After our drive back to Silver Star, Montana from Butte, I started riding at 7:45am in 54°F weather. I was on roll! I just kept going and going and going! I didn’t even stop for lunch until after 1pm when I’d been riding for over 50 miles in five and a half hours. Whew! I have to admit, though, I didn’t eat the best last night and felt a bit sick during some of it. Luckily I had some Pepto Bismol to help me make it through. Lesson learned: stick to the diet.
After a quick restroom break in Whitehall, Montana, I found some other cyclists! There were lots of them riding today with KRG vans stationed along the way. I don’t know what race they’re doing, but best of luck to them too! They weren’t going too fast, so I was able to keep up with them somewhat. 😉
Before lunch, there was a detour I had to take and there were way too many mosquitos! I put on bug spray and everything, but they seemed to want it like sugar! I can’t even tell you how many times I got bit. Too many, that’s for sure!
I wanted to keep going after lunch, so I did another stretch. This time, I took Interstate-15. My first time on the freeway, and I didn’t die! Yay! I am lucky that Montana’s roads aren’t too busy. However, shortly after I began I found myself heading into a mountain. You know what that means, huge climb! It went up about 1000 feet within 3 miles and back down the whole amount over 5 miles. Like I’ve mentioned before, going downhill on a unicycle, especially without a brake, is very difficult. I was going so fast! Literally, 14.5 miles per hour and I just hoped and prayed I wouldn’t fall off! I felt like I was on a roller coaster! That was some crazy time.
The picture on the bottom is what I consider a fun and easy hilly area. I wish that’s what I meant by all these hilly times…it’s a lot harder than this.
I made it successfully to Jefferson City, Montana at 3:35pm. I completed 66 miles again! Awesome! I’ve done 500 miles!! Woohoo!! Roughly 220 miles left to get to the Canada border. Wow. I can’t believe I’ve made it this far already! I can do this!
Day 9 Stats:
Started at 7:45am in Silver Star, MT
Ended at 3:35pm in Jefferson City, MT
5.75 hours of riding (Personal Record time!)
66 miles
Random Fact:
There are different sizes of unicycles. The tires can be anywhere between 12 to 36 inches. You can also find some that are around 5-7 feet tall (seat) or even double or triple wheeled (upwards). Lots of variety.