Day 9

Miles: 89

Mileage from start: 774

Last night, from inside our tent, we could see the sky glow orange. We poked our heads out to catch the last of a lovely sunset. 

In the morning we had another late start. We stopped for food at the grocery store in town and I got a bowl of mac and cheese from the soup bar for breakfast. We also got a pint of blueberries, a quart of strawberries and a quart of sliced watermelon. And many things with sugar. 

I felt so sluggish all day. I think my quads are looking forward to the zero we’re planning as much as my brain. The sun made many appearances today as large, cotton candy clouds blew over us. Each time the sun came out, the temperature rose 15 degrees. When the clouds took over, it chilled the air substantially. 

At our break Richard fell asleep when the clouds were covering the sun, and so was wearing his rain gear to keep off the chill. He woke up in full sun and full sweat. I laughed until it clouded over again and I curled into a ball to stay warm. 

All day the terrain was hilly. We were always going up or down hill. Always too hot or too cold. But at least it wasn’t raining. And we got to ride through quintessential Montana: big mountains, big valleys, big lakes, big sky. It was a beautiful, if challenging, day. 

We got to our campsite around 8 p.m. and we’re greeted by the campground host with the news that tonight’s stay was free! The U.S. Forest Service was having a promotional day where all their campsites were free for the night! Yay!

It’s going to be a chilly night. I can already tell.