Day 56 August 30/14 Sheridan, Wyoming & Day 57 August 31/14 Butte, Montana 13590 kms

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THE YIN AND THE YANG

It would be hard to find a day that changed so drastically from morning to afternoon.

Yesterday morning was close to perfect. Weather was a ten. Temperature was about 25 degrees. Winds were light and variable (does that sound like a boater). No lightning, no thunder and no rain. The roads were a ten. Thirty miles of perfection. Over 200 turns, 30 switch backs, 5 tunnels, 3 pigtails and 6 bridges. Scenery was an 8.5. The only reason it did not reach a ten was there was no ocean. There were views of Mount Rushmore, buffalo, granite canyons, lakes and rivers. The traffic was light and mostly other motorcycles. We had countless photo opps and many pull outs that allowed photos. We took almost five hours to complete the thirty miles plus another twenty so we could stop for lunch in the town of Custer.

Then came the afternoon. As soon as we had finished lunch and we were riding out of Custer, the wind started picking up. We had planned on riding 220 miles to Sheridan Wyoming. It started badly and for the entire 220, it spiralled downwards.

So the weather was a one. We had wind and lots of it (I know Helli can't talk about the wind anymore, but I can). The temperature dropped to about 12 degrees. We had lightning and thunder so close to us, we actually considered stopping. Talk about a white knuckled ride. We had rain, cold hard rain!!! At five p.m.we had to remove our sun glasses because it was so dark. Then there was the road. It was flat straight and boring, and it got worse. For 7 miles there was no road. It had been ripped up and it was being replaced, So for 7 miles we had to ride at 10 - 15 miles an hour over unpacked gravel, sand and loose rock. Scenery was a one. Open fields and fences and more grass than a Bob Marley estate sale. We arrived at our hotel in Sheridan soaking wet, cold and exhausted. That's why there was no blog again last night. Nothing to do with the blog Nazi.

The last 2 days were a treat. The towns of Custer, Keystone and Hot Springs South Dakota were all a pleasant surprise and all places we look forward to coming back to in the future.

Today, riding from Sheridan to Butte, Montana was rather uneventful, and entirely via Interstate 90. Being Sunday, traffic wasn't very heavy, so we were able to blast along at 75 mph, making good time even with several breaks. We managed to cover 580 kms throughout the day. We dodged more thunderstorms, just catching the tail end of one front. The biggest excitement was stopping at a rest stop where posted signs warned of rattle snakes in the grass. Sadly, we didn't see any. Otherwise, sorry folks, it was a non-descript interstate journey throughout the prairies and foothills of Montana. We are almost home, can you tell!

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[D MJ Binkley]

Wyoming
Great road