The Molt Loop

October 16, 2022

I wasn’t sure that I’d get out for a ride today since I had other stuff going on.  

First off, I had to take Bart the Dog on his daily adventure and today it was a romp and run, for both of us, at Riverfront Park in Billings.  This park lies along the Yellowstone River and I’ve been running here for a couple of decades during which it has undergone continuous changes, some brought about by the movement of the river and others by humans.  

The recent floods removed hundreds of square feet of the park, disappearing a section of trail I liked to traverse.  On the downstream end of the park, humans have removed vegetation, such as anything with a trunk diameter less that 8-inches.  Yes, lots of it was invasive species but they pretty much clear cut it and graded all the old twisty trails flat.  I heard that another reason is that the area they cleared had become home to various encampments.  OK, I guess I’ll get used to the new terrain.  Here’s a photo from the extreme east end of the park, standing on what used to be Washington Street.

Bart and I ran through the regular part of the park, still in it’s natural state, and worked our way east, mostly along the river.

He loves running through the tall grass.

It is starting look like fall.

Sunrise over the Yellowstone River.

We saw some cross country runners doing a warmup run.  Bart waited on a bench for them to pass.

We finished up under a colorful canopy.

Bart and I had a good time over our 3.8-mile trek, but it was time to get home, get cleaned up, and have breakfast.  I got laundry started and then went across the street to check the battery on my 1983 Volvo 240.  Because the car failed to start yesterday, I’d put it on the charger for 8 hours yesterday.  It had cranked and tried to start but it was apparent that it needed more amps.  Today showed that the charge had only brought it up to 12.3 volts instead of the 12.6 that would show a full charge.  I checked the label and it looks like I bought that battery 10-years ago so I guess I got my money’s worth.  I also knew that the clamps and cables were WAY overdue for a change.

I did some price comparison shopping online and I have to run over to Napa this week for a battery and cables.

Yes, this is my motorcycle blog and I’m eventually getting to that but I had to move my clothes from the washer to the dryer, do the weekly update of my Old Time Radio web site, transfer a few more 45 RPM records to digital, and make another attempt at turning some of my abundant zucchini crop into zucchini chips.  Then it was time to go to a planning meeting for our upcoming RunTurkeyRun! 5K race.  We met at Canyon Creek Brewing and the meeting was a short, a single beer one.  

When I got home I got the bike out but realized I hadn’t washed it since my ride last Monday, the Lewistown/Roy Loop.  Washed and dried, it was time for a short ride.  The weather was perfect, cool and no wind.  I decided to head to Molt, a 20-mile ride from my house on a quiet 2-lane road.  It felt great.  In Molt, I noticed they had a bluegrass show coming up at their community center.  Where else would it be with, aside from a few houses and grain silos, only 3 public building: the community center, the post office, and the now-closed Prairie Winds cafe.  Time for a few photos.

The road:

When I got to Buffalo Trail, I took it south for a mile or so and pulled over in a small, paved parking area. I wanted some photos but also to scour the area for shell casings.  I always find some and add them to my found-brass collection that I might use for an art project.  I found 5 today.  Here’s some scenery shots (no pun intended.)

From there, I continued on south toward Laurel, MT, turned on Lipp Road by the Canyon Creek Battle Memorial, and wound my way back into the west end of Billings.  A great, although short, ride but getting out is what it’s about.

45 miles today.

The Lewistown and Roy Loop

October 19, 2022

There are hints of winter coming.  The trees have started changing color, some are losing their leaves, the days and nights are cooler, and snow shovels are probably on sale somewhere.  With all of that, I really do need to take advantage of the riding days I have left and enjoy the bike before it heads to its winter slumber.

A few weeks ago I saw a comment online saying how good a Mexican restaurant in Lewistown was.  I looked it up on Google and it had lots of great reviews: good food, large portions, and fast service.  While I rarely eat out, I am always willing to try a Mexican place to see how they stack up against all the others ones I’ve tried across the country.  So, a ride to Lewistown is in order and Friday looked good but the weather didn’t.  Rain wasn’t in the forecast but cool temperatures were. There were other things to do on Friday as well so Monday looked to be a better choice.  I talked with Bill last weekend and he decided to go but we both had commitments Monday morning and figured a late-morning start would put us there just after the lunch crowd, assuming there is one.  

We hit the road about 10:45 and the weather cool but comfortable.  Our first break came in Lavina where we pulled over for a photo or two next to the old mercantile building across from the old Lavina bank.

The bank’s first floor is used by the Masons and a look into the window shows that much of the old bank is still there.  Note the old safe in the far corner.

We turned west toward Ryegate and stopped somewhere along the way for a quick break and a photo or two.

At Harlowton we turned north, heading toward Judith Gap and the nearby wind farm.  There is no question as to why they selected this spot: it’s really windy.  Like REALLY windy.  The cross wind was so strong I figured that I was only wearing on one side of my tires.  I slowed to about 66 mph and hung on.  The wind really impacts me more than the bike as I am like a big sail.  The bike does a great job of hugging the road and doesn’t drift too much but it is still unnerving, especially when big trucks go past in the other lane.  I didn’t stop for photos so here are a few I pulled off Google Street View.

Edit:  Bill later reminded me about the herd of cattle we encountered along here.  There was a large number of black bovines being guided in the swale between the road and the fence by a couple of cowboys on 4-wheelers with the help of a cattle dog or two nipping at the hoofs.  The weird thing was that there was a lone sheep in the mix who looked lost and like it might make a dash across the road.  We and the other vehicles slowed to a crawl until we were past this not uncommon Western encounter.

The next stop was Eddie’s Corner, a truck stop/cafe/convenience store where Hwy 191 meets Hwy 87 near the town of Moore.  It’s a popular and well-known landmark so we pulled in for a photo or two.

It was a short ride into Lewistown and our main destination, El Rancho Alegre.  We were in luck and parked right in front.  Traffic being what it was, I didn’t get a photo of the restaurant in the background so here’s one from Google Street View.  We were parked where the silver van was.

Here we are.

Lunch was great.  The food was very good and the portions were filling.  I test a Mexican place by how well they do a chili relleno and this one gets a strong B+.  We had a nice chat and headed back out to ride.  I spotted this as we were getting our gear on.  I had to do a quick draw with my phone before it got away.

It’s Triumph Spitfire on wire wheels.  It was very sharp looking.

The next stop is the Fergus County Courthouse, just a few blocks up the street.  For no special reason I take a photo of my bike parked in front of county court houses whenever I can and I didn’t have this one yet. It’s quite beautiful.  Next time I want to take a look inside.

There is a very attractive Carnegie Library across the street.

We stopped for gas and then took Hwy 191 out of town toward Roy.  This was just excuse to ride a route I’d not done before as there isn’t much in Roy itself.  The route is pretty nice and skirts the Snowy Mountains.

In Roy we stopped across from the Post Office for a few minutes.

The building across the street from it, perhaps a former bank, may be getting some work done.  I thought it was quite attractive.

One can pretty much see the whole town from here.

We headed out of Roy and hooked up with Hwy 19 which took us south to Grass Range and then to Hwy 87 to Roundup and back to Billings.  We hit some strong crosswinds, again, from the turnoff to Winnett until we got to Roundup.  We stopped for a quick butt rest and a photo.

From there it was an easy cruise the rest of the way home.

It was a 320.8 mile day.