My first impressions of Montana compared to Wyoming are night and day. I was confronted by a treacherous storm and opposing winds in barren grasslands in Wyoming while I've been warmly embraced by beautiful mountains and lakes with terrific tailwinds giving me that magic roll here in Montana.
My God, the first 20 miles of today's ride wound me through the most beautiful scenery; around every bend was more mountains and more water. At one point there were skeletons of old trees still standing in the lake with dozens of black birds perched in their branches like some species that has overtaken an abandoned city.
I rode the rest of the 40 miles under gray skies, no doubt from a not-so-far-off forest fire; it cast the surrounding mountains in a haze, making them barely visible at times, like they were under a thin sheet of silk. I rolled effortlessly for miles with the wind on my back. At one stretch of no-pedaling the road was covered in crickets.
They all sprung off the ground in wild, unpredictable directions when I rode by. I could feel them bouncing of my bike and my bare legs. At one point I looked down to see one on my right shoe, one on my right leg and another on my left like they were hitchhikers looking to be taken away out West like little brown Kerouacs. It would've been nice if one of them stayed but, I got to Ennis all by myself.
This is a small little town surrounded by rivers, clearly a fisherman's haven with more tackle shops than anything else in town. It will be nice to stay in the park, wake up with an actual bathroom nearby and have some electricity. I just hope no one bothers me here.
No comments:
Post a Comment