Greeley to Billings

[Phil Tarman]

I rode from home to Billings, MT, today for our United Methodist Annual Conference. I started with my usual deal -- not being able to sleep the night before a ride. I probably got 3 to 3 1/2 hours in. I finally gave up and got out of bed at 7, ate breakfast and piddled around getting packed. It was 10:40 when I rode away from the house.

I rode Interstates all the way after I got on to I-25 about 12 miles west of our place. 25 had construction that made for about 4 miles of stop-and-go traffic just north of Ft. Collins, but there weren't many other construction areas till around Sheridan on I-90. Most had 65mph speed limits, so they weren't really an issue.

We used to joke that Memorial Day weekend was the time to experience spring in Wyoming, but this year, spring was running a little late. It fell on June 12! (BTW. today was Joanne and my 20th anniversary. We celebrated yesterday.) Wyoming was as green as could be from the Colorado border to the Montana border north of Sheridan. Montana wasn't quite as green, but was still very pretty. 10-to-1 that the green will have faded by the time I head home on Sunday.

I made two stops in the 523 miles from the house to Billings. I stopped in Douglas for gas and didn't even need a biological break. The next stop was at the first Sheridan exit. Traffic was light all the way, and the wind didn't even blow until I got to Billings. It was a beautiful day!
'

 

[junglejim]

Thanks for sharing Phil. Your post tells me you're feeling better and riding more.
I too combined some riding with other activities (less important but more fun).

I rode to the UP of MI to shoot in an archery tournament. The shoot was in Gwinn (actually Little Lake). It was interesting to see the remains of K. I. Sawyer AFB. I was reflecting on how different things were when the USAF was there. Still, I saw a fair amount of air traffic for a small, in the middle of nowhere, town in the UP.

I shot both days of the tournament and did about average. Shot one day with a retired Navy Master Chief and the second day with an old Viet Nam helo pilot. Ya, if is an old guys sport. What a fun weekend of riding 900 miles and shooting 224 scored arrows.

I rode past a road sign that read "County Road NT" and was going to post it up to have Frosty guess where it was. But it was raining on my return trip so I didn't stop for a picture.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Glad you're getting some riding in, too, Jim. I'd say that shooting "average" is doing pretty darned good! Congratulations!

 

[junglejim]

I'd say that shooting "average" is doing pretty darned good! Congratulations!

Heck, just showing up at my age should be worth some points. Shooting 112 scored arrows two days in a row ought to be extra credit too.
My next challenge is to live long enough to go to the next shoot.

I'm in the oldest age class they have - Master Seniors 70+. Since there are no more age classes to give me a competitive advantage my only option at this point is going for a sex change and that one is off the table.

 

[Phil Tarman]

There was a year (it was 1983) when I ran. I had two buddies who talked me into running with them and I gradually built myself into fairly decent shape. At the end of June there was a 10K run in Casper, WY, that started down by the banks of the North Platte River. The first 3k were uphill out of the river bottom and then there were 2K that had a slight upgrade. I was 40 that year and I when I started the run, I had three goals: 1) finish in under an hour; 2) not be last in my age group of 40-45; and 3) run the whole 10K. Well, two out of three ain't bad. I finished in 59:20; I was next to last in the 40-45 age group. But I only ran about 9.7K. I had tried to stay with my two friends up the first 3K and blown myself out. When we got to the top, I walked about 3/10 of a kilometer before I could run again.

When I got home, I told my wife that maybe when I turned 45, I'd be in a better group. When the paper (remember those?) came out the next day and I started studying the times in the various age groups, I realized that I had had the next to last time in 40-45; 45-50; 50-55; and 55-60! I was the 2nd slowest runner in the 40-60 age group.

I kept running and I got better. But I never had the "runner's high" people talk about. I had planned on going to Kalispell, MT, for a marathon at the end of the summer and by the end of June, I was running 12 miles at a whack. But then I got transferred and had to move from Casper to Limon, CO, on August 23, so canceled the marathon. I never went back to running. I did start riding a bicycle after 3 years in Limon and had almost 30,000 miles, including 7 or 8 century rides (100 mile days) and one 750 mile 10-day tour before I started having knee replacements in 2003. I started riding a motorcycle in the fall of '97, and had to give up riding the bicycle in 2004 after my 4th knee. I did ride a bike some the first year or so we were in Greeley and may try that again after I lose another 20 pounds.