Pompeys - Custer - Hardin Loop

April 3, 2022

It was a pretty nice day and after I finished up installing art for my upcoming show I hit the road.  I had a rough idea of where I wanted to go and figured I’d sort out the details along the way.

I left about 1:15pm on the road out through Billings Heights, taking the Bitterroot-Dover route to get to Hwy 312 and avoiding the mess that Main Street can be.  I saw a bunch of Harleys ahead of me (I could tell they were Harleys because I could hear them) and they were meeting up at Dover Park.  I went past them and headed northeast on Hwy 312 to Pompeys Pillar.  This is a good route, all 2-lane, and once past Worden there are rarely any other vehicles.  I stopped across from the monument to get a sweatshirt on under my jacket.  While it was in the mid-50s, I was feeling chilled.  Time for a photo or two.

I got on the frontage road and took that to the small town of Custer. There is a nice hill with some curves on that route but places to safely pull off for photos are limited but I did grab these two.

There are a few options at this point.  One that I have done several times is to get on Pease Bottom Road and take that to Hysham.  Another is to head to Melstone but I think a large section of that road is yet to be paved.  Today I wanted to head south toward Hardin but took a few pictures before leaving Custer.

The road out of town looks promising.

However, the twisty part is pretty short and I am quickly on top of the prairie.  After a few miles I connect with Hwy 47 that will take me south to Hardin.  It’s a nice 2-lane road and in pretty good condition.  Although it is mostly straight, it did curve through some rimrocks that had interesting formations.

Some miles north of Hardin, I pulled over to check out the Grant Marsh Wildlife Management Area.  I needed a break and wanted to shoot some pictures so I parked and did a short hike.

The Big Horn River runs past here and I walked to where a tributary goes past.

It was quiet and beautiful BUT I can tell you that the ticks have come out of their winter hibernation.

I got to Hardin and pulled over to look at my map because it was decision time.  I’ve wanted to explore the road from Hardin to Pryor which, from what I can tell on Google maps satellite view, is paved but it is nearly 4:30pm so the day is slipping away.  The issue is that I’d be heading west into the low sun and that is not how I want to check out that road.  I’ve had a good ride so why push it?  I still have the Lockwood twisties up ahead so there is plenty to look forward to on this route so away I went on Old Hwy 87.

It’s a straight ride for the most part and a matter of setting the cruise control and just letting the miles goes by.  At one point I saw an animal cross the road ahead of me, maybe 500 yards or so.  At first I thought it was a dog because I’d had seen some dogs running loose in Hardin but as I got closer I realized it wasn’t a dog.  A fox?  No, this animal had a very distinct feline form to its gate.  As I got closer I could see that it had crossed to road into a prairie dog neighborhood and was clearly a cougar of some kind.  

A bit farther up the road I pulled over for my final pictures of the day to record what the terrain looked like on this route.

I successfully negotiated the twisties into Lockwood and got past the usual mess that is traffic around Billings Metra fairgrounds and arrived at home at 5:27pm with 150.2 miles for the day.

Belfry, Red Lodge, Columbus Loop

March 27, 2022

With the great weather we are having, and with the next couple weeks dominated by other things, I figured that I’d set everything aside and get the bike out today.  I got going a bit later than I might have because a friend wanted company on an 8-mile run and that sounded like fun so I did that first.  We did that distance in 1 hour, 30 minutes.  Once showered, hot tubbed, and fed, I had a few tasks to take care before getting the bike out and hitting the road about 1pm.

I already had a full tank so headed west and took Grand out and around to Buffalo Trail which I rode into Laurel.  From there I picked up Highway 212 to Rockvale where I turned south on Highway 310.  This took me past Fromberg and into Bridger where I stopped to shed a layer out of my jacket.  It was warming up.

I saw quite a few motorcycles out, all Harleys, but traffic was really light.  Outside of Bridger I got on Highway 72 and headed for Belfry.  This is always a nice ride.  2-lanes and great scenery with ranch and farmland stretching out to the west, bordered by the Beartooth Mountains.

In Belfry I stopped before making the turn toward Red Lodge.

I turned on Highway 308 for the 15-mile ride to Red Lodge.  This is a very nice route with lots of twists and hills.  I stopped in Bearcreek for a photo.

The ride from Bearcreek to Red Lodge is great.  Very curvy road and a great scenic pull out.

I didn’t spend any time in Red Lodge but stopped for a quick photo before heading north out of town.

I took Highway 78 out of town, heading for Columbus.  This road has lots of sweeping turns and rolling hills and the Beartooth Mountains are right there.  I stopped for a photo or two:

Once I got out of the hills and into the Stillwater valley the road flattened out.  I stopped for a look at a historic marker.

The next stop was the town of Absarokee.

I crossed the Yellowstone River and entered the town of Columbus.  Rather than head for the Interstate, I took Old U.S. 10 to Park City.  I pulled over to grab some photos above the Yellowstone River.

I rode through Laurel and then through the west end of Billings for the rest of the ride.  171.4 miles today.

Lavina, Harlowton, and Big Timber Loop

March 25, 2022

With reasonably good weather and NO WIND, it was a good day to get out and do a longer ride.  I did errands in the morning, went to the gym for lap swimming at noon, and headed out on the bike a bit after 1pm.  I wasn’t sure how far I was going to go so I decided to just ride to Lavinia and decide from there.  The ride out Highway 3 was great as there was hardly any other traffic, not that it is ever much of a traffic problem.  I got to Lavina and stopped for a photo.

It felt pretty good so when I got to Highway 12, I headed west for a nice ride along the Musselshell River.  There are lots of farms and ranches along this route, squeezed between the river and the rimrocks.  Every once in a while I’d grab a glimpse of the Snowy Mountains to the north.

Right before Harlowton is a rest area and I pulled in for a break.  I also wanted to put the thermal liner in my jacket.  I had on a long sleeve t-shirt and a sweatshirt but still had a chill and the liner would take care of that.  I shot this photo at the stop, looking south toward the Crazy Mountains.

I pulled on to the main drag in Harlowton and shot these two photos.

My choice now was to go back the way I had come or head a few miles up the road and grab Highway 191 south to Big Timber.  I did the latter.  This road is a 2-lane that must be on a section line because it is straight as can be for over 30 miles.  About halfway to Big Timber I pull over to document an event:  the bike turned over 13,000 miles. While taking that photo I shot a few more:

Those are the Beartooth Mountains in the photo above.

And those are the Crazy Mountains.

And the road ahead…

The ride in to Big Timber is uneventful but the road does get curvy for the final couple of miles.  I stopped for the final photo of the day in front of their courthouse.

When I got home I’d ridden 225 miles for the day.  I filled with gas and my calculation indicates almost 50 miles to the gallon.

Every Month Box Checked

March 25, 2022

I thought it would be a good challenge to get the bike out in every month of the year, a bit of a challenge in Montana considering our variable winters.  I made it out in December and January for a couple good rides.  In February, our coldest month, I got out for a 20-miler and it was the wind, not the cold, that deterred me from riding any further that day.  But things changed once March settled in and I’ve been out twice.

March 17, 2022

The first was a short loop in fair weather.  I got my gear on and was very comfortable.  I went up Zimmerman Trail and then headed west on Highway 3 to Shorey Road.  This is a recently-paved country road that connects Alkali Creek Road, that comes from Billings Heights, to Molt Road.  Based on the quality of the paving, it appears that the asphalt was recycled from somewhere else and the compaction job was minimal.  There is already a massive hole in the road that would test the suspension and tires of any vehicle encountering it but easy to avoid on a bike.

I stopped and took a couple photos along the way where the road heads west.

The road makes a 90-degree turn to the left and heads south for a ways.  It’s straight but hilly.

That’s a nice view of the Pryor Mountains in the background.

Those are the Beartooth Mountains from this view.

I needed to meet a friend so I cut the loop short and headed south on 56th and called it a day.

March 24, 2022

Great temperature today but high winds.  I headed out about 1pm with a plan to do the whole loop I didn’t do on the 17th, wind or no wind.  And it was windy.  Up on Highway 3 it was coming from the northeast and I felt like the bike was pretty stable but my body was acting like a sail.  Once I got on to Shorey Road things improved but after I headed west on Molt Road it was an endurance contest to see if my neck muscles keep my head up straight.  I did about 50-55mph which was all that I felt I could do safely.  I turned south on Buffalo Trail and it was like a different world with the wind being at my back.  I pulled into a turnout for a photo.

Those are the Crazy Mountains in the background.

The road ahead.

The road behind.  I continued on this road, a nice winding valley route, and followed it to the town of Laurel.  I went through the town and turned on Theil/River road and followed that east, winding my way, eventually, to Canyon Creek Brewing to meet some friends.  It was about a 50-mile day.

A run and a ride

February 13, 2022

Considering that this time last year here in south eastern Montana we were seeing -20F overnight temps, the 59 degrees today was just another opportunity to ride the motorcycle.  

Our running club had its annual “Froze Nose” 5K biathlon today and there were no frozen noses.  I rode the FJR out to the race, donned my running gear, and did the 5K in 28:50.  Not bad considering I’ll be 70 in 3 months.  It’s a biathlon because we finish at a bowling alley and then bowl a game, a game where I am the king of the gutter ball.  You get to take one second off your run time for every pin you knock down.  My bowling score of 73 did not move me into the winner circle.  

After that event I rode the motorcycle out to Pompey’s Pillar and then did the 10-mile or so out and back on Fly Creek Road that has some nice twisties.  The road turns to gravel as it crosses into Big Horn county which is where I turn around.

I took the interstate back to Billings.  The roads were vacant as I came back into the city.  Someone said there is a football game today that may be keeping people inside.  Football vs. motorcycle ride?  No contest there for me.  87 miles today.

A quick one

February 10, 2022

I want to try getting a ride in every month of the year and with our Montana weather that is chancy.  When  the warmer winds dried out the streets I figured that today was the day to check the February box.  However, while it felt good to get out, the strong winds made riding not much fun so I only did about 20-miles, touring around the west end of the city before landing at Canyon Creek Brewing.

A winter ride

January 17, 2022

I hope to ride in every month of the year, something that is dependent on the weather and road conditions here in Montana.  As I looked ahead on the weather reports, it appeared that a warming trend was on the way so, while I was away warming myself in Arizona, things melted here and I returned to clear streets and 50-degree temperatures. 

I got the bike out and decided to head south and went to the town of Bridger, about 45 miles south of Billings.  I did put the thermal liner in my heavier jacket and used my winter gloves, but didn’t really need anything else.  The ride was smooth and uneventful and it just felt good to get out.