Day 16 St.Mary MT to Browning MT

Stats for the day. 42 miles,Total Climbing 2224 ft.,Total so far 866 miles

Last night our cabin was somewhat remote,so we hopped on the empty bike and rode a mile and a half to this very eclectic restaurant. The inside was decorated with bumper stickers from all over,we immediately noticed the "Eat Berthas Mussels" one! And the dinner was pretty good too. Held us to breakfast, which I usually prepare in the room,oatmeal, fruit,and for Jane , coffee.

















We managed to get going around 7,and went north to Babb MT. Why Babb,and why north?The Adventure Cycling route promised a huge climb right off the bat,so asking around produced a alternate from Babb that would smooth out the road somewhat, rollers , and little traffic. In need of a few more calories, the Leaning Tree was the stop of choice for a nice egg,cheese and ham sandwich with home fries. A bicyclist can't have too many calories aboard,and it turns out we needed every one.


As you can see, the Rockies are behind us,but they stayed in view most of the day. Our alternate route took us north,east ,and then south,so after 4 hours we were probably 15 miles due east of where we started at 7am,but the climb wasn't bad,and the traffic was certainly light. No problem, just keep pedaling to Browning,but the wind had other ideas .













Look at the very faint road that stretches out to the horizon. That took us a hour to do,and the wind was coming from the west, we were heading south. I have never cycled in conditions like that in my life. The wind was steady at 30mph at least , which means the bike and us had to lean into it to stay upright. A couple of times we had to get off and walk, and once it blew us right into the center of the lane, thank God no car was behind us. Once we got to the top of the hill there was a four mile downhill,and then another rise or two ,all the while fighting to stay upright. A mile or so before town we stopped at a gas station for a drink and a break from the elements,and then pushed on to find a motel for the night.Who did we spy but the tandem couple we met on the Sun road, who did do the awful climb out of St.Mary,and they had to contend with the side wind too,so our alternate proved to be just fine.
Tomorrow we are sleeping in,visiting a museum,and getting Jane to Cut Bank in time to shop at a quilt store. Stay tuned for further adventures