Another Winter Ride

December 26, 2025

Am I really getting another ride in?  Absolutely!  It was a busy morning and by the time I got it together to get out is was 2 pm.  The weather was a bit different from yesterday.  It was a few degrees cooler and there was some significant wind.

I headed west, taking the usual route to the Canyon Creek Battlefield site but rather than heading north from there like I yesterday I turned south and rode to Laurel.  The clouds looked a bit threatening but I figured that I'd ride toward them and turn around if I hit some rain.

I was hitting the wind head on once I left Laurel.  The bike handles well but it's still not as enjoyable as when it's calm.

In Rockvale I turned south.  If it was earlier, and less windy, I'd like to ride south to the Wyoming border but that wasn't going to happen today.  In Fromberg I turned on the Main Street and cruised through the neighborhoods before heading across the highway and riding out to edge of town.  I stopped for a few photos.

I headed back the way I had come and it felt good to have the wind at my back. The wind noise was also reduced to where I could easily hear the music playing in my helmet.  I passed back through Rockvale and right after that, I took the old highway back to Laurel.  It's a two-lane and less traveled than the new(er) route.

As I got back to Laurel I turned off on Theil/River Road and took that back to Duck Creek.  Going across the Yellowstone River I could see that there was substantial work being done on the Duck Creek Bridge.  I had heard that they were going to close the bridge at some point and traffic would be routed southward on Fritz Road and eventually to Blue Creek.  That hasn't happened yet and I wonder if it will.  Most of that route is not paved and there was some concern that paving it would increase traffic, something those who live out there don't want.

I rode the roundabouts up Shilo.

I stopped for gas on Grand and Zimmerman.  I topped off with the alcohol free version, again, since I'm not sure I'll be riding again until spring.

I pulled into my other garage, downloaded a few videos, and plugged in the battery tender.

It was a 85.7 mile day.  The bike now has 53,582 miles on it.