Before we left Hardin we paid a visit to Mojoes, the coffee shop across the street from the motel. It is drive-thru only right now, but when we appeared at the door the lady who owned the place eagerly waved us in. She microwaved my Costco-brand breakfast sandwich as well as a banana nut muffin, plastic wrap and all, and made Maddie her coffee, all while chatting up a storm. A softball game was playing on her phone all the while. Her singular employee casually made drinks for the people in the drive-thru, as the line of trucks outside in the parking lot grew longer and longer. The owner did not seem to notice the back-up as she delivered a 10 minute sermon on the versatility of FitCrunch protein bars. 45 minutes later we were out the door, ready to get dressed and go a little later than planned, but stomachs full of those extra nutrients from the plastic wrap.
We took an old highway out to I-90 and returned to the interstate. From the day’s onset I felt a bit off (maybe the muffin?) and it made the entire ride feel extra long. The scenery was nice, but the road was busier than yesterday, and it felt pretty monotonous. We hit some nice downhill sections which were a blast, but otherwise the ride didn’t do much for me. On the last downhill section before Billings I left Maddie in the dust. At the bottom of the hill the highway split, and the shoulder narrowed. I had to be cautious on that section, so I wasn’t checking my rear view mirror for Maddie as much as I was for cars. After I passed through the narrow section and the highway returned to normal, I looked for Maddie, but couldn’t see her. I checked my phone to find a missed call. I called her back. An enthusiastic voice on the other end said: “Hello, Charlie. I have another flat.”
Maddie:
On I-90 with cars flying by at 80 miles per hour, Charlie at the bottom of a massive hill miles ahead of me, and absolutely no interest in changing a flat 5 miles out of town, what to do? At first, I thought I’d walk to the nearest exit and beg for a ride, only to find out that cars did not have to slow down at the next exit two miles away. Then I hoped that a car would take pity on a random biker walking on the side of the interstate, so naturally, I called my mom to catch up. While on the phone, I realized no one would help me unless I exerted a bit of effort. I proceeded to stick my thumb out and pray.
Fifteen minutes later, my saving grace pulled over in a red Subaru with a glowing smile. Sarah, a beautiful, 28-year-old craftswoman, had a car stuffed with baked goods, homemade kombucha, and clothing as she was on her way to Washington for a retreat. Unsure of how we would fit my bike in her nearly overflowing car, we worked together to throw my bike on top of her car and strap it on as securely as we knew how. We drove for 20 minutes or so to a bike shop and talked about my trip, experiences traveling as a woman, and Sarah’s hopes for her future. She told me that it’s always her priority to help a woman in need, and I am so glad that she came to my rescue today. She sent me off with a bottle of her raspberry kombucha that was so delicious.
Standing outside of the Spoke Shop without Charlie, it was bizarre to think that that period was the longest we have been apart in 7 weeks. I honestly felt a bit discombobulated without him. Travis, one of the bike wizzes at the shop, asked me if there was anything he could help me with even before I entered the store. I told him about the three strokes of bad luck I’ve had this week coming in the form of flat tires. He brought me inside and walked me through which back tire would be best for the last leg of the journey. They also provided me with a glass of water and a ton of attention (because biking across the country is pretty sick, I guess?). I chatted with other workers and customers for about an hour, feeling like a rockstar, until my bike was returned good as new. The staff also gave me free T-shirt and hat, so I can rep the Spoke Shop of Billings forever.
Today was just another reminder of how good people can be!
Charlie:
It’s weird to think that the hour Maddie and I were apart is probably the longest we’ve been split up since the start of the trip! (And just looking at Maddie’s contribution now, I see she made the same remark).
While Maddie was relaxing in the back seat of a car, I was braving the streets of Billings. It is by no means a large city, but at just over 100,000 people it is the largest in Montana, and that means the streets were more crowded than we have seen in a while. I pulled into center city and started calling bike shops to ascertain where Maddie should go for a new tire. I sent her the location and planned to meet her there. It was 2.5 miles across town. The ice cream shop on the next block was calling my name, but I didn’t want Maddie to feel left out if I got some without her. I still regret that decision; after arriving at the bike shop I sat outside waiting for Maddie’s bike to be returned for 45 minutes. I was choused of a prime opportunity for quality ice cream, and to add insult to injury, we were later told it was the best ice cream in the area.
After Maddie got her bike fixed we stopped at a supermarket and bought lunch supplies. We sat on the picnic table outside, making ham and cheese sandwiches and pigging out on our sweet potato chips and guac (an incredible combo!). I also tried some soft-baked, gluten free, vegan, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. They were quite obviously gluten free, vegan, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Some things just shouldn’t try to be healthy.
There were thunderstorms on the radar so we waited under the awning at the supermarket for a while. As we were waiting, the weather app’s forecast was jumping around quite a bit. One moment it was supposed to be thunderstorms for 2 hours. The next there was a 30% chance of rain and that was it. After a while of nothing more than a drizzle, we just decided to get moving, beginning the 15 mile ride to Laurel.
Laurel, MT is home to our Warmshowers host, Mike. I got in touch with Mike a couple days ago and he said we could stay here, but he hadn’t responded to my confirmation texts and calls, so we were concerned he wouldn’t be able to host. When we arrived he was nowhere to be found. We tried knocking on the door and calling again and waited for a half hour, and we were just about ready to try our hand at looking miserable in a town park and hoping someone would take us in, when his brother Jesse pulled up. Jesse said he hadn’t heard from Mike either, but we were more than welcome to stay. What a stroke of good fortune. We hadn’t known him all of 30 seconds and he was inviting us in for a shower and a couch to sleep on!
Jesse took us on an ice cream run to Mo Scoops, serving Wilcoxson’s Ice Cream (the same ice cream we had at the stand back in Sheridan. It was NOT Blue Bunny ice cream.) This ice cream is super high quality, we’ve loved it both times we’ve had it. Jesse told us about his childhood and played us some of his music, which was really good! We watched the most vibrant sunset of all time, then watched Home Alone, and then called it a night.
We’re off to Big Timber tomorrow. Big Timber might have my vote for coolest town name of any place we will stay the night, though Montezuma, IA is up there as well. And, oh yeah, guess what? We’ve been on the road for 7 weeks now! The big 5-0 tomorrow. Good night!
-Charlie
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