Another winter ride

January 14, 2026

It's still winter but with the temperature going into the 60s and no precipitation, I'm riding.

I was really undecided as to where to ride so I just headed west on the usual route out of town in that direction and took Buffalo Trail to Laurel.  

I turned west and went through Park City and then on to Columbus.  I had to make a decision in the middle of town to either head north to Rapelje or south to Absarokee.  I turned south.

I was a really pleasant ride and before long I went through the little town as I tried to decide if I want to go on to either Nye or Red Lodge.  I saw a sign for Hawkins Park and made a turn.  The park is small but right along Rosebud Creek so made a nice place to take a break and sit out in the sun.

While I was sitting there, a little old lady came by on her walker and went over to the creek.  On her way back she stopped to chat and I learned quite a bit about her.  She was from Spearfish, SD but raised her family in Washington, north of Spokane.  She had 6 boys and it sounds like they had a ranch.  Her husband passed away two years ago so she moved here with the last two of her horses to be near her sons and grandchildren.  One of her horses is 40-year old pony.  It was nice having a chat and she took off to finish her exercise I headed back to Billings.

When I got back to Columbus I took a short detour and rode through Itch-Kep-Pe Park which is a campground and fishing spot along the Yellowstone River.  It's also next to the town golf course.

I rode the freeway back to Billings which was pretty easy with light traffic and a strong wind at my back.  I stopped and topped off my gas with the alcohol-free variety since this will be the last ride for a while.

It was a 124 mile day.