With some beautiful fall days I didn’t want to waste them and not get in some riding. Keith and I talked about a ride and decided last Saturday that today would be a good opportunity with good temperatures and clear skies.
I got the bike out, check the tires, and packed up a few things in my side case.
We left at 10am and it was a brisk 46°F. I was wearing my cold weather coat with the rain liner in, a sweatshirt and a long sleeve shirt. I had my riding pants on over my jeans and, of course, my cold weather gloves. I was perfectly comfortable.
We rode west and took Buffalo Trail to Laurel wear we picked up the back road to COlumbus. We crossed the Yellowstone River ad rode to Absarokee where we stopped for a couple photos.
We took Nye Road through Fishtail and on to Nye itself. It was great. No traffic. No wind. Lots of sweeper curves. I had the music cranked up and enjoyed the wide open space as we approached the Beartooth Mountains.
We went through Nye and continued on to the Stillwater mining complex. It is heavily industrial and looks out of place in this serene, mountain landscape. We passed through and continued on the road to Woodbine campground. In the past, this section of road was really bad, with lots of potholes but they are working on it and it’s all new compacted gravel. It’s no fun riding on that but it wasn’t more than a half mile.
We arrived to find that the gate to campground was closed. We stopped, took a break, and a couple photos.
We discussed the route back and decided to head for Red Lodge. Right before we got back to the mine, we pulled over to check these guys out.
The to Redlodge is about 30 miles and covers lots of hills and curves. I remember that the summer I got the bike, about 4 years ago, I rode this route and was very intimidated due to my inexperience and the strong winds. With 52,000 miles behind me now, I own that route now.
In Red Lodge we stopped so Keith could gas up and we took snack break.
The ride back was uneventful, which is what one wants on Hwy 212, a rather dangerous road due to idiots. We parted ways on Shilo. I stopped for gas and then got the bike parked.
It was a 214 mile day.
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