Day 15, Billings to Hardin, a very short 54 miles with just a touch of wind (Ha)

Best: Basically coasting along a flat grade at 25 mph

Worst: Trying to put on my windjacket in the wind

Most Unexpected: Being abandoned in camp as everyone left to go to Little Big Horn

Our group was on KP this morning so we left after the rest of the Big Riders.  We left Billings and did a fairly easy climb to get back up to the plateau.  A slight breeze helped us, slight as in check out the wind sock below.

Yes, we are traveling along that road from left to right.  I don't think anyone needed a shower after the ride. (well okay, a few people definately did).  At the top of the climb we could see back to Billings.

Skies started out blue, but turned to grey.  There was a 1% chance of rain, so of course it did.  I was of course prepared with my trusty windbreaker and pulled it out to wear.  The wind tied it into a square knot, then a bowline.  I got one sleeve on, and figured I would ride the bike so the wind wouldn't catch it and got the second sleeve on.  Then I found out I couldn't zip it because the body of the windbreaker was wound around the neck.  I said a few choice words, stopped the bike to fix it only to have the windbreaker retie itself into a new knot.  More choice words as my handkerchief came out of the pocket during this exercise and blew down the road.  Finally as the rain started to stop, I got the windbreaker on and rode into Harlan where I stopped at a cafe after hearing that our campsite was getting a deluge.  I shared a cinammon roll with Karolina who stopped by with Lynn, and then rode the rest of the way into the campground.  We turned 90 degrees to the wind to go through town and our bicycles were leaning 45 degrees to the ground to balance out.  

Charlton offered to drive anyone who wanted to go to the LIttle Big Horn.  After just having been there, I chose to stay in the campground and enjoy the ambiance and maybe swim.  The swimming pool was covered and is only 74 degrees, but I am enjoying sitting in the empty campground and just soaking in the experience instead of the water.  Picture below shows our lovely campground and the following picture speaks for itself. 

Should be a real quiet night next to the road don't you think.  Tonights meal is courtesy of Beyond Basil who were last seen in Billings cooking us ribeyes in the wind, and they should enjoy doing the same tonight preparing ribs for dinner.  To prepare myself I had an original Mountain Dew with real sugar, and a candy bar called King Bing first created in 1923.  According to the wrapper the unique treat has becom a Midwest favorite.  I am now typing at about 130 words per minute as a result of my unique sugar rush.  I have more pictures below, but I fear the next week or so the landscape pictures are going to diminish as the landscape tends to get, well, ugly in a word. 

Billings in the background.  Obviously this picture is out of order, but Cathy looks so happy on her electric bike going uphill with her gopro on her head.  She used me today.  She asked me to ride in front of her, turned on her gopro and said hi, then turned on her motor and said by all the while recording it.  I asked for a cigarette afterwards.