Day 15

Billings to Hardin, 55 miles, ha! an easy day!  A month or two ago I would have struggled to finish 55 miles, now it's like having a day off.

We still have following winds that help us along.  Mike had his second flat (I've had none yet) at the bottom of a steep hill.  Flats at 30 mph can be a little hairy.  Mike handled it fine.  He replaced the tube in a matter of minutes and we were on our way. 

Since we were getting close to Little Bighorn I pitched in by watching for hostiles.

Because todays ride was so short we only had one rest stop.  The site was described as the only tree between Billings and Hardin.  They weren't kidding.  See if you can spot it.

Tim and Kristin are two of the strongest riders on the Big Ride.  Usually when I think I'm really doing well one of them puts me in my place.  Today they both did.  I was in a zone, cruising 20+ mph on a flat stretch of road.  The both passed me easily, and the real insult was that Kristin was talking on a cell phone at the time.

I've been wearing horns on my helmet since Spokane.  They were given to my by my good buddy Tony.  I intend to wear them through all the  big mammal country.  To me, that will take me at least into the Wisconsin dairyland.   It's a bonding thing, don't try to understand.

Hardin is near Little Bighorn.  The interesting thing about the Battle of Little Bighorn, or Custer's Last Stand, is that nobody really knows what happened. It was an overwhelming victory for the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne, led by Sitting Bull.  Five of the U.S. Seventh's companies were annihilated; Custer was killed, as were two of his brothers, a nephew, and a brother-in-law. Total U.S. deaths were 268, including scouts, and 55 were wounded.  Every soldier that actually participated in the Battle of Little Bighorn was killed.  The survivors in the Seventh Cavalry weren't at the actual battle.  There were no white witnesses.

Furthermore, the Cheyenne and Lakota had no written language at the time.  So what we know of the battle has come primarily from archeology.  That is surprising to me since the battle occured just after the end of the civil war.  Comparatively, we have tons of written history about those major battles.

The U. S. military in 1876 carried imbedded journalists, just like we currently do in Afghanistan.  Most of the civilian casualties at Little Big Horn were reporters.  Custer himself provided regular reports to a Bismark paper. 

The battle site now contains a casino as well.  It doesn't seem right and lacks honor as far as I'm concerned.  There are casinos all over Montana, a blight on a beautiful state. 

We finally ride out of Montana tomorrow after spending 9 days here.  We are almost exactly at the 1000 mile mark, too.  I look forward to returning to Wyoming because I lived there for 4 years.  I get to hook up with old friends in both Sheridan and Gillette.