Billings
Ah Billings, the garden spot of Montana! Actually it is very green here and we are @ Montana State Univ @ Billings dorms. It is nice to be here, although this may be the first time I have thought of Billings in this way!!! Usually it is a quick gas stop then down I-90 @ 75 mph.
The riding is going wonderfully, we are only a little less than 1/3 of the way across the U.S. but have made some great friendships and laughed our asses off (the part we can still feel after riding 83 miles a day). Our trip across Montana has been interesting, we got stormed on from Missoula to Avon, lightning and thunder, 25-30 mph cross wind, and ice cold drops of rain pounding you. Your basic afternoon Montana thunderstorm. I just picked up the pace, swore @ the sky and taunted the clouds to give me all they had. I was flying down the road, laughing maniacally, when I spotted Sean standing off the road in the ditch. He yelled @ me to let me know that it was storming. We were about 20 miles from camp and I was not about to slow down, I yelled out "I love this shit" and then added "yippee i o mother scratcher" (edited for the younger crowd) and all of a sudden 6-7 helmeted heads popped up like prairie dogs, they had been huddling in a circle like a covey of quail in the bottom of the ditch to avoid the weather. It was getting dark and cold and they jumped onto their bikes to try and catch me. Rick da Tick and Little Eric caught me just about @ Avon. The worse the weather the better I was riding, I fairly sprinted into town. We stopped @ the Avon Cafe (everyone was there!) and I had soda and bowl of chili. Good stuff. Arrived @ camp wet but happy.
Moon ambles over to my tent and asked if I wanted to get a Mohawk haircut, I immediately said yes! I think it startled him how fast I said yes. Bobbie, my room mate on layover days is a licensed barber from Bonney Lake, WA. (By Seattle) and Brian (who has done the RAAM twice) had a pair of clippers (he buzzes his hair every couple of days). All told 12 riders are now sporting Mohawk haircuts. Young Lucas (16 y/o) to Norm (71 y/o) got haircuts. Boy, do you get some funny looks traveling across Montana dressed in spandex and having a Mohawk.
We passed over the continental divide @ McDonald pass, 6325 feet, and I hit 55 mph on the downhill. I would still be sliding down the road days later if I went down there!! Spent couple hours in Helena, eating breakfast, taking pictures and doing some shopping. Stopped in Townsend for the night and Kevin and I walked over to get a beer before supper, went to the Corner Tavern, which was filled with locals and the Native American bartender was a little abrupt with us @ first, I suspect it may have been due to us being strangers and having odd haircuts, but the clientele warmed up fast and bought us several beers before we could make our escape for supper.
We have had 2 good days of 90+ degree, sunny weather with favorable winds. Have rode with David Frankel for several days, funny guy and has a great blog also. bikerideusa.blogspot.com
Hope to have pictures soon.
The riding is going wonderfully, we are only a little less than 1/3 of the way across the U.S. but have made some great friendships and laughed our asses off (the part we can still feel after riding 83 miles a day). Our trip across Montana has been interesting, we got stormed on from Missoula to Avon, lightning and thunder, 25-30 mph cross wind, and ice cold drops of rain pounding you. Your basic afternoon Montana thunderstorm. I just picked up the pace, swore @ the sky and taunted the clouds to give me all they had. I was flying down the road, laughing maniacally, when I spotted Sean standing off the road in the ditch. He yelled @ me to let me know that it was storming. We were about 20 miles from camp and I was not about to slow down, I yelled out "I love this shit" and then added "yippee i o mother scratcher" (edited for the younger crowd) and all of a sudden 6-7 helmeted heads popped up like prairie dogs, they had been huddling in a circle like a covey of quail in the bottom of the ditch to avoid the weather. It was getting dark and cold and they jumped onto their bikes to try and catch me. Rick da Tick and Little Eric caught me just about @ Avon. The worse the weather the better I was riding, I fairly sprinted into town. We stopped @ the Avon Cafe (everyone was there!) and I had soda and bowl of chili. Good stuff. Arrived @ camp wet but happy.
Moon ambles over to my tent and asked if I wanted to get a Mohawk haircut, I immediately said yes! I think it startled him how fast I said yes. Bobbie, my room mate on layover days is a licensed barber from Bonney Lake, WA. (By Seattle) and Brian (who has done the RAAM twice) had a pair of clippers (he buzzes his hair every couple of days). All told 12 riders are now sporting Mohawk haircuts. Young Lucas (16 y/o) to Norm (71 y/o) got haircuts. Boy, do you get some funny looks traveling across Montana dressed in spandex and having a Mohawk.
We passed over the continental divide @ McDonald pass, 6325 feet, and I hit 55 mph on the downhill. I would still be sliding down the road days later if I went down there!! Spent couple hours in Helena, eating breakfast, taking pictures and doing some shopping. Stopped in Townsend for the night and Kevin and I walked over to get a beer before supper, went to the Corner Tavern, which was filled with locals and the Native American bartender was a little abrupt with us @ first, I suspect it may have been due to us being strangers and having odd haircuts, but the clientele warmed up fast and bought us several beers before we could make our escape for supper.
We have had 2 good days of 90+ degree, sunny weather with favorable winds. Have rode with David Frankel for several days, funny guy and has a great blog also. bikerideusa.blogspot.com
Hope to have pictures soon.
posted by ltsullivan3 at 10:20 AM
2 Comments:
Awesome! We better get to see this mohawk, Sully!
Great to hear you are doing so well! Hurry up though... we miss ya at work, been busier than you know what! Norma shared some pictures with us of your hair cut... it looks great!
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