Harlowton to White Sulphur Springs

A cold front moved in for a few days over Central Montana. We had planned on staying only one night at the Country Side inn, but the cold, rainy weather convinced us otherwise. We stayed dry and comfortable inside for our unplanned rest day. We did make it out for a grocery run for an awesome lunch.

The next day we packed up and headed out into…you guessed it, the rain. It was a cold rain, but with minimal wind for the first 10 miles out of town. We hunkered down in our raincoats and layers of clothing and rode towards White Sulphur Springs. At the crossroads of Two Dot, Haymaker and Route 12, Matt perked up and exclaimed “Two Dot? Hank Williams Jr sang a song about the town of Two Dot!” There was a sign along the road saying there was an establishment open, so we rode down the rough road and walked in. We quickly removed our soaking wet jackets and had a seat. After many cups of coffee and good conversations with the owners, they called a friend to bring her pickup truck and give us a ride to White Sulphur Springs. Absolutely awesome gesture of kindness!! The rain showed no sign of letting up. While we were having our coffee Matt called all the hotels in White Sulphur Springs..totaling 2 and no one had a vacancy. Upon hearing the news, I got on Airbnb and found a place and booked it. We had heard from YoYo the fat tire cyclist in Ryegate that this town would not allow camping in the city park. So going on his information we figured our only options were lodging. Lesson learned here is always do your own homework and take others experiences with a grain of salt.

The owners Mom arrived later and took us to White Sulphur Springs. She had grown up in Washington state and her husband grew up in Two Dot. They moved their and raised their kids in Two Dot. She shared with us local knowledge of the area and taught us the correct pronunciation of Helena during our ride. Helena is pronounced Hellen uh.

She dropped us off at the Montana Mallard Airbnb. We were blessed to have received $40 by the ladies outside of Miles City with a flat tire and we paid it forward to her. We sure appreciated the ride.

Once inside out of the rain, we were happy to have heat, a hot shower and a full kitchen! Amenities blessed amenities! Matt walked over to the local grocery store advertising New York Strips at a good price. We had appetizers of English Muffin Pizza and Dinner was a Montana steak!

The rain let up by the time we fell asleep. The next morning we packed up and headed out to the town of Townsend, Montana.

White Sulphur Springs to Townsend, Montana

Our first stop on our way out of town was coffee at a local espresso food truck. We sat down for a bit and enjoyed our coffee. We decided to take it to go since we had a 44 mile day planned. It was a brisk cloudy day. As I got my bike ready roll, I squeezed my coffee cup too tightly and the lid popped off.🙃 Spilling the remaining coffee all over my bicycle. Rosie gave me a scowl and sighed frustrated by my clumsiness. I rinsed off my bike and got on the road. Rosie pouted for the first few miles. I told her to cheer up it could be raining.

Our first 11 miles out of White Sulphur Springs on Route 12 had minimal shoulder. We have felt safe on Route 12 since we first got on back in South Dakota. Today, not so much. Busy Sunday traffic, no shoulder, sharp drop offs made for a tense ride.

When we approached a long steep hill, we decided to try our luck at hitching a ride. What seemed to be every church going couple in a pick up truck passed us by. Finally as we both said “Thank you for stopping to help us!” A woman in a Toyota truck with a camper shell pulled over to help. Since we couldn’t fit both bikes in the back, Matt offered to ride his bike up the big hill. Kay took me to the top. As we unloaded the bikes, we chatted a bit before she left. I came to the realization that I was mentally not ready to climb that mountain. I had best work on that with the mountains coming up.

Thank you Kay for being so kind as to give me a ride to the top of this mountain! Be blessed in your life’s adventures!

I walked down the mountain to look for Matt. There he was spinning up this monster of mountain. I began cheering him on as he approached. I am sure he was relieved to see my bike parked at the top. We took a break at the top and then headed down to the Helena National Forest.

What an amazing ride we had through the canyon! All downhill, sun breaking through the clouds, smiles on our faces as we shared how blessed we were to be here.

We emerged out the other end of the canyon and climbed our last hill that over looked the town of Townsend, Montana.

Matt and I sped down the hill into Townsend and landed at the Mustang Motel just as the sun began to shine. We got a room for the night and Matt made us dinner.

After much discussion the past few days, we have decided to pause our tour in Spokane. Matt and I fly out of Spokane, October 12th. I was originally flying to Tallahassee for my infusion October 14th and work then flying back to Spokane to ride to Anacortes, WA with Matt. Our touring budget has gotten very thin and unless we find a suitcase full of $100 bills we must go back to work. Our plan is for Matt to go back to Pennsylvania and I will go back to Tallahassee. We are not looking forward to pausing our tour and being apart from each other. But both of us will be working hard to save for our next adventure together in 2023.

Stay tuned in….

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