down. I moaned and groaned and felt sorry for myself all the way to the top. After that the road turned slightly, and narrowed, which helped with the wind.

The majority of the day today had a rumble strip. Jacinto and I talked over dinner. We agreed that the rumble strip placement was more annoying than the wind. We agreed that traffic was light enough that we spent most of our time riding in the driving lane, only moving over when a vehicle approached. Jacinto's Karoo computer holder has been slightly broken for awhile. The bouncing around caused his computer to dislodge. He didn't notice it until he looked down, and it was gone. He turned around and rode back against traffic, looking on the ground for the computer. Jacinto says he went back about a mile, before seeing his computer in the grass. The screen is cracked and a portion of the screen was frozen. He hasn't tried turning it back on yet. Two days ago he washed his earbuds with his clothes. They did not take the bath well. That was an expensive bath. Jacinto carries TWO extra sets of earbuds. He was happy to have the backup.

At the top of the 12 mile climb, I had a 7.1 mph average. Jacinto's average was 10 mph. That wasn't so much of the day, looking at the numbers, but as I was riding, it seemed to take far too long on the climb.

Jacinto says the first part had very boring scenery and it was much prettier at the top. I think that the climb was pretty, we were just too busy suffering to look around.

The first lake at the top was Silver Lake. There wasn't a single person fishing, or boating. No one. It wasn't a large lake. Is it privately owned? The next lake was Georgetown Lake. It had a marina, and plenty of boats with people out playing. The flat area along the lakes lasted for seven miles and ended near the Discovery Ski Area. There were a couple of lodges in this area, and even one that was for sale, should you desire escaping to Montana.

I was most happy to reach the downhill and make up some miles. It was a smile inducing downhill - good pavement, fairly straight, little traffic. Best of all (besides the down factor), is that the rumble strips went away. Jacinto laughed at me and said that's because there was no room for rumble strips in the narrow canyon.

The remaining miles of my ride were much more enjoyable. The road curved, making the wind a side wind. Between that and the downhill, I was back up into the 15 mph range.

As much as Faye talked up the Phillipsburg area, I did not take the turn into town. I wish we had an overnight there. It sounded like a great place to stay, and see all of the old Victorian buildings.

Motorcycle tourists are starting to show up. I had one man ride past me, pedaling his legs in an exaggerated fashion. He was such a jokester!

I came straight into town on Highway 1, instead of taking the back road on Main Street. The exterior of the motel didn't look impressive, but I was forewarned by reviews that the rooms were much nicer than first impressions. I rode past the motel, and went on into town. It did not look good. There's no revitalization money here. Easily 90% of the buildings were dilapidated. I rode down a back street, enticed to go that direction by a building that looked like a movie theatre. The houses I passed looked terrible. As in, how could someone be living in them condition. Sagging roofs, unpainted, grass uncut, abandoned vehicles all over. I felt very uncomfortable, and navigated back to the main road right away. I rode down to the large convenience store and went in. I spent quite a bit of time in the candy section - looking for the desired salted nut roll. No go. They didn't have Payday candy bars either. I did buy a V-8 for $3.09 - the highest price yet. There was a small pizza/hot dog/fried foods section. They had a fairly good grocery area. Convenience stores in small towns generally have a good stock of foods, if mostly canned and prepackaged.

After I loaded my three drinks on the bike, the rear end tilted backwards. This has been an entertaining experiment each afternoon.

I went back to the motel. I didn't have good vibes from the town, although the clerk at the store was an upbeat friendly guy. I was really doubting the reviews about the motel. It sure didn't look good. There was a no vacancy sign. Wouldn't it be the laugh on me if they had lost my reservation, and instead of being doubtful about my room, I didn't even have one? End of story there is that I did have a room, and it is just fine.

I was to town a couple of hours before Jacinto. After telling me about his day and showing me his cracked computer screen, we walked to dinner at Parker's. They had a whole line of cars parked outside. The inside was chopped up into little rooms, so it's hard to tell if there were really that many cars inside. The decorations in our area were all sorts of old Coca Cola memorabilia. The menu had four pages of all sorts of burgers. Including the Elvis burger with peanut butter, bacon, and bananas! After spending considerable time reading all of the choices - I went with the classic - cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion. Jacinto got a burger with ham and eggs on top. We shared an interesting dinner salad - it had a pickled spear of asparagus. There was a variety of good veggies, but the interesting part was the quail eggs. Jacinto had to ask the waitress what sort of eggs they were, being very small. We didn't think to ask where they were sourced.

Now we are back in the room checking out routing for tomorrow. Jacinto found a dirt backroad into Ovando. I'm sticking to the paved road. Wind doesn't appear to be an issue tomorrow.

Jacinto’s depart photo. He left at 11 AM.

Detail in a dormer window of a Victorian house.

Any guesses on what the house at the end of the dock is? A boat house?

The was at Georgetown Lake. Is it some sort of a fishing contraption?

The view behind me was definitely better.

This buggy crossed the highway in front of me at Phillipsburg.

The view behind was still better near Phillipsburg.

I started to see more farms, and a few cattle as I got close to Drummond. This is the Flint Valley.

Ranch gates in this area are mostly large logs. This one had some detail.

Today I saw more political signs. Yesterday I did not. That was refreshing.

An art gallery just outside of Drummond. There was a variety of large animals to choose from.

Some of the animals at the gallery. I like the chrome bear.

I can’t imagine there’s much market for a mastodon.

A view of my bike from the rear. I happened to catch it without either of the lights blinking.

I think this is an old movie theatre. Jacinto isn’t so sure. Edit- Cinema Treasures tells me this was the Pic Theatre and it closed in the 50’s.

I purchased three drinks at the gas station. My bike is now tilted backwards.

Our $80. Room at the Drummond Motelis satisfactory. Jacinto has the AC on. I’m freezing.

Today's ride: 57 miles (92 km)
Total: 244 miles (393 km)

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